calmed herself. Her mother was displacing her grief and anxiety on Tara, something she’d done to Dylan just last night. Maybe she had more in common with her mother than Tara had realized.
“What can I do instead?” Tara said.
“Nothing. Go about your business.”
Tara picked up the folder labeled Silent Auction and flipped it open to a list of businesses. “I can call these companies for donations. How’s that?”
Her mother firmly took back the folder.
“You need help and I’m offering it,” she said, trying to be kind, but anger lined her words. “I’m your daughter. We should be able to help each other. Or at least talk to each other. Instead you keep shutting me out.”
“I don’t have time for one of your scenes, Tara,” her mother snapped, abruptly angry. “You’re here for a few days. This is my life. This is my home. I have to make my way through this on my own. Don’t pretend to help me.”
Her mother’s words stung. Still. Tara clenched her fists and her jaw. Her mother didn’t want to make peace. Tara’s fantasy of a tearful reconciliation, a loving mother-daughter bond, was just that, a fantasy. Her mother was the same person she’d always been, except with years of built-up resentment of her AWOL daughter. What did Tara expect?
Heavy with disappointment, she breathed in the delicious aroma of the food Judith had prepared. Judith wasn’t put off by Tara’s mother’s bristles. She went about her business, taking care of Tara’s mother as best she could.
The tray held a delicate-looking omelet and fresh strawberries, along with a latte and orange juice. She had to take her mother as she was. That had to be enough. “You really should eat, Mom,” she said quietly, all hostility gone. “Do it for Judith. She’s worried about you.”
Her mother glanced at the food, then at Tara, then out the window. She seemed to be thinking hard. Finally she turned to Tara. “All right. You can do the auction calls. I am running out of time.” She slowly pushed the file toward Tara, then stopped. “But only if you can be diplomatic.”
“I can do that. I’m good at it. I have clients, remember?”
“That’s right. Your sister said you’re quite good. Okay.” She pushed the file the rest of the way to Tara and gave it a pat. That was it. The closest thing to a peace offering Tara would get from her mother. Permission to harass local businesses for donations. At the moment, that was enough for Tara.
* * *
TARA SAT BESIDE Faye’s bed, her heart full and aching. She’d come straight from the reading of the will to the hospital. Joseph was driving her mother home. It troubled Tara how little time her mother spent with Faye. Was it her guilt over the argument she’d had that night with Faye? Did she think Faye had been so upset she’d driven poorly? Or was it the horror at the possibility of Faye dying? She would expect her mother to show at least as much courage as she’d displayed making phone calls about a stupid society event.
It’s how she copes. She sees it as her job.
Tara was getting better at accepting people for who they were, good and bad, she thought. That was a tiny point of pride amid her mistakes. Besides, in the lawyer’s office just now, she’d learned something about her father that had touched her deeply, opened her up to new realizations.
Tara took her sister’s hand, the orange nail polish gleaming. “We went over Dad’s will today. I wish you’d been there.”
Tara had been surprised to learn how little money her family had. “Dad sold all his stocks to invest in the company. Did you know that? He was worried, wasn’t he? You all were.”
She pressed Faye’s hand to her own cheek. “Mom will be okay. She owns the house, free and clear. There’s the life insurance, of course. The car accident settlement is likely to be huge, too.” Her mother had sat like a soldier, barely speaking, the entire meeting. Only her hands twisting in her lap showed her distress.
“You and Mom own the company,” Tara said to Faye. The ownership was to be divided evenly between and among Rachel Ann Kingsley Wharton and any Wharton child who has made a valuable contribution to the success of Wharton Electronics. The lawyer had apologized to Tara, saying he had invited her father to update his will numerous times, but that her father had declined.