The Magnolia Sisters (Magnolia Sisters #1) - Michelle Major Page 0,74
She drew in a shaky breath. “I caught them together when I was six.”
“Oh, Meredith.”
Her sister’s chin lifted as if she refused to be cowed by the past. “I didn’t even really understand what was happening, but even an innocent kid knows they shouldn’t find Mommy naked in bed with a man who isn’t their father.”
“That’s putting it mildly.”
“Yeah, I guess. It was at our house in the summer. Dad had taken my brothers to a baseball tournament for the weekend, and I was supposed to be staying at my grandma’s house. She only lived a few blocks from us. I’d forgotten my favorite pillow and rode my bike home to get it. I still remember the way he looked at me when he walked out. It was this strange mix of anger and affection but there was no remorse.” She laughed without humor. “For all the man’s sins, I don’t think he ever felt a moment of shame.”
“Must be nice,” Avery murmured.
“My mom was as mad as I’d ever seen her. She told me I ruined everything.” Another sad laugh. “Little did I know she wasn’t just talking about her affair. I guess my father had always known that I wasn’t his biological daughter. He’d agreed to raise me as his to avoid a scandal because he loved my mom. I wish he’d turned her away when he had the chance. Niall broke things off with her after that. One more strike against me, and it was pretty much the end of her willingness to keep up the charade of happy wife and mother. She left on Halloween night.”
“Just disappeared?”
Meredith nodded. “Dad took us trick-or-treating. We got back and she was gone. She’d left a note for him but nothing for any of us.”
“Have you talked to her in the years since?”
“Nope.” Meredith smoothed a hand over her cheek, then looked away. “I’m not crying.”
“I know.”
“Last I heard, she’s in Florida.”
“Does finding out about Niall make you want to contact her? Don’t you have questions?”
“Dozens of them,” Meredith admitted quietly. “But it feels disrespectful to my dad...” She paused, cleared her throat, then continued, “Disrespectful to the dad who raised me to be curious. I shouldn’t want to know. He should be enough.”
“I’m not sure that’s how it works.” Avery put the broom aside and went to stand next to Meredith. “I bet he’d understand.”
“Nope.” Meredith rolled her shoulders as if she could unload some of the heavy weight that way. “He’s had a hard time with all of this being public. He’s a proud man, you know?”
“You said he’d gone to visit your brother. Is he still away?”
“He’s back but I haven’t seen him.” She sighed. “He usually comes out a couple of times a week to help with the animals but...”
“He’ll come around,” Avery promised.
“You don’t even know him.”
“You’re weirdly hard to resist.”
That earned a smile. “I’m pretty damn adorable,” her youngest sister agreed.
“If you like pet hair.”
“Don’t trust anyone who doesn’t like animals.”
A laugh bubbled up in Avery’s throat.
Meredith grinned. “Firsthand experience?”
“My ex-boyfriend thought dogs were stinky and dirty. Probably cats, too, but we never made it that far.”
“I bet he turned out to be a jerk.”
“He turned out to be still married,” Avery said, then blew out a breath. It was the first time she’d admitted that fact to anyone who hadn’t already known about her relationship with Tony. She hadn’t even shared the details of her breakup with her mother.
“That’s rough.”
“But not the worst of it.” Now that she’d begun to open up, the words poured out of her like a dam that had finally given way. “We worked together, and his wife confronted me at the office. She couldn’t believe I didn’t know. She was so angry.”
“I can imagine.” Meredith inclined her head. “You had no idea?”
“I like boundaries in relationships so the things that should have tipped me off felt like quirks at