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dragged Seth around the house and straight toward the gazebo. When they neared the small enclosure, Seth noticed that someone was sitting inside. Missy! The girl he’d come to see. When they approached, she laid aside the book she’d been reading and rose to her feet.
“What’s she doing here?” Felicity complained loud enough for Missy to hear her.
“I’m sorry,” Missy said. “If you don’t want me here, I’ll go back inside.”
“You don’t have to leave,” Charity said. “This is your home and your yard, and you have as much right to use the gazebo as Felicity and I do. Isn’t that right, Felicity?” Charity nudged her sister in the ribs.
“Yes, that’s right,” Felicity said begrudgingly.
“There’s plenty of room in the gazebo for all of us,” Charity said. “Come on, let’s sit down and you can tell us why you want to kill Daddy.”
“What!” Missy’s eyes widened as she glared at Felicity.
“Oh, I don’t suppose I really want to kill him,” Felicity said, “but Mom will when she finds out what he’s been doing.”
“What are you talking about?” Charity frowned at her sister.
“I caught Daddy red-handed with his secretary. They were kissing!”
“I don’t believe you.” Charity’s face went chalk white.
“Don’t believe me then, but I’m telling you that I saw it with my own two eyes. I walked in on them in a lip-lock.”
“I thought your parents were different,” Missy said, her voice little more than a whisper. “I believed they loved each other and had a perfect marriage and were perfect parents. Oh, Felicity, I’m so sorry.”
“Uh, yeah, thanks.” Felicity hung her head and then sighed heavily. “Gee, Missy, I’m the one who’s sorry. Having a father who’s cheating on his wife isn’t anywhere near as bad as having a father who…well, who did what your father did to you.”
“Raped me, you mean.”
“Yeah.” Felicity looked to Seth as if begging him to help pull her out of the hole she had dug herself into. “I’ve about decided that there are no good parents. Except maybe your mom, Seth.”
“My mom’s a liar.” The words came out of his mouth before he knew what was happening. Damn, why had he said that?
“Huh?” Felicity said.
“What?” Charity asked.
“What did she lie about?” Missy reached out and caressed Seth’s arm.
“I found out just this morning that Mark Cantrell wasn’t my biological father. My mother was pregnant when she married him. My dad wasn’t my dad. My mom has lied to me all these years.”
“Well, looks like we’ve all got something in common,” Felicity said. “We’ve all got at least one rotten parent.” She glanced from person to person as she said, “Missy’s father raped her. Our father is cheating on our mother. And Seth’s mother lied to him about who his real father is. I say parents can’t be trusted. Maybe my dad and your mom deserve something bad happening to them just like something bad happened to Missy’s father.”
“Felicity!” Charity scolded her.
“I don’t want anything bad to happen to my mom,” Seth said. “She made a mistake. People make mistakes. You shouldn’t wish for something bad to happen to your father.”
“Well, I do,” Felicity said. “I want him punished for what he did. Him and that awful Erin McKinney, too.”
Chapter Thirty-three
“You didn’t have to come in today, you know,” Lorie said. “Besides, I’m thinking we should start closing Treasures again either every Monday or Tuesday, at least during the summer.”
“I’m better off here than I would be at home,” Cathy said. “I’d be climbing the walls without something to keep me busy.”
“You’re not doing much better here. You’re as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs.”
Cathy forced a fragile smile. “At least here I’m not alone waiting for the phone to ring, hoping Jack will call or Seth—”
“I could strangle Jackson Perdue,” Lorie said. “How dare he lay all the blame on you. It’s not like you got pregnant all by yourself. What the hell would he have done if your positions had been reversed? You could have had an abortion or given your baby up for adoption, but you didn’t.”
“I have to believe that once he’s had a chance to think things through, he’ll understand. I just wish he’d call. When I stopped by the sheriff’s department, Mike said that Jack was out for lunch and he’d give him the message to call me ASAP.” She checked her watch for the dozenth time in the past half hour. “That was nearly an hour ago. It’s obvious that he’s avoiding