nodded at Esmerelda, who walked toward the children.
“Are you my grandmother?” Krissa asked as Esmerelda took her by the hand.
“No.” Joanne sounded genuinely shocked by the question. “I’m not old enough to be a grandmother.”
Ben’s expression morphed from curious to doubtful. “But if Sage is your daughter and she and Mom are the same age,” he began, obviously doing the math.
“They’re not the same age,” Joanne snapped.
“She’s right,” Cassidy said with a smirk. “Sage is a year older.”
That earned her a look that was nearly a death ray. Cassidy immediately shrank back in her chair. For a second, Daisy almost felt sorry for her, then reminded herself Cassidy didn’t need her pity.
Esmerelda ushered the children out of the room. Daisy offered Joanne a tight smile.
“While it was great to see you, I’m sure you and Cassidy have lots to talk about.” She looked at her sister. “Did you want to take her up to your suite, or—”
“Oh, this is fine,” Joanne said, taking a seat at the island. “We can catch up, as well.” She shook her head slightly. “I would have thought you’d be dressing better, Daisy.”
Daisy told herself not to take the bait. “How have you been?”
“I’m not the interesting one.” Joanne’s gaze was speculative. “Let’s talk about you instead.”
Daisy had the thought that her former stepmother wasn’t here to see Cassidy at all. Not possible, she told herself.
The timer dinged. Daisy pulled the cookies out of the oven, then glanced at her sister.
“Cassidy, tell your mom about your trip to Patagonia,” Daisy said quickly.
Cassidy opened her mouth, then closed it. Joanne dismissed her with a wave.
“Daisy, so how are you really?”
The emphasis on the last word was confusing, but she knew enough to sense danger.
“Joanne, you and I aren’t friends, so I’m not sure what’s going on here.”
“Why would you say that? We were family.” Joanne gave a false laugh. “We loved each other.”
“No, we didn’t. You weren’t the least bit interested in me. You went out of your way to make sure I knew you didn’t want me around. I’ve never understood why. I was just a little girl. I was so excited about having a stepmother.”
Daisy hadn’t meant to say any of that, but she was telling the truth.
Joanne raised her eyebrows. “That is an interesting perspective. You were just a child, my dear. You can’t possibly remember enough to offer an informed opinion. I loved your father and I enjoyed being your stepmother. We were a team.”
“No, we weren’t. You and Sage were a team and I was the odd person out.”
Joanne smiled. “Not at all.” She looked around the kitchen. “I did love this house and being married to your father.” She glanced at Cassidy. “And you were the happy result.”
“Yay, me.”
Joanne ran her hands along the quartz countertop and sighed. “Such a beautiful house.” Her gaze returned to Daisy. “You inherited it from your mother?”
Daisy nodded cautiously.
“How fortunate for you. I’m sure Jordan had mixed feelings about moving.” Her mouth curved in a cruel smile. “And how is darling Jordan? I haven’t seen him in years.”
Daisy’s whole body tensed. Inside her head, she heard warning sirens and sensed that Joanne knew that Jordan had moved out. She looked at Cassidy, whose expression of guilt told her where the information had come from. No doubt Ben or Krissa had mentioned their dad had moved out. Cassidy told Sage and Sage told her mother. Even after all these years, she couldn’t trust any of them.
“He’s fine,” Daisy said, knowing there was no way to protect herself from what was coming. She squared her shoulders and told herself she was an adult who was capable of handling whatever Joanne threw at her.
“Still pretending you were his first choice?” Joanne asked with false concern. “Poor Daisy. How hard it must be for you to know he always regretted letting Sage go.”
“I can see time hasn’t mellowed you in the least,” Daisy said, feeling her control snap. “You were mean to me when I was a little girl, which makes you a monster, but going after me after all these years makes you pathetic.” She looked at Cassidy, who sat wide-eyed in her chair. “I’m sorry, but your mother is no longer welcome here. If you want to see her, we’ll figure something out, but it won’t be in my house.”
She swung her gaze back to Joanne. “Get out. Now.”
Joanne rose slowly. “I don’t remember you being dramatic, but we all grow and change.” She smiled at