Ellie’s shoulders sagged with defeat. “That was just as apparent.”

Sunshine could see how difficult this was for her sister. “Beth is her own person, Ellie.”

“She’s more like Phillip,” her sister admitted. “His mother was a pianist and Beth inherited her musical talent from that side of the family. I miss her something terrible. It killed me to have her move so far away.” She sniffled again. “Phillip … Oh Sunshine, I don’t know what to do. He’s so angry with me, and you know Phillip, he’s not an angry man.”

Sunshine couldn’t imagine it, either. “Do you love him?”

Her sister’s eyes filled with tears again. “So much.”

“What happened?” she asked gently.

Ellie reached for her fork and held it over her plate for several seconds. “Phillip and I disagreed over Beth moving to Oregon and it sort of escalated from there. Then she was in that dreadful car accident and I flew out for the brief visit. I wanted to return, take care of our daughter, but Phillip insisted I keep my word and stay away for the promised six months. He had no appreciation of how hard it was for me to stay in Chicago when Beth was hurting.” She still hadn’t taken a bite of her lunch.

Sunshine reached for her tea and sipped it.

“I wanted Beth to come home for Thanksgiving, but Phillip made it clear I was not to meddle in her life. I didn’t speak to him for three days, and you know what he said?” She stiffened. “He told me those were the happiest three days of his life.”

It wasn’t a good idea to laugh, but Sunshine was unable to hold back a smile. She didn’t know her brother-in-law had it in him. Her admiration for Phillip escalated.

“You sent Kier to check on her?” Sunshine asked.

Ellie nodded.

“Something happened between you and Phillip yesterday, didn’t it?” It only made sense, seeing how fragile Ellie currently was.

“At dinner yesterday when I made a fuss over Beth and Sam’s relationship, it caused more problems with Phillip. He doesn’t like confrontation and ordinarily avoids it until he can’t hold it in any longer. Don’t misunderstand me. Phillip would never shout or make a big fuss, that’s not his way. Once we were back at the hotel, he laid into me about how I spoke to Sam.”

“Have you two patched things up now?” she asked.

Her sister went pale and fresh tears filled her eyes. “I … I don’t know where he is. After our argument, Phillip left the room and he hasn’t come back. I’ve been up all night fretting. I’m sure he must have gotten another hotel room. It kills me that he would go to that extreme. I feel like my entire world is imploding. I’ve alienated my daughter, and now it seems my husband as well.”

Sunshine could see that her sister was a miserable wreck. “You know what you need, don’t you?”

“A day at the spa, for starters,” Ellie said, and rotated her neck as if to ease away the stress and tightness there.

“No, how about a day with your sister instead?”

“Can we get a massage?”

That did sound heavenly. “I think I can arrange that.”

“Can we shop? There are some wonderful bargains. This is Black Friday, you know.”

Sunshine shook her head. “I’m not much of a shopper.”

“Oh come on, Sunshine. It’s time you updated your wardrobe, and I’m just the woman to make it happen.”

She couldn’t help smiling. Sunshine was telling the truth when she said she missed her sister. While she didn’t know what the future held for Ellie and Phillip, she was fairly certain they could manage to be sisters again.

Chapter 34

Beth

Beth was pleased with how Thanksgiving went with Sam and her family. They held hands through most of the meal and couldn’t seem to keep their eyes off each other. Sam had told her father that he loved her.

Loved her.

Her father had smiled and nodded as if it was understood. Naturally, her mother had freaked out, but that was to be expected. For the rest of the meal everything had gone smoothly, although her mother had remained suspiciously quiet. As soon as the table was cleared, Sam announced he would do the dishes. Beth offered to help while her aunt and parents retired to the living room. No sooner had Beth and Sam gotten the dishwasher loaded when her father announced they would be returning to the hotel. Just the way he spoke told Beth something wasn’t right, and she knew whatever it was involved her mother. Her father’s eyes narrowed in on Ellie as he steered her toward the front door.

Before he left, Phillip hugged Beth and must have noticed her concerned frown because he whispered, “No worries, sweetheart.”

She motioned with her head toward Sam, who was busy filling the sink with soap suds. Her father’s approval meant everything, knowing she’d never get it from her mother.

“Good man,” Phillip whispered. “He loves you, treats you right. That’s what’s important.”

Her mother dutifully followed him out the door with little more than a brief acknowledgment to Sunshine and Beth.

Because she’d been busy every night, Beth decided to clean her apartment and do a couple of loads of wash Friday morning. Sam had decided to work as he got time and a half. Beth rolled out her vacuum cleaner when her phone rang. Caller ID told her it was her father.

Her dad never called her. Half the time he didn’t even know where he kept his phone. Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of all communication came from her mother.

“Hello?” Her answer was tentative. Her first thought was that her father had lost his phone and some stranger found her name in his contact list. She bet he only had three names in his contacts.

“Beth, it’s your father,” he announced, as if she wouldn’t recognize his voice.

“Dad. Anything wrong?”

He hesitated. “Would it be all right if I stopped by your apartment?”

“Of course. Do you need me to come get you?” Beth knew her parents were without a car.

“No. No, I can take a cab, but I’ll need your address.”

She said it twice and hoped he wrote it down. Her wonderful father could be terribly absentminded.

“Dad,” she tried again, nervous now. “Is everything all right?”

“I think so,” he told her.

Beth remained unsettled. “Can you tell me what this is about?”

He paused. “I want to talk to you about your mother.”

“Okay.” That didn’t tell her much.

“And apologize for the way she behaved yesterday.”

“You’re welcome to stop by any time, Dad.”

“I’ll be there within the hour.”

That gave her time to straighten up the apartment, not that it was terribly messy. She wasn’t at home often enough to require a lot of tidying up.

By the time her father arrived, Beth had finished the vacuuming and had one load of wash finished and a second load in the machine. When the doorbell rang, she hurried to answer, opening it wide to greet her father. He had on the same suit that he’d worn the day before and it looked as if he’d slept in it. He needed a shave, too. Her mother would never have let him out of the hotel room in his current condition. Something was up, and whatever it was didn’t bode well.

“Where’s Mom?” she asked.

Her father didn’t answer. “I could use a cup of coffee.”

“Of course.” Beth moved into the kitchen and brewed them each a cup.

“Make mine extra-strong.”

“I’ll do my best,” she assured him, growing more curious by the moment. Carrying both mugs into the other room, she sat down on the sofa next to her father and waited.

He took a tentative sip of the coffee, closed his eyes as though to savor it, and then said, “First off, I want to apologize again for your mother’s behavior.”

“It’s all right, Dad. It was what Sam and I expected. I knew Mom would have a hard time accepting him.”

He dismissed her easy acceptance. “I need to apologize to you, too. I’ve had my head in my work and didn’t realize how controlling of you your mother had gotten.”