“The heart wants what it wants,” said Jill. “Mason will never deny you your heart.”

I don’t want to deny him, either.

No wonder she was in a state of confusion.

16

Mason answered his phone, seeing it was Jayne’s therapist returning his call. It was nearly eight in the evening, and Ava had fallen asleep on the couch. Denny’s memorial had made the day emotionally exhausting. Add in a lengthy drinking session at the bar afterward, and Ava was done for the day. She’d been quiet and slightly inebriated when they’d decided to head home. Mason had drunk more than usual, again thankful his fiancée had insisted on a car and driver for the day. He’d felt like a lazy lush as he’d gotten in the car, but he really hadn’t cared. One of the perks of drinking. You don’t give a shit about most things.

Probably why Ava’s twin had addiction problems.

It felt good to not care about what the world thought.

Dr. Jolene Kersey was on the other end of the line. Mason had talked on the phone with her a few times and read her emails to Ava. Other psychologists worked with Jayne, but Dr. Kersey was primarily in charge of her case. He glanced at Ava. The phone hadn’t woken her from her exhausted sleep. He got up and stepped into the backyard to continue the call.

“Dr. Kersey, thank you for returning my call.”

“No problem, Mason. I noticed Ava hadn’t replied to the email I forwarded her last night. Is it right for me to assume since I’m talking to you that it upset her in some way? That wasn’t what I intended.”

“She’s got a lot on her plate at the moment,” Mason said. “You know she tries to step back when she feels overwhelmed by her twin.”

“As she should,” Dr. Kersey replied.

“We’re both concerned about that last email from Jayne,” Mason said delicately. “We had a much different reaction than it sounds like her team of therapists had.”

“Go on.”

How could he explain without stepping on toes? He plunged forward. “We believe Jayne is manipulating the staff. Both Ava and I think there is no weight in her apology, and she’s doing it to get some sort of attention or reward from you guys. In the end it’s Ava who gets hurt, because she sees it coming but no one believes her when she tries to warn them about her sister. We both thought your staff would see Jayne’s words for what they are: a bunch of bullshit.”

“Oh.” Dr. Kersey sucked in her breath.

“Excuse my language, Doctor, but that’s what we believe is going on—hell, that’s what we know is going on, and I hope you’re taking appropriate steps. She’s up to something. Don’t let your guard down for a moment around Jayne. She’s an expert at adapting to get what she wants. Has Jayne been offered something that would motivate her to pretend to change her behavior? A reward or privilege?”

“I wish you could see how much she’s improved,” Dr. Kersey said. “She’s not the same person she was when she arrived.”

“Of course she’s not,” argued Mason. “She wants out. She wants all of you to hop at her commands and give her praise. Any kind of praise. She’s got to be bored out of her mind, so you’re her current challenge. I don’t think you should be keeping Ava apprised of what you believe is Jayne’s improvement. Every time she gets an email, she picks it apart, searching for what it really means. Ava knows her sister better than any team of doctors, but she can’t heal her mind. That’s where we’re hoping you can help.” He fought to keep his voice level. What he wanted to do was reach through the line and shake the doctor until she listened to him.

“Well, Jayne has improved. We have standards here, and she’s made lovely progress. She has earned a number of privileges, and I won’t keep those from her. If she abuses a privilege, she loses it. We’ve found loss of privileges to be sufficient motivation to keep a lot of patients moving forward. Jayne also has therapy sessions three times a week and works in the kitchen. She’s never missed a session or a work shift. She’s learning responsibility.”

Mason wanted to bang his head against a tree. Jayne lived where she worked. If she missed a shift, there was no excuse.

That wasn’t the real world.

He knew Jayne was biding her time until she got out, and it put him between a rock and a hard place. He and Ava were paying for Jayne to stay there; it kept her out of their lives and hopefully gave her some mental help. But now he wasn’t so certain about any mental improvements. It appeared her doctors had fallen under her spell.

Should they keep paying?

It’s keeping her off the streets. And away from Ava.

To him that was worth its weight in gold. But was all the expensive therapy teaching her to act like a decent human being?

It was a futile question. He firmly believed Jayne couldn’t improve until she decided she wanted to be a different person. Even then he had doubts about how long it would last. Commitments weren’t Jayne’s strong suit.

Ava had the same doubts.

“I’m glad she has a safe place to live,” Mason said. “All we ask is that you don’t trust her. Don’t believe a single word out of her mouth. Keep working with her, but understand she has a brilliant part in her brain that knows how to manipulate people, and that includes all of her doctors.”

“I understand, Mason. I’m sorry that’s how you and Ava have come to view her sister.”