Cross My Heart

Six

After seeing his niece again for the first time in ten years, Marc Dumont drove to work, ignoring Paul Dunne’s phone call demanding a meeting. Marc didn’t think they had anything to discuss. The man was a prick. Always had been. There probably wasn’t a lot of difference between Marc and Paul, but Marc liked to console himself that he was at least trying to be a better man. Paul had no morals and no intention of reforming.

Marc thought of his niece. She’d grown into a beautiful young woman. When he looked at her today, he no longer saw his brother’s spitting image, only her own strength and beauty. But back when he’d become her guardian, looking at Lilly had reminded Marc of all his failures.

At the time there had been many, the most glaring of which had been losing Lilly’s mother to his brother, Eric. Marc had believed himself in love with Rhona but she only had eyes for Eric, who’d always been the golden child anyway. All things went his older brother’s way. He’d won Rhona, started a successful vintage car business, and he’d married wealthy. Marc hadn’t known about Rhona’s money when he’d fallen for her but what a bonus. Of course it had become Eric’s. His brother Robert merely went on his harmless, merry way while Marc seemed to bungle one relationship and job after another.

And when he looked at Lilly, Marc hadn’t seen the woman he’d loved and lost, he’d only seen his brother. His competition. The person he had a chance to defeat one last time.

Marc used to blame his actions on drinking but he accepted the truth now. He’d allowed jealousy to rule his life and he’d made both decisions-to drink and to destroy his niece and steal her money, he thought, bile rising in his throat. But at least Marc was trying to make amends. Paul had no such desire.

Whatever Paul wanted from Marc now-and Marc knew for sure it had everything to do with Lilly’s trust fund-he didn’t want any part of the other man’s scheme. The trustee had been siphoning money from the estate for years, as Marc had discovered during his first few months of sobriety. A time when he’d decided to take control of his life and see where things actually stood.

Paul, who’d known he could put anything over on a drunken Marc, claimed he’d intended to pay the money back before Marc inherited. A bald-faced lie if Marc had ever heard one. When Marc had threatened to go to the authorities, Paul had countered with a warning of his own. If Marc turned him in, Paul would expose Marc’s lies and abuse of his niece. That left them in a stalemate, since Marc couldn’t afford a public scandal now that he had a respectable job and the prospect of a future.

They’d both had too much to lose, so Marc had remained silent. After all, as soon as he inherited, the old bastard would be out of his life for good. Now there would be no inheritance and possibly no future if his fiancée bailed on him once she realized there was no money.

As for Paul Dunne, he was Lilly’s problem. Once she took control of her inheritance, it was only a matter of time before she realized what had been going on for all these years. Then she’d have to deal with Paul Dunne, trustee. The thought gave Marc little comfort.

He wasn’t a saint, only a flawed man and a recovering alcoholic to boot. He couldn’t help but admit everything would be so much simpler if Lilly had remained dead.

God, he needed a drink.

THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY for Lacey’s uncle Marc was to be held in her childhood home. Her uncle had been living in her parents’ house all these years, sitting by the fireplace in the den, eating in her mother’s beloved kitchen, and those were just two of what she knew were many other personal violations. All things that had been easier to put out of her mind when she lived three hours and a lifetime away than now when she had to dress for her return.

Because Lacey dated a businessman, she owned a few nice outfits, but she hadn’t brought them with her on this trip. She planned a quick trip to a mall in the next town over to buy something to wear. Hunter suggested she go with Molly-her uncle’s soon-to-be stepdaughter.

Although Lacey was wary of the woman based on her relationship with Marc Dumont, she trusted her best friend’s judgment. Hunter felt it important that the women meet and he believed they would get along well under any circumstances, including the one they found themselves in.

Lacey understood Hunter had dual motives. He wanted Molly to get to know Lacey and realize she wasn’t lying about the man her uncle had been-and probably still was. He also, along with Ty, didn’t want Lacey to be alone. Which was ridiculous since she’d been on her own for years.

Still, since it meant so much to them and since she missed having a close female friend around, Lacey had agreed to meet up with Molly at the local mall. It was hard to admit but she didn’t have many close women friends. She worked but not in an office where she could meet people her own age. Her employees were mostly young women who didn’t speak a lot of English and Lacey knew better than to make friends out of people who worked for her. Befriending her clients would have been as professionally ill-advised, and so other than Alex, she spent a lot of time alone. A part of her was looking forward to this shopping trip.

And not just for herself. Because when Hunter had spoken of Molly, Lacey had noticed a spark in his eyes she’d never seen before and his lips had curved into a smile. Hunter had a thing for this woman and Lacey wanted to see why. And she wanted to make sure Molly wasn’t going to break her friend’s heart. He’d been too good to her in the past and too protective of her now for Lacey not to feel the same way. She wanted the best for him and despite the other woman’s connection to Marc Dumont, Lacey hoped Molly was it.

She met Molly outside the Starbucks in the mall. Lacey knew Molly immediately based on Hunter’s description of a pretty brunette with a fondness for bold colors in her clothing and shoes. The other woman’s bright red top was one indicator, but she still could have been anybody. Her unique-looking red cowboy boots gave her away.

“Molly?” Lacey asked, walking up beside her.

The other woman turned. “Lacey?”

Lacey nodded. “Nice to meet you. Hunter’s told me a lot about you.”

Molly swallowed hard. “Unfortunately I can’t say the same. Most of my information’s come from-”

“My uncle.”

Molly treated her to an awkward nod.

“Let’s shop,” Lacey suggested. If she spent bonding time with Molly, she hoped the discomfort would ease and maybe they’d get to know one another better.

Lacey’s idea worked. What had begun as an awkward greeting changed over the course of shopping, lunch, and chitchat. Molly was warm and fun with a great sense of humor. Lacey enjoyed their day and now they sat at a table in Starbucks drinking lattes. They talked, if not like old friends, then not like adversaries, either. They hadn’t discussed the past, which was fine with Lacey. She knew eventually she’d have to explain things, but just not right now.

Molly wrapped her hand around her grande-sized cup and met Lacey’s gaze. “I love shopping,” she said, relaxing in her seat.

“It isn’t something I do much. Just for the basics,” Lacey said. “I work too much to have time for shopping as recreation.”

Molly smiled. “You’re a saver, I’m a spender. I think it comes from not having a lot while growing up. I crave the luxuries, not that I can afford them. Thank goodness for credit cards,” she said laughing.

“Amen.” Lacey grinned. She had no intention of revealing she tried hard to charge little and pay off fast. She hated being in debt. She’d lived from hand to mouth for so long, she rarely let herself let go. Even though, these days, she could afford to do so now and again.

“I have to admit you’re different than I thought you’d be.” Molly’s astute gaze appraised Lacey without shame.

Apparently it was time to discuss the past. “You mean because I don’t have the word ‘trouble’ stamped on my forehead?” Lacey asked, laughing.

The other woman grinned. “At least not anymore.”

So now they’d reached the crux of things. “I wasn’t trouble then, either. What do you think of Hunter?” Lacey asked, the subject change not as off topic as it seemed.

Molly’s brows furrowed. “I thought he was a good guy.”

“He is a good guy. And you must still think so or you wouldn’t be here with me, right?” Lacey asked. Molly’s views on Lacey might be skewed, but if she trusted Hunter, she couldn’t believe every lie Marc Dumont had fed her.

“I have many reasons to want to get to know you better. They don’t all involve Hunter.” Molly absently blotted some spilled coffee from the table.

Lacey knew her uncle was the other reason. “Do you want to know what happened back then? It might help you understand Hunter better.”

Molly nodded, but she eyed Lacey warily, obviously uncertain of whether to believe whatever she was about to hear.

Lacey decided to keep the story short and succinct. She summed up her life, her time with her uncle, her stint in foster care with Ty and Hunter, and their elaborate plan to fake her death to prevent her from being returned by the state to her uncle’s care. But she couldn’t stop the occasional lump that rose in her throat or crack in her voice as she told the tale.

“My God.” Molly stared at Lacey, shock etched on her face. “Three teenagers pulled that off?”

“Well, two of those teenagers had street smarts and one had connections.” Lacey crumpled her napkin and tucked it into her now empty cup.

“You must have been desperate to have run off to New York alone.” Molly’s voice sounded distant, as if she were having difficulty comprehending. “And Ty and Hunter risked so much to help you. I mean if the police had found the car or linked them to the theft-”

“They didn’t.”

“But they had to have known there was a risk.”

“We were kids. I’m not sure how far out any of us thought things through,” Lacey said honestly.

She hated being reminded of how naïve they’d been, how little they knew about the ramifications of their actions. Molly was right. Despite how her uncle had turned on Ty and Hunter, they’d been damn lucky they’d gotten away with their plan.

“I guess what I’m saying is, both Ty and Hunter had to have cared about you a great deal to do what they did.” Molly rose, empty cup in hand, and started for the garbage pail.

Lacey followed and they headed back into the mall. “We cared about each other,” she said to Molly.

As Lacey rushed to keep pace with the other woman, she realized what had Molly so agitated all of a sudden. Molly was threatened by Lacey and Hunter’s relationship.

The good news was that Hunter’s feelings for Molly were obviously reciprocated. The bad news was that the other woman still hadn’t come down on one side or the other when it came to Marc Dumont. For Hunter, Lacey and Ty, there was no middle ground.

“Molly?”

“Hmm?”

“Wait. Can we stop here and finish talking for a minute?” Lacey asked.

Molly came to a halt, folding her arms over her chest.

“You don’t need to worry about my feelings for Hunter or his for me. We’re friends, that’s all.”

She shook her head. “I’m not worried. I was just realizing what kind of bond you must share, that’s all.”

Lacey reached out and touched Molly’s arm. “Sometimes you form that kind of connection when you don’t have anyone else.”

“Maybe. But I saw something special in his eyes when he spoke about you.”

“Which I’d lay odds is nothing compared to what I saw there when he talked me into going shopping with you.” Lacey grinned. “I’m serious.”

Molly sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m not usually so insecure but I’m not, I mean, I haven’t been involved with a lot of guys and although Hunter’s asked me out-”

“Often, from what I hear,” Lacey interrupted.

Molly laughed. “Although he’s asked me out often, he never pushed when I said no. It became like this game between us and we both enjoyed the tension.”

“But neither of you ever acted on it.”

She shook her head. “Not until the night after he discovered that my mother is about to marry your uncle. Then he showed up on my doorstep, food in hand and a lot of questions on his lips.” Molly kicked her booted foot against the floor in disgust. “Before that he couldn’t be bothered to push the dating issue.”

“Well, you did say you’d turned him down before. And the Hunter I knew had-” Lacey bit down on her bottom lip fast. She had no business telling Hunter’s secrets.

“The Hunter you knew what? Tell me about him,” Molly urged.

Lacey frowned. She had been about to say the Hunter she knew had an inferiority complex and desperately needed others to love and believe in him. But what did Lacey really know about Molly? And how much could Lacey trust her with Hunter’s past?

She drew a deep breath. “Hunter’s a great guy. He’s sensitive even though he tries to hide it and he needs people he can trust around him.” And that was as much as she was willing to reveal. “But I’d bet if he shows interest, the slightest interest, it’s real.”

“After ten years apart you know him that well?” Molly asked.

Lacey nodded. “Like I said, he’s my family.” Ten years couldn’t erase that feeling. “So forgive me for saying this to you. If you’re playing a game, if you just like messing with the flirtation, then let it go. Don’t bother acting the part of someone who’s been hurt. Just leave him alone and let him move on.”

Molly’s eyes widened, partly in surprise, partly in admiration. “You’re protective of each other. I respect that.”

“You care about Hunter.” Lacey decided they’d talked about so much, she might as well lay it all on the line.

“Our relationship is complicated,” Molly said.

“Name one that isn’t. The thing is, if you care about Hunter and you trust his judgment, then you need to know one more thing about our past.”

Molly raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

“After I left, Uncle Marc was furious that he’d lost any hope of gaining access to my trust fund.”

Molly’s shoulders stiffened.

Lacey refused to be deterred. “He was angry and needed to blame someone. That someone turned out to be Hunter and Ty but Hunter got the worst of it. Uncle Marc had Hunter removed from Ty’s mother’s home.”

“How do you know Marc was behind his removal?” Molly asked.

Lacey remained silent.

“So it’s like you said earlier about the car theft-there is no proof.”

“Touché.” Lilly smiled grimly. “But I think you need to allow for the possibility that there’s truth in my story. In our story.Talk to Marc. Ask him. And talk to Hunter. I’ve never known him to lie.”

A smile curved Molly’s lips. “I’ll do that.”

They started walking again, this time toward the exit of the mall closest to where they’d parked. Lacey felt as though she’d accomplished a lot with Molly, from telling her the truth about the past to opening up the possibility of a relationship with Hunter. In her heart Lacey believed that even if Hunter had ever had feelings for her in the past, he considered her just a friend now.

They walked out the doors to the parking lot.

“Where are you parked?” Molly asked.

“That direction.” Lacey pointed toward the area she’d left Ty’s vehicle.

“Me, too.”

They started toward their cars. Since it was a late weeknight, near closing time, and on a drizzly evening, it made sense that the lot was nearly empty. Although it was dark, the overhead lamps provided steady streams of light in all directions.

“I hope you’re happy with the outfit you bought,” Molly said as they walked.

“I am. I couldn’t have bought it without you with me to tell me I looked good.” She shook her head and laughed. “I’m just so nervous about seeing all the relatives for the first time, you know?”

“I can imagine.”

Lacey saw her car straight ahead of her. She wanted to question Molly about the trust fund before she lost the opportunity. “Listen, I know you were going to help my uncle with-” Out of nowhere, a car careened toward them, cutting off her thoughts.

Lacey screamed and barreled into Molly, deliberately pushing the other woman toward the grassy embankment on Lacey’s right. She rolled to her side and a nondescript car drove off in a squeal of dust, leaving both women shocked and shaking on the grass.

“Are you okay?” Lacey asked, panting as she spoke, her heart beating wildly in her chest.

“I think so. What happened?” Molly pulled her knees toward her, hugging her legs tight.

Lacey shook her head. Unexpected dizziness assaulted her. “I guess some idiot took a joy ride through the parking lot and aimed for the only people around. Us. Whew!” Lacey lay on her back and stared at the sky, willing her pulse to return to normal.

“Did you notice anything about the car that we can report?” Molly asked, joining her on the ground.

“Other than the fact that it was dark out and so was the car? No. I just saw that it wasn’t a New York plate as it drove off, but that’s it. You?” Lacey rolled her head toward the other woman.

“No.” Molly closed her eyes and exhaled hard. “I can’t get behind the wheel just yet.”

“Me neither,” Lacey muttered, shutting her own eyes, too.

“When I came on this shopping trip I didn’t know what to expect. Who knew?” Molly laughed, slightly hysterical. “Accidents happen, but that was way too close for comfort.”

“Lacey and Molly’s Excellent Adventure.” Lacey shivered. Accident or not, she was unnerved but good.

TY DECIDED to take his mother up on her invitation to come over for lunch. With Lilly’s return, they needed to talk. Ty stopped by the office to check up on their borrowed P.I. who was now handling the missing husband case of Ty’s, while Derek handled surveillance on Dumont. Then he headed over to his mother’s. He hadn’t seen her since he brought Lilly back and he dreaded the conversation.

His mother still didn’t know Ty had had a role in Lilly’s disappearance and though she’d made her secret deal with Marc Dumont, that knowledge didn’t make Ty’s role in his mother’s pain over the years any easier to bear.

She’d raised him and she’d done it alone. As she always said, she’d tried her best even if some of her choices had been misguided. With Lilly’s return, Ty was forced to see his mother in a new light. She’d kept her secret from him and he realized now he’d kept his.

When he arrived, his mother was puttering around the kitchen. The decor had changed since Ty was a kid. The cabinets were no longer old stained wood but a modern white laminate and the once hideous yellow appliances had been replaced with shiny stainless steel. As always when Ty stepped into the renovated kitchen, he had to push aside the reality of where the financing for this upgrade had come from.

“Ty! I’m so glad you could come by.” His mother greeted him with a huge hug.

Wearing an apron that signaled she’d been cooking along with a huge smile, she was the mother he loved and he wrapped his arms around her, too.

“You didn’t have to cook for me. But I’m glad you did.” He stepped back and surveyed the stove and its many simmering pots, inhaling the delicious aroma that filled him with warmth.

“I still love cooking for you. I made your favorite homemade tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich with butter on the bread.” She smiled. “But I have to admit you’re not the only reason I’m so busy in the kitchen.”

Was it his imagination or did her cheeks flush before she rushed over to the oven to peek inside. “What’s going on?”

“I’m cooking for a friend.” She didn’t turn to face him.

“You’re cooking for a man?” he asked, surprised.

His mother had always claimed she was too busy to get involved again. Although he’d believed that line while he was growing up, a part of him had long suspected that she said it to protect his illusions of her as his mother. But he was a grown-up now and could handle his mother dating. In fact he’d much rather she wasn’t alone.

“Dr. Sanford asked me out and I accepted. We went to the movies one time, dinner another. I’m cooking for him tonight.”

Ty nodded. “I hear he’s a good guy. Is it serious?”

“It could be,” she said, trying to sound nonchalant. She busied herself pouring soup and serving their lunch before sitting down beside him at the table.

“Well, I’m happy for you,” Ty said. Nobody deserved to be alone for all the years his mother had been.

His mother smiled. “I’m happy for me. And for you. Now tell me when you’re going to bring Lilly by because I don’t think I can stand another day without giving that girl a big hug and a kiss.”

He’d known this subject was coming and he was prepared. “I know you missed her and you’re relieved she’s fine but before you see her, we need to agree on something.” He turned his attention to his lunch. Any food was delicious as always when his mother prepared a meal. “This is excellent,” he told her.

“Agree on what?” she asked, refusing to be deterred.

“The money remains our secret.” He’d thought long and hard about this, and as much as he’d hated the lies that had sprouted between all of them, he couldn’t see any good reason to compound Lilly’s pain by telling her the story that still haunted Ty.

Marc Dumont had met Flo in her position as school nurse. He’d overheard Flo discussing being a single parent and wishing she could give her son the quality time and things he deserved. Dumont had asked Flo to take his niece into her home and say she was a foster child from the state. In return, he promised Flo enough money to invest wisely in her son’s future. To allow her to give Ty the things she’d wanted him to have, she explained, after Ty had uncovered the truth a few years ago.

“I don’t see what good hiding it will do now,” his mother said, frowning.

“Lilly already lives with the fact that her parents were killed and her uncle sent her to foster care. She doesn’t know that you took an ungodly amount of money for the privilege.”

His mother slapped her napkin onto the table. “Tyler Benson, you know good and well I loved Lilly like my own daughter. If she’d landed on my doorstep without a penny to her name, I’d have treated her as well and loved her as much as I love Hunter. And the state only paid me a pittance to care for and feed him.” His mother turned pale as she spoke.

Ty placed a hand on her more fragile one. “Calm down, please. It isn’t good for your heart to get so upset.” She had a heart condition and took medication, but since the heart attack years before, Ty was always nervous.

“I’m okay,” she assured him.

Ironically it was her first heart attack and subsequent surgery during Ty’s junior year in college that had led him to the paper trail regarding Dumont’s money. He’d been temporarily in charge of her accounts while she was laid up and he’d discovered almost immediately that his mother had a ridiculous amount of money saved for a school nurse.

He’d gone to visit her loaded with questions and she’d revealed the whole sordid tale, grateful to have the secret out in the open. Once the truth had set in, so had Ty’s reality-everything his mother had bought for him, everything she paid for, including college-had been at Lilly’s expense. Not that she’d have been better off with her uncle, Ty understood that. But he hated the fact that he’d lived well, while she’d had to fake her death and run off to New York City. Alone.

“Are you sure you’re not dizzy? Light-headed?Anything like that?” Ty asked, focusing on his mother.

“No, I’m fine,” she said.

“Good.” He tried to believe her and relax. “For the record, I wasn’t trying to say you loved Lilly more because of the money. All I meant was she doesn’t need the additional burden of knowledge right now. That’s all.” He met her gaze.

Flo nodded. His mother still appeared paler than before and Ty decided a subject change was in order. “So tell me a little more about Dr. Sanford and his intentions.”

“Andrew is a widower with no children. He’s nearing retirement and he thinks he’d like to travel. I might like that, too,” she said, her voice lightening.

Ty breathed a sigh of relief. With the subject change, her coloring returned to normal and she grew excited about Andrew Sanford. He wondered if he needed to meet the man who made his mother so happy.

Ty’s cell phone rang and he unhooked his phone from his belt. “Hello?”

“Hey, Benson, it’s O’Shea.”

“What’s up?” Ty asked Russ O’Shea, a cop he’d met during an investigation, who was now one of his poker pals.

His mother cleared off the table as he spoke.

“There was an incident at The Cove,” he said of the local mall.

Every muscle in Ty’s body stiffened. “What happened?” he immediately asked, knowing in his gut it had something to do with Lilly.

“Lilly Dumont and Molly Gifford had a close call with a car. Some bastard took a joy ride through the parking lot, narrowly missing them. A patrolling security guard showed up as the car skidded out of the lot. The women say they’re fine. They dove out of the way just in time. Since it was Lilly, I thought you’d want to know.”

“Thanks, Russ.” Ty snapped the phone shut and rose from his seat. “Gotta go, Mom.”

“Is everything okay?” she asked, concern in her eyes.

He nodded. “Russ wanted to fill me in on a tip in an ongoing investigation,” he lied. His mother had just started feeling better. He couldn’t burden her with this, especially since O’Shea said Lilly was fine.

Ty needed to see for himself.

His mother relaxed her shoulders. “Well, don’t let me keep you then. I’m happy you came by. I just wish you’d do it more often.”

He grinned. He saw her once a week, but called her much more often. “Sometimes I think mothers were put on this earth to remind their kids of all the things they don’t do,” he said wryly. “Thanks for the meal. It was delicious as usual.” He kissed his mother on the cheek.

She touched his shoulder. “I love you, Ty. Everything I’ve ever done has been in your best interest.”

“I love you, too, Mom and I’ll bring Lilly by soon. She’s been asking about you, as well.” But until they’d seen Dumont’s reaction, they’d kept her arrival quiet.

He took off at a slow pace so as not to alarm his mother but as soon as he was in the car, he hit the gas and practically flew home to Lilly.

LONG AFTER Ty left, Flo couldn’t stop reliving the past. She sat in the kitchen nursing a hot cup of tea, thinking about all the things she’d done, right and wrong.

Her son still didn’t understand why she’d taken money from Marc Dumont in exchange for Lilly coming to live with them. He couldn’t fathom why she’d claimed Lilly was a foster child when she wasn’t. But he also hadn’t had to live his life without that extra cash. The money had done more than make life bearable. The little luxuries they had enjoyed, like the new kitchen, had come later. At the time the money had allowed Flo to have health insurance which covered the basics like strep throat, Ty’s broken arm and ear infections. And later on the money had been a blessing when she’d had bypass surgery. Of course, the same money had allowed her to stay home and raise Ty instead of letting him turn into a latchkey child who would have been out at all hours getting into trouble.

Yet agreeing to Dumont’s proposal hadn’t been an easy decision, at least not until she’d stopped by the Dumont mansion and taken a look at the sad girl with big brown eyes who wandered the grounds lost and alone. Marc Dumont had claimed she was a difficult child who needed to be taught a lesson that his firm hand and guidance hadn’t been able to accomplish. One look at Lilly and Flo knew the old bastard had been lying.

The girl needed love. Flo needed money to raise her son better. As far as she’d been concerned, it was a win-win situation. Dumont suggested she take a real foster child into her home to make Lilly’s move appear legit. The state had been hesitant to give her a child when she’d been working so many hours but they’d finally agreed, and deep down Flo believed it’d been Dumont who’d pulled strings to make it happen.

Flo hadn’t cared. The kids, Hunter and Lilly, needed her and in her heart, Flo knew she’d be making their lives better by taking them in. No matter that Lilly’s situation wasn’t on the books so to speak, her life had been happier with the Bensons than when she’d lived with her uncle. Taking the money didn’t seem like such an evil thing.

Until Lilly had disappeared. Then Flo lived with guilt over not having watched the kids carefully enough that night. Over not having protected Lilly. Still, the money had changed hands and because Dumont was afraid Flo would reveal his scheme, he hadn’t demanded she pay him back. But he had had Hunter taken away. Afraid that if she reported him to the authorities he’d do the same with her own son, Flo had learned to live with what she’d done.

She’d used the money on Ty after that, for better clothes, a better education. When Ty had discovered her secret, his anger had been a scary thing. He’d sold the car she’d bought him and dropped out of college. For a while, Flo had been afraid of losing her only child, but Ty had come around because they were family and they loved and supported each other. They always had and always would.

Still, Flo knew her son had been punishing himself all these years for his mother’s choices. With Lilly’s return, Flo hoped that would change and he’d find the happiness he’d been denying himself. The happiness he deserved.