“I’M SORRY, TARA. I didn’t realize he didn’t know. We would have been more discreet.”

Tara glanced back at her brother. It was so incongruous. Her brother. Coming here. Tristan.

She nodded as Tristan did a courteous sweep of his hand and asked, “Would you sit down for a few minutes? We need to talk. Please, Tara?”

She sat down in the seat across from Kylie and Tristan sat down beside her. He rested his arm along the back of the booth and behind her neck. Gently pressing his fingers into her neck, he meant it as a subtle, sweet sign of support. Tara arched her eyebrows. “Since when are you so nice to girlfriends?”

Anger began to replace her initial rush of emotions. Her tone sounded almost surly.

“Since I fell in love with Kylie.”

“You fell in love?” Tara stared at the girl with shock. She was amazed at whom he chose. She was not Tristan’s kind of girl. No older than Tara, she was the exact opposite of Tristan’s usual type.

He nodded. “I did. I don’t even know where to start. Probably with I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t a better brother. I’m sorry I didn’t take better care of you. I’m sorry I wasn’t the big brother I should have been. I should have stopped Mom from demanding so much of you. I was so wrapped up in what I was doing, I just didn’t look back after I left home.”

Tara shrugged. “You didn’t do anything I didn’t do. I never looked back either. I can’t get mad at you for doing what I did.”

“But I knew about it. I knew what you were going through, and what they were like. I should have helped you.”

She stared at her fingernails. “We couldn’t help ourselves. How could we help each other? That’s why I ran away. It was better than living there.”

“I never dreamed you’d do that. Run away, I mean. If I’d just known, I would have helped you.”

“How did you manage to find me?”

“Private investigator. Grandfather was tracking you and using a different one until about eighteen months ago. That’s when they lost your trail completely.”

Her lips twitched. “I had no idea. I thought I had become invisible to the world. Right about then is when I left the streets and made my way down here. I worked at odd jobs off and on for about nine months before I got hired on here.”

“We knew you went by Tara Aderly. I figured you still did.”

“So they all knew where I was?” Tara’s heart sank with heavy resignation. Her limbs felt like anvils just realizing her family knew where she was, and whom she was. She saw again how toxic their very presence in her mind was, let alone the rest of her life.

“Yes. I should have come to you sooner. I didn’t know what to do or say.”

“Why now? Why did you have to come and find me now?”

“Because…” He shook his head, straightening up and leaning onto the table. He was staring at his own hands. “Because everything changed in the last six months.”

Tara glanced at the girl who had her arms wrapped around Tristan’s bicep. She pressed her head against his shoulder as he fell forward, showing remorse. Her move was intended to make him feel better and to convey her support for him. “Since you met Kylie?” Tara said.

Tristan’s lips lifted and his eyes lit up. Tara never imagined Tristan could look so smitten with someone. He was usually so remote and reserved. She always loved her big brother but he had never actually looked at her when she spoke to him. She never could connect. He might have been present, but she had never captured his full attention.

Nodding, he said, “Yes, since I met Kylie McKinley. I know it was a dirty trick to have her approach you… I just didn’t know how to do it. I didn’t know if I should have just walked in here and said hey or walked away and never let you know I was ever here. But I realized that’s what I used to do. Avoid any confrontation. Return to work. Ignore you.”

Her eyebrows wrinkled down. “And you think you’re different now?”

“I am very different.”

She spread her hands out. “Is Grandfather here with you?”

He shook his head, pursing his mouth. “No. No one else is here. Just Kylie and me. I don’t…”

“He doesn’t talk to his family anymore. Not at all. Ever. He gave them up… because of me,” spoke the solemn girl who was still clinging to her brother’s arm.

Tara froze with her mouth wide and agape. His words didn’t register. No! Tristan Tamasy was the essence of Tamasy Industries and the golden child of their grandfather. If Tara could have had half the attention and interest their grandfather gave to Tristan, she probably would never have run away. She didn’t really blame Tristan. He got the lion’s share of their family’s love, guidance, and attention. It came at a cost of course, namely, his soul, but Tara would have gladly taken what they offered too. She was well aware of how impossible it would be to defy Grandfather. “Gave up… what? You? But he was your mentor and supporter for your entire life. What about Tamasy Industries? That’s who you are.”

Tristan shook his head, tilting his lips up. “No. It was who I thought I was. Turns out, there’s a whole lot more to life and I was missing all of it. I quit Tamasy. I quit Grandfather. I quit our family. Kind of like you did. You just managed to do it a lot sooner than I did.”

Her mind was blown away. Tara didn’t know what to say. She stared at her brother. A virtual stranger after five years. But this might have been the only time he ever fully engaged her. “Why did you come to find me?”

“Because you’re the only family I have left that I still want to know and be around. I have no idea why you should forgive me or let me back into your life, but I had to try. I wanted to make sure you were okay too… basically, that you were alive. And seeing you are means the world to me. I didn’t expect you to be so… normal. Having a job and a boyfriend. You look better than I’ve ever seen you.”

A soft smile lifted Tara’s lips. “Perhaps that’s because you never really saw me happy before.”

Tristan held her gaze and they shared a long look. Only he could fully understand the why behind that statement. He’d been there and he knew. He experienced all of it. He just handled it better than her. “No. Nothing about our childhoods would have made anyone happy. I just had Grandfather’s influence and encouragement to blunt some of it for me. You didn’t. I’m sorry, Tara. I didn’t do better for you.”

Tara sucked in a deep breath. She’d never received a single apology from any of her family members before. “Thank you. But it wasn’t your responsibility. It was theirs. Our parents. They did it. Or didn’t do it, I guess. You really just disowned them?”

He nodded, smiling. “I really did. I live with Kylie now. Her parents are paying my rent until I can find a job.”

Tara took a sip of water and almost spat it out. “You don’t work right now? You’ve always worked. Excelled at work. Top performance stuff.”

“Now I’ve joined the ranks of the unemployed. Living off not just my girlfriend but her parents as well.”

Tara glanced at Kylie, who smiled while shaking her head. “He’s exaggerating. This all just happened a few months ago. He’s starting up his own company in direct competition to Tamasy Industries. He just got a bank loan and as soon as we go back home, he and his assistant, Reese, will open the doors to his own, smaller version of Tamasy Industries. His business will be founded on ethics and integrity so it will be different from the start. But he isn’t exaggerating about not talking to his family. You don’t have to worry about any of them ever finding you. Or bothering you. At least, not because of Tristan.”

Tara picked at her fingers. “You said Tommy really raped you?”

Kylie glanced up at Tristan as he gripped her hand. Tara observed so much affection and support. It was rather startling to see coming from her usually stern, hands-off older brother. “Yes. He really did.” Tristan’s voice was quiet and serious with undertones of regret and shame.

“How… how the hell did you two find each other then? Did he do it after you first got together?”

“No. He drugged me during my freshman year of college at a party. I don’t remember anything about it, but I had plenty of evidence on my body that he raped me. I kept it to myself for a long while, until another girl was raped and she accused him on a website. I commented and thought I did anonymously but…”

Tristan sighed as he added, “But we saw it on this website and had our tech guy find out who she was... Then Grandfather ordered me to do some damage control. That’s how I met Kylie. I went after her to convince her to stop bad-mouthing Tommy. Grandfather saw her as a liability…”

Tara shook her head. “If you told anyone else this story, they’d stare at you in disbelief that anyone could be so evil. Or any family could be so cold. But I have no problem picturing all of it. What happened then? How did you advance from trying to shut down an innocent rape victim’s accusations to… to dating her?”

“I met her.”

His statement was soft, straightforward, and easy. As if that clarified it all. Kylie let out a small laugh. “Tristan thinks that somehow explains it. That it should be so… so obvious what he’s saying.” She rolled her eyes. “Only he sees that about me, the things he thinks everyone else should. Anyway, we went out on a date and he never tried anything. He didn’t take me out to use me or abuse me. I fell for him, and oddly enough, he fell for me. I didn’t know who he was though for a long while.”

“You lied to her?”

“Tristan Aderly.” His lips lifted up into a smile.

Tara shook her head, wilting in her seat, and slouching forward. “That’s… that’s what Ryder thinks my name is. Or was. Until about an hour ago. What is wrong with us?”

“Ryder, as in your boyfriend? The cop?” Tara nodded, biting her lip.

Tristan lifted his hand to take Tara’s and he squeezed it warmly. “What’s wrong with us? We were raised by people who would do anything to get what they wanted. Hurt anyone. Lie to anyone. Cut through anyone and anything, abandoning the usual standards of morality, for their own self-serving purposes. We only did what we were taught to do.”

Tara bit her lip, fully understanding what he was saying. She glanced towards Kylie. “You forgave Tristan? How?”

Kylie smiled easily. “Yes. He later saved me and stood up to his brother for me. After he quit his job and shunned his family, while taking my side against them, it was kind of easy to believe him when he said how sorry he was and that he didn’t want to hurt me.”

“Tommy… God, Kylie. I’m sorry.” She felt sick. Her brother. Her blood relative. Raping the thin, fragile-looking girl she saw before her?

“I know. I feel the same way. We’re related to him. It’s hard to get that out of your head.” Tristan agreed, his tone quiet.

Kylie appeared curious. “When I first said ‘your brother raped me,’ why did you not suspect Tristan?”

Tara shook her head. “Because Tristan was distracted, busy, and cold, but he always had a moral compass and a kind heart. He just didn’t know how to handle me. But Tommy? There was always something lacking in him. Basic human empathy. Compassion.”

“You always had that too, Tara. You were never like him. I think it’s why you had to run away. You couldn’t tolerate our family any longer. By remaining there, maybe you were afraid you would become like them, or at the very least, somehow endorse their ineptitude and corruption,” Tristan said.

She shut her eyes. Then opened them. “I hope so. I mean, I was all screwed up, so I can’t say for sure, but nothing as articulate as that; just a burning desire to leave. Run. Escape.”

“I think you had to run away. You couldn’t live in a house without any moral standards. Tell me, what happened to you? Where were you? How did you manage to survive?”

She smiled. “I was homeless for many years. I can’t say much about that I’m proud of. I did drugs and had sex with other homeless people and I wasn’t in a good place. My lowest point was when I got jumped and robbed. I was too high to even realize what happened until hours later when I sobered up. I was always dirty, unbathed, and hungry, and I realized I wanted more than that. I had to do something better or I would end up dead. And my life would be over forever more.

“I got off the streets and started doing odd jobs, earning just enough money to stay alive. I stayed in cheap motels and worked my way south, taking the I-5 corridor until I came here. Chloe, that’s the woman who owns this place, hired me. I lied on the job application, which they still don’t fully know. But I tried to be their best employee once I was hired on. I was hyper-honest in everything I did to compensate for how I started. I just couldn’t get a decent job if I didn’t lie. I met Ryder here. His ex-wife is Chloe’s sister. They are still very close. And they thought his ex-wife ran off and left them. But just a few weeks ago, her body was found. Turns out, she was left for dead in a swamp nearby here. So… well, that’s been a huge blow to all of us.”

Tristan’s eyes widened. “That’s… terrible. And then… I showed up.”

She licked her lips. “Yes.”

“I’m sorry. If I’ve ruined anything for you.”

She shook her head. “I’m not. I mean, I’m not sorry to… to have you here. I didn’t think I wanted to ever see you again. Now that you’re here. I…” Tears overwhelmed her, and she bit her lip, shaking her head. “I didn’t know how much I needed you still.”

Tristan got up and began pulling her up and hugging her next to him. She let him do it and it felt so nice to be held so close to her brother. Her family.

“Let me take you to him. We’ll talk to him. I’ll help you, Tara. Okay? I… I don’t want to make your life worse. Only better. And mine will be better once I have you back in it.”

She let out a breath to calm down. “You mean this isn’t a one-time visit?”

“I hope not. I want to be a family again. You’ve never experienced that. It’s… the best thing. Kylie’s family, her mom and stepdad, have kindly taken me in. Thirty-one years old and I still need and cherish their love and care for me. You’re never too old for that.”

Tara sniffled her snot-filled nose. “I actually witnessed that with Ryder and his son. Did I tell you about his son?”

“Kylie did. A funny little guy. How old?”

Her face brightened at the mention of Wyatt. “He’s six now. And just wonderful.”

“Why don’t I come with you to try and explain the Aderly thing?”

Her heart bumped, but she felt weary in her chest. “What do you mean… like you’d help me beg for his forgiveness?”

“Exactly what I mean. You’re not alone anymore, Tara. If you’ll accept me as your brother again, I want to be there for you. I want to do the right thing by you this time.”

Her emotions overwhelmed her. She dropped her gaze. “Maybe… yes. Could we start with a ride over there? I don’t have a car or… or even a driver’s license… Do you think you could take me to his house?”

“Just me? Or do you mind if Kylie comes along?”

She spared a glance at his girlfriend. “No, of course not. She’s what I like most about you now.”

He flashed a huge smile at Tara and Kylie. “That’s exactly what I told Kylie when I begged her to come with me to find you. I said if you met her, you might just be willing to give me a chance.”

Kylie winced. “Your family really is all fucked up.”

They nodded at the exact same moment. For the first time, Tara laughed at her family… and being related to it. Topping it off, she had a moment of bonding with another family member. “Yes, it was and is really all fucked up.”

Tristan touched her arm. “But I’d like to change that. At least, we can start with us.”

She closed her eyes. “I didn’t know I wanted that. Until I saw you…” She sucked in a breath. “I thought I was over our family or needing anyone ever again. But it turns out, I could use you.”

He hugged her again and released her. She glanced around, seeing plenty of stares. Lately, she was the main source of the cafe’s unofficial entertainment. She went in the back and spoke to Petra.

“So there’s a whole history I have. That’s my older brother. I haven’t seen him in five years and he used a private investigator to find me. I think I’m going to be fired anyway, but I’d like to at least try and talk to Ryder.”

Petra patted her arm. “What’s your name?”

“Tara Tamasy. Aderly was my mother’s maiden name. I ran away when I was seventeen.”

“Well, Tara Tamasy. Good luck.”

Tears filled her eyes at Petra’s kindness. “Thank you. If I don’t see you again, you have been such a kind friend, especially when I needed one, and I haven’t had any friends before, not ever.”

Petra shook her head. “You will be back. You work here. You belong here. And you have all kinds of friends here between the staff and the customers. Don’t forget that. No matter what Chloe or even Ryder says. They don’t rule this town. It’s a free country and you’re welcome—no, you’re in demand here as a citizen and a resident. Okay?”

Tara impulsively hugged Petra. Something that before she came to this town, she would not have done. Then she spun around to face her brother. He made a sweeping, gallant motion with his hand for her to go first. It was odd and strange and wonderful.

Once they were on the highway, Tristan followed Tara’s instructions as he drove the small rental car, an economy baseline model that said more about Tristan’s financial status now than anything else. “So, we were hoping to stay for the week. I’d like to get to know you better. Hang out with you. Maybe… perhaps someday you’d want to visit us—”

Tara started to object when he shook his head. “No pressure. Kylie starts her senior year at college in a month or so. So we can’t travel once that happens, not as often. I just hoped to see you more. But we’ll figure something out.”

She squinted at her brother. He was dating a college co-ed? Not what she had pictured in her wildest dreams. “What’s your major, Kylie?”

“Sociology. I want to be a social worker.”

Tara tilted her head. “You, ah, do realize that Tristan is very conservative, both fiscally and otherwise?”

Tara almost shook her head with disbelief. Kylie was not the kind of girl Tara ever pictured capturing the heart of her polished, proper, formal, money-hungry, success-driven brother. Kylie threw her head back and started laughing. “I realize it.”

“And you guys… make that work?”

They shared a mushy, loving look. “We do,” Tristan stated softly.

Tara stared out the windshield and finally said, “Maybe. Maybe someday I could come visit. I guess I’m a grown-assed adult. No one can do anything to me if I come back to town, can they? I don’t have to see anyone else.” She shivered. “Especially not Tommy. Whatever happened to him?”

Tristan’s mouth compressed. “Not a goddamned thing.”

Kylie squeezed her hand on his thigh and glanced back at Tara. “We tried to get him kicked out of school, but it was only my word against his. No physical evidence to prove it. So… nothing happened. But he’ll do something, someday, I know he’ll do it again. Rapists are frequent perpetrators and I don’t think he can help it. I just hope that someday he’ll get caught and punished for his crimes.”

“Me too,” Tara agreed, her head nearly spinning with all the news and surprise that kept rolling over her.

They pulled into Ryder’s place and her stomach felt like an anvil dropped into it. How would she face him?

“Can I help? Should I come in and explain our family dysfunction?” Tristan said.

She shook her head. “No. My lies belong to me. I need to own them.”

He took her hand in his and squeezed it. “Call me. Okay? I’ll be back. I’m going to be here for you. Whether I have to drive to get to you or even fly. I’ll never leave you to fend for yourself again. Okay?” He reached out and rubbed a finger over her nose as one might do to a child. “Okay, little sis?”

She nodded and her smile was tight. “Hard to get used to. But I’d like that.”

“If I don’t hear from you tonight, how about lunch tomorrow? Dinner? All day? No pressure though.” His smile was quick and Tara found it ironic.

She smiled. “All day. Let’s just plan on all day. We have… There is so much to say and remember and catch up on…”

They exchanged telephone numbers and Tara got out. They watched her until she opened the front door with her key and entered Ryder’s house. She waved at them and they left. Tara’s heart was beating wildly with joy. Yes, joy at finding her brother again. Her brother, who was so kind and loving and involved and very changed. The brother he never was before.

But then again, she had changed too. No longer the messed up, self-medicating, anorexic, drinking, drugging, promiscuous teen she used to be. She was so desperate to find anything that could make her feel better, and now she was… what? A decent person. A working, functioning, healthy person.

She took in a deep breath for courage. Now, she had to confess her duplicity to the person she lied to and hurt. The same person who might fail to understand what and who she once was.