Kenna and her father walked in the direction of their house.

“Christ, we really got that wrong.” Ally looked shellshocked.

He’d done exactly what he swore he wouldn’t—had threatened his relationship with his son by getting involved. In a few minutes, Kenna would probably call Rory and tell him how his father squared up to hers on the street outside her house. “I need to talk to Rory.” He needed to talk to his son before Kenna did. He shoved a hand through his hair, and cursed the fact that Rory was a couple of hours away, if he’d been closer, Jace would have climbed into the car and drove there to explain.

“I can’t believe that you followed me. I told you I could deal with this alone.”

“Your plan could have been dangerous. If he had been genuinely hurting his daughter, he would have thought nothing of hurting you too.” She should be grateful, not glaring at him as if he failed some ridiculous test she magicked up from nowhere. Now she stood in front of him, bristling. Wanting to have a showdown. When he had somewhere else to be—something more important that demanded his urgent attention.

“I have to call Rory.”

“Well, my unfinished business in Shepherd’s Crook is done now.” She crossed her arms. “I thought to visit my sister in Portland before I head back to Seattle, and now seems a good time.”

“Wait. I’ll talk to Rory and then we can discuss this.”

She shook her head. “I need some time. I need to think about what just happened. I’m going back to the house and packing up.”

So this was it then? She was preparing to do another disappearing act. He’d laid himself on the line. Had come right out and painted a future that they could have if she wanted it. And once again, she’d given him nothing in return.

“Call me later.” He was so mad right now he couldn’t even bring himself to kiss her. She was right; they both needed some time apart. “I have to go.”

“Fine.”

She made no move toward him. Seemed to have no understanding or appreciation of his situation.

He turned away and jogged back to his car. As he called Rory’s number, she walked to her car and drove away.

“Dad? Everything okay?” They weren’t the sort of family who called each other regularly when one was away from the other. Rory was past the age when being in constant contact with his father was either necessary or wanted. There’s no greater buzz kill than checking in with your father every couple of days.

“Rory, I’ve done something you won’t be happy about. There’s been a lot going on since you’ve been gone, and I need to talk to you about it.”

There was silence down the line for a long moment. “Is this about Mom?”

The question coming out of nowhere blindsided Jace. “Your mother?” Blood pounded in his temples. Rory had never even met her—why was he asking about her now?

“She found me on Instagram. I didn’t go looking for her. I promise I didn’t.” Rory’s voice was raw with emotion. “I would have told you—I planned to—but she asked me not to.”

He hadn’t even known Rory used Instagram. “What else did she say?” Anger swelled in Jace’s gut. He’d been Rory’s everything ever since their baby drew his first breath. Amanda had disappeared like mist on a sunny morning without even leaving a forwarding address. The only further contact had been the divorce documents sent by a lawyer. Now she’d decided to make contact, to get between them by telling Rory to keep their conversation secret.

“She told me she’s married now, did you know that? And I have two half-sisters who want to meet me.”

Jace closed his eyes and try to remain calm.

“I’ve never spoken to her, Dad. As far as I’m concerned, she’s no mother to me. I’ll text you my Instagram details. Log in as me to read the messages she sent and my replies. I want you to. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, I’ve been waiting for the best moment.”

Jace took a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll do that. I didn’t know she was married, or had had any other children, and it’s natural that you would want to meet them. We’ll talk about it when you get back. That isn’t why I called you.” His hands curled around the steering wheel, holding onto it like a life raft. “That woman who found you walking along the road… She’s an investigator. She tracked down Kenna and confronted her about the marks on her back. She thought—we both thought—that Kenna might be in danger. That she’d been abused by her father.”

“She…Dad, I told you not to get involved.” There was anger in Rory’s voice. “Kenna swore me to secrecy, she doesn’t like to talk about what happened. She’ll think I told you. She’ll think…”

“We had a conversation. Ally, me, Kenna and her father. They told us about the fire. About how Kenna saved her family and got injured in the process. I think they understand why Ally felt she had to get involved.”

“Well, I don’t. And I don’t understand why you were with her.”

“We’ll talk about that when you’re home too.” Jeez, when had life got so complicated?

* * *

Back at her rented house, Ally packed all of her possessions. There was still another week’s rental on the house outstanding—maybe she’d be back, maybe she wouldn’t. There was so much to do, so much about her future uncertain, but now the issue of Kenna was resolved she couldn’t put it off anymore. She needed to stop living day-to-day and sort her life out.

Her hand trembled as she shoved T-shirts into her overnight case.

She zipped it and cast her gaze around the bedroom for anything she’d forgotten, then strode into the bathroom to pack toiletries.

The confrontation with Kenna and her father had left her shaken. She’d been so ready to believe awful things of the poor man. So focused on finding the truth that when she actually had discovered it, and found it didn’t match her expectation she was speechless. She hadn’t even apologized to them—just stood there on the sidewalk with Jace at her side as Kenna and her father turned and walked back to their home.

Theirs was a family dealing with real pain, a real crisis. She still couldn’t understand why Kenna couldn’t have just said that the scars on her back were a result of an injury she sustained in a fire. But then, what right did she have to expect that a complete stranger would open up and spill her guts just because she demanded it?

Despite what pain this family had been through, they were still a family.

She couldn’t wrap her head around Jace’s actions either. They’d talked through the repercussions of his involvement and agreed that he should stay out of it so as not to damage his relationship with Rory.

She knew how much his relationship with Rory mattered—it mattered more than anything. But when he thought she was in trouble, he’d cast that aside and rushed to her aid.

She still didn’t know what to make of that. And the fact that despite his apparent willingness to let her go to the meeting alone, he followed her. He risked his family’s cohesive strength for her.

It was time for her to stop being such a wuss and confront her own demons. It would take an hour at most to drive to her sister’s house for a long overdue confrontation to finally clear up this blight on their relationship and get their family—fractured as it was—back together.

She zipped her wash bag, flicked off the light and carried her stuff out to the car.

The day was bright and cloudless, washed new by the previous night’s rain. Ally wound down the window and sang along to the radio as she drove.

Every assignment she took, every dream she shattered, brought pain. For her, the assignment ended once cheating, or the propensity to cheat, had been established. But for her clients that knowledge was only the tip of the iceberg. Was only the starting point for the rest of their lives. She’d always believed that once she stamped Cheater on the front of their file, it should mean the end of a couple’s relationship. That there was no going back once trust had been lost. But what did that mean for people like Jace in his relationship with Rory?

He’d broken faith with his son. In doing so, his immediate driving force was to explain himself, was to beg for Rory’s forgiveness.

Her father had made a stupid mistake too. One that had caused him to lose not only his wife but his daughter. Suppressed memories flashed through her mind as the miles counted down to her destination. He’d been a good father. Theirs had been a happy family. Yes, he cheated, but now the way she reacted seemed harsh and cruel. He’d tried to call her, had been desperate for her forgiveness, and in response, she’d been cold and unforgiving. Maybe it was time to accept that even those you love the most are only human. That one mistake shouldn’t have to define the rest of your life.

She just hoped Rory would be less judgmental than she had been. That he’d realize that love was more powerful than a stupid mistake.

Nerves fluttered in her chest as Belle’s house came into view. She moistened her dry lips with the tip of her tongue and glanced at her reflection.

Here goes. She flicked on the turn signal and pulled up outside the house.

There were three cars parked in the driveway. As it was a weekend, everyone was home. She smoothed a hand over her hair and pressed the doorbell. The house was familiar and yet not. They’d made some changes to the exterior, cosmetic ones, the front door was painted dark green when once it had been red, and Belle had opened up borders under the front windows and planted them with bright perennials.

Ally’s mouth was dry. For a moment, nerves almost got the better of her, but before she could act on them and turn away, she heard the sound of someone walking to the front door. Then the door opened. Her sister’s eyes widened.

“Ally?” A smile broke out over Belle’s face and she stepped forward to engulf Ally in a hug. “I don’t believe it! What are you doing here?”

“I told you I would be nearby. I know you said not to visit, but it seemed too good an opportunity to pass up.”

“Aunt Ally!” Her niece and nephew had followed their mother to the front door and ran forward to hug her. The joy on their faces—the fact that both of them had grown so tall in the year since she’d seen them—brought tears to Ally’s eyes. She blinked them away.

“I know you have a full house, I’m not planning on staying.”

“Come in.” Belle stood back to allow her sister’s entrance. “Kids, give your aunt some room.”

The kids ran in the direction of the kitchen, no doubt tell the other people in the house who had arrived.

Belle’s face sobered. She touched Ally’s arm and stared into her face. “You need to prepare yourself. There’s something I haven’t told you. Promise you’ll think before you act. Don’t blow up about this.”

Did her sister really feel she was such a hothead that she’d react without thinking? “Of course.”

Belle gripped her arm tight. “I’m glad to see you. I’ve missed you. I tried to persuade Mom to see you—I told her it was time—but she was scared. Don’t let me down, Ally.”

“You’re worrying me.”

“It’s not bad. Not unless you make it so. Come to the kitchen.”

They started down the corridor and met Lewis coming out of the kitchen to greet them with both kids in tow. “Hi, Ally. It’s good to see you.” Lewis kissed her cheek. “The kids and I will be back in a few minutes, we’re taking a trip to the store.” He cast a glance full of hidden meaning to Belle.

“Thanks, baby.”

The sight that met Ally’s eyes when they entered the kitchen was something she never would have expected.

* * *

She felt like the missing card in a pack of Happy Families. Because the full hand was here—sitting in her sister’s kitchen. Her mother, Melissa Moore, sat at the kitchen table and her father David stood behind her with one hand on her shoulder. The defensive look on her parents’ faces; the fact that neither of them took a step forward to greet her, chilled her heart.

They obviously expected rejection. When had she become such an unapproachable monster that her parents felt like this?

She could pepper them with questions. She could react just as her sister feared she would by slinging accusations around, by ranting and raving and forcing her opinion onto them.

Or she could handle it differently.

“Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad.” With a small smile, she sat at the kitchen table opposite her parents. “Good to see you both.”

The silence in the room was deafening. “Is anybody going to offer me a cup of coffee? I’m dying with caffeine withdrawal here.”

“I’m on it.” Belle was instantly on the move.

“How have you been, Ally?” Her father’s features were pinched, and her mother looked in danger of having a heart attack.

“I’ve been busy.” It was better to avoid the topic of work, and the situation with Jace was so up in the air and tenuous, she wasn’t inclined to mention anything about her love life—not when the evidence of her parents’ renewed relationship hung unacknowledged between them. “It’s good to see you.”

Her father’s hand tightened on her mother’s shoulder, and then he was rounding the table to her. A smile he couldn’t repress transformed his features. Ally stood up and hugged him, just hugged him, for the longest time. His familiar scent surrounded her. She’d missed him. Missed all of them so much, and hadn’t realized it until this moment.

When finally he let her go, she looked up into his face then across the table to her mother’s.

There were tears in her mother’s eyes. Tears she’d put there. “I’m sorry, Mom. I’m sorry for everything.” It wasn’t for her to decide when her parents’ relationship was over. It wasn’t for her to judge. “I guess you have something to tell me?”

Melissa Moore brushed the tears away. Her mouth curved in a tremulous smile. “I’m so glad you’re here, honey. I’ve missed you so much. Dad and I decided we wanted to give our marriage another try, but we didn’t know how to tell you.”

“I made a stupid mistake.” David Moore’s expression was bleak. “I lost the things most important to me. I’m so grateful to have been given another chance.”

“Dad asked me to marry him again. I haven’t given him an answer yet, because I couldn’t stand the thought of a wedding without you in it, but we’d decided to sell the house in Seattle and have been looking at property here in Portland to be closer to the grandkids.” Melissa stood up and embraced her younger daughter. “Can you stay? I feel like now we found you again, I don’t want to let you go.”

“I can only stay a few hours. I have to fly back to Seattle tomorrow.” Belle and Lewis had their hands full; it wasn’t fair to burden them with another person staying without notice. And besides, she had somewhere else to be tonight. She needed to find out how Jake’s call to Rory had gone. More selfishly, she wanted to spend every available moment she could with him.

“You’ll stay for dinner, though, right?” Belle asked.

“Who’s cooking?”

When her sister playfully punched her arm and grinned it felt almost as though they’d traveled back in time, back to a period when nothing could destroy the bond they shared.

Minutes turned into hours as Ally caught up with her family’s news. Lewis, Phil, and Megan returned from the store—an expedition that Ally was pretty sure had been engineered by her brother-in-law to give them a chance to talk. He wasn’t such a bad guy really; the traits she’d previously seen as domineering and overbearing she could now see were just a guy trying to keep the peace. Trying to protect his family from outside, destructive influences.

She’d always seen her father as the destructive one. Nobody was denying that it was his actions and his actions alone that had ripped their family apart, but she’d had a hand in it too.

It was in her makeup to search out truth. She didn’t regret for a moment following up her suspicions and finding her father with his mistress, but she did regret the way she reacted. The way she refused to listen—refused to forgive. And had made it so difficult for her mother and her older sister to approach her once the divorce was final.

After sharing a delicious plate of her sister’s famous casserole, followed by apple pie, cream, and coffee, it was time to leave.

She slipped out onto the back porch to call Jace. Belle followed. “I’m sorry to have forced your hand. I know Lewis didn’t want me here.”

Belle sat on one of the Adirondack chairs that graced the deck. “It’s not so much that he didn’t want you; it’s more that he didn’t want to get into a discussion with the kids about your job.” She blew out a breath. “They’ve been very upset about Mom and Dad’s divorce, and Megan’s best friend’s parents are going through a break up now too. And unfortunately, the mother is telling her daughter all the sordid details.” She shoved her hair back from her face, and gripped onto the chair’s arms, her back ramrod straight. “It’s been challenging, to say the least.”

“I understand.” Megan was only twelve; it was a sensitive age at the best of times, and young to have to have her dreams of happy ever after shattered. No wonder they wanted to avoid explaining what exactly a honeytrapping agency did. “I’ll be on the road in a couple of minutes, I just have to make a call.”

Belle nodded. “I’ll leave you to it.”

Ally rang Jace’s number.

“How did it go?” he asked.

“I’ll tell you in person. I should be home in an hour or so.”

“See you then.”

She terminated the call and shoved the phone into her pocket. Home. She hadn’t had to clarify the word; they both knew whose house she considered home. She had an apartment in Seattle, a job to go back to and one hell of an uncertain future, but tonight she had somewhere to be.