Her Final Watch (A Detective Blanchette Mystery Book 2)
Page 26
Lily brought her trembling fingers to her lips. “I’d love to be Mrs. York.”
Evan beamed as he stood and slid the princess cut diamond on her finger. “We’re in this for the long haul.”
“Forever.”
As Lily and Evan kissed, cheers erupted from the crowd, followed by a thunderous applause across the room.
Deena stepped up to Lily and Evan. “This is a magical occasion. My daughter and the man she loves are finally going to be married.”
“Wow, another home run for the flower of the family. Lily.” Haley emerged from behind the thick of the crowd, walked up to the center of the room and stood next to Deena. She raised her glass of wine. “It’s always good to have wonderful family news to share. Isn’t that right, Deena?”
Deena took a step forward. “Haley you’ve been drinking.”
“Here comes Deena just in the time to save her favorite daughter.” Haley stumbled, bumping into the Christmas tree.
It rocked.
Sharon took Haley by the arm. “It’s okay, sweetie. You’ve had a lot of fun. It’s time to go lie down.”
Haley wrenched free from Sharon’s grasp. “No. I think we should continue sharing news. It’s about time I got what I wanted, right Deena?” She staggered.
Deena clutched Haley’s arm. “Stop it this instant. You’re out of control.”
“As opposed to being in control. Like mother like daughter. We both know how much you wanted your daughters to be mirror images of you. Perfect and obedient. Although Lily has managed to escape and do things her way. How did you do that Lily? Cause I sure haven’t been able to do so. I’ve been tied to Deena, like some lost puppy waiting for her to decide when to bring me home.”
Lily stomach wrenched with foreboding. She walked up to Haley. “Whatever you want to talk about should be done in private,” she said, placing her hand on Haley’s back, leading her out of the front room.
Haley eyed Lily. “Are you ashamed of me too? Your own sister.”
Evan caught up with Lily. “You want my help?”
“I’ll be okay,” Lily replied, continuing to walk away from the party.
“My daughters will join me in the sitting room. Everyone else, drink and eat. There’s plenty.” Deena jabbed her finger at the DJ.
The Christmas music resumed, and everyone restarted the party.
*
Haley followed Lily and Deena into the sitting room, a place she hadn’t been invited to view during her other visits. It had a Cathedral ceiling and L-shaped plush sofas running parallel with an area rug.
Thin drapes shaped the ceiling-to-floor windows that provided a panoramic view of Christmas lights decorating the bushes and hedges in the backyard.
Tears stung Haley’s lids while heartbreak rested in her chest. This was too much. See what happens when you let someone in? I should’ve never told Deena that I knew she was my real mother. I’d be a much happier person.
Haley looked at the sister she’d begged her mother to let her meet. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want it to come out like this. I was going to wait until we all brought in the New Years.”
Frustration etched Lily’s face. “You’re not sorry. I’m aware that you’re my sister and have been for some time. I’m sure you did it to hurt Mother.”
“Blaming me won’t change what Deena did.”
“And calling our mother out in front of a room full of people won’t change the past. Mother has been going through a lot. She has—”
Screams erupted outside the doors of the sitting room. “Selfie,” said a female voice.
“Has what?” Haley asked.
“Let’s handle the issue at hand.” Deena’s flats padded along the carpet towards the Queen Anne chair.
Haley said, “I did it to become a part of the family. I didn’t find out until Aunt Jackie died that I’d been given up for adoption. I’ve been waiting for a long time to meet you, Lily.”
Lily turned to Deena. “When were you going to tell me I had a sister?”
There was no anger in Lily’s eyes. It was more like curiosity. She’d just admitted to knowing that she had a sister for a while, but remained silent about it. Why didn’t she seek me out?
“So many years had passed.” Deena exhaled. “Even after our talk in my room, when I caressed your hair and apologized, you’re still mad at me?”
“You’ve opened old wounds, again.”
Deena grasped the crucifix that dangled loosely around her neck. “Then now is the time to express what’s truly in your heart. Let me have it. What is it you want to tell me?”
Lily said, “After everything we’ve been through this past year, I thought you have been honest with me about anything pertaining to our family.”
“I never lied to you.”
“Not to my face. But you’ve withheld the truth from me. I had to find out by reading a letter from our deposit box. A letter that you wrote on the new stationery that you purchased this month.”
“If I was trying to hide that you had an older sister from you why would I keep such revealing documents in a place where I knew you had access?”
“Because you knew I had access. You knew that I would eventually find the letter you wrote to Haley. I’m sure you hoped it’d give you a pass when things with Haley went bad. You wanted to come out looking like the victim in this mess.”
“That’s absurd.” Deena sat in the chair and folded her hands in her lap. “Why should my motivations even be in question here?”
Lily took a step toward towards Deena. “Then explain why you didn’t say anything until you were forced to?”
There it was. The question Haley had asked her mother several times but had never gotten an answer.
“I was young and had no idea what I was doing. I wanted to keep my baby, but your grandmother didn’t want the embarrassment of having a pregnant teen daughter. To keep prying from others to a minimum, my mother shipped me off to the seminary and made arrangements for your Aunt Jackie to care for your sister.”
For a moment Haley’s mind darkened. She wanted to shout, Why couldn’t you answer me when I asked the exact same question. Was she an embarrassment to her mother as Deena was to hers?
A knot formed in her belly. My grandmother is the one who set this whole thing in motion. Did Deena mean what she said? Did she really want to keep me? If so, Haley’s mission had failed. She had wanted Deena to feel the hurt she was feeling inside.
There probably wasn’t much she could do to salvage the relationship she wanted with Lily and Deena, but she needed to try. “Where do I fit in with this family?”
“Oh stop. You’ve always been a part of this family. You just don’t remember,” Deena said.
“I remember the lies,” Haley yelled. “I remember being at camp and seeing you holding hands with Dad while you were married to another man.”
“This is a mess.” Lily asked, “When did you find out you were adopted?”
“Not until Aunt Jackie got sick.”
“None of us predicted Jackie would die from a stroke.” Deena lifted her head. “It wasn’t until she got sick that she asked me to make sure my daughter was well situated financially. I’ve taken steps to help Haley establish herself in the real estate business and eventually she’ll be running Blanchette Realty.”
“Okay. I’m done with this discussion.” Lily pressed her hand against her tummy and took small steps toward Deena. “It took me a while to forgive you for the first lie about my biological father. This latest secret and the underlying tidbit about summer camp was another huge blow to me. But I’m not angry with you, Mother. Just hurt.
“I almost lost my life, twice. I’m going to become a mom. Although you’re set in your ways of mothering, some of which I don’t understand, it’s important to me that you’re a part of my baby’s life.
“I meant every word I said to you when we were in your room. I’ll be there the best that I can to help you during your fight with cancer. I promise.”
>
A smile tightened on Lily’s face as she walked over to Haley. “Quick question. Are you the one who broke into my truck and left a postcard from the summer camp we used to attend?”
Haley looked over at her mother then back at her sister. There was no doubt this was probably a trick question. Was she doing it to embarrass her? Or maybe it was an attempt to make her look bad so she didn’t have to share her wealth with another sister. Mother’s reaction would surely be, “Poor Lily.”
But if she had proof it was me, wouldn’t she just call me on it? Whatever the reason, she felt it was better to avoid telling the truth, at least until she’d changed her last name to Blanchette. After that, everything was fair game. She was going to get what was rightfully hers, all thirty-nine years of it.
“Nope. It wasn’t me,” Haley said, looking her younger sister straight in the eye.
“Welcome to the world of being Deena Blanchette’s daughter,” Lily said, hugging Haley. “I hope you know what you’re getting into.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Another thing, if I find out you’ve lied to me, you and I are going to have some one-on-one sister time.”
Lily stepped out of the embrace and left.
Haley trembled as she glanced at her mom. “You didn’t tell Lily everything.”
The smile Deena had displayed for Lily disappeared.
“Lily’s a cop,” Deena said, adjusting the lace coverup for her evening gown. “I’m sure she has figured out that you two share the same father.”
The vein in Deena’s temple pulsed.
Even after everything that happened, Haley wanted to give her mother a hug and let her know that she’d be there during her battle with cancer too. Her feet felt glued to the rug. Would Deena reject her again? Was she going to lose her job at Blanchette Realty? How long would she stay mad at her? The contempt etched on Deena’s face told Haley that she’d had just made a big mistake.
Chapter 35
Thirty minutes later, the New Year’s Eve party was in full swing. The noise from family members and friends doubled in decibels as they imbibed, watching the final countdown on the big screen television hoisted above the fireplace.
Off in another corner, others munched on the vast choices of cheeses, crackers, and meats while holding a conversation focused on their upcoming vacation getaway to warmer states.
Lily looked over at the grandfather clock. 11:52 p.m. She made eye contact with Evan across the room.
He smiled.
In eight more minutes, they would start the New Year off with a clean slate and put the old one behind them. Lily wondered what the next year would bring.
As Lily downed her apple cider, she saw Haley headed in her direction. Crap. “Hey. Enjoying the party?”
“What did you mean about what I was getting into?”
“I meant that being Deena Blanchette’s daughter comes with high expectations. As you know our mother likes to be involved in every aspect of her children’s lives. Planning everything down to the smallest detail.”
“I’m a grown woman. Deena can’t just intrude into my private life.”
“Mother’s already done so. She’s named you heir to Blanchette Realty; a company that she has devoted most of her life to. Last year, she went global. I’m beginning to think she dreams about selling luxury homes.”
“You’re joking, right?” Haley asked, snatching up a glass of champagne as a server passed by.
Lily nodded. “Don’t get me wrong, our mother loves us. Just be prepared to butt heads with the matriarch of the family.”
“I’ve come too far to not butt heads with our dear mother,” Haley mumbled.
“Pardon me?”
“Nothing.”
Liar.
Chapter 36
As the final countdown for the New Year approached, Evan grabbed Lily by the waist and pulled him to her. “This is your last chance to back out. Because once we say, “I Do,” in front of everyone, you’re stuck with me.”
Lily laughed. “Actually it should be me asking you that question. You’re going to marry into a family filled with a bunch of alpha females.” She stole a glance at Haley over in the corner talking to Nick.
She was going to be a wife, a mother and have her family together. She was also going to have to help her Mother get through chemo and keep an eye on Haley. Her new big sister had a chip on her shoulder and Lily couldn’t help but think there was going to be trouble.
Evan said, “Tell me that you’re happy that I asked you to marry me.”
“I’m very happy. Also, don’t forget to call Gus. I promised him I’d ask you about making him your best man.”
“I’ll call him tomorrow.” Evan pointed at Alec who had captivated a small group of ladies as he entertained them with his robot moves. “Not sure how he’ll take it.”
Lily chuckled.
The DJ slowed the music down and pointed at the clock. “It’s that time ladies and gents. Find someone that you want to bring in the New Year with and start counting!”
The crowd shouted, “Five, Four, Three, Two, One. Happy New Year’s.”
Auld Lang Syne played as everyone toasted, danced, hugged and kissed.
Lily looked up and raised her glass of apple cider. “To you, Dad.”
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36