Beth’s father sighed and smiled at his daughter and Sam. “Congratulations, you two. Now, I’ve been smelling that turkey roasting for hours. How long before we eat?”
“Phillip?” Ellie cried. “Are you insane?”
“Nope. I’m hungry.”
“Just need to mash the potatoes and slice the turkey and we’re ready to eat,” Sunshine said. “Sam, would you mind carving the bird?”
“I’d be honored.” He headed into the kitchen, pulling Beth in with him.
The perfectly roasted turkey sat on a cutting board in the kitchen with a knife and a pronged fork.
Phillip returned to reading his book and Ellie stood in the center of the room as if she didn’t know what to do with herself.
Beth began placing food on the table. Sam noticed how she stole glances in his direction, smiling as she moved about the kitchen.
“I refuse to be a party to this farce,” Ellie announced.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Sunshine told her sister. “It’s Thanksgiving. We both have a great deal to be grateful for. Come sit and enjoy the bounty.”
“Mother, please,” Beth added, gently pleading with her mother.
For his part, Sam was ready to call her a taxi, but Beth might not appreciate the suggestion.
“Ellie,” Phillip added forcefully. “Sit down and keep your mouth closed for once in your life. Our daughter loves a good man.”
“A mechanic who drinks beer? Heaven help us. What am I going to tell my friends?”
“What friends?” Phillip asked. “Far as I can see, you associate with a bunch of gossip-mongers. Time for you to realize that.” Setting his book aside, he stood, hugged his daughter, and shook Sam’s hand before he pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. As though paralyzed with shock, Ellie remained standing alone in the middle of the living room. After several minutes, she exhaled, tilted her chin at a proud angle, and joined the others.
Sam thought Ellie was about to break into tears, but she managed to hold herself together. Phillip rubbed his hands and smiled. “Looks like a feast to me. Since Sam is carving the turkey, I’ll say grace.”
“Dad,” Beth whispered, and it sounded a little like a plea.
Ellie closed her eyes. “Phillip, please.”
Beth’s father waited until he had everyone’s attention and then instructed them to join hands.
He bowed his head. Sam did as well, although he had no idea what had concerned both of the women in the other man’s life.
“Good friends,” Phillip said, “good meat. Good God, let’s eat.”
Sam grinned. Yup, he was going to get along just fine with Beth’s father. He opened one eye and snuck a look at Beth, who was grinning, too.
Thanksgiving had gone as well as could be expected, and Sam was pleased.
Chapter 33
Sunshine
Sunshine’s Thanksgiving dinner had turned out far better than she’d expected. This was her first experience cooking a turkey, and she’d spent copious amounts of time studying instructions off the Internet. Thankfully, it had baked to perfection and her stuffing wasn’t half bad, either. This Thanksgiving was vastly different from years past. It was the first time since their parents’ deaths that she had shared the holiday with family.
Correction—shared the day with blood relatives. In previous years, she’d spent major holidays with her artist friends and many were as close as family.
Relaxed now, savoring the silence and the comfort of her own company, she sat in her living room. Almost against her will, her thoughts wandered to Peter. She suspected he’d spent the day alone. Perhaps one of his daughters had invited him to join her or he’d been with friends.
Did Peter have friends? Her heart ached for him, for the bitterness that seemed to eat at his soul. Part of her yearned to reach out to him. She hesitated for fear that would do more harm than good, especially if he was in the same frame of mind as he’d been during their dinner. She was willing to give him a pass for the cruel words he’d said. Like her, he’d been in shock at the trick played on them. In light of their awkward dinner, all she was able to do was send him good wishes and positive thoughts.
Exhausted now, Sunshine headed into her bedroom, intent on reading until she fell asleep. The gathering with Sam and Beth’s parents had gone relatively well, she thought, as she undressed and slipped between the covers.
Sunshine saw the way Beth’s eyes had widened when Sam declared his love for her to Phillip and Ellie. The look on her sister’s face had been priceless. Ellie had been horror-struck, as if Beth had completely lost her mind.
Phillip was Sunshine’s hero. She had never fully appreciated her brother-in-law until these last few months. He knew Ellie better than anyone, and while he might not wear the pants in the family, he controlled the checkbook. Phillip wasn’t about to let Ellie have her way when it came to their daughter’s happiness.
Sitting up in bed, Sunshine reached for the novel she’d been reading for the last several nights. It was a whodunit and she’d gotten deeply involved in the plot. No sooner had she opened the book when her phone rang.
Friends had called on and off all day, but it was after eleven—too late for friends to touch base. She reached for her phone and didn’t recognize the number. She was about to let it go to voicemail when she noticed the area code was from Chicago.
“Hello,” she greeted tentatively. For no reason she could decipher, her heart raced at the speed of an Indy 500 car.
Silence.
“Hello,” she repeated, louder this time.
“Sunshine?”
She sat up straighter. How had she even guessed it could be him? “Peter?”
Silence.
“Happy Thanksgiving.” His voice sounded strange.
If her heart was racing, her mind was going at warp speed. “Are you okay?” she asked gently.
“Don’t think so.”
His words were slightly slurred. “Have you been drinking?”
“You could say that.” His laugh was more of a snicker. “You asked me on Saturday if I had a drinking problem.”
“I remember.”
“Do you remember what I told you?”
“No.” Her heart was pounding so hard she could hear the echo of it in her ear.
“I said, and it’s the honest truth, I didn’t until that day.” He snorted with a short-lived laugh. “Had more alcohol in the last week than in the last two years, and you know who I have to thank?”
“Me?” Not exactly a wild guess.
“Wrong. I blame that niece of yours. What’s her name again?”
“Beth.”
“Right.”
Sunshine set her book aside. “Peter,” she said gently, “Why are you calling me?”
“Why not? Do you want me to hang up, because I will?”
“How did you get my number?” she asked instead.
“I have my ways. It isn’t as difficult as you think.”
“Are you alone?” she asked, wondering if he was in any danger.
“Why do you want to know?”
She pressed the phone closer to her ear, unsure he’d like her answer. “I was thinking about you earlier.”
“Thought about you, too … every minute. Don’t want to. Don’t want you in my head, but you refuse to leave me alone and it’s driving me crazy.”
“You’ve been on my mind, too.”
He barked out a chilling laugh. “You pity me, don’t you?”
“No,” she answered honestly. “Though I am sad for you. I’d hoped you’d had a good life.”
“You’re not the only one. Answer me one question. Just one and then I’ll hang up and I swear by all I hold holy, which unfortunately is damn little, I’ll never contact you again.”
“No, don’t promise me that. I want you to feel free to call me if you’d like.”
Silence followed as if her words had shocked him.
Sunshine bit into the corner of her lip. “What is it you want to know?”
“Why you never married. I don’t understand it. Never have. Was it because of me, Sunshine? Did I destroy your ability to trust another man?”