“That’s not true, Allie. I do care, and I could never replace your mother. Never.”

“May I say something?” Karen stood in the doorway, dressed in a skirt and blouse, her glasses gone, her hair combed.

“No,” Allie all but snarled at her.

“Yes,” her dad said.

Karen stepped into the room. “It’s very normal to feel anger when a parent moves on.”

Seriously, a lecture about feelings? This strange woman stood her ass in Mom’s kitchen, then had the nerve to talk about moving on?

Allie stared at the rooster clock and fought for calm. She pressed her shoulders down and took a deep breath, held it for a couple of seconds, then turned back to the woman. “Karen, if you don’t mind, I’d like a private conversation with my father?”

“She can say what she likes. This concerns her too.” Her dad suddenly looked down at the burning pancake. “Shit.” He grabbed the pan, tossed it into the sink, then reached over and flipped the stove switch.

“It doesn’t concern her, it concerns the family.”

“Allie’s right, Brian.” She walked toward him and kissed his cheek. “Call me later.” She smiled at Allie. “It was nice meeting you.”

Allie remained silent until she heard the front door close. “You are unbelievable. You’ve known this woman a week and suddenly she gets to pop off about our family? What are you going to do about Monica? And Brynn? Or are you too busy sexing up your girlfriend to worry about them?”

Ignoring the dig, he leaned against the counter and folded his arms. “What do you want me to do about Monica? What can I do? And I was going to call you about Brynn today. It’s time she came home.”

Allie shook her head. “Forget it. She’s not coming back if you’re letting that woman sleep here.”

His expression closed down. “I’ll do what I like in my house, Allison. And Brynn is my daughter. First, you want me to act like a father, then you veto my decisions. And you’re right, it’s past time I started pulling my head out of my ass. Brynn comes home today.”

“That’s before I knew you were having sex with Karen. Can’t you see how messed up that is?”

“This won’t happen when Brynn’s here. I want her home by tonight. She has school tomorrow.”

“But—”

“It’s not open for discussion.” He gave her his back and hit the taps, filling the sink with water.

Allie felt like she’d been sucker punched. She had done everything she could for him, for their family. And now he was dismissing her.

She watched his tense movements for a moment as he scrubbed at the pan. When he refused to look at her again, she left.

***

Trevor stood at the window, staring out at the garden. He had more than enough work to keep him occupied, but he couldn’t maintain his concentration this morning. What did she think of the car? Was she pleased? He didn’t know why she would be, it was a piece of rubbish, and no matter much paint they applied, it was still an eyesore.

Allie knocked on the door and leaned into the room. “Sorry to bother you again.”

He turned to her and smiled. “No bother.” She looked worried. She always did after a go-round with her family. They put too much on her, expected more than they should. Her father seemed something of a cockup since Allie’s mother died, and it all fell on her slender shoulders. “Want to take a walk?”

He held out his hand. As she moved forward, he watched the slight sway of her hips, her pretty, long legs. Even her sandal-clad feet were lovely, the tips painted pale pink to match her dress. He obviously needed to get laid. Badly.

She placed her hand in his, and they walked through the French doors and around the side of the house toward the roses. “I take it things didn’t go well with your father?” He wove his fingers with hers as they made their way to the stone path.

“How can you tell?”

He glanced down at her. “What happened?”

“He spent the night with Karen. She was still there this morning, barely dressed, and he was making after-sex pancakes. He wants Brynn home today.”

He led her to a shaded bench. She sat next to him and blew out a breath. “Brynn doesn’t want to go back. She doesn’t like Karen, and after seeing her wearing my father’s T-shirt, I don’t like her either.”

“It’s where Brynn belongs, love. At home with your father.”

“What if she runs away again?”

Trevor slid his arm across the back of the bench and pressed her head to his shoulder. She felt rather nice there. And her hair smelled fresh and citrusy. He rested his cheek on top of it. “Well, I wish I had some words of wisdom for you. But you’ve talked to your father, you’ve played mother to your sister, even though that’s not your job. And you’ve attempted numerous times to save Monica from being an idiot.”

Allie lifted her head and glowered at him. “Thanks for the wrap-up. I know what I’ve done, but none of that has worked. What am I supposed to do now?”

“How about nothing?” He stroked his thumb along her bare shoulder.

She placed her hand on his thigh and twisted her body toward him. “I’m not following. What does that mean? I can’t just sit around and twiddle my thumbs.” When he opened his mouth to speak, she pointed a finger at him. “And I don’t want to hear about twiddling your dork.”

He scoffed. She knew him too well.

“Second of all, I can’t just do nothing. I’m not a do-nothing type of girl. I’m a fix-it type of girl.”

Trevor nodded and gathered a handful of her hair. He ran his fingers down the length of it, released it, and started the process all over again. “All right then. Fix it.”

“Yes, that’s what I’m talking about.” She patted his leg. “How?”

“First—and this is the important part, darling, so pay attention—you must have a proper magic wand. Then, you wave it over your disgruntled family…”

She slapped his thigh. “You’ve got nothing? No ideas, no magic bullet, nada?”

“You see what a roaring success I’ve had with my own family.”

She pressed her lips together. “Point taken.”

“Maybe things will work themselves out.”

“Uh-huh. When was the last time that happened?”

“There’s always a first time for everything, love.”

With her mouth pulled to one side, she peered up at him. “By the way, thanks for my car.” She leaned toward him and kissed his cheek.

“You’re welcome. And it’s still ugly.”

“This doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven you,” she said. “Not completely.”

“Understood.”

***

Allie strolled back to the house. She needed to tell Brynn it was time to go home. She left Trevor on the bench and a smile crept over her lips when she thought about him sitting next to her, stroking her. He was always touching her, rubbing his hand across her shoulder, twisting a strand of hair around his finger—very tactile, and she liked that.

As she stepped into the hallway outside of Trevor’s office, she ran into Mags. “Is he in a better mood or still shirty?”

“If shirty means cranky, then I think he’s better. He’s out in the garden.”

Mags’s brows lifted. “Really? Doesn’t he have important work to do?”

“I don’t know, but we spent the past thirty minutes outside.”

“Well done. Now, let’s reconvene in the foyer in twenty minutes. We have so much to buy.”

She sashayed toward the main part of the house. Allie shook her head and watched those hips glide from side to side as Trevor’s mother walked away. Maybe Mags could teach her how to do that. It was an art form.

Allie found Brynn in the kitchen, rolling pie crust with Mrs. Hubert. Hands on her hips, the older woman watched Brynn’s movements with a critical eye.

“You need to build some muscles, girl. Put some elbow grease into it.”

Brynn stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth and pressed down, rolling the dough, making it thinner.

“Brynn, can I talk to you for a second?” Allie asked.

Mrs. Hubert glanced up and nodded. “Go on now. We’ll make an omelet tomorrow.”