Page 93 of Cabin Fever

"Should I invite Whitney?" Bea asked to no one but her phone.

"Ugh, if you girls wish. I don't think she's interested in that sort of thing. You know Whitney . . ."

My mother didn't care for my father's other children. She tolerated them but not much else. To her, Whitney was phony. Pretending to be sweet and kind and going out of her way to help others. The truth was that Whitney was a good person. My mother wanted an excuse to hate her, so she made one up instead.

"I just texted her and she can't go anyway. She wants to be there to help Father home from the hospital," Bea said, picking at her hash.

"That's what we should do. I think Dad would like that," I said and smiled in hope at my mother.

"Why would we do that? He has his driver and assistant. And apparently, his other daughter." My mother rolled her eyes mentioning the last part.

"Whitney, Mom. Her name is Whitney," I said.

"Fine, Whitney. He'll have a team. We'll only be in the way. Besides, I haven't had an outing with my girls in so long."

"We went to the spa together just before we left for the wedding," Bea added, finally looking up from her phone.

"Yes, that was a month and a half ago. A wedding that didn't end up happening, by the way. Your father was not happy when you disappeared, Olivia."

I avoided this conversation long enough. It was time for me to face my mom and be honest about what happened.

"Derrick was such a nice boy. Your father talks about what a hard worker he is at the company," my mom said as she pushed some hair from my eyes.

"Brown-noser is more like it," Bea mumbled but my mom's selective hearing didn't pick it up.

"And that ring he gave you. I just can't believe you left it behind."

I groaned. She was more upset about the large diamond ring he placed on my finger than actually leaving him at the altar. Figures.

"Mom, stop. He's not the great guy you think he is. He cheated on me."

That put a stop to anything my mother could come up with. She had opened her mouth to add another thingshe just couldn't believeI did to her list when I dropped the cheating bomb.

"Is it with anyone we know?" Her eyes slid to the floor as her jaw tightened.

"Kiki. Our cousin."

The corner of her mouth twitched. "You mean Tabitha's niece?"

Tabitha was Whitney's mom and my father's second wife. His first wife was Kat. They had a son, my half-brother, Konrad. Their marriage lasted about two years and then Tabitha walked into my father's life.

He was married to her long enough to get her pregnant. Then my father left Tabitha for Declan and Dane's mother, Sloan. I felt bad for Tabitha. My father was pretty bad to her, leaving her pregnant and yet, Whitney was always sweet to my dad.

My father lasted another two years with Sloan until my mom said hi to him at a party one night. He's been with my mother since. I guess fourth time's a charm.

If anyone was the asshole in the family, it was my dad. He had four wives, and that still dumbfounded me. I loved him but he's not the most likable guy.

"Yes, that Kiki."

"Then she's not invited to the party. I am mentally crossing her off the list."

Surprisingly, that was a punishment. When my mother threw a party, everyone wanted to be there. If you were snubbed by her, then you were snubbed by everyone.

"Is Derrick not invited, too?" I asked with apprehension. He did work with my father, and my mother always invited the executives at his company. My father made it clear that the company was like a second family and the people there must be welcomed by our family. Since Bea and Konrad worked there, it wasn't hard for my mother to invite the people over.

"Of course not, baby. He may still work for your father, but he won't be welcome here. When he finds out what Derrick did, I'm sure he'll fire him."

"Good," Bea said, surprising us. "He's not good at his job. The only thing he's good at is sucking up to the right people."

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