Page 40 of Key West Promises

"I see I have a lot to catch up on," she said quietly.

"Yes," Chelsea said, moving to stand beside Kaitlyn. "You do. I suggest we all go back to our place. And then," she met her sister's eyes steadily, "then we all need to talk."

CHAPTER 17

The yellow bungalow felt smaller than usual with all five Lawrence women gathered in the living room. Ernest watched from his perch on the porch railing, his literary criticism apparently extending to family drama.

Chelsea automatically moved to make coffee—a Lawrence sister tradition when facing difficult conversations.

"So," Chelsea said finally, passing out mugs. "We're all here."

"Yes," Gretchen replied, perched on the edge of the sofa like she might flee at any moment. "I suppose we are."

Kaitlyn stood by the window, arms crossed, looking more like her mother than she'd probably want to acknowledge. Tess and Leah sat together on the loveseat, presenting a united front as they always had during family crises.

"I didn't plan for any of this," Gretchen began, but Kaitlyn's sharp laugh cut her off.

"Really, Mom? You didn't plan to hide my sister from me for years? To let me think Dad just…what? Forgot about me? Moved on without a backward glance?"

"I was trying to protect you."

"Don't." Chelsea's voice was quiet but firm. "Don't say that, Gretchen. That's exactly what Mom used to say when she made us keep her secrets. When she turned us against each other to hide her own choices."

The comparison seemed to hit Gretchen like a physical blow. She pressed her hands to her face, shoulders shaking. "I've become her, haven't I? I've become exactly what I swore I never would."

"We all did, in different ways," Tess said softly. "Remember those Sunday dinners? How Mom would make us all dress up, pretend everything was perfect while Dad drank himself numb in his study?"

"And if anyone slipped," Leah added, "if anyone showed a crack in the perfect facade…"

"The silent treatment," all four sisters said in unison, then shared a pained laugh at the shared memory.

Kaitlyn turned from the window. "Is that what this is about? Your childhood trauma bleeding into my life?"

"Kaitlyn," Chelsea started, but her niece wasn't finished.

"No, I want to understand. You all sit here talking about how terrible it was, being forced to keep secrets, to maintain appearances. Meanwhile, I've spent my whole life doing exactly that—crafting the perfect social media presence, pretending everything was fine, never knowing there was a whole other family out there. A sister who probably doesn't even know I exist."

"She does," Gretchen said quietly.

The room went still.

"What?" Kaitlyn's voice cracked.

"Sarah knows about you. Jeffrey…your father…he told her last night. That's why—" Gretchen swallowed hard. "That's why he wants to come to Key West. They both do."

"No." Kaitlyn started pacing. "No, absolutely not. I can't…I can't handle that right now. The fundraiser's in three days, and I have responsibilities, and I just…I can't."

"Breathe, honey," Chelsea said, moving to intercept her niece's nervous movement. "No one's saying it has to be now."

"Actually," Gretchen admitted, "Jeffrey wanted to come right away, but I told him to wait. After the fundraiser. To give us time to…to figure out how to do this right."

"Do what right?" Kaitlyn demanded. "Have some awkward family reunion where we all pretend the past sixteen years didn't happen?"

"No pretending," Leah said firmly. "That's what got us here in the first place."

"But how would this even work?" Kaitlyn sank onto the sofa, though notably not next to her mother. "Practically, I mean. Where would they stay? What would we do? Just sit around sharing family stories that half of us weren't part of?"

"They could stay at the Cypress House," Tess suggested. "Neutral territory. And we could plan some structured activities—maybe start with lunch somewhere public but quiet."

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