Page 118 of Beach Vibes

His mouth twisted. “You were so grateful when Agatha and Dale came to get us, but I wanted to stay where I was. Only I didn’t have a choice. Still, Eleanor and I kept in touch. She was my mentor in college. She’s the one who helped pay for medicalschool.” His tone sounded reverent. “She’s a great, great woman.”

Beth felt sick to her stomach. Was he telling the truth? Had the last twenty years been a lie?

“This Eleanor person is the reason you act the way you do with women?”

“No. I act the way I do because I like it.”

“Did you ever care about Jana?”

“Sure. She’s great. At some point I want to get married and have kids. She was a contender.”

She felt a little sick to her stomach. “But you were never in love with her.”

“Love is for suckers.”

“Galaxy thinks you’re in love. You’ve been dating her for nine months. Is she a contender, too?”

“Of course. While she’s not the brightest bulb, her father is brilliant. My son could be a genius.”

The calculation of his words left her mentally gasping. “I can’t reconcile what you’re saying with the ten-year-old boy who tried to save me.”

Rick rolled his eyes. “I was a kid. What did I know?”

His casual dismissal burned. “But I’m your sister. I sacrificed for you.”

“Oh, please. What did you do?”

She thought about the money she’d saved for culinary school and how she’d made the deal with her uncle to buy the business. But even as she prepared to mention those things to him, she knew there wasn’t any point. As hard as it was for her to accept—the man in front of her was telling the truth about himself.

Even so, she found herself saying, “I was always there for you. When you graduated from college and then medical school, I was right there in front, clapping the loudest.”

His cold gaze settled on her face. “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, clap.”

The blow would have been crippling, but she’d moved from feeling to numbness. All this time, she thought in disbelief, all these years. He’d never been her family. He hadn’t been anyone she’d thought. She’d loved him and supported him, and somewhere along the way, he’d become a monster.

She stood and walked to the front door. She held it open. Rick stared at her for several seconds, then walked out. He didn’t say anything, not even when he got in his car. She didn’t wait to watch him drive away.

Later, after she’d thrown up, then cried, then thrown up again, she went into the garage and got out the big bin where she kept all the mementos from when they were kids. She looked at photos and the silly handmade birthday cards Rick had given her. For the first time, she realized he’d stopped giving her cards after he’d come back from foster care.

Around dawn, she went into the kitchen to start coffee and saw that Agatha was already up. Her aunt smiled at her, then pulled out ingredients for breakfast.

“I’m in the mood for an omelet. What would you like in yours?”

Beth looked at the kind woman who had rearranged her entire life to take in two children she barely knew. No matter what, Agatha had been there for her, loving and supporting her.

“Rick’s gone,” she said quietly. “He came by last night because he was mad about losing Jana.” She sank onto a kitchen chair and quickly recapped what had happened. “The things he said.” She looked at her aunt. “You were right about him. Why couldn’t I see it?”

“Because you love him, and it’s not in your nature to think the worst of anyone.” Agatha settled next to her and hugged her. “I’m sorry.”

“I can’t feel it yet. I don’t know my own brother. I haven’t known him in years. I thought we were tight, but he was onlyusing me because it was easy. I lied for him. I lost Jana and Teddy for him. He was my family, and now he’s gone.”

Agatha hung on tight. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You believed in him, and that makes you a good person.”

“It makes me a fool.”

“No.” Her aunt drew back and shook her head. “Don’t say that. It’s never wrong to give your heart. You sacrificed out of love, because that’s who you are. Rick’s the broken one, not you.”

“But I didn’t know.”

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