Page 68 of Surrender
Nan cleared her throat. “A couple of weeks ago.”
“A couple of weeks? And you didn’t think I should have a say in this?”
“A say in what? Shamus meeting his long-lost niece?”
Nan may have had a point but that didn’t make any difference to Sophie. “Unbelievable.” she paced a few steps away, arms crossed. “So what? Everyone just forgives her now?”
Nan stepped forward. They might as well rip off the last bandaid and get it over with. “Sophie, pet. You should know that Darcie and Connor met Gwen too.”
Sophie whirled around. “What? You can’t be serious.”
“They met at the pub. And they liked her.”
“You’re all acting like she didn’t lie to our faces!”
Nan’s voice took on that low, warning tone that meant she was running out of patience. “Yes, Gwen lied. But we all know why. And every one of us has forgiven her. Except you.”
Sophie’s jaw tightened. “You all can do whatever you like. But Keefe is my brother. And I’m not going to sit on the sidelines and watch him get his heart broken!”
Keefe stood now, eyes locked with hers. “You’re not watching anything. You’re trying to control it.”
“That’s not fair.”
“No, it’s not,” he agreed. “It’s not fair that I found someone I love and instead of being happy for me, my sister is trying to blow it up because she can’t let go of something the rest of us already have.”
Sophie’s expression flickered—hurt, frustration, maybe even doubt—but she masked it fast. Gwen, Ruby, whatever she was calling herself these days was trouble.
“What was that look?” Keefe demanded, narrowing his eyes.
“Nothing,” Sophie snapped. “Don’t twist my face into something it’s not.”
“Oh, come off it, Soph. I saw it plain as day.” He crossed his arms. “You hate her.”
“Damn right I do.”
Keefe closed his eyes for a second, breathing hard through his nose. “Just…listen to me, okay? Please. Just this once, will you stop and think? Gwen’s not who you think she is. She’s?—”
“She’s a lying, two-faced, trouble-making bitch of an Irish whore!”
His head snapped back like she’d slapped him.
“Sophie,” Nan said a warning as much as anything. She had stayed out of this fight but she could see it was shaping up to be much worse than she could have imagined.
“Sorry Aunt Nan but no.” Sophie whipped her head back in Keefe’s direction. “I don’t care how many pretty eyes she bats at you! I see right through her!”
He took a step forward, desperate now and so furious that he struggled to keep control. He kept his voice as even as he could. “She lied, yes. But not for the reasons you think. You don’t know the whole story. Hell, even she didn’t mean to stay! Have you even considered the possibility that you might be wrong just this once?”
“I’ve been right about all the others!” she spat. “Every single last one! And if you’d listened to me back then, maybe you wouldn’t have ended up sobbing into a bottle of whiskey while I picked up the pieces.” Unable to look at her brother’s stupid face anymore, she turned around out then whirled back. “And those others didn’t have a murderous father! She’s just like him!”
“I don’t deny that. But I think you’re wrong about her—Darcie didn’t turn out like their father.”
“She lied and used you! You were a means to an end. She’s exactly like him! And in case you forgot: Darcie didn’t grow up with him!”
Sophie’s voice rose higher. So did his. This was war.
“Neither did Gwen! She spent her life all alone! He hardly had anything to do with her! But you wouldn’t know that because you won’t give her a chance! And by the way, she tried to tell me the truth—repeatedly! But something always interrupted her. Hell, you being one of those things!”
“So, what, now you’re going to ride off with her into the shadows and become one of them? Clearly, I’ve got more sense than you.”
