“You remember me?” he asked, walking up and taking her hands in his.

She nodded. “A little. But the family resemblance made it easier.” She shifted toward Ty. “This is my father’s other brother,” Lacey explained. “And this is Tyler Benson, an old friend,” she said, the word friend a pale description of what Ty was to her.

“A pleasure,” Uncle Robert said.

“Likewise.” Ty studied the man as they shook hands.

“Where’s Aunt Vivian?” Lacey wouldn’t recognize her but she did remember he’d been married.

“I take it you haven’t heard.” The other man’s eyes glazed over and Lacey realized she’d touched a sad subject. “She had a stroke a few years ago and she requires constant care. She’s in a facility back home.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No need. It’s part of life,” her uncle said.

Obviously he’d had years to come to terms with his wife’s situation.

A few seconds of awkward silence followed.

“Lilly and I were just about to get some fresh air.” Ty broke the tension and nudged her forward with his hand.

“It was nice seeing you,” Lacey said to her uncle. She shot a grateful glance at Ty. She’d been uncomfortable with her uncle who was virtually a stranger.

So were the rest of the guests who must be friends of her uncle and his fiancée because Lacey knew no one. She and Ty stepped outside onto the terrace, which thanks to the nice autumn weather, had been opened for the party.

“My mother used to play bridge with friends out here,” Lacey said. She inhaled, forcing cool, fresh air into her lungs and immediately felt more centered. “I don’t know what I was thinking, coming here.”

Ty leaned against the railing. “You needed to see the house, the people. Gain some closure. It’s understandable if you ask me.”

She inclined her head. “I’m going to go to the bathroom. When I get back, would you mind if we left?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yes, I mind. I wanted to stay and shut down the place,” he said, grinning.

“You’re a laugh riot.” She playfully poked him in the shoulder. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“I’ll miss you.” He met her gaze with a sizzling one of his own.

Surprised and pleased, she turned and wound her way through the crowd, heading for the bathroom. Not the powder room downstairs but the one in the upstairs hall, directly outside the old bedroom where she’d grown up.

Eight

Molly watched Tyler Benson over the rim of her Diet Coke glass. Lacey had walked toward the doors seconds before, leaving Ty alone. Drink in hand, he wandered around the room crowded with guests. Like Hunter, Ty was obviously a man who kept to himself and in this crowd, Molly couldn’t blame him.

Coming here hadn’t been easy on Lacey or on Ty. The past probably surrounded them until they wanted to choke on it, Molly thought. But they’d come. And she was grateful.

She might be silly, but she hoped they could all come to a peaceful coexistence just as she prayed her mother was finally marrying for love and not money. She wondered which wish, if any, had a chance in hell of coming true.

She walked over to Hunter’s best friend. “Ty?” she asked, capturing his attention.

He turned. “Hello again.” He greeted her with warmth.

She enjoyed studying people and Ty, with his dark hair and hooded expression gave off a rebel-like attitude she couldn’t mistake. He was guarded and she understood why.

“Enjoying yourself?” she asked wryly.

“I’m hanging in there.” She caught a hint of laughter in his voice.

“Well, I’m glad you could make it.”

“Thanks.” He placed his empty glass on a passing waiter’s tray, then shoved his hands into his pockets.

“I heard you had a little excitement at the mall the other night.”

She nodded. “I’m still shaking.” She still saw that car coming at them. Good thing Lacey had such quick reflexes, she’d thought over and over since then.

“I can understand. Mind if I ask you something?” Ty gestured to an empty corner of the room where they could speak in private.

“Of course not.” She stepped toward the area he’d suggested. “What is it?” He had her curious.

Ty leaned close. “How’d Dumont take it when you told him about Lilly being alive?”

She tried not to stiffen. She attempted not to become defensive. She tried and failed even though he was entitled to have that question answered and a whole lot more. But the truth was, Molly didn’t have the answers he sought. She’d asked Marc the bare minimum-what she could handle hearing and no more. Molly hadn’t considered herself a coward but faced with losing the inroads she’d made with getting closer to her mother and having a family, she discovered she was definitely a coward and more.

“Why do you want to know?” she asked Ty warily.

“Because,” Ty said.

“Because isn’t an answer and you know it.”

He gave her a curt nod. “Because the last time something happened that screwed up Dumont’s plans, he reacted. Lives were changed as a result. And he might be playing the role of the good, repentant uncle by inviting Lilly here, but I’m not buying into it. And I intend to make sure she doesn’t suffer again because of some revenge scheme he has going.” Ty ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the wall, his gaze locked with Molly’s.

She admired his defense of Lilly and wondered if anyone would ever love her enough to look out for her that way. She’d certainly never experienced it before, not even as a child, which probably explained why she fought to keep her mother’s love now.

“Let me tell you something,” she said, focusing on Ty’s words. “You and Hunter might think I’ve been taken in by Marc’s charms but I haven’t been. I weigh facts and I make up my own mind.” Except this time she hadn’t asked. But Ty didn’t need to know that.

He grinned. “That’s good to know.”

“What’s got you smiling all of a sudden?”

“You’re feisty.”

“So?”

“You could give a man like Hunter a run for his money,” Ty said, his dark mood lifting just for a moment.

She was shaken by his perceptive words. “We’re not talking about me and Hunter.”

Ty nodded. “I wish we were. That kind of conversation would be much more fun.”

She had to laugh, then, because he’d mentioned Hunter, she decided to tell him the truth. “Look, I went to Marc and told him Lacey was alive, just like Hunter expected me to do.”

“And?” Ty prodded.

She drew a deep breath. “He was stunned. At first, he was angry, then he controlled it,” she said, remembering. “Finally, he asked me to leave so he could be alone. I did. That’s all I know.” Molly brushed her hand over her black dress, smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles. Then she toyed with the fringes on her bright lavender belt.

That conversation had been one of the most painful she’d ever had, mostly because of all the questions she hadn’t asked. She couldn’t look at Ty head-on knowing what Hunter claimed Marc Dumont had done to him and to his friends. And she hated feeling selfish because she had every right to the close-knit family she desired. Didn’t she?

Marc had become an important part of Molly’s life. A father figure of sorts, someone who seemed to want her around. After a lifetime of being pushed away by the adults in her life, that mattered. Even as she struggled to reconcile the monster these people claimed Marc had once been with the man she knew now.

Molly glanced at Ty. “You have to understand that I met Marc at a different stage in his life. He said he goes to an AA meeting every week and I believe him. And yes, I know getting Lacey’s money was a part of his plan when he proposed to my mother, but he seems accepting of how things are now that Lacey is alive.”

“Okay,” Ty said at last.

“That’s it? That easily?”

He pushed himself off the wall and straightened. “I know you believe what you’re telling me, and that’s good enough for now. Just watch your back,” he said by way of warning.

“Not to worry. I can take care of myself.”

He glanced at his watch. “Lilly’s been gone awhile.”

Molly glanced toward the doorway. “Why don’t you go find her,” she suggested.

Because she could definitely use a stronger drink.

TY FELT BAD about grilling Molly, but he’d needed to push her in order to gauge her honest reaction to Dumont and to the situation they all found themselves in. He’d also been assessing her for Hunter’s sake. Ty was looking out for his best friend who had strong feelings for this woman. Her mother was marrying into a snake pit and he wondered where Molly fit into the family.

Which brought him to another question. Where in the world had Lilly disappeared to in this monstrosity of a house? Ty couldn’t imagine what she was feeling now any more than he could envision growing up in a place like this. The house was a mansion, the grounds seemingly endless. He wondered if Lilly could separate the later years she spent here from her childhood and remember the place held good memories, too. Either way Ty was certain the absence of her mother and father made this visit extra difficult for her now.

After he checked the downstairs bathrooms, he climbed the long stairs in the foyer and began searching the empty rooms upstairs. There were bedrooms that looked as if they’d been closed off for years. He’d look in, find it empty and move on. At the end of the hall, there was a double door that must lead to the master bedroom suite and he started heading in that direction.

Although there was a crowd downstairs, the low hum of voices receded as he walked further away. As he came closer to the master suite, he realized there was another bedroom adjacent with a light shining from inside.

Bingo, he thought. He slowly opened the door and stepped inside.