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"True," her ive him…in time"

"In time," her mother echoed "Eventually, you’ll be able to look past his behavior--if you choose to Men can be completely oblivious to what matters most When you think about it, Vance must’ve kno upset you’d be, and yet he wanted you to send hi this over with herto seem a little clearer "I heard from Jason, too He called me the day I spent alone in Branson We’ve kept in touch since Vegas"

"So, what do you think?"

"Well, to be honest, it felt good to have someone interested in me after Vance was such a jerk"

"Do you like Jason?"

Annie shrugged "He’s okay"

"That’s not a glowing endorseure out why I feel this way He’s really nice and fun and we had a great ti so Jason didn’t act like Vance I’ to be with someone else"

Her mother shifted onto her side "I remember when Paul-- Tiffany’s ex--and I went to dinner after your father moved out"

"Yeah?" Annie didn’t like to remember that Her father and the lovely Tiffany had hurt and betrayed two people Well, four, including her and Andrew

"I hadn’t been out with another man for so many years that I started to shake I didn’t kno to act or what to say, and when I did find ue, I was convinced I sounded like a nutcase"

This wasn’t a fair comparison to her situation with Jason Her mother had been close to a nervous collapse the first feeeks after Annie’s father moved out Those days had been dreadful for all of them

Annie had been furious with both her parents, but especially Bethanne If her father fell in love with another wo, Annie decided Her mother’s whole world revolved around the house and the family and those dinner parties she put on for her father’s business associates She’d let herself go, too Her hair was too long and she didn’t shop for herself often enough

In the weeks that followed, Annie had done her ut her father home She’d cried and pleaded and told him she’d make sure Bethanne did whatever was necessary to make him happy In retrospect, Annie was e she’d said had put a dent in his deter that he didn’t even want to talk to her anyh they’d always been so close Annie was convinced it was all lovely Tiffany’s fault

After she’d finished blaer on the neoman in her father’s life The divorce was completely her fault, and if Annie could show her dad the truth about Tiffany, Grant would change his mind and come back to the family

Annie had pulled some nasty tricks on the lovely Tiffany, but they’d backfired The only thing her efforts had accomplished was to upset her father and widen the rift between the to have anything to do with her, Annie had nearly self-destructed Fortunately, Andrew had stepped in and, with Courtney’s help, gotten her away froerous path she’d chosen

"You’re quiet all of a sudden," herto confess where her ht"

"Don’t let it go to your head"

"Funny one, Mom" Annie sht?"

"Jason’s actually really nice" Jason was , see where it went, although he lived in California and long-distance relationships were a drag

"Do you knohat you’re going to tell Vance?" her mother asked

"I think so" She paused "Vance should’ve thought about being a third wheel when he agreed to go to Europe with Matt and Jessie," she began "I’ve got ive up a whole month just so he doesn’t feel lonely while he’s away He had his chance and he blew it"

"But you’d still like to be with hi reasons"

"Oh?"

"I want to be with hiether Fa hts, the ht decision And thea relationship with Jason made sense The very reason she’d had doubts about him--the fact that he wasn’t Vance--was nohy she wanted to see where a connection between theo back to sleep now?"

"Okay," Annie said, but she didn’t think she would

Twenty-Four

They stayed in New Orleans another day, and after a leisurely drive, got to Vero Beach late Monday afternoon Bethanne hadn’t heard fro him, but had resisted

For now

"I can’t believe howas they made their way into town On the drive down Route 60, she’d pointed left and right, shaking her head at ere once orange groves as far as the eye could see, but were nowdevelopments and suburban sprawl

"Call Royce," Annie said when they reached their hotel and had unpacked

Ruth paced the roo her pal at Bethanne "I ot here"

"You said you would," Bethanne re to hear fro at the roolanced uncertainly toward Bethanne, who nodded her encourage irl than a mature adult, "but if this turns out badly, I’ll blalare