Free Destiny by Carly Phillips

new—”
    “Language!” Kelly finally said, drawing the line. “Have you given any thought where you’d want to go to school?”
    Tess nodded eagerly. “Maybe public school where the kids don’t have so much money they stink of it.”
    Where there was also a greater chance of Tess falling in with the wrong crowd again, Kelly thought. But she was convinced a happy Tess would seek to please, not act out. Not to mention she was still in therapy. She had to believe they had her situation under control enough to take the risk.
    Kelly drew a deep breath. “I’ll tell you what. You go back to the sweeter personality you had at the end of the summer, and when Ethan gets home I’ll talk to him about switching schools.”
    Since their mother had bailed, Kelly had de facto if not legal custody of her sister. From the time Kelly had moved to Serendipity, she’d agreed to let Tess live with Ethan where she was flourishing, but Kelly and Ethan shared in decisions affecting the teenager’s welfare.
    “You’d do that for me?” Tess asked, her eyes wide and hopeful.
    “If you watch the language and remember to behave.”
    The truth was, Kelly would do whatever it took to keep Tess safe and happy, but her sister didn’t need to know what a pushover she was. Letting Tess think her future hinged on her behavior could only benefit Kelly.
    “Deal!” Tess held out her hand to shake on the deal.
    “Deal,” Kelly agreed, grabbing her sister and pulling her into a hug.
    Tess squirmed but hugged her back.
    “Now I need a favor,” Kelly said.
    Tess stepped back and eyed her warily. “Were you just buttering me up?”
    Kelly laughed. “I wish I’d been that smart. I was going to ask you to do this no matter what.”
    “Uh-oh.” Tess folded her arms across her chest. “What is it?”
    Kelly pointed to her sister’s cell phone. “Call Nash and invite him for dinner tonight at six.”
    “You’re kidding,” Tess said, horrified.
    “Nope. Invite him. Then I’ll let Rosalita know we’re having a guest.” Kelly met Tess’s defiant glare and waited, prepared to stare her down until she made the call.
    A definite pout formed on her lips. “I don’t want to.”
    “I know.” Kelly bit the inside of her cheek in an effort not to grin. “But you will. One, because you just promised me you’d behave; two, because he’s your brother; and three, because you’re judging him based on how he feels about Ethan.”
    “So?” Tess asked on a prolonged whine.
    Kelly exhaled hard and propped her hands on her hips, determined not only to be the adult in this confrontation but to make her point as well. “So his issues with his brother have nothing to do with you. They’re also none of your business.”
    “But—”
    Kelly shook her head and held up one hand to stop Tess’s imminent tirade. “I bet if you got to know him, you’d understand him a little more. And you’d even like him.”
    “Like you do?” Tess shot back at her.
    Man, the kid was quick. “Yes, like I do.” Better to go with it than to argue, Kelly thought. “I think Nash is a solid, upstanding guy.”
    With sex appeal in spades, with whom she shared an incredible attraction. If he was so upstanding, then why was she pushing him away? Kelly asked herself. The answer was obvious. Because Ryan Hayward had been upstanding too. In her heart, Kelly knew Ryan had believed himself over his ex-wife and was finished with his marriage. He hadn’t deliberately set out to cheat or hurt her. But he had and the fallout wasn’t over yet.
    So lesson learned.
    Kelly glared at Tess, pushing thoughts of Ryan and relationships out of her head.
    “Fine!” Tess grabbed her cell and called Nash. “Kelly said to invite you for dinner tonight. You busy?”
    As invitations went, it sucked, Kelly thought, but at least she’d made the overture.
    “Fine.” Tess ended the call and glanced at Kelly. “He’s coming and said to tell you he’s looking forward to it.” She made a