Free Sisters in White (Love in Bloom: Snow Sisters #3) Contemporary Romance by Melissa Foster

therapist had better prepared her for cataloging away the hurt and moving forward, but as she looked at Kaylie, she knew nothing would fill the void of knowing they were not the chosen ones. Nothing would fix the hurt they saw, felt, and tried to fix in their mother’s heart. Nothing could take away the image of their mother holding herself together for their sake after their father had moved away to begin a new life with Madeline and Lacy, leaving her behind with nothing more than two grown daughters and an empty house. Danica also saw, as she stared into the well of Kaylie’s eyes, a tenderness and strength that vied to come alive once again but was restrained by something Danica did not feel in her own body. Something Kaylie seemed to be contemplating as well, as she pulled her hands away from Danica, using her forearms to swipe angrily at her remaining tears. Contemplating as she pulled her shoulders back and grit her teeth, seething in such a way that Danica feared what Kaylie might do next.
    She shot a worried look at Chaz and Blake, who stood from their seats, ready for flight or fight. Desire to protect their women’s hearts was written in their flexing muscles and clenched jaws.
    “She doesn’t deserve this,” Kaylie spat, then stomped from the room and marched right back into the restaurant—Danica, Blake, and Chaz on her heels.
    “Kaylie, don’t.” Danica had no idea what Kaylie was intent on doing, but she knew her little sister well enough to know that if Kaylie wanted to take down the entire resort, she could do it with very few words, perfectly timed, with expert inflection.
    Kaylie stalked across the restaurant and grabbed Lacy’s arm, yanking her to her feet, ignoring the tears streaming down Lacy’s cheeks. Kaylie hooked her arm through Lacy’s, giving her no chance to escape.
    “We’re outta here,” Kaylie said. She dragged Lacy out of the restaurant, leaving their stunned father and Madeline alone to wonder what the hell had just happened.

    Chapter Eleven
    The night sky was clear, but Danica felt the angst of the evening weighing her down like a wet, woolen shawl. She was torn between remaining with her sisters, Chaz, and Blake, sitting around a picnic-style table on the patio of a little bar down the street from the hotel, and returning to the hotel to make sure her father was okay. The hell with it . She downed another tropical drink.
    An hour later, and three sheets to the wind, she looked across the table as the ocean breeze kicked up and blew both Lacy’s and Kaylie’s hair across their faces. They laughed at something Chaz said, and Kaylie reached up and moved the hair from Lacy’s cheek. Danica realized that there was no place else she’d rather be, even if she wasn’t really sure what was going on. Her sister had all but abducted Lacy.
    She sighed as she took another sip of her drink. Even if she had invited him to the wedding, her father had made his own bed years ago. Let him lie in it, swallowed by guilt and strangled by the knowledge that he hurt us. He didn’t ruin us—not any of us .
    “I’m telling you, you didn’t do it. He did,” Kaylie said.
    Uh-oh, maybe he did.
    “No. No, no, no.” Lacy swayed from too much alcohol. “I was a mistake. If I hadn’t come along, then who knows? Your parents might still be together.”
    Kaylie put her arm around Lacy’s shoulder. “Honey, you were a product of what fucked up our life. You are not what fucked it up.”
    “Awww,” Lacy said, resting her forehead against Kaylie’s cheek.
    “Even if you hadn’t been born, they’d still have been together.” Kaylie gulped down the remainder of her drink. “Behind my mother’s back.” She threw her head back and took another swig, dribbling it down her chin. “And we were so stupid. We thought he was on business trips, ’cause he’d bring us chocolate and shit.” She lifted her glass in Danica’s direction. “Remember that? Ghirardelli? Oh yeah, like he’d been to