Free Just The Way You Are by Barbara Freethy Page A

again the words that she had never meant to say out loud.
    "You're wrong," Tessa said from behind her.
    Alli slowly turned around. "I'm not wrong."
    "Sam doesn't love me. He couldn't. Why are you saying this? What game are you playing now?"
    "I'm not playing a game."
    "You always have something up your sleeve, Alli. I've been tricked too many times to believe anything you say."
    "Then ask Sam. You trust him, don't you?"
    "I did once," Tessa said pointedly.
    Alli studied her sister's face, noting the lines of strain etched across Tessa's forehead, the shadows under her eyes, the remnants of berry lipstick on her lips. Tessa was still beautiful, of course, but she looked tired. She looked older.
    Funny, but Tessa had never really aged in Alli's mind. Not even occasional unexpected glimpses of her sister on a magazine cover had prepared her for this woman, a woman who almost seemed as human and as confused as the rest of them.
    "I don't understand you," Tessa said with a quizzical shake of her head. "I didn't come here to get into any of this. I came here for Grams. And I'm sure the last thing she needs is to hear us arguing about Sam when she's the one who should have our attention."
    "She's had my attention the last nine years. Where have you been?"
    "You know where I've been. And I've treated Grams to some of the most spectacular vacations of her life. So don't act like I've neglected her, while you've been some sort of a saint. Just because you were too scared to leave home—"
    "Scared? To leave home? Are you kidding?" Alli asked, waving her hand in the air. "Leaving home would have been a cakewalk. No. You want to talk about scared? How about having a baby when you're eighteen years old? How about trying to take care of a child when you barely know how to take care of yourself? How about marrying a man who's in love with your sister and trying to make a life with him? What have you done besides fluff your hair and say cheese?"
    "You know nothing about my life. And if you were so scared to have a baby, maybe you should have used birth control," Tessa said pointedly. "But that was part of the plan, wasn't it? Seduce Sam and have his baby so he'd have to marry you. You couldn't have gotten him any other way except by being flat on your back."
    "How dare you—"
    "How dare you?"
    "What on earth is going on in here?" William demanded, stepping between them like a referee. He looked from Alli to Tessa, then back at Alli again. "Well?"
    "I'm sorry," Alli mumbled, suddenly reminded of where they were and what they were doing. She'd been so caught up in their fight she hadn't even heard him enter the room. But dammit, why did William have to look at her like it was all her fault?
    "I'm sorry, too," Tessa said quickly.
    "I should hope so," William said reprovingly. "Your grandmother doesn't need you squabbling like children. You're her family, her support system. Don't make me wish I hadn't called you both down here."
    "I really am sorry," Alli said again, feeling more guilty by the minute. "It won't happen again, I promise."
    "Good." William walked over to the bed and glanced down at Phoebe. After a moment, he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "How's my sweet girl?" he whispered.
    "Grams woke up for a few minutes," Tessa said. "She couldn't speak though."
    "We called the nurse in," Alli added. "She said it was a good sign that Grams was awake, but that it might take some time before she is fully recovered."
    "Could she speak? Could she move her hands? She wasn't paralyzed, was she?" he asked, standing up straight, his long strides taking him quickly to Alli's side.
    "I don't know," Alli said, wishing she had the words to reassure him, but she had nothing.
    William looked from Alli to Tessa, then back to Phoebe. "She can't be paralyzed," he muttered. "She just can't be." His voice grew rough with emotion. "Her mother had a stroke, you know."
    Alli vaguely remembered hearing something about it, but her great-grandmother had