Free Unfinished Business by Nora Roberts

Vanessa’s throat was raw. “Why did he stop me from seeing your letters?”
    â€œMaybe he thought I would interfere with your career.” After a moment’s hesitation, Loretta touched her shoulder. “He was wrong. I would never have stopped you from reaching for something you wanted and deserved so much. He was, in his way, protecting you and punishing me.”
    â€œFor what?”
    Loretta turned and walked to the window.
    â€œDamn it, I have a right to know.” Fury had her on her feet and taking a step forward. Then, with an involuntary gasp, she was clutching her stomach.
    â€œVan?” Loretta took her shoulders, moving her gently back to the bed. “What is it?”
    â€œIt’s nothing.” She gritted her teeth against the grinding pain. It infuriated her that it could incapacitate her, even for a moment, in front of someone else. “Just a spasm.”
    â€œI’m going to call Ham.”
    â€œNo.” Vanessa grabbed her arm. Her long musician’s fingers were strong and firm. “I don’t need a doctor. It’s juststress.” She kept one hand balled at her side and struggled to get past the pain. “And I stood up too fast.” Very carefully, she relaxed her hand.
    â€œThen it won’t hurt to have him look at you.” Loretta draped an arm over her shoulders. “Van, you’re so thin.”
    â€œI’ve had a lot to deal with in the last year.” Vanessa kept her words measured. “A lot of tension. Which is why I’ve decided to take a few months off.”
    â€œYes, but—”
    â€œI know how I feel. And I’m fine.”
    Loretta removed her arm when she heard Vanessa’s dismissive tone. “All right, then. You’re not a child anymore.”
    â€œNo, I’m not.” She folded her hands in her lap as Loretta rose. “I’d like an answer. What was my father punishing you for?”
    Loretta seemed to brace herself, but her voice was calm and strong when she spoke. “For betraying him with another man.”
    For a moment, Vanessa could only stare. Here was her mother, her face pale but set, confessing to adultery. “You had an affair?” Vanessa asked at length.
    â€œYes.” Shame rushed through her. But she knew she could deal with it. She’d lived with shame for years. “There was someone… It hardly matters now who it was. I was involved with him for almost a year before you went to Europe.”
    â€œI see.”
    Loretta gave a short, brittle laugh. “Oh, I’m sure you do. So I won’t bother to offer you any excuses or explanations. I broke my vows, and I’ve been paying for it for twelve years.”
    Vanessa lifted her head, torn between wanting to understand and wanting to condemn. “Did you love him?”
    â€œI needed him. There’s a world of difference.”
    â€œYou didn’t marry again.”
    â€œNo.” Loretta felt no regret at that, just a vague ache, asfrom an old scar that had been bumped once too often. “Marriage wasn’t something either of us wanted at the time.”
    â€œThen it was just for sex.” Vanessa pressed her fingers against her eyes. “You cheated on your husband just for sex.”
    A flurry of emotions raced over Loretta’s face before she calmed it again. “That’s the least common denominator. Maybe, now that you’re a woman, you’ll understand, even if you can’t forgive.”
    â€œI don’t understand anything.” Vanessa stood. It was foolish to want to weep for something that was over and done. “I need to think. I’m going for a drive.”
    Alone, Loretta sat on the edge of the bed and let her own tears fall.
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    She drove for hours, aimlessly. She spent most of the time negotiating curving back roads lined with budding wildflowers and arching trees. Some of the old farms had been sold and subdivided since