Free Precious Gifts by Danielle Steel

she didn’t want to.
    “Don’t you think we should at least see it before we decide?” Juliette said cautiously. None of them had been there in twenty years and had only vague memories of it from their childhood. “Maybe it’s worth hanging on to. We could rent it out, which would give us income to maintain it, and maybe even make a profit, which we could all use.”
    “After we pour a fortune into it,” Timmie said, sounding definite about it. “I’m not going to spend what Dad left me to start a safe house or homeless shelter on a château in France I’ll never use.” And Joy felt the same way.
    “I want to take a look at it before we sell it,” Juliette persisted. “I could go over in August, since the shop will be closed.” She had decided to stay closed for the rest of July and all of August, because of her father’s death, so she had time on her hands. She looked pointedly at her younger sister then. “Will you come with me?” It was obvious that Timmie wasn’t going to leave her clients to look at a château in the South of France. And her mind was made up about selling it, sight unseen, whatever condition it was in.
    “I don’t know. Maybe. If I’m not working,” Joy said vaguely. All she could think about now were the auditions she would go to, and the parts she might get, especially with a new agent and manager, thanks to her father.
    “What about you, Mom?” Juliette wanted to organize a reconnaissance trip. She had been thinking about it all afternoon.
    “I could meet you there,” Véronique said thoughtfully. She had never expected to see the place again, and had memories there. It would be bittersweet for her.
    “What about Sophie?” Juliette inquired. “I think we should meet her, too.” Both her sisters and her mother looked shocked at what she said. “We should find out who we’re dealing with, and she’s our sister after all.”
    “Half-sister,” Timmie corrected her with a stern look, in deference to their mother. She had felt sorry for her that morning when the truth came out about their father’s love child and affair. It was so typical of him to just drop it on them after he had checked out, instead of having the guts to tell them when he was alive. And such a rotten thing to do to their mother, particularly after his death. He had managed to shatter even her last shred of faith in their marriage. Timmie viewed it as a huge slap in Véronique’s face. With one hand he had given each of them their dream, and with the other hand he had taken away all hope of respecting him as a husband and father.
    And Timmie especially hated the pain she saw in her mother’s eyes now. It wasn’t just loss, it was betrayal, which was worse. She wasn’t close to her mother, and Timmie wasn’t a warm person. But she respected her and was loyal and hated this final blow to her. The painting he had left her out of sentiment was no compensation for what he’d done.
    “I don’t want to meet her,” Timmie said bluntly about Sophie, and Joy looked pensive as she thought about it. She loved her mother, but a newly discovered sister could not be ignored.
    “I don’t know if I do or not. What if she’s awful, or tries to get more money from the estate?” Joy said, looking worried.
    “That would be Bertie,” Timmie said drily. “I don’t think he’s going to take what Dad did lying down. We haven’t heard the last of him yet. All we need now are two of them on our necks. One here and one in France.”
    “Can you have her checked out, Mom?” Joy said sensibly.
    “I suppose I could call a detective service. It shouldn’t be too hard to find something out.” She was worried that Sophie and her mother might expect more from them, although they had never contacted her or the girls or gone after Paul legally. If they had, she would have known about it. And he had admitted in his will that he had never done anything for her until now. But it still wouldn’t hurt to discover more