Free For the Love of Family by Kathleen O`Brien Page A

more exact, the morning the will was read, and her equally beloved grandfather’s double life was revealed.
    Things had begun to go sour that very day. Like some kind of cosmic payback for all the Carson sins and secrets.
    Belle tried hoisting her unruly curls into a chignon, but it made her look younger. With a sigh, she let them fall, and gazed at Pandora’s reflection again.
    “You met my grandfather, Dorrie. Would you have imagined he was capable of something like this?”
    The advantage of having a true old friend was that she could follow even the most illogical segues.
    Unfazed, Pandora shrugged. “Depends on what you mean by ‘this.’ Could I imagine he was capable of fathering a couple of kids out of wedlock? Sure.” She rubbed her cheek against little Mary’s downy head. “Who isn’t?”
    Belle smiled. Though Pandora had agonized every day of her pregnancy, second-guessing the decision to be a single mother, the arrival of Mary Isabella had answered all those lingering questions. Pandora had been instantaneously bewitched.
    She shifted Mary higher onto her shoulder. “But would I have believed he could shut the illegitimate children out of his life, refusing even to acknowledge them? No. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around that one.”
    So was Belle.
    Grandpa Robert’s death, when she was only seventeen, had been the single greatest loss of her life. He’d been everything to her…hero, confidant, advisor and safety net. He’d been the wise, patient father figure that Sam Carson simply didn’t have the temperament to be.
    Losing him once had been hard enough. But now, ten years later, when she learned the truth about his life, it was as if she’d lost him all over again.
    “I wonder if Joe is feeling the same way.” She put her chin in her hand, still talking to Pandora in the mirror, too tired to turn around. “If he was close to his grandmother, and suddenly he learns that she was some strange man’s mistress…that his grandfather isn’t his grandfather…that he has an aunt he never knew…”
    “Yeah. Kind of a nightmare. Guess you have to cut him some slack for being cranky, huh?”
    Belle nodded. They were all in the same boat. They were all looking into the cherished family albums and suddenly seeing only strangers smiling back.
    “But let’s tackle one problem at a time.” Pandora settled Mary into her carrier carefully, so as not to wakeher. “We have to get you dressed for tomorrow’s performance.” She stood in front of the open closet, hands on her hips. “So they dress pretty spiffy over at the pizza palace, huh?”
    “They sure do, at least the ones who meet the public. I swear, even the office manager wears Armani.”
    “And Zorro?”
    “His name is Matt, darn it.” Belle shook her head. “You don’t want me to slip up and call him that in the office one day, do you?”
    Pandora rolled her eyes. “As if you could be that dumb.”
    Belle appreciated her friend’s confidence. She wished she shared it.
    Her gaze slid to the black velvet shadow box she’d hung over her vanity eight years ago. It held the one remaining crystal earring.
    She’d never taken it down, partly because it was so pretty, sparkling and glimmering like caged starlight. Also, though, she kept it partly as a moral parable. The tangible representation of the dangers of pure animal stupidity.
    Though she considered herself a smart woman, something about Zorro had lulled her self-preservation instincts into a trance.
    She wasn’t completely sure he didn’t have the same power today.
    With a growl of triumph, Pandora yanked a pair of black velvet slacks from their clips and, tossing them over her shoulder, began picking through the remaining items, looking for a shirt.
    Belle felt her anxiety receding. If anyone could makethis mishmash of casual junk into something impressive, it was Pandora.
    “So…” Pandora considered, then rejected a green gypsy shirt with smocked cuffs. “Does Matt