Free A Family Affair: Summer: Truth in Lies, Book 3 by Mary Campisi Page A

going to tell her mother about her job, at least not yet.
    “How do you like the kitchen? Quite a change isn’t it?”
    “ Wow. It certainly is.” She took in the bright yellow, a marked difference from the papered rooster deco she remembered. Thomas Carrick had said it reminded him of the farm he worked on when he lived in Idaho and for that reason, it remained long past its time.
    Olivia pulled out a plastic c ontainer of egg salad and a loaf of rye bread. “Your uncle talked me into it,” she said with a softness around the edge of her words that surprised Tess. “I told him the wallpaper just needed a good scrubbing, but Will insisted the kitchen needed brightening up.”
    “Well, it’s definitely bright.” Sunglasses bright.
    She smiled. “Silly man. He thought it would perk me up in the morning and I’d cut down on my coffee.”
    “Did it work?” Why all the talk about Uncle Will? And the smile. What was that about? Olivia’s smiles were as rare as a purple rose.
    “Of course not.” She c oncentrated on making Tess’s sandwich, placed a pickle on the side, and handed the plate to her.
    “Where’s yours?” Enough of the idle chit -chat. Tess wanted to talk about whatever was going on with her mother and how Ramona Casherdon knew more than Tess did.
    “I ate a little while ago.” She turned toward the fridge, making it difficult to see if there was truth on her face. But soon, Tess would find out. When Olivia sat down, she cleared her throat and her eyes grew bright, her voice quiet, yet determined. “There’s something I need to tell you, and there’s no good way to do it but say it straight out.”
    “Yes?” Here it comes. Now she’ll tell me she’s sick .
    “It’s Cash. He’s been injured.” She reached across the table and clasped Tess’s hand. “He needed a place to heal.” She paused. “He’s in Magdalena.”
    ***
    Cash forced his left shoulder to remain straight as he fought through the discomfort. He’d sworn to Gina that Tess would not see him lying in bed like a piece of degenerating muscle mass. He should have been working harder on his therapy, doing the exercises in the booklet the therapist in Philly gave him, hell, acting like he gave a damn about recuperating. Instead, he’d popped pills so he could live in a blur of denial and self-pity. And that was fine, except right now he needed to show Tess he was as strong as she remembered.
    Gina tried to convince him the maroon-striped button-down shirt brought out the golden highlights in his hair and added fifteen pounds to his frame. He didn’t give a damn about showing off his hair, but he’d take the weight so he didn’t look weak and helpless.
    Maybe he shouldn’t have taken that last pill, but seeing Tess Carrick after eight years of thinking about her even when he wasn’t thinking about her? Well, that wasn’t a challenge a man undertook without pharmaceutical assistance.
    Cash snatched the remote to the television and flipped through stations. Nothing interested him, so he click ed it off. Why the hell had he agreed to see her? It wasn’t like they had anything to say to one another, not after all the hurt and too many years. Nate had done his job and informed him Tess was back in town. That was shock enough, but actually seeing her, especially in his debilitated state, well, that was worse than torture. But Ramona had all but begged him to see his ex-fiancée, said it was time for the town to know there was no ill will between the two of them.
    As if anybody but his aunt would buy that story.
    The doorbell rang at 10:52 a.m . Tess used to set her watch fifteen minutes ahead so she arrived on time, but even so, she was invariably ten minutes late. Looked like that had changed. He wondered what else had changed since the last time he saw her. Cash sucked in a deep breath and eased out of the chair. The pill made his steps slow, the effort forced. He tried to shut down his brain, but the damn thing wouldn’t