For the Love of Sin(48)

Indignation flared inside her. “I’m not obsessed.”

Helen gazed at her skeptically. “Hmmm.”

“I’m not obsessed,” Sin insisted. “Look at how my father and I have made amends. I even asked him to give my neighbor a job. I’ve been to dinner at his house twice since our big powwow.”

“So why are you so upset about Troy?”

Senada’s heart squeezed tight. “I didn’t want him to go,” she admitted. “I liked being with him. Other men I get tired of after a few hours of their nonstop company. But I even like bickering with Troy. I was really surprised when I found out he wasn’t as dumb as I thought he was.”

Helen shook her head. “You didn’t give him that last overwhelming compliment, did you?”

“No, but I thought it.” She stood and paced around the small office. “And I really liked the attention he paid to me. I mean, I know my body turned him on, but he was always trying to get past what I said to what I really meant. Being with him got to be a habit,” she said, and the knowledge hurt. “And I don’t want to break the habit.”

Helen sat back in her seat. “Do you think he loves you?”

Her insides twisted and splintered. She wondered how she could feel euphoric and sad at the same time. “Yes,” she said quietly. “I think he does.” What a revelation, she thought. Even though he’d said it, even though he’d acted it, it had taken him leaving for her to comprehend the truth.

Helen shrugged. “Then it seems to me your decision is easy. Are you going to fly or drive?”

Sin ended up driving a week later.

She didn’t just drive herself. With help from one of her father’s ranch hands, she loaded a trailer with most of her worldly possessions. She quit her job, got out of her lease and after a long talk with Rex, headed north.

The hours of riding afforded her several opportunities to reconsider, to come to her senses and turn back, but Sin kept on going. She’d gotten what she came for in Texas, and now it was time to go back to the people who loved her. Though she could tell her departure saddened her father, she knew their relationship would never be distant again.

After pulling into a Chattanooga hotel just after noon, she freshened up and called Lisa, who insisted Sin come over immediately.

“You’re back! You’re back!” Lisa said, a baby on her hip, as she opened the front door to her traditional home. Her face scrubbed free of makeup, her light brown hair tied up in ponytail and dressed in casual shorts that accented her long, lean figure, she looked happier than ever.

“Come here,” she said, and hugged Sin.

Sin returned Lisa’s embrace and smiled at the youngster. “She’s adorable. Got your face and the Pendleton eyes.”

“Brick’s chin,” Lisa corrected with a grimace. “Stubborn. All three of them got Brick’s chin.”

“Where is the iron man?” Sin asked.

Lisa grinned at the familiar joke between them. Sin often deliberately forgot Brick’s name. “Brick, Sin. Not rock, not iron or steel. Brick.” She rolled her eyes and led Senada to the family room, where the other two babies lay in the playpen. “You are staying for dinner, aren’t you? He’ll be crushed if he misses you.”

“I bet,” Sin said wryly, knowing Brick had very mixed feelings about her. She sat down on the couch.

“No,” Lisa said, shifting the child. “Really. He wants to grill you about Troy.”

Sin’s heart caught. “Why?”

“Because ever since Troy came back from Texas, he’s been quiet.” Lisa met Senada’s gaze squarely. “Quiet,” she repeated. “Troy is many things, but quiet isn’t one of them.”

“Oh,” Sin murmured, wondering what the quiet meant. “He told you why I went to Texas, didn’t he?”

“No. He said it was your business. Your place to tell or not tell.”

Sin gaped at her longtime friend. She put her hand to her throat in surprise. “I—uh—” She shook her head. “He didn’t tell you I was diagnosed with diabetes?”

Now it was Lisa’s turn to look shocked. “No.” Her pretty face wrinkled in concern.

“Are you okay? That must have been frightening. How long has it—” She stopped and looked at Sin with hurt indignation. “Why didn’t you tell me!”

Sin stood. “It’s a long story,” she began.

“I’ve got all afternoon,” Lisa insisted.

Sin gave Lisa the background on her diagnosis and her mother’s death. While she told her friend, she felt foolish for turning away from her close friends when she’d been hurting. She was relieved that Lisa didn’t blame her and was just pleased to have Sin back in town. Lisa wanted to make plans to put their catering business back together as soon as Sin could manage it. The two were discussing clients when Brick walked through the door.