Just The Way You Are(14)

"If I say yes, will that make you happy? If I say no, will it be the right answer? Come on, Alli. Tessa's looks aren't the question, and you know it."

"So she just fits right back in, like she never left."

"Maybe that's just the way it is with family."

"Tessa is not family—not anymore. She said it herself when she left. She said she didn't want a sister. And since I feel the same way, I guess we agree on one thing."

"Tessa was hurt. We hurt her," he said, reaching out to cup her chin with his fingers. "You know we did."

She hated that he was right, but he was. And she could even admit it now, although it had taken her years to come to grips with what she'd done. There had always been ways to rationalize it. Tessa could have come home that Christmas. Sam could have said no.

"If anyone has a right to be angry, it's Tessa," Sam added. "I was her boyfriend. You are her sister."

She shook his hand off her face. "Tessa made mistakes, too, Sam. She broke your heart when she didn't come home with you. Yet you blame her for nothing."

"That's not entirely true. And that doesn't excuse what we did."

"I know that. But Tessa wasn't perfect, and I hate that no one else can see that."

He uttered a short, bitter laugh. "No one else can see it? Hell, Alli, you're the only one who ever thought she was perfect. You couldn't see past Tessa's pretty face. You were so consumed with jealousy, you never saw Tessa for who she really was."

"Because everyone treated her like she was a goddess visiting us from the top of the universe. And it doesn't look like anything has changed. Before she only had Tucker's Landing to rule, now she has practically the whole damn world at her beck and call. Even Megan…" Alli stood up, too restless to stay seated. "Even Megan has joined the ranks of the adoring."

"Megan is excited to meet her aunt. I don't think it would matter if Tessa had warts and a long nose. Megan would still want to meet her, because she's family."

"But she doesn't have warts and a long nose. And Megan wants Tessa to do her hair. How could you let Tessa do her hair?" she asked, her voice catching in her throat.

"I—" He shrugged. "I don't know. I can't make a French braid. And that's what Megan wanted."#p#分页标题#e#

His answer was so damn logical she wanted to scream.

"You're making too much of this," he added quietly. "You always make too much of things where Tessa is concerned. You've been doing it since you were nine years old. Can't you let anything slide?"

"It's not that easy. You don't know what she does to me."

"I have a pretty good idea," Sam said dryly. "I've refereed more battles between the two of you than I care to remember. But what you have to remember is that Tessa is here because of Phoebe. And that's all that's important."

"I know. I know." Alli pushed her hair out of her eyes. "I just wish Grams was all right and Tessa was on the other side of the world where she belongs."

Frustrated, she picked up the cereal bowl and carried it to the sink. She set it down more forcefully than she should have and it clashed with a glass, shattering it into several pieces. It was suddenly all too much, her grandmother, Sam, Tessa… Tears flooded Alli's eyes as she leaned against the counter.

A moment later, she felt Sam's hands on her shoulders, rubbing the tight muscles the way he'd done so many times before. It was familiar and loving and painful.

Still, Alli couldn't help leaning back against him. He felt so good, strong, safe. And she needed to feel him with her, behind her, supporting her, even if it was only for a minute.

"So, what now?" she asked with a sigh.

"I think I should take Tessa to the hospital, and you can take Megan to school."

Again, the green-eyed monster raised its ugly head. Of course he wanted to take Tessa, more time alone with his long-lost love.

She jerked away from him. "Fine. That's probably the way you want it."

"Yeah, I figure we can make out on the way to the hospital." Sam caught her by the arm, and this time his grip was not reassuring, it was angry. "What the hell kind of man do you think I am anyway?"

"I don't know."

"Don't you? Haven't we lived together for the past nine years? Haven't you folded my underwear and taken my temperature and seen me go to work every day and come home every night—to you, to my daughter?"

His eyes blazed with a fury she didn't begin to understand.

"I know what color your underwear is, Sam, but I don't know what you think, how you feel about me or Tessa or anyone for that matter. You don't talk to me."