by JoAnn Ross
“Wait until you meet your niece,” Molly answered. “You’ll see she’s special.”
“My niece.” Tessa grew silent as she thought about that. “I’m an aunt. Aunt Tessa.”
“It has a nice ring.”
“Yes.” Tessa nodded. “It does, doesn’t it?” This time her smile lit up her eyes, and although they were surrounded by swollen, bruised flesh, Molly could tell that her sister was the most stunning of the three McBride girls. “And you were a nun. Amazing.”
Molly laughed at that. “Sometimes it amazes me, too.”
“So why did you quit?”
“It’s complicated. But mostly I realized that what I thought was a vocation was merely expedience. The religious life was a haven. It also allowed me to avoid facing reality.”
“But you worked in the ER at an inner-city hospital. Surely that gave you a real taste of reality.” Tessa suspected it was also why Molly could prove so nonjudgmental about her life. Undoubtedly she’d met a great many prostitutes in her line of work.
“True. But I always knew that at the end of the day I could return home. And that there would always be people—nuns who were like sisters—who cared for me and would take care of me. Real life doesn’t come with such a secure safety net.”
“Tell me about it,” Tessa muttered. She took another sip of the tea. As she felt her nerves tangle again, she wished that Reece would have allowed her at least one pain pill, then realized it was probably better he’d advised her to stick to aspirin. “You probably think I’m a horrible person.”
“Of course not. I think what’s happened to you is horrible,” Molly allowed. “But any sister of mine could never be anything but wonderful.”
A warmth like nothing she’d ever known flooded through Tessa. She’d never before experienced anything that made her feel so good—not sex, or drugs, or even the fleeting feeling of power that she’d discovered prostitution could occasionally instill.
“Aw, hell.” Tears started spilling out of Tessa’s swollen eyes. “You would have to make me cry.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s just that I feel so stupid. I wanted so badly to fit in when I first came here and Jason was so nice, and a cop, and all, and Miles knew everybody in town, so I thought I had it made. Then things started falling apart and the next thing I knew I was sleeping with some creep bookie to keep him from killing Jason, and then, well…”
She shrugged her shoulders. “It didn’t seem that much of a jump to working for their mother.”
Molly wanted to hear everything about Tessa’s life. But she’d had such a horrendous day, she had to be exhausted. And they had a lifetime to get to know one another.
“You need to get some sleep,” she suggested, taking the empty cup. “We can start catching up in the morning. I’ll take the day off.”
Tessa didn’t argue. She snuggled down, holding the pillow tight in a way that reminded Molly of Grace, and fell instantly to sleep. Still filled with wonder at the gift God, or fate, had bestowed upon her, Molly bent down and brushed a kiss against the row of black stitches Reece had sewn just above her sister’s right eye.
Later, as she sat on the sofa bed, looking out the window at the sparkling lights of the city, Molly thought of Lena, wondering if she knew about the reunion.
“Remember when we always thought Tessa was the lucky one?” she murmured to her sister. Molly found nothing unusual about talking to Lena. She did it often, usually telling her about Grace or Reece, or sometimes, just life in general, and it never failed to give her comfort. “I think we were very, very wrong about that.”
Sighing, Molly turned her thoughts to a more pleasant topic. “Reece was wonderful tonight. I was watching him caring for Tessa at the clinic—it was his idea to take her there because he could get her in and out without any danger of any of Jason’s cop friends seeing her. Anyway, he was so much like the old Reece that I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“I can’t believe he won’t go back to medicine, Lena. After all, next to you and Grace, it was what he loved most.”
Love. Molly dragged her hand through her hair as she thought about the feelings that had flowed through her like warm honey as she’d watched Reece tend to her sister.
Although she’d been trying to deny it for years, Joe was so, so right about her feelings for Reece. Heaven help her, she did love him. She pressed a hand against the front of her nightgown as her heart trebled its beat at the mere thought of him.
Drawing her knees up to her chest, Molly wrapped her arms tight around them. Hours later, as the shimmering, pearlescent predawn light slipped into the room, she was still awake, her cheek on her bent knees, wondering what on earth she was going to do now.
Molly was not all that surprised when Dan called later that morning, informing her that he was going to be stopping by for lunch.
“Don’t worry about fixing anything,” he said. “I’ll pick some sandwiches up on the way.”
“Probably grilled hemlock,” Tessa muttered when Molly told her the news. They’d been trading autobiographies for two hours and were only up to Tessa’s fifth-grade Girl Scout troop and Molly’s high school graduation.
“Don’t be melodramatic,” Molly responded mildly. “Dan likes you a lot. I could tell.”
“He likes what I can do for him. Like closing down that prostitution ring. And busting a bad cop.”
“I think it goes deeper than that,” Molly said. “I’ve known him most of my life, and from the first time he figured out the differences between little boys and little girls, he hasn’t shown any serious interest in anyone. But the way he looks at you, Tessa…” Molly shook her head. “It’s different.”
“He’s only interested in sex. Just like all guys.”
“I can’t imagine Dan mixing his job with his personal life.”
Tessa figured Molly might be able to picture it a little better if she’d witnessed that blazing kiss they’d shared right before he’d arrested her. But since she still hadn’t figured out how she felt about what had happened between them, she wasn’t prepared to share that story so soon. Not even with someone who was beginning to feel more and more like a sister.
“Oh, he didn’t actually do anything,” she said grudgingly. “But he sure as hell wanted to.”
“Wanting isn’t the same as doing,” Molly pointed out, guiltily remembering the sensual dream she’d had when she’d drifted off around dawn. A dream starring Reece.
“True.” Already comfortable in Molly’s apartment, Tessa got up from the table and went over to the coffeepot to refill her mug. “And, I have to admit, he’s kinda cute when he’s being official, in a Dudley Do-Right sort of way.”
Molly laughed. “I wouldn’t advise calling him that to his face.”
“Hell, I may be stupid,” Tessa said with a quick grin, “but despite recent evidence to the contrary, I’m not suicidal.” She sat back down across from Molly and eyed her newly found sister over the top of her mug. “So, speaking of men and women, why hasn’t our brother-in-law realized you’re in love with him?”
“What?” Molly stared at her, aghast.
“Reece seems like a bright guy. I can’t believe he hasn’t caught on. Then again,” Tessa said as an afterthought, “men can be pretty clueless.”
“Don’t tell me it’s that obvious?” Molly felt the color flooding into her face.
“I was watching you while he was collecting the rape evidence.” For some reason the vaginal examination had embarrassed her more than anything she’d done working for Elaine. Needing somewhere to focus her attention, she’d instinctively turned to Molly. “You reminded me of a little girl with her face pressed against the candy store window.”
“Oh, no.” Molly buried her face in her hands.
“Hey, sis.” Tessa leaned over and stroked her thick black hair. “It’s no big deal. I only noticed because I didn’t know either one of you, so I was sort of an objective observer. Anyone else would probably jus
t think you were very close friends.”
“I’m not sure about that.”
Joe had sensed her feelings for Reece. And now that she thought about it, Alex and Theo had said things lately that made Molly wonder if they’d seen something, as well. And heaven knows, Grace had been pushing for her aunt Molly to marry her daddy, but Molly had simply considered that to be a little girl’s normal wish for a mother.
“If it’s any consolation, the guy’s nuts about you, too,” Tessa surprised Molly even further by saying.
“I’m sure you’re wrong.” Molly had watched all the beautiful actresses going in and out of the revolving door of her brother-in-law’s love life and knew that he’d been far too busy to take any notice of her.
“I’ve made some stupid mistakes in my life, but believe me, Molly, if there’s one thing I can tell, it’s when there’s something going on between a man and a woman. The problem is, Reece doesn’t realize how he feels.”
“I still can’t believe you’re right.” Molly couldn’t keep the skepticism—or the reluctant hope—from her voice.
“I am.” Tessa gave her a long, judicious look. “In a few days, when I can go out again without terrifying little children with this face, you and I are going shopping.”
“If you need clothes—”
“Not for me, sweetie. For you. We’re going to give Sister Molly a makeover that’ll knock Dr. Reece Longworth right off his feet and into your bed.”
Molly’s face was as hot as a Fourth of July firecracker. “That isn’t what I had in mind.”
“Of course it is. You’re just too good to admit to mad, passionate desires. Fortunately for you, your baby sister is not so well-bred. She also knows exactly what men like.” Tessa’s slow, secretive smile reminded Molly of the Cheshire cat. “Trust me, kiddo, the guy’s a goner.”
Dan arrived later, with a suitcase of clothes and toiletries he’d recovered from Tessa’s house, a bag of sandwiches and salads in foam cartons, and a woman dressed in a suit. Although the woman’s skirt ended high on the thigh, the somber gray pinstripes definitely meant business.
He introduced her as Kelly Britton, from the D.A.’s office. “I brought her along to interview Tessa before her testimony before the grand jury.”
“The grand jury?”
“We’re talking some pretty big names here, Molly. And a longtime cop. I want everything done by the book on this one.”
Molly had been so excited about finding her sister after all these years, she hadn’t really thought about how, exactly, Dan was going to use Tessa. She’d naively believed he’d just use the information she gave him to arrest the bad guys, then that would be that.
Tessa blanched visibly, but before she could respond, Molly instinctively took over the role of older sister. “Shouldn’t she have an attorney?”
Dan looked as if he was grinding his teeth. “Of course, if she wants one…”
“That’s all right—” Tessa began.
“It’s not all right.” Molly cut her off. She put her hands on her hips and looked up at the attorney. “I’m sorry, Ms. Britton,” she said, “but I’m very uncomfortable with this. I feel my sister should be represented by counsel.”
“No.” Tessa’s voice was steady. Her eyes, as she met Dan’s, were calm. “I trust Dan.”
Her frustration building, Molly was about to point out that Tessa had once trusted another Los Angeles policeman, too, and look where that had gotten her. But she knew, deep in her heart, that Dan Kovaleski was different. She also realized, from the way he was looking at Tessa, that although he might be willing to use her to break this case, he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.
“The garden needs weeding,” she said. “I’ll be outside.”
“We’ll call you when we’re done,” Dan said.
Molly turned to her sister. “If you have any problems, I’ll be right out back.”
Tessa smiled at that. “Yes, Mother.”
It did Molly so much good to witness that teasing smile that, despite her lingering concerns, she smiled back, then turned to Dan. “You take care of her. Or I’ll tell your father.”
His lips quirked and she watched the reluctant humor light up his golden brown eyes. “Yes, ma’am.”
Two hours later, Molly had pulled every weed in the tiny plot behind the condo that only an extremely generous person would refer to as a garden. She’d applied mulch and fertilizer, staked up the tomatoes, watered everything and was now pacing the small wooden deck, wondering what on earth they were doing in there.
Last night, Tessa had already shared the highlights—or lowlights, Molly thought grimly—of her life with Jason Mathison. Surely that was enough for a conviction? She couldn’t imagine that Dan was forcing Tessa to go into every sordid little detail of the past seven years.
She kept glancing up at the window, wondering if she should make up an excuse to go back inside just to check on Tessa. She’d finally decided to do just that, when the door slid open and Dan came out.
“Sorry we took so long.”
“That’s okay. Unless you and your sidekick brought out the bright lights and rubber hoses.”
“Nah. I’m saving those for Mathison.” The cold fury in his eyes frightened her. The last time Molly remembered witnessing it was when he’d been on the trail of a serial killer who had a penchant for blond little girls.
“You care about her, don’t you?”
His answering laugh held not a note of humor. “Hell, Molly, she’s a hooker, for Pete’s sake.”
“She’s my sister,” Molly warned softly.
“True.” He exhaled a long breath and dragged his hand through his hair. “Doesn’t it bother you? What she’s been doing for a living?”
“It’s not my place to judge.”
He shot her a frustrated look. “Reece is right. Sometimes you really can be a pain in the butt, Sister Molly.”
“Reece said that?” The half-teasing words stung.
Dan grimaced at her hurt tone. “Hell, he didn’t really mean it…. Well, maybe just a little,” he allowed. “When you were giving him a bad time about his choice of women, he got a little hot under the collar.”
“I merely pointed out that I didn’t think having sleepovers with his daughter in the house was a very good idea.”
“You’re probably right,” he said, surprising Molly who suspected he’d slept with more than his share of women. “But at the time Reece felt that it was difficult living up to your high standards.”
“I see.” She did. Only too well. Molly sighed as she realized that whenever he looked at her, Reece undoubtedly still saw Sister Molly. It was not an encouraging thought. Maybe Tessa was right. Maybe a makeover was in order.
Unfortunately, in order to compete with those actresses he dated, she’d need more than a makeover. How about a complete overhaul?
“It wasn’t really meant as an insult, Molly. We’d had a few beers and he was just frustrated because he’d been trying so hard to be a good father to Grace.”
And he’d succeeded. Despite a schedule that would exhaust most people, he managed to somehow juggle his work, his social life and Grace. Molly couldn’t count the number of dance recitals and school plays she and Reece had attended. And while that might be expected, she also discovered that he—not the nanny—was the one driving his daughter to all those rehearsals.
“What happens next?” Molly asked. “With Tessa?” She didn’t want to talk about her relationship—or lack of it—with Reece any longer.
“She goes in front of the grand jury on Monday.”
“Will the press be there?”
“No. It’s secret. We should be able to get her in and out without anyone knowing. Then, I have no doubt we’ll get an indictment. For pandering, money laundering, trafficking in a controlled substance, and murder, for starters.”
“Murder?”
Dan looked surprised. “She didn’t tell you?”
“Obviously not.”
T
he anger was back in his eyes. His lips were set in a grim line that left deep ridges on either side of his mouth. “One of the other girls wasn’t as fortunate as Tessa. She was killed. After she made the mistake of trying to blackmail Mathison.”
Molly felt her knees threaten to buckle. “You weren’t kidding, were you?” she said, looking up at the bedroom window where Tessa had spent the night. “About Jason Mathison being a dangerous man.”
“That,” Dan assured her, “is putting it mildly.”
Molly was not surprised when Tessa brushed the subject of murder off. Frustrated, but not surprised.
“Dan says I’ll be perfectly safe here,” she said. “And I believe him.”
As much as Molly was pleased about the faith her sister had in her new benefactor, she wasn’t certain transferring her allegiance from one man to another was the best thing for Tessa. “Perhaps you should think about believing in yourself.” The moment she heard herself say the words, Molly cringed, remembering Reece’s complaint about living up to her impossibly strict standards.
“I used to.” Tessa’s laugh was bitter. “That’s how I got into this mess in the first place. I was so damn cocky, I believed I could do anything. Including coming to Lotusland and not lose my soul.”
“You didn’t lose it. It may be a little battered and bruised. But it’s still there.”
Tessa shrugged. “Far be it from me to argue with a nun.”
“A former nun.”
Another shrug. “Whatever.” She seemed distracted. “What did you think of that D.A.?”
“Kelly Britton? I really didn’t get to—”
“Do you think Dan is fucking her?”
“I think you’d have to ask Dan that.”
“There was something there,” Tessa mused. “They were too comfortable in each other’s space. If they’re not sleeping together now, they have in the past.”
It wouldn’t have surprised Molly, but it was also none of her business. “Dan’s a good-looking single man. I’d imagine any woman would be attracted to him.”
“They slept together,” Tessa muttered. “I just know it.” She turned around and pinned Molly with an angry look. “You think I’m jumping from the frying pan into the fire.”
