Because that was Finn. Frank was her father, and Finn didn’t understand a family dynamic that wasn’t rainbows and roses. No doubt he thought he could make Frank and her into a father-daughter version of Angie and Finn. But Finn didn’t know shit about not-happy-family situations.
“How long has this been going on?” she asked, pushing the words out through the tightness in her throat.
“Oh, a little over a week.”
Sophie felt the vise around her head tighten. She’d just been happy to avoid seeing Frank for the past week. It hadn’t occurred to her that she should be worried. “What work are you doing at the bar?” Please don’t say they trust you with the cash register or accounting.
“Whatever we need,” Frank said. “Washing some dishes, doing some cooking. I help behind the bar if we get busy.”
He was already using the word we? Good God. But that was part of Frank’s magic. He got people to buy into the relationship because he pretended to buy in. As far as they could tell, he wanted it all to work out and was going to do his part. But Frank Birch was washing dishes at a bar and sleeping on a pullout couch? Yeah, sure, that was going to last.
She knew very well what this was. Joe’s couch and the bar were stepping stones, a way of getting closer to other Kellys. Like Angie.
“And you’re probably getting to know the family pretty well, huh?” she asked drily. Frank knew that she knew all his schemes and patterns. And hell, getting to know the Kelly clan wasn’t hard. She could personally attest to the fact that was nearly impossible not to get to know them all.
“Oh, sure,” he said. “They’re all wonderful.”
Sophie might have been the only person in the world who could have detected that tiny note of smugness in his voice, but she most certainly heard it.
Finally she dropped all pretense of friendliness. It didn’t matter if Frank realized just how much she cared about the Kellys now. He was sleeping on one of their couches, for fuck’s sake. So he needed to know where she stood.
“Frank, can you hear me clearly and are you paying attention?”
There was a pause on his end, as if he was surprised. “Yes,” he finally said.
“You’re messing with the wrong family.”
“Is that right?”
“It is,” she said, coolly and firmly. There was only one way she could really hurt Frank. Financially. But fortunately, money was the most important thing to him. “Because if you hurt one of them, if you so much as give one of the Kelly women a charming smile, I will make sure that you never see any money from this theater ever again.”
There was another pause.
Then he laughed. Which she’d been expecting. So she gritted her teeth and waited.
Finally he said, “Really? You going to set it on fire and let it burn this time?”
“If that’s what it takes to get you away from the people I care about.” Shock rippled through her as she heard what she’d just said. And realized she meant it. The theater was important to her. For a long time, she’d thought it was the most important thing. It was her only happy connection to her biological family and the source of the happiest memories from her childhood. But she’d burn the damned thing down if it would keep Frank out of her life and away from the people she loved.
“I don’t believe you.” Frank had sobered and sounded almost angry now.
“You don’t want to push me, Frank. Because I promise you, if I did burn it down, you wouldn’t see a fucking penny of that insurance money.” She sucked in a breath and forced herself to at least sound calm and in control. “But it won’t come to that,” she went on. “I don’t need to get rid of the theater to cut you off financially.”
“Well, the courts might not agree with you, sweetheart,” he said. “I believe my fifty percent ownership is still intact.”
“It is,” she agreed. “And I will continue to give you fifty percent of whatever the theater brings in. But fifty percent of nothing is nothing, Frank.”
“You couldn’t run the theater without selling tickets,” he said.
And again Sophie heard something in his voice that only she would have been able to pick up—uncertainty.
“Oh, Frank,” she said cajolingly, “I can bring in enough to break even on expenses. You only get fifty percent of the profits.”
“Ah, so you’ve got your sights set on Finn to take care of you then,” Frank said.
Sophie narrowed her eyes. “No, Frank. I’ll be taking care of myself. And only myself. Not you. Not anymore.”
“You’re going to have to make some profit then,” Frank pointed out.
“Yep.”
“But you’re not going to share it with me?” Frank said, his voice getting harder again. “My lawyer might be interested in that.”
“Your lawyer is Danny Caid, and his only credentials are that he’s seen every episode of Law & Order,” Sophie said.
“He knows lawyers.”
“It won’t matter,” Sophie said, lifting her chin even though Frank couldn’t see her. “I’ll send you twenty bucks here and there to make it look good.”
He laughed. “You would steal money from your own father? Really, Sophia?”
“Really, Frank,” she said, letting him hear her cold anger.
“You think you could pull that off?”
“Well, I am Frank Birch’s daughter. I haven’t even begun to tap my manipulative, scheming, conscienceless genetics. Pretty sure I could pull off a tiny embezzlement.”
He didn’t say anything for several ticks. “Well, I guess I’m going to have to ask some friends for a loan then,” he said. “Angie did mention that if I needed anything, all I had to do was ask.”
Sophie felt her lungs freeze. “Angie?” she managed to choke out.
“Finn’s mom. Lovely, sweet woman.”
Sophie felt a knot begin to tighten in her gut. She recognized it, of course. It was white-hot anger. But it was now mixed with fear. And a strange desperation.
She had to keep Frank away from Angie. And Finn. And all the Kellys.
“You met Angie at the bar?” she asked tightly.
“Joe’s, actually. She brought pie. Peach.”
Frank’s favorite. Awesome.
The anger and fear and desperation all began to roil in her stomach. Would she burn the theater down to get Frank out of her life? Maybe not. But would she do it to keep him away from the people she loved? Absolutely.
“Stay away from Angie, Frank. I mean it.”
“Too late. We had a very nice, long talk at Roger’s barbecue two nights ago.”
Sophie opened her mouth, but she had no idea what to say.
“They asked why you weren’t there and told me to bring you next time,” Frank went on. “But I explained that big family gatherings aren’t really your thing. Unlike your old man. I love that stuff. The talking, the sharing, the laughter. The way they’re all there for one another. And they play a cutthroat game of corn hole.” He laughed as if remembering the good times, but it sounded completely empty to Sophie. “You know that game? They have the big board with the hole cut out that you toss bean bags through for points?”
Yeah, she knew what corn hole was. She also knew that Frank was completely full of shit. He didn’t care about family get-togethers and lawn games. He cared about nice, generous people trusting him and giving him stuff for free.
“Frank—”
“They also play cards. Pitch and poker. And they tell stories and give each other a hard time, but it’s all in fun, you know? They made me feel like part of the family. What a great group of people.”
Sophie felt her heart squeezing. He didn’t mean it. He was making a point with her that he was already exactly where she didn’t want him to be. And, dammit, where she wanted to be. She wanted to go to a family barbecue with the Kellys. Even Frank’s reminiscing about it made her ache with want.
And that made her realize that they must think she was a terrible person. What had he told them abou
t their relationship? Because who didn’t let their own father stay at their place when he’d just gone through a bad breakup and was nursing a broken heart? She could imagine the stories Frank was spinning for them.
She could tell them that Frank had money to spend on housing, he was just choosing to mooch off of someone else instead. She could tell them that she and Frank were essentially estranged, that she’d had a rough childhood, that he wasn’t who they thought he was. But they didn’t know her well enough to believe her. Because she’d been staying away. And they did know Frank. They’d been around him. And she knew that Frank had won them over. Frank could be the most easygoing, fun-loving, charming, and genuine-seeming person ever. If it suited his purposes. With the Kellys it would have. He wanted to be close to that family. With good reason. If anyone would give him the shirt off their back, it was the Kellys. He’d felt like part of the family. They were taking care of him—giving him a job and a place to stay. Son of a bitch. Instead of focusing on just one woman to take him in, he’d hit the jackpot. He had a whole family now.
And it was her fault he’d met them.
Sophie swallowed past the dryness in her mouth. “Did you already ask Angie for money?” she asked. He had, she was sure. Just as he’d asked Finn for money for a pizza, he’d have wanted to find out how hard it would be to get them to hand things over to him.
“Oh, it just kind of came up,” he said nonchalantly. Though Sophie could easily picture the scheming glint in his eye. “We were chatting about our kids and how much we love being close enough to visit them all the time, but how we don’t like being a burden on them.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “How much did you ask her for?”
“Well, she understood how I hate asking you for help.”
“Did you mention how you want me to marry her son so that you can live in our basement for the rest of your years?” she finally snapped.
“You better not put me in the basement, Sophia Isabelle. I plan on having an upstairs room with my own bathroom.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake! How much did you take from Angie?” Sophie shouted into the phone.
“Don’t worry. It’s a loan,” Frank said.
It was never just a loan. But that confirmed her worst fears. He’d already gotten money out of the Kellys. And not just any Kelly. Angie. The sweetest and most bighearted of any of them.
“Frank,” Sophie said. “Do. Not. Do. That. Again.”
“Then I guess you need to be sure I’m getting my share from the theater.”
And just like that, Frank won. As always. He had a free place to stay, a job, and ongoing financial support for absolutely no effort at the theater, and he’d made himself completely at home in the midst of an entire family that would support him and help him.
But maybe when he got tired of the few demands they might place on him—like showing up for work and being a decent guy—and left them all behind, it wouldn’t hurt them the way it had her stepmoms.
As the thought flitted through Sophie’s mind, she latched on to it. The Kellys might feel betrayed or angry or confused when Frank turned out to be someone other than they’d thought. But they wouldn’t be hurt. It wouldn’t radically change their lives as it did those of the women he left.
Yes, that was good.
The only problem then was that she would still lose them. And that would definitely hurt.
“So if the theater keeps making money, you won’t need any more from them,” she said. “You’ll just…sleep at Joe’s and go to work.”
And barbecues. Don’t forget that he gets to go to barbecues.
“Well, I’ll tell you what, darlin’,” Frank said, his voice sugary sweet again. “I’m liking this gig. I’m just hanging out at a bar, eating burgers in the backyard and watching ball games on TV. This is way easier than trying to keep a woman happy. I can’t believe I haven’t stumbled upon something like this before. So…thank you. And tell you what, as long as I’ve got multiple Kellys to depend on, maybe I won’t take off in the RV. Maybe I’ll stick around.”
Sophie gritted her teeth. And hung up.
She wanted to…hit something. Hard. She headed into her office and quickly changed into her workout clothes, anticipating the feel of slamming her fists into the bag. Over and over again.
But just as she’d gotten her gloves on, she heard someone calling to her. “Sophie?”
It was Angie.
One of the Kellys who had fed Frank potato salad and played corn hole with him and laughed and talked with him and included him in the family.
Sophie worked on composing herself just as Angie appeared in the office doorway. She took in Sophie’s clothes. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t know you were working out.”
Sophie shook her head. “No, I haven’t started yet.”
“Is this an okay time to go over some things about the costumes?” Angie asked.
Sophie took a deep breath and blew it out. “Sure.”
Angie peered closer at her. “Are you okay?”
Sophie tried to smile. She really did. She tried to pretend she was fine. But it didn’t work. She felt the frustration and worry and hurt bubble up, and she knew she wasn’t going to be able to hide her emotions from Angie. “I’m…I just got off the phone with my dad.”
Angie lowered the papers she’d been holding, and her expression grew more concerned. “Oh. Is everything okay?”
No. Her father was using Angie’s family and ruining Sophie’s chances of ever being close to them. Even though she didn’t want that. Or she’d thought she didn’t want that. Or that’s what she’d said, anyway.
But that was all bullshit. Of course she wanted to be part of the Kelly clan. Who wouldn’t? But especially a girl who’d never had a real family and who already loved Angie and who was, maybe, possibly, at least kind of, falling for Finn.
“He said he went to your family barbecue.” She’d meant to ask about the money first. Or the couch. Or the job. But yeah, the barbecue thing bothered her. A lot.
Angie nodded. “He did. Joe brought him along.”
Sophie swallowed and tried to hide her jealousy.
It didn’t work. Angie shook her head, looking sorry. “You never wanted to come. You told me to stop asking.”
Sophie nodded. She had.
Angie gave her a gentle smile. “I think he had a good time. He fit right in.”
Sophie threw her hands up. Had Angie forgotten everything Sophie had shared with her? “Of course he did, Angie. He’s an actor. He can fit in anywhere.”
“But it was really…nice,” Angie said. But she did look slightly regretful. “They all had a good time.”
“Oh, I’m sure. He was, after all, getting free food and successfully wrapping you all around his finger.”
Angie shook her head. “I knew you’d be upset, but honey, there’s something you should consider.”
“Oh?”
“Maybe your dad wants a family as much as you do.”
Sophie felt her mouth drop open. She stared at Angie. “Seriously?” she finally asked.
“He seemed very taken with the whole environment. And it sounds to me like he hasn’t had a lot of the family thing. The acceptance and fun and…”
“He had his chance!” Sophie broke in. “Six of them, as a matter of fact. He ruined it. Every single time. And,” she went on when it looked as if Angie was about to reply, “he even told me once that he didn’t want women who had children because he was trying to keep the number of people who got attached to a minimum. He knew, even before he got serious about them, that it wasn’t going to last.”
Sophie hugged her arms to her body and watched Angie process all of that. She hadn’t told Angie those details before. But it was true. Frank had figured out that the women without a lot of family of their own would be even easier to pull into playing house with him and Sophie. Because everyone wanted family, deep down. Everyone.
She took a deep breath. “He was never sorry to leave—except for t
he hardship about finding a new place to stay—and God knows the women were happy for him to leave by the time it was over. So really, I was the only one hurt and sad when they broke up.”
Angie gave her a smile and reached to put her hand on Sophie’s shoulder. “I don’t think that’s totally true, honey.”
Sophie shrugged off her hand, having a hard time believing she was doing it herself and seeing the surprise in Angie’s eyes. “You’re defending him?”
“I’m just saying that I think your dad really enjoyed his time with us.”
Sophie nodded. “I’m sure. Everyone enjoys their time with your big, happy family, right?”
Angie frowned, and Sophie regretted her tone of voice. But it was painful not only to think that Frank had been warmly welcomed into the Kelly family but to know that it had been in spite of the things Sophie had told Angie. Why wouldn’t Angie trust her?
Sophie took a deep breath. “Look, I know your family is amazing. I get it. And you welcome everyone in with open arms, and you make everything better for them. Your love and support inspires others, and you all band together to help whoever you can. But this is Frank. You have to believe me when I say that he’s a bad guy and he’s manipulative and he lies as easily as he breathes, and no matter how sincere he seemed, it was all just an act so that you would let him stay on Joe’s couch and work at Jamie’s bar and whatever else he can get from you all.”
Sophie squeezed her arms tighter to her stomach, trying to press down the feelings of betrayal.
“I didn’t know about any of that until the barbecue,” Angie said.
“Frank said he and Finn had a beer at the bar together.” Even saying that made a pain twinge in her chest.
“That’s the story I heard too. Though Frank came looking for Finn, from what I understand,” Angie said.
Ah, well, that made more sense. But didn’t make it much better.
“And Frank told me you gave him money,” Sophie said flatly.
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