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upset about little things like that . "
    " Some guys don ' t get excited about much of anything, " Reggie said.
    Tony shook his head. " I can imagine certain things get Uncle Karl riled up. "
    " His work, " Becki agreed.
    " Totally dig it , " Ian said . " Last Design at Nine makeover, we had to tear everything out and start from scratch . I t was such a disgrace . A straight man hangs a giant flat screen on the wall and thinks he ' s Ty Pennington . "
    Reggie snorted. " At least straight guys don ' t sing ' Oh , I think a pink throw would look marvellous over there by the picture window . ' "
    " Just ignore Reggie, " Linda said.
    Becki did just that . " Glad to hear you ' re not advising your viewers to run out and buy the latest in electronics , Ian . "
    " Why ' re you glad about that? " Linda asked.
    " Manufacturers don ' t need designers ' help swamping people with product. Over 91,000 tonnes of electronics are sold every year in Ontario. "
    " Wow! " Gina said.
    " And where do TVs, VCRs and CD players end up when new versions hit the market? " Becki asked .
    " Landfill , " Gina replied.
    " The ugly consumer and all that, " Tony said.
    " Oh, don ' t get me wrong , " Becki said. " I ' m a capitalist. Have my own shop and everything so I ' m not immune to the good life . "
    " Yet this afternoon, " Linda interrupted, " you were headed home before seeing the lawyer about your Piaget diamond watch and two hundred thousand dollars. "
     
    It was nighttime again. The worst time . T onight it was thundering and lightning . S he pleaded with Mom to let her leave one light on, but the shadows were still spooky even if Macho told her not to be afraid.
    " But , Macho, something could happen here in my room and they ' d all be playing cards downstairs or sleeping in their own rooms . T hey wouldn ' t notice anything was wrong until next morning when they found me dead in my bed. "
    Not like Grandma , Macho said.
    " Exactly like Grandma. "
    She lay awake and tried to count sheep . T he sky g rew lighter and lighter as the night wore on . T he moon came out from behind the clouds . I t was kind of pretty , but all she wanted was for the moon to go to sleep and the sun to come up.
     

 
     
    Chapter 9
     
    Gina stood at the bedroom window and gazed out onto the backyard. It seemed to go on for miles and miles in the dark. And that ' s just the way she felt—in the dark.
    A windfall of two million dollars. Grandma dying of cancer. Tony not her cousin. What else hadn ' t she known? How were you supposed to keep your balance when everything you thought to be true suddenly got turned on its head?
    " We ' ve got to talk, " Tony had whispered after dinner when they were clearing the plates.
    " Not now, " she had said. " I need to help Becki and Ian clear up. "
    " Then meet me at— "
    " Tony, can we do this tomorrow? " She felt the panic rise. " It ' s nearly nine. I ' m exhausted. I just want to go to bed. "
    She could see his eyes turn dark with disappointment. He moved away a bit, and looked so unhappy she almost recanted.
    Because it wasn ' t true. She wasn ' t tired…only scared of facing the confrontation. That there would be one, she was sure. They would have to talk about this new aspect to their relationship. Could things go on as before? Could she pretend nothing had changed? The barrier of blood that had braced Gina for keeping her feelings in check was now gone. Vanished.
    She would face it tomorrow when they met for breakfast. Everything would be clearer in the morning. She turned from the window, just missing the lone figure as it raced across the lawn.
     
    What a hell of a day. Tony didn ' t feel like going to bed yet. When a truck hits you in the face, you don ' t feel like sleeping. He went in search of a stiff drink.
    Jerry was sitting on the library sofa holding a glass.
    " See you had the same idea, " he said with a welcome grin.
    Tony headed to the drinks trolley, reached for a glass and poured whiskey from a decanter. "