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best think of what you want to tell her now.”
    Karen scooted closer to her husband, enjoying the feel of his arm around her. It was far too tempting to close her eyes and lean against Garth. Thinking about Cassie and the mistakes her sister had made drained Karen. Of the three sisters, Cassie had shown the most promise and she’d screwed up her entire life over a man.
    “She accused Dad of being jealous of Duke,” Karen murmured.
    “Was he?”
    Garth’s question surprised her. At the time the accusation had seemed ludicrous, but in retrospect Karen realized that Cassie had probably been right. As her father’s favorite, he’d carefullyscrutinized the boys Cassie dated more than he ever had any of the boys who showed interest in Karen or Nichole.
    “Dad never liked Duke and he forbade Cassie to see him.”
    “A lot of good that did,” Garth commented.
    He was right. “Cassie started sneaking out of the house at night, and then Mom and Dad caught her.”
    “I can only imagine what that scene must have been like.”
    Karen couldn’t remember her father ever being more upset. A shouting match had ensued, and it was shortly afterward that Cassie ran away and married Duke.
    “She didn’t ask about the cameo,” Karen murmured, a bit surprised. She would have thought that was the first thing Cassie would want to know.
    “Cameo? You mean the one Nichole wore at her wedding?”
    Karen rested her head against her husband’s arm. “It belonged to our grandmother. Grandpa brought it back from World War Two as a wedding present for our grandmother. Dad wanted Cassie to have it. Like I said, she was always his favorite.” Karen did a poor job of hiding her resentment. “After she ran away, Dad gave the cameo to Nichole.”
    “Why not you? You’re the oldest.”
    “I got Grandma’s pearls.”
    Cassie had loved the cameo and their father had let her wear it for special occasions while a young teen. Karen sincerely doubted that she’d forgotten about it. She must assume that the cameo was part of what she would collect from what remained of their parents’ lives. If that was the case, she was bound to be disappointed.
    They were both silent for a few minutes. “Do you know what you’re going to tell Lily and Buddy?” her husband asked, reminding her that she had yet to answer the question.
    “Not yet. I’m going to think on it awhile.”
    “That’s good. We want to approach this carefully.”
    Karen agreed. The late-night news flashed across the television screen. Was it that time already? She had an early-morning appointment with a young couple purchasing their first home. They were scheduled to sign the final papers at seven-thirty before they were due at work, which meant Karen would need to be at the office by seven.
    “Are you ready for bed?” she asked Garth.
    “In a bit,” he promised.
    Her husband was generally the first to retire for the evening, and his willingness to stay up for the news surprised her. He must have noticed her hesitation because he glanced her way. “Can I wake you?” The question held a much deeper connotation.
    Karen smiled and nodded. “You can wake me anytime you want, Garth.”
    He smiled and then playfully growled.
    How fortunate she was, Karen mused, as she headed for their bedroom, to have a husband who loved her.

Chapter 4

    Cassie had a fifteen-minute break between clients and was sitting in the break room, checking her cell for messages. Earlier Rosie had connected her with her cousin Russell, who said he might be able to get Cassie a weekend job working for the catering company that serviced the suites for the Sounders’ soccer games. She already had a health card from the time she worked in a fast-food restaurant while going to cosmetology school. If she got hired as a server for even two or three of their games, she’d be able to earn enough to rent a truck and drive to Spokane to collect the furniture Karen had mentioned. Her sister had made it plain she