True Vision by Joyce Lamb Read Free Book Online Page B

Mother.”
    “Your father is in his office.”
    Charlie paused in the foyer, breathing in the white linen air freshener. Everything in Elise Trudeau’s house was white and brand-new. Carpet, walls, furniture. Three months ago, the color of choice had been a buttery yellow. A year before that, off-white. Always understated, like her simple diamond jewelry and expensive strappy sandals, and never more than a year old. Redecorating had become Elise Trudeau’s vocation once she’d finished trying her damnedest to raise three proper daughters who, unfortunately for her, had very strong minds of their own.
    “He’s waiting.”
    Charlie took a fortifying breath and turned. Might as well go for it. “I don’t suppose you have a sister you’ve never mentioned before.”
    Elise stepped back, her lips parting in shock and her dark eyes widening. “What on earth—”
    “The woman who was hit by the car near the newspaper told a friend that she was coming to Lake Avalon to meet family she didn’t know. Us.”
    “That’s . . .” she trailed off, shook her head. “That’s absurd.”
    Yet her pale cheeks and slim neck flamed red, tightening the knot in Charlie’s stomach. She knew the signs. She’d been pushing her mother’s buttons for years, damning the consequences. The woman was going to blow, and part of Charlie enjoyed watching it happen. It felt powerful. All it took was another tiny nudge.
    “It’s a simple question. Yes or no would suffice.”
    Elise lashed out with an open palm.
    Fury and fear rage equally inside my skull. She can’t know. How could she know? All these years, so many, long, lonely years. No one can find out. They’ll hate me, know once and for all who I really am. I strike out blindly, without thinking. Rena. Oh, God, Rena. What have I done?
    Charlie came back to herself to find her eyes watering from the sting. She thought she’d been braced, but the slap carried more power than usual. And this time, taunting her mother had paid off in an unexpected way. She had a name now. Rena. Would that be Aunt Rena?
    At the same time, the flash into her mother’s head had shown her that Elise wasn’t simply unreasonably angry all the time. She was afraid, too. They’ll know once and for all who I really am? What the hell did that mean?
    “Don’t ever speak to me of this again, Charlotte,” Elise said, her voice shaking. “Do you understand?”
    Putting a hand to the heat on her face, Charlie managed a small, humorless smile. “A simple ‘no’ would have been just as effective.”
    Elise stepped forward, and the threat of more violence forced Charlie back automatically. Old habits. Her hip bumped the table near the door, stopping her retreat, and then her mother was nose to nose with her and hissing. “I’ll warn you only once. If you mention this in front of your father, I’ll . . .” She clenched her hands at her sides.
    “What?” Charlie prodded. “Hit me again? You might want to use your fist next time. You’ve always hit like a girl.”
    Elise’s dark brown eyes narrowed dangerously, but before she could strike out again, Reed Trudeau walked into the foyer behind her.
    “Elise.”
    Charlie’s mother stiffened at the sound of his voice, and her eyes clashed with Charlie’s, issuing a silent warning, before she moved back.
    “Charlie?” her father said.
    She edged out from between her mother and the wall, careful to avoid Elise’s glittering glare, and glanced at her father, noting the tightness in his jaw. From the fire back into the frying pan. He gestured in the direction of his office before turning away. As she fell in step behind him, she sensed her mother’s eyes boring into her back and told herself she didn’t care. Yeah, right. That hadn’t worked her whole life.
    In his office, her father stood with his back to her, silently staring out the window behind his desk while she closed the door. He’d shed his suit jacket and tie but not his trademark red