The three Wilde sisters-in-law exchanged meaningful glances. There was more silence. Then Lissa nodded, pushed back her chair and rose to her feet.
“I’m going to talk to Caleb. He’s the only one who knows Castelianos. I’ll let you know what he says. Then, we’ll either come up with a plan to get Jaimie and him together—”
“Or we’ll squash Zach Castelianos like a bug.”
Everybody laughed, but any man who might have had the misfortune of being in that kitchen at that moment would surely have exited, and fast.
* * * *
Actually, Lissa didn’t go straight to Caleb.
She waited an hour, got her thoughts together, went up to Jaimie’s room, stepped inside and shut the door.
“You’re still in love with him, aren’t you?” she said.
Jaimie looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “Excuse me? In love with who?”
“Give me a break, James. With Zacharias Castelianos.”
Jaimie’s mouth tightened.
“We are not going to discuss Zacharias Castelianos.”
“Maybe we should. I’ve been thinking that maybe you should have given the guy a chance to explain.”
“This topic is not open to discussion.”
Lissa glared at her. “You know, I’d almost forgotten that the other side of logic is complete and total pigheadedness.”
“Liss. I know you mean well—”
“Are you sure he lied to you?”
“Yes.”
The answer was succinct. That didn’t keep Lissa from asking i
t several more times.
Jaimie’s responses went from “What part of ‘yes’ don’t you understand?” to “Would you please mind your own business?” to “Dammit, shut up!”
“You’re still in love with him,” Lissa said for the last time.
And Jaimie burst into tears.
Lissa patted her shoulder, hugged her, got her a bunch of tissues from a box in the adjoining bathroom, and went in search of Caleb, who had just returned from the morning’s ride with his brothers.
“Outside,” she said.
Caleb raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t heard the ring of command in his sister’s voice in a long time, but he’d grown up with it. And even though he was her big brother, it still held authority.
She put on a heavy sweater. He put on a denim jacket. They walked down to the stables and wandered along the center aisle, rubbing noses and scratching ears.
“What’s up, Liss?”
Lissa looked up at her brother. “It’s about Jaimie.”
“Yeah. Well, I was a little worried there, but she seems better. Jake, Trav and I talked about it.”