A Daughter's Trust

Which left Sue with only Michael and Carrie in her care. Left her free to meet Belle for a walk along the wharf Wednesday afternoon. A budding journalist, her cousin was in town for a job interview.

Pushing the double stroller through crowds of tourists along the waterfront, Sue had barely seen her cousin before Belle grabbed the handle of the stroller and took over. “Sorry,” she said, with a glance at Sue. “Your babies always make me feel better.”

“I know. Me, too. So what’s up?” Not that she didn’t already know. When Belle had that particularly pinched look, it meant only one thing. Her father was on the warpath.

“Dad’s trying to appeal the will.”

“Good luck with that one.”

“I know, but he’s insisting he’ll spend whatever money necessary to see that it’s done.”

“Why? It’s not like there’s any huge fortune.”

“He wants the necklace.”

“What for? He’s suddenly into sentimentality? Would your dad dare sell it?”

“He says it belongs to him. Period. And he wants Adam’s share of the money, too.”

“That’s ridiculous. He doesn’t even need the money. He’s gained a brother. Why can’t he just be happy with that?”

“Dad’s ordered both Mom and me to stay away from Uncle Adam. We aren’t allowed to try to contact him, or to take any of his calls.”

“Has he called, then?” Sue’s mother hadn’t said anything about it when they’d talked on Sunday.

“No. Have you heard from Joe?”

“Not really. Just a card. How about you?” Joe and Belle had never met before the day they’d discovered they were cousins.

“I called him, left a message, but he didn’t phone back.”

“Does your father know?”

“Of course not. But I’m not going to obey him, Sue. He’s plain wrong. We have an uncle—and a cousin—that are as much family as the rest of us. Heck, more so to you, since Adam’s your mom’s full brother.”

Yeah. Sue and Joe were more closely related than she and Belle were. And all these years Belle had been her only cousin.

“Are you going to try to see Adam?”

“I’d like to invite him to meet us for dinner. If you’ll come, that is.”

“Just make sure it’s either somewhere where I can bring the brood, or give me enough notice to get a sitter. For that matter, you can invite him out to my place if you’d like. Invite Joe, too, if you want.”

Maybe if Belle asked him he’d come. But then, he hadn’t responded to her calls, either.

Her cousin expertly maneuvered the wide stroller around a group of people stopped in the middle of the walkway. “It’s going to piss Dad off royally if he finds out.”

“And when have I ever been afraid of your father’s wrath?”

“Never.” Belle smiled. “You have no idea how many times you’ve saved my sanity.”

“He’s mostly bark.”

At Belle’s silence, Sue frowned. “He’s not hitting your mother, is he?”

“Not that I know of.” She shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. I mean, that would surprise even me. Personally, I think the mental cruelty is worse. It’s harder to see. To understand. Or to fix.”

Not for the first time, Sue wondered just how badly the scars Belle kept hidden from her youth affected her. She had been talking about her mother, but it was obvious, to Sue at least, that Belle was also referring to herself. As far as she knew, Belle had never been in love. Never been able to trust a man with her heart. She’d lived with a guy for a while. A nice, steady guy who had bored her to tears.