Under the Boardwalk (Costas Sisters 1)

“Nobody wants this hunk of crap.”

“Samantha,” Quinn warned before turning to Ari. “If someone had taken the truck, they’d have returned her and her smart mouth in no time. Get out of the car, miss,” he said to Sam, pulling out his cell phone as he spoke.

“Do your foster parents know you’re here?” Ari asked.

“I’m just about to find out.” He started to dial at the same time Sam burst into tears.

Chapter Nine

Midnight. Unable to sleep, Ariana paced the floor in her sister’s room. She’d tiptoed in and now glanced around, memories of the past, both happy and sad, overwhelming her. Ariana often wondered why Zoe hadn’t moved out of her parents’ home. Why, beyond college, she hadn’t taken that step toward becoming an independent adult. But any time Ariana asked, an argument had ensued. Zoe would berate Ariana for her feelings toward the family and her need to stay away, and Ariana would tell Zoe she could do so much better than a life as a showgirl/con artist.

One of the reasons Ariana had taken off for Vermont instead of teaching at a local college was so she could escape not just the lifestyle but the constant disagreements. Now Ariana would give anything to have Zoe standing in front of her so they could have a good old-fashioned sisterly fight.

Ariana was already feeling raw and the earlier scene with Sam hadn’t helped. Quinn had returned Ariana to the diner for her car, then taken Sam back to her foster parents, but not before Sam had indulged in a full-blown scene. She’d cried and begged him to let her stay with him, while blaming him for choosing Felice and Aaron in the first place. Ariana’s heart had twisted with pain for them both.

The end result was that Ariana felt twice as guilty over the rift with Zoe, because at least she had family, while Sam had none. And she agonized because she couldn’t find a way to fix things for an innocent child, the victim of other people’s decisions, not her own.

A knock sounded on the door and Ariana turned, startled. Her mother strode inside, tying her black silk robe around her waist as she walked. “I heard noises and thought I’d find you in here.”

Ariana swallowed hard. “I’m sorry if I woke you.”

“It wasn’t you. Your father’s snoring did that hours ago.”

Ariana laughed. Nicholas always fell asleep, mouth open, the most obnoxious noises coming from deep in his chest. When they were kids, she and Zoe would toss popcorn at his open mouth in an effort to see who had the best aim.

She glanced at her mother and grinned. “I don’t know how you stand it.” Her mother had been complaining about her father’s irritating habit for years.

Elena shrugged. “When you love someone, little things like snoring don’t bother you.” Elena placed a hand on Ariana’s shoulder. “And one day, you’ll have feelings so strong, you’ll understand what I mean.”

Without warning, Ariana thought of Quinn. She wondered if he snored—and if she’d ever find out.

“Now tell me. How’s Quinn?” her mother asked as if reading her mind.

“He’s fine, as you well know, since you sent him over to Aunt Kassie’s place earlier.”

“And how was your dinner?” she asked, casual as she pleased.

“What would you expect with Daphne hovering and Gus telling him our sordid stories?”

Elena smiled. “At least Quinn knows what he’s getting himself into. And this one’s got strong character. He won’t run just because your family’s got their own special quirks.” Her mother brushed a strand of hair out of Ariana’s eyes. “I always told you that Jeffrey had a stick up his behind.”

“Mom, please. Let’s not relive history, okay?”

“Of course not. I just want you happy and I think Quinn’s a good man.”

“Good enough to make me come back home, you mean?” Ariana figured it was time to deal with all that was unsaid between mother and daughter.

“It isn’t normal for a daughter to move out and not return for five years. You needed your own life? Fine.” Her mother spread her hands out in front of her. “But to stay away so long? Are we so bad a family?”

Ariana twisted her fingers together and tried to find the words to explain why she’d made the decisions she had. “I was right to leave, because I needed space and I needed to find out who Ariana Costas really was.” But since coming home again, Ariana was forced to acknowledge the scary truth to herself—she still didn’t know.

But there was another truth. And this one she could admit to aloud. “I was wrong not to come home. That was the coward’s way.” She realized that now.

“I still don’t understand why you stayed away.”

Ariana met her mother’s gaze, reaching out for her hand at the same time. “I think that’s the problem. I don’t understand all of you any more than you understand me. But I promise to try harder, okay?” She made a vow to do just that. She couldn’t look at Sam, who had no family, and turn her back on her own.