Where Missy becoming a member of their family seemed to have had a positive effect on Ruth Ann, it had had a negative effect on Faye and on Felicity, who seemed to resent all the attention her mother lavished on Missy. Charity was the only one who appeared to be unchanged. She was as she’d always been, his sweet, steady, tenderhearted daughter, who did her best to please everyone.

“Do I have to stay here with the rest of you?” Felicity whined. “If I promise not to get in trouble-”

“I’d rather you didn’t wander off,” Ruth Ann said as she and Faye spread the checkered tablecloth over the concrete table. “We’re going to eat soon, and I don’t want your father to have to search the park for you.”

Felicity glowered at her mother and then turned to her father. “Daddy, please.” She glanced at her wristwatch. “It’s eleven now. Just tell me what time to be back, and I promise I won’t be late. I want to hang around some of my friends and not get stuck with…” She rolled her eyes skyward. “With my family.”

He knew she had stopped herself short of saying “with Charity and Missy.” His daughters possessed different personalities, and although they’d been close as children, they had grown apart during their teen years. And in the past couple of years, Felicity occasionally acted as if she hated her sister.

“Be back here at twelve-thirty.” His gaze connected with Ruth Ann’s, and he immediately recognized that look of disapproval in her eyes.

“Thank you so much.” Felicity gave him a quick hug and then all but ran off into the crowd. He turned to Charity and Missy. “Why don’t you two take a walk, look around and enjoy the day? Just be back here at twelve-thirty.”

“That’s a good idea.” Charity turned toward a somber Missy.

“I’m not sure,” Ruth Ann said. She laid her hand on Missy’s shoulder.

“Teenagers do not want to be stuck with their parents all day,” John Earl told her.

“Come on, Missy,” Charity said. “I saw Seth with his mom over at the waterfall. We could go say hi.”

“All right,” Missy replied and followed Charity, who glanced over her shoulder and gave her parents a reassuring look, as if saying I’ll take care of her.

As soon as the girls were out of earshot, Faye grumbled as she removed a gallon of sweet tea from one of the picnic baskets they had brought from home. “Mark my word, that girl is going to be trouble.”

“Mother!” Ruth Ann glared at Faye.

“For heaven’s sake, it’s not that I don’t feel sorry for her.” Faye laid a package of white paper napkins on the table and reached into the basket for the plastic forks and spoons. “But she is not your responsibility, and you can’t work miracles, you know. You cannot change what happened to her.”

“Of course I can’t. No more than I can change what happened to me. But I can help her to stop feeling guilty, to stop blaming herself for what her father did to her, just as John Earl helped me.”

“I tried to help you,” Faye said. “I did my best.” Faye slammed the boxes of forks and spoons down on the table, and then turned abruptly and walked away.

Ruth Ann heaved a deep sigh.

John Earl placed his arm around her shoulders. “Everything will be all right. It’ll just take time for Faye and Felicity to adjust to having Missy as a part of the family.”

She looked into his eyes. “I hope you’re right. Felicity’s behavior and her attitude in general seem to have gotten worse lately.”

“Give her a little more of your undivided attention and she’ll come around.” He kissed Ruth Ann’s forehead. “Why don’t you take this opportunity to walk around and absorb some of the Fourth of July spirit in the park? I’ll finish up here and put the food out a little before twelve-thirty.”

“I think I will take a walk.”

“Just don’t follow the girls. They’ll be fine on their own.”

She smiled at him. “You know me too well.”

Standing near the spring-fed pond, she scanned the park, now overrun with holiday celebrators. She knew so many of these people. Sheriff Birkett, his mother and his children were sharing lunch with Seth Cantrell and his mother and her boyfriend. Wonder what Seth thought of his mother having an affair? He had been raised to know that sex outside of marriage was a sin.

She smiled to herself. Some of these people were such hypocrites, even those who professed to be ministers of the gospel.

Her gaze settled on Patsy and Elliott Floyd, who were working their son’s food booth, both of them dutiful parents. Even Patsy, with all her good qualities, was not above sin. But her sins could never compare to the evil inflicted on others by her male counterparts.

You, Patsy Floyd, are safe from God’s wrath here on earth.

Boisterous laughter coming from the covered pavilion across the pond caught her attention. Reverend Dewan Phillips, his wife Tasha and a dozen members of their congregation were sharing an early lunch.

They all revere that man almost as if he were a demigod. They’ve put him up on a pedestal, believing him to be a saintly person. Poor fools. Their little tin god has feet of clay. The Lord knows what is in his heart.

Pure evil.

Yes, Lord, I hear You.

The time is right. I must act soon.

When Lord?

Yes, of course.

I will make preparations for tomorrow night. Guide me, Heavenly Father. Show me the way.

In humble silence, her words heard only by God, she recited John 16:13. “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”

Chapter Thirty

Jack lay beside Cathy, his arm draped across her naked belly, his nose nuzzling her shoulder. She had never been happier in her life. She was in love again, gloriously, passionately in love. And although they had not exchanged the words, she knew in her heart that Jack loved her, too.

How many people actually got the second chance that fate had given them?

Yesterday had been wonderful, a true celebration of not only the country’s independence but Cathy’s freedom. She was living her life by her rules and making her own decisions, as she should have been doing all her adult life.

Even today had been good. Church with Seth this morning had been followed by lunch out with Jack and a walkthrough of his house. She had been eager to show Seth the renovations in progress and brag just a little about the plans she had drawn for Jack’s contractor. And despite the continued tension between her and her mother, her in-laws seemed to be making a genuine effort to accept Seth’s decision to live full-time with her when school started next month.

Things couldn’t be better with Seth. He liked Jack, and the two were getting along great. Seth wanted to come home, to live with her, and he’d even accepted the possibility that she might one day marry Jack.

All she had to do to keep her hard-won happiness was continue lying to the two most important people in her life. But if she told Jack the truth tonight, as she had promised herself she would, what would happen? How would he react? Would he ever forgive her for keeping his son from him all these years?

And what about Seth?

Would he hate her?

She eased Jack’s arm up and off her, and then she slid out of bed.

“Where are you going?” Jack asked in a relaxed, sexy voice.

She grabbed her robe off the foot of the bed and put it on before facing him. “We need to talk.”

He sat up in bed, allowing the sheet to slip down and around his hips. “Sounds serious.” He studied her closely. “What’s wrong, honey?”

“Get up and put on some clothes,” she told him. “I’ll fix us something to drink. Which do you prefer iced tea or iced coffee?”