“That you’re going to pay back every single penny to every single person you
owe.”
“Impossible!”
“I’m sure you have records of all of them,” she replied in a firm tone. “And if not, I’m happy to find them for you and send each one a personal note to let them know their money is on its way back to them. Got it?”
He looked like a chastised child, pouting after being caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Fine.”
“Good. And second, you’re going to stop your cons, once and for all. If I find out that you haven’t—and believe me, I will—I’ll make sure the feds have enough information about what you’ve done to lock you up. Forever.”
He stared at her. For a long while. “You’ve changed.”
“I have.” She wouldn’t apologize for finally finding her strength. “And now it’s time for you to change. Long past time.”
His mouth was set in a firm line. But he nodded.
Tasha felt as though she’d sprinted an entire marathon. But she still had one more very important thing to say. “I love you both. You’re my family. I only want you to be able to do what’s good and what’s right. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
Her father picked at the white sheets. No matter what he said, she believed the things he’d done weighed on him. The panic attack proved it.
Or, if she took off her rose-colored glasses, maybe he was just afraid of getting caught.
But even if her father was a lost cause, she believed in Drew. Her brother could change—and she wouldn’t give up on him until he did.
Gathering Daniel’s hand in hers, leaning into him for the comfort he had always been so quick to give, she said to her brother, “Tell me where you’ve been the past three months.”
And she listened to their story.
* * *
Daniel was so damn proud of Tasha, his heart felt near to bursting. Even as he’d wanted to crush her old man for what he’d done to her, for the pain he’d caused, for his betrayal. For making Tasha lose her ability to trust. For making her doubt herself.
Daniel wanted to help her heal, and healing was in every word she’d said. She’d gone to bat for her brother and hadn’t accepted her father’s excuses. But neither had she withheld her love.
Love was the most important thing.
No matter what her family had done.
It was something he wished his mother and father had realized about themselves long before now. His mother had forgiven everyone else—but she hadn’t forgiven herself. If she had, she never would have kept her secrets from him. She would never have been afraid of what he’d think of her.
He could only hope that after their conversation, she’d finally seen that she had nothing to ask his forgiveness for. In fact, his mother had helped him find Tasha, to accept Tasha just the way she was.
No one was perfect. But Tasha was still perfect for him.
It was after midnight by the time they left her father’s room. It had been a long, long day, and she leaned into him as they rode the elevator to the penthouse suite he’d booked. He’d wanted to give her luxury, something she could totally unwind in, with a jetted tub, thick comforters, and the softest mattress.
Inside the suite, he sat her down on the sofa in the sunken living room and went to one knee in front of her to remove her sandals.
A colossal fruit basket sat on the coffee table, compliments of Walter Braedon, owner of the Regent Hotel. In addition, champagne chilled in a bucket, and two crystal flutes sparkled in the lamplight.
She flopped back against the sofa, and when he began to massage her feet, she groaned her appreciation. Her eyes closed, she asked, “Do you think my father will change?”
“I don’t know.” He always wanted to be honest with her. “But your brother already has.”
They’d left him in her father’s sick room. The two had roamed the country for the last three months, never staying any one place for long, always paying cash, which meant they’d slept in cheap motels that didn’t require credit cards, eaten fast food, and probably drunk too much as well.
“Do you know what I think? Your brother only stayed because he thought your father needed him.” Daniel worked up her right leg, then the other, unknotting her calf muscles.