“It is,” Maggie agreed. “So how did this come to a head?”
“I caught him whispering sweet nothings into his phone when he said he was taking a conference call, so I followed him, climbed a fence, and waited until he had his pants down around his knees poolside before spraying them both down with a hose and telling him I wanted a divorce.”
“Wow.” Maggie was impressed. “What did Dad say?” Their father had introduced Dayana to Donald, having personally selected the man for his daughter. He’d made his son-in-law an executive in the family foundation, and Donald had stepped into his wife’s role as senior program officer when she had their son.
Dayana shot her a look. “How should I know?”
“You didn’t tell him?”
“I’m sure he already knows. They work down the hall from each other. Besides, he’d just give me the lecture about dignity and the family name. And I am not feeling very dignified right now.”
“Wow. Okay. So what are you doing here?” Maggie asked. Dayana had friends. Glamorous, wealthy, stylish friends. They sat on boards together and went to galas. They had spa days and went to ribbon cuttings.
“I’d like to be offended by that question,” Dayana said. “But I deserve it.”
“I don’t mean it like that,” Maggie fibbed. “I just meant you have a whole life in Seattle. What made you come here to, as Dean likes to call it, Where the Fuck Are We, Idaho?”
Dayana took a sip of her coffee and then sighed. “My entire life feels like a prison cell. I live in a house chosen by a man who knew he didn’t love me when he proposed. I worked at a job for another man who groomed me to fit his requirements for the perfect daughter. I’m surrounded by friends in the same situation who are all making it work. Rich husbands cheat. And rich wives are just supposed to accept it. Accept it and redecorate or get a new piece of jewelry.”
“That’s bullshit,” Maggie said.
Her sister nodded. “It is. I can’t live with this. I don’t need someone telling me how to suck it up and deal with it because the good outweighs the bad or ‘what did I expect when I signed up for this.’ I’m here because I need my sister.”
Maggie didn’t know what to say. She and Dayana had always been careful not to refer to each other as sisters.
“I need you because you’re not invested in keeping me in line. I need you because I was a shitty sister to you when you came into my life, and it’s time to make amends for that. I am done living a life that someone else designed. And the only person I know who can teach me how is you.”
“I think I need a drink,” Maggie admitted.
“Make it two,” Dayana said with a sad laugh. She turned to face her sister. “So, can we stay?”
Maggie blinked. She felt like the time she’d taken a header off the landing into the basement of her first flip. “Here? It’s a construction zone. There are people in and out of the house all day long. Plus, there’s more than just me staying here.”
“I don’t care if you have an entire high school marching band that lives in your attic and wakes up to practice at six a.m. I need a change, and I need your help.”
Maggie’s heart started to hammer in her chest like it did whenever she saw Silas with his hat on backward. But this wasn’t the good kind of cardio. This was nerves.
“I’m above begging, but I am not above using my son. Donald hasn’t spent a day alone with Keaton in Keaton’s entire life. He needs attention. He needs family. I need family.”
“You’re kidding me.” Maggie wasn’t so much surprised as appalled.
“I wish I were,” Dayana said, staring down at the town that had called to Maggie. “I like the vibe here. It’s something different.”
Maggie really needed that drink. Hell. She was going to need another bed.
She helped Dayana unload her bags and dumped Dean with the responsibility of helping her sister choose a bedroom. The second they disappeared upstairs, Maggie went in search of Silas. She found him and Keaton on the north side of the house. Silas was watering the plantings while her nephew chased dog and cats through the wet mulch, squealing with delight. The kid was positively filthy and seemed downright joyful about it.
“I know you’re mad at me,” Maggie said. “And you have every right to be, but I need advice and I need it fast.”
Silas glanced at her and then the hose.
“I wouldn’t blame you if you did it,” she said, reading his mind.