Return to Me by Robin Lee Hatcher Page A

it’s me.”
    Elena offered a slight smile. “I’m glad you’re back.” She motioned behind her. “All of us are.”
    Was that true? She didn’t sound glad. And to Roxy’s surprise, Elena’s cool tone and reserved smile hurt as much as a slap across the face.
    She shifted her eyes beyond her sister and saw Wyatt walking toward them. When he arrived, he took Elena’s hand.
    “You look a little more rested than you did when you got here.
    And Elena’s right. We’re glad you’ve come home.”
    “Thanks.” Roxy didn’t know what to do or say next. She felt like a stranger from another planet. She knew these two, and yet she didn’t know them. They looked the same, and yet they were different.
    I don’t belong here. I’m an outsider.
    She pointed at the tumblers of soda on the counter. “Can I get either of you something while I’m back here?”
    “I’ll get it,” Wyatt answered. “You need to sit down with Elena and do some catching up.” He stepped around the end of the bar.
    With him there, the area seemed crowded.
    Roxy had forgotten how tall he was, how small she felt when standing next to him. If only she could forget the other things. Things that still came back to her, even after all these years.
    Things far better forgotten now that he was to marry her sister.
    =

    Before Elena arrived at her father’s home, a hundred questions for Roxy had swirled in her head. But when she saw her sister, the ques- tions were silenced. She understood what Wyatt said two nights before: I’m worried about Roxy . . . She looks lost, beaten . . .
    Regret gripped Elena’s heart as she looked at her little sister. Regret that the funny, carefree girl had vanished. Regret that the friendship they once shared was gone. Regret that she’d failed to keep her promise to her mother.
    She’d tried. She’d done her best. But her best was never good enough when it came to Roxy.
    Elena remembered the summer night she caught seventeen- year-old Roxy crawling in through her bedroom window, reeking of cigarette smoke and whiskey.
    “Are you crazy? What if something happened to you?”
    “You worry too much, Elena. I’m okay. I was with Wyatt. We went to a bar to hear a new band.”
    “How’d you get into a bar?”
    Roxy rolled her eyes. “Duh! Didn’t you ever hear of fake IDs?”
    Elena had wanted to throttle her at the same time she wanted to hug her.
    Rather like tonight.
    She looked at Roxy’s face. The shadows in her features made Elena’s heart ache. Her little sister had seen the dark side of humanity — seen it and been wounded by it. If only she could take Roxy in her arms and say, “It’ll be all right.” But she was afraid if she touched her sister, she’d push her away and say, “It serves you right.”
    Wyatt broke the silence. “Roxy, what are you going to do with yourself now that you’re back?”
    Elena set her fork on her plate, her appetite gone.
    “I’m not sure. Dad said I could work at Burke’s corporate offices.”
    “Really?” Elena glanced toward their dad. “Doing what?” “Whatever he wants me to do, I guess.”
    How like Roxy to turn things to her benefit. “I didn’t think you were interested in working for the family firm.” She tried to make her voice light, but inside, she felt brittle.
    “I wasn’t.” Roxy lowered her gaze to her plate. “But things’ve changed.”
    Elena picked up her fork. “I wouldn’t be in any hurry to go to work if I were you.” She speared a glazed carrot. “From the look of you, Roxy, you couldn’t handle anything too complex right now.” “I’m sure she’ll be fine,” their father said, “if you show her the
    ropes.”
    I don’t want to show her the ropes. She doesn’t belong there. She’s screwed up too often. She quit when she worked there before. She doesn’t love the business the way we do. Besides, look at her. She could be using drugs, for all we know.
    “Elena’s right about one thing, Roxy. You do need to get