The Commitment by Unknown

and made herself comfortable at the counter. Lucy kept her back towards Miranda while rinsing cups under the steaming faucet.
    Stalling, Miranda realized, as if she knew Miranda wasn't there for a pleasant social visit.
    At last Lucy dried her hands. "I really do have to get ready for work."
    Miranda sipped, using the time to gather her wits about her. She may not have the opportunity to ask questions again, at least not while Lucy was so flustered.
    "I want to know the real reason you and Drake got divorced," she said without subterfuge. "Why did you show up with Jack the other day in Las Vegas?" She refused to blush at the memory. Thanks to the tiny recording she knew the truth behind that scene.
    "We went all through my reasons months ago. He was cold, abusive. I couldn't love him like that." Lucy paced.
    "Funny, he told me a different story."
    "Of course he did. Did you expect him to tell his new bride the truth about was a bastard he is?" Lucy's voice snarled. "You should have paid more attention to me. He's going to hurt you just like he hurt me." Her eyes glittered. Then she flushed and turned back to the sink.
    Miranda went to her sister. Regardless of the truth Lucy's distress brought out Miranda's maternal instincts. When Miranda touched her, Lucy's shoulders stiffened.
    "I didn't think my marrying Drake would affect you so much," Miranda said, taking a stab in the dark. "Are you still in love with him?"
    Lucy whirled to face her. "No. It's not that. I just worry about you." Again Lucy's gaze strayed to the clock. "I'm sorry, but I really need to go. Keep my warning in mind, okay?"
    "You don't need to worry about me. I've been handling Drake longer than you."
    A strangled laugh escaped Lucy. Her gaze locked on something behind Miranda. "You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into."
    This wasn't getting her anywhere, just more frustrated. Miranda had to ask just one more question before she left. The same question that had gone unanswered before. "Why were you and Jack together when you came to Las Vegas? I didn't think you even liked him."
    Lucy flushed a deeper shade of rose. She didn't answer the question; instead she pushed past Miranda into the living room and pulled on her coat. "Let's go."
    As Miranda followed she noticed more details about the rooms than before. She noticed that a good deal of the clutter in the living room did not belong to Lucy. As a matter of fact, Lucy didn't own a briefcase let alone a tan cowhide number like the one that leaned against the sofa.
    Miranda sniffed. That's what had bothered her before but she hadn't been able to identify it. Now she recognized the faint odor of cigar smoke in the air. A tented pile of newspapers covered the small coffee table. A tumbler with a quarter inch of liquid in the bottom kept the newspaper company. Miranda twitched aside the paper. An ashtray containing a chewed on cigar stub was hidden beneath.
    "Since when did you take up cigars?" She raised an eyebrow at her sister.
    "Oh, I try lots of different things these days." The corner of Lucy's mouth quirked up and down. When had she developed a twitch?
    "Sure."
    A single brown loafer, a man's shoe, lay angled sideways near the door to the bedroom, as if it had been cast off in a hurry. A red and black sweatshirt had been tossed on the arm of a chair.
    An uneasy suspicion formed in Miranda's mind. All of these man's things had a familiar look to them. They reminded her of --
    The door swung open. Miranda turned. She and Lucy said, "Jack," at the same time.
    Except for his eyes, Jack stood motionless. Those beady blue marbles rolled in the sockets, first looking at one sister then switching to the other. Miranda saw him swallow. His jaw tensed, and then he put his keys into his pocket and strolled into the room.
    "Looks like Miranda has discovered our little secret." He kissed Lucy on the cheek.
    Miranda felt her thinning strands of composure slipping. Lucy went from flushed to porcelain pale in a