House of Strangers (Harlequin Super Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

their father was a paragon? I promised Tante Helaine I would expose him, and I will. Let them deal with the truth for a change.”
    “Then go tell the son what you suspect, who you are. He’s your half brother, after all.”
    “And have the entire clan circle the wagons? No, until I have incontrovertible proof that my father killed my mother, proof that would convince a jury, nobody down here is going to know I have any connection with the Delaneys. Now that I own the family home I have the perfect cover story—it’s natural to want to find out the history of an old house. These people will fall over themselves regaling me with anecdotes. The Delaneys were the most important family in the county. Trey Delaney is still one of the richest men. Certainly he owns the most land. I’m really looking forward to meeting him.” He tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, but Giselle knew him too well.
    “You should never have promised Maman you’d avenge Aunt Michelle. You want to destroy the Delaneys for Maman, but in the end, I think you are the one who will suffer. The kind of hate my mother carried around corrodes like acid. It ruined her life, and in the end I think it contributed to her death. I know you’re still angry thatyou can’t fly big jets any longer, but don’t transfer your anger to the Delaneys. That’s a whole different issue.”
    Paul laughed. “Don’t psychoanalyze me, Giselle. I don’t blame the Delaneys for that. Nor for the fact that Tracy walked out on me because she couldn’t take looking after an invalid, nor for the pain in my shoulder. I blame them because I grew up without either a mother or a father.”
    “Stop it! Maman and Dad loved you like a son.”
    “Of course they did. And I loved them both. But having your aunt and uncle take you in isn’t quite the same thing as growing up with the man and woman whose genes you carry. In my case I didn’t even know who’d donated half of my genes until a few months ago.”
    “I have a very bad feeling about this. Not for those Delaneys, but for you.”
    “Who said revenge is a dish best eaten cold? After thirty years it’s damned near frozen.”
    “What if you like them? The ones who are left, I mean?”
    “I’ll try not to let that happen. If it does, I’ll deal with it.”
    “Please call me every night or e-mail me. I want to know everything that’s going on.”
    “I promise. I love you, Giselle. Regards to Jerry.”
    “Good night, mon frère. ”
    He put the phone back in its cradle and lay back on the bed.
    “Scamoglio,” he said, and laughed. “Who knew?”
    At least Ann was enthusiastic about something other than Botox injections in her forehead. He turned the sound up on the TV, moved to the floor and began the exercises to stretch and strengthen his right shoulder and arm. Hemust be getting better. The tears from the pain didn’t begin to run down his cheeks and into his ears for a good five minutes.
     
    “G RAM, WE’RE STARTING the Delaney restoration job tomorrow morning,” Ann said as she reached for another ear of sweet corn. “It’s going to be fabulous.”
    “Pass the butter to your daughter, Nancy,” Sarah Pulliam said.
    “She does not need any more butter,” Ann’s mother said shortly. But she passed it anyway. “Mother, you are a great cook, but does the word cholesterol mean anything to you?”
    “Hush. The girl has no meat on her bones as it is.” Sarah turned a concerned face to her granddaughter. “I wish they’d tear that old Delaney place down and salt the earth it stands on.”
    “Whatever for? I love that house.”
    “Ann, honey, I firmly believe that old houses take on the character of the folks who lived in them,” her grandmother said, and slid the platter of barbecued pork chops closer to Ann. “Nobody who ever lived there has been happy, starting with the Delaney who built it.”
    “I know Mr. Delaney lost his only daughter, Gram, but half the people of west Tennessee lost