Rising, Sunny walked over to lay her hands on Libby’s shoulders. They were taut, like bundles of wire. Automatically she worked to relax them. “Cal’s a grown man, Libby, and staying here was his choice. J.T.’s just going to have to accept that.”
“But will he?”
“When he first got here, J.T. was angry and resentful. He just wasn’t able to understand Cal’s feelings. But things have changed. For both of us.”
Slowly Libby turned. What was in her sister’s heart was clearly written in her eyes. Libby felt a lurch of panic. “Oh, Sunny.”
“Hey, don’t look at me like that.” She grinned. “I’m in love, not terminally ill.”
“But what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to go back with him.”
With an inarticulate cry, Libby threw her arms around Sunny’s neck. She clung, rocking.
“For Lord’s sake, Libby, you’re as bad as Jacob. It’s only Philadelphia. You’re acting like I’m going to set up housekeeping on Pluto.”
“There aren’t any settled colonies on Pluto.”
With a strangled laugh, Sunny pulled away. “Well, I guess that leaves that out. We’ll have to make do with a condo in Philly.”
Libby studied Sunny’s face, and her expression gradually changed. The tears that had dampened her eyes dried. “You don’t understand, do you?”
“I understand that I love J.T. and he loves me. We haven’t talked about life commitments yet, but it’s only a matter of time.” She stopped, wary. “Libby, why are you looking at me as though you want to wring my neck?”
“Not yours.” Libby’s voice had firmed. She might be the quieter of the two, but when those she loved were threatened she could put an Amazon queen to shame. “The bastard.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I said he’s a bastard.”
Sisterly love notwithstanding, Sunny’s hackles were rising. “Now look, Libby—”
She shook her head. She wasn’t about to be stopped now. “Did he tell you he loved you?”
Nearly out of patience, Sunny snapped off an oath. Then: “Yes.”
“And you’ve gone to bed with him.”
Sunny’s eyes narrowed. “Have you been taking lessons from Dad?”
“Of course you’ve gone to bed with him,” Libby muttered, pacing the room. “He’s made you fall in love with him, taken you to bed, and hasn’t had the decency to tell you.”
Sunny’s foot was tapping a rapid tattoo. “Tell me what?”
“That he and Cal are from the twenty-third century.”
Sunny’s foot stopped. In the sudden silence, she gaped at Libby. All that sun, she thought. Her poor sister had had her brain fried in Bora Bora. Slowly she crossed the room.
“Lib, I want you to lie down while I get you a cold cloth.”
“No.” Still fueled by fury, Libby shook her head. “You sit down while I go get you a brandy. Trust me. You’re going to need it.”
***
When Cal stepped onto the bridge of the ship, the wave of nostalgia rolled over him like warm water. The cargo planes he piloted in the life he’d chosen satisfied his need to fly, but they weren’t much of a challenge. Unable to resist, he ran his hands over the command console.
“She’s a beauty, J.T. New model?”