Family Matters (DiCarlo Brides book 4) (The DiCarlo Brides)
Read Family Matters (DiCarlo Brides book 4) (The DiCarlo Brides) Online
Authors: Heather Tullis
Tags: #orphans, #birth mother, #Romance, #Abuse, #Adoption, #clean romance, #suspense, #The DiCarlo Brides
© 2013 Heather Justesen
Ebook Edition
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Published by Jelly Bean Press, 90 S Main St. Ste #2, Fillmore, UT 84631
Cover design by Bill J. Justesen
Cover design © 2013 by Heather Justesen
Other Books in the DiCarlo Brides series
Camellia DiCarlo Talmadge (Cami)—
the oldest of George DiCarlo’s daughters, born to his wife, head of guest services. Married to Vince.
Sage Parker Watts
—Second eldest, head of the resort Spa. Born to Darla Parker. Married to Joel.
Rosemary Keogh
—Third eldest of George DiCarlo’s daughters, born to Wanda Keogh, head of resort food services.
Lantana DiCarlo Bahlmann (Lana
)—Fourth eldest, second daughter by George’s wife, hotel manager. Married to Blake.
Delphinium Gifford (Delphi)—
Fifth eldest daughter by Zelda Gifford, head of resort events.
Jonquil Chestnut
—Sixth eldest daughter by Trudy Chestnut, head of the resort floral center.
Cleome Markham (Cleo)
—Rosemary Keogh’s daughter.
Vince Talmadge
—Landscape architect, best friend of Jeremy and Gage. Married to Cami.
Jeremy Litster
—local photographer, best friend of Vince and Gage.
Gage Mathews
—head of Deer Mountain, the local ski resort. Best friend to Vince and Jeremy.
Harrison Forest
—older half-brother to Sage by another father. Head of hotel HR.
Blake Bahlmann
—regional manager of DiCarlo Resorts, stationed out of the Juniper Ridge resort. Married to Lana.
Joel Watts
—former Navy SEAL, head of hotel security. Married to Sage.
“Today’s tragedy is going to change your life. For the better I think.”
Rosemary looked up from the salmon she was deboning and saw Sage standing beside her at the restaurant kitchen counter. “Yeah? Thanks for the heads up, but I’m a little too busy for tragedy today.” Still, she felt a little shiver go down her spine. Sage’s predictions had a way of coming true, even if she sometimes couched them in vague enough terms that the average person might ignore the warnings. The word
tragedy
rang again in her mind—she was fairly certain Sage wasn’t referring to a burned dish or dropped appetizer. “Not enough going on in your own department right now?”
Sage didn’t react to the clipped words as her wide, brown eyes studied Rosemary calmly. Her olive skin and curling brown hair gave her the look of a gypsy—a not inapt comparison considering the random, always-accurate predictions. Though the half-sisters hadn’t known each other long, Rosemary had seen enough of these predictions to believe in them.
“The spa is busy, but I had a few minutes’ break and thought I should come warn you. It’s been on my mind since I woke up this morning,” Sage said. The chaos of breakfast preparation whirled around them, pans clattering, dishes clanking and staff calling back and forth to each other as they prepared for the convention, while feeding late breakfast patrons in the restaurant.
“Well, thanks for stopping by. I think.” Rosemary didn’t want to dwell on what the tragedy was going to be if there was no way to avert it. And how could a tragedy have a positive outcome?
Sage touched Rosemary’s arm. “Just remember. Good things come out of bad sometimes too. And this will definitely be one of them.” She gave her arm a little squeeze, and breezed out.
It was nice to no longer see evidence of the worry and stress that had plagued Sage through the summer and fall, but Rosemary wondered if it left too much time for her to worry about the rest of the sisters. She stretched her back muscles, forcing away the shiver of discomfort Sage’s prediction had caused.
Maybe Sage had misunderstood her impressions. Rosemary caught on that, then put the whole conversation behind her. She didn’t have time for cryptic messages.
Rosemary was dragging after a fourteen-hour day when she returned home, her feet sore, her muscles complaining, and with another long day ahead of her tomorrow. She took comfort in the fact that at least everything was ready for morning, even if
she
wasn’t. Sage’s warning had flitted into her thoughts several times through the day, but nothing she would consider tragic had happened, unless you counted the server who tripped over her own feet and dropped a table’s meals just before she reached them.
That had been a mess, and the restaurant had to comp the meals—which had eventually made it to them, intact—but Rosemary would hardly consider it a tragedy. She tossed her keys on the kitchen counter and kicked off her shoes in the middle of the aisle, mostly with the hope of annoying Delphi who, in Rosemary’s opinion, had a nearly OCD compulsion about orderliness. She poured herself some hot water from the espresso machine, grabbed one of Sage’s secret tea blends and stepped into the sunken living room to join Delphi, who was watching the news.
“Anything interesting in your neck of the woods?” Rosemary asked as the newscasters droned on about some new legislation the Colorado House of Representatives was trying to push through.
“I dealt with a hysterical bride because the linens we ordered are a shade too pink for her reception, a CEO who decided to add an extra ten rooms for his convention
this
weekend, despite the fact that we’re already at capacity, but I’m not having any trouble with my staff. You?” Delphi brushed the short, blond hair back from her face with perfectly manicured hands. She still wore the cream-colored blouse and navy skirt she’d put on for work that day and despite the fact that she had to have worked nearly as many hours as Rosemary, Delphi still looked perfectly pressed and presentable. Sometimes Rosemary could hate her for that.
A lot of people thought they were the two sisters who were the most alike, but Rosemary didn’t agree. Sure, they were both strong willed and knew what they wanted, but Delphi had a way of telling you where to go without seeming the least impolite, while Rosemary wouldn’t bother over the pretty words. They were both tall and blond, but Rosemary had long hair that she had to braid out of the way while she worked in the kitchen and she fought daily to keep the extra weight off. Delphi had a short cap of hair, was thin without exercise or paying attention to what she ate and totally uncoordinated, in opposition to the genteel, polished way she presented herself in every situation—at least when she was in public. Their histories were also total opposites, but that was another story.
Rosemary pushed the comparison away as it always made her feel a little inadequate. “Things ran mostly fine in the restaurant, the convention banquets went well—unless you’ve heard something I haven’t—and I got my food order done. No major catastrophes—despite Sage saying a tragedy was going to change my life today.” She tried to blow the warning off as if she didn’t believe a word of it, but still felt an itch between her shoulder blades when she thought of it.
“Sage gave you a warning? That sounds ominous.” Delphi took another sip from her teacup, the soft scent wafting over to Rosemary said it held chamomile. She was the only one of Rosemary’s five step-sisters who was still unconvinced about Sage’s abilities.
“New information regarding the bombing of a Washington DC café has just come in,” a redheaded news anchor announced on the television. She stared into the camera with a serious expression. “Senator Tate Lampert of Minnesota is confirmed as having died in the blast, along with at least eight other people after a bomb was launched through a window during lunch hour. Authorities are still trying to track down suspects.” She went on to discuss the controversial legislation the senator had been trying to pass and how it wasn’t expected to get enough votes without his push behind it.
