Yvonne, Dan, Xander, Hull... These people had all gotten tangled up together, thanks to Susanna.
And the whole thing was an absolute mess.
...
Meanwhile, over at the Quinn family, things weren''t going so smoothly for Ste, either.
After she read thetest headlinesing out of Portis City, her face darkened instantly.
Tegan James called.
"You''ve seen the news, right? There''s no doubt it''s Yorick Quarry stirring up trouble. He wants to ruin your reputation."
The news from Portis City was everywhere.
Article after article imed that Ste looked down her nose at the Larkin family and refused to acknowledge them as blood rtives. Some even said Ronald dumped Yorick because of her.
Basically, they were painting her as a stuck-up, social-climbing diva.
If Ste didn''t believe Yorick was behind this, she''d have to be pretty naive.
Her eyes narrowed. "Ignore it."
"Is this going to hurt your standing with the Quinn family?" Tegan sounded genuinely worried.
Ste scoffed. "What''s the worst that can happen? Whatever they think they can do to me, it''s just their own wishful thinking."
The Quarrys really would stop at nothing.
Ste herself didn''t care. But she knew those rumors would reach Ferrond soon enough. She could take it, but with her wedding to Ronald just around the corner, she worried he''d get caught in the crossfire.
Tegan sighed. "They''ve always been pretty full of themselves."
Yorick and Jaxon Larkin, in particr. Back when Urs Larkin''s drama was
going down, they tried every trick in the book to bring Ste down-thinking they could actually hurt her.
But they''d been disappointed before.
After a few more words with Tegan, Ste hung up.
She hesitated, then dialed Jaxon''s number. He answered quickly, his voice rough and tired. "Yeah?"
"It''s me."
"I recognized you, little sis," he replied, the words dripping with sarcasm.
Clearly, he was still sore about Ste giving the Larkin family the cold shoulder.
"Did you have a hand in what''s happening in Portis City right now?" Ste asked, not bothering with small talk.
Jaxon''s breath caught. His reply was cold and clipped: "No."
"You better hope that''s true, Jaxon. The Larkins have only themselves to me for how things turned out."
So much of what had happened had nothing to do with Ste. But the Larkins seemed determined to pin it all on her.
Like the whole mess with ise Larkin and his mistress-everyone knew Urs orchestrated that, but somehow, Ste got med for it all just because she''de back home.
Jaxon
want ft back, "What more do you
want from the Larkin family? everything that''s happened,
tell
me you''re still not satisfied before
Ste let out a coldugh. "What do I want? You should be asking yourself that."
Listen to him, she thought. The nerve.
Ste added, her voice icy, "For your sake, I hope you''re not involved in this. Otherwise-"
Otherwise what? She didn''t finish the threat, but her tone was enough to make Jaxon pause.
Just before she hung up, he asked quietly, "Can''t you let Mom off the hook?"
Ste replied tly, "She''ll answer to thew for what she''s done. That''s not up to me."
Still begging for mercy. Some people never learn.
Ste ended the call, her patience gone.
Her eyes lost their softness, the
vulnerability she showed around et
Ronald vanishing as she picked up her mug and took a sip.
Then Yorick called.
She answered, "Hello?"
"Star," Yorick said.
Ste lowered her gaze to the flower floating in her cup. "Yorick, you''ve got some
nerve."
Her tone was soft, but the danger in it was unmistakable.
Yorick went quiet.
"What''s your endgame?" Ste asked.
She and Yorick never had anything, not really. She''d been back in Ferrond for ages now.
And suddenly, rumors were flying that she''d dumped Yorick? Please.
Yorick finally said, "You and your family should really back off the Quarrys."
Ste arched an eyebrow. "Isn''t Hogan running the show for the Quarrys these days? Hogan, right?"