Copper Beach

someone in your family, for example,” Abby said.

    “Hell, yes,” Elias said.

    “Sure,” Sam said. “So what?”

    “I like that in a man,” Abby said.

28

    “…TO SUMMARIZE, THE MODERN SO–CALLED BLENDED FAMILY, the family by choice, is nothing new.” Dr. Brandon C. Radwell surveyed his audience from the lectern. “There have always been families consisting of children and adults who are related not necessarily by blood but by a complex web of social connections. The major difference today is that while old-fashioned blended families came into existence out of necessity, today’s blended families are formed by deliberate choices of the individuals involved.”
    “The adult individuals involved,” Abby whispered to Sam. “The kids rarely have any say in the matter. It’s Mom and Dad who decide to get divorced and start over with another spouse.”

    “Take it easy,” Sam said. He patted her knee.

    A couple of heads turned to glare at Abby. Someone shushed her.

    Abby glanced at her watch. Not much longer, she thought, relieved.

    The small auditorium was full. She and Sam were seated in the last row. From her position, she could see her stepmother, Diana; the twins, Jessica and Laura; and Dawson in the front row. The room was packed with her father’s adoring fans. Each one clutched a copy of Families by Choice. A video crew was busy filming the scene.

    Her father might be a serial monogamist, Abby thought, but he did have a way with a crowd. No wonder his publisher was delighted to send him out on tour. The man could sell books. With his good looks, charisma and a knack for the thirty-second sound bite, he was the ideal talk-show guest.

    A burst of applause went up from the audience. Abby clapped dutifully and leaned closer to Sam.

    “Told you he was good,” she said.

    “You were right,” Sam said. “The man’s a natural for television.”

    At the front of the room, Brandon bestowed a beatific smile on his audience. “Before I sign those books you all bought at the door, I want to introduce you to my own family by choice. My lovely wife, Diana; my son Dawson; my oldest daughter, Abby; and my two younger daughters, Jessica and Laura. I’d like them to come up here now, so that I can tell them in front of this audience how proud I am of each of them and how grateful I am to have the support of such a warm and loving family.”

    “This is the worst part,” Abby confided to Sam. She got to her feet. “But it doesn’t last long. See you in a few minutes.”

    “I’ll be waiting,” Sam said.

    It was just a casual remark, but for some reason Abby suddenly felt a little more cheerful. She pasted on her best professional smile. Under cover of another round of applause, she went down the aisle. By the time she reached the front of the room, the others had already joined her father on the stage. She climbed the three steps and took up a position next to Jessica and Laura. Dawson studiously ignored her.

    Jessica leaned closer to Abby. “Mom said you probably wouldn’t show. But I knew you would.”

    “Not like I had anything better to do tonight,” Abby whispered back.

    Laura and Jessica giggled. Abby smiled. She hadn’t spent much time with the twins. She had been packed off to the Summerlight Academy shortly after they were born. The difference in their ages and the long separation had put a lot of distance into the relationship. Nevertheless, Abby was fond of the pair. For their part, Laura and Jessica treated her like an aunt rather than a sister, but the arrangement worked for all three of them. Abby suspected that the twins secretly admired her because she held the role of the proverbial black sheep of the family.

    At the lectern, Brandon clasped Diana’s hand and raised it upward so that their wedding rings glinted in the light. He smiled again, an icon of Perfect Father and Ideal Husband. Abby and the others smiled dutifully and did their best to look like a happy family.

    “This is what the modern family by choice looks like, my friends,” Brandon said. “It functions the way family is supposed to function. Sure, there are the occasional conflicts and arguments. Building a family by choice can be hard work. But anything in life that is worthwhile requires hard work. The Radwells have done it, and so can you.”

    Another round of applause swept through the room. Abby and the others kept their smiles fixed in place.

    Under cover of the applause, Laura edged