Mind Over Matter

lust.”
    Laughing, A.J. walked over to drop on the sofa beside her. “Oh, Momma, there’s no one like you. No one.”
    “Things were never normal for you, were they?”
    “No.” A.J. dropped her head on Clarissa’s shoulder. “They were better. You were better.”
    “Aurora, your father loved me very much. He loved, and he accepted, without actually understanding. I can’t even comprehend what my life might have been like if I hadn’t given up the controls and loved him back.”
    “He was special,” A.J. murmured. “Most men aren’t.”
    Clarissa hesitated only a moment, then cleared her throat. “Alex accepts me, too.”
    “Alex?” Uneasy, A.J. sat up again. There was no mistaking the blush of color in Clarissa’s cheeks. “Are you and Alex…” How did one put such a question to a mother? “Are you serious about Alex?”
    “He asked me to marry him.”
    “What?” Too stunned for reason, A.J. jerked back and gaped. “Marriage? You barely know him. You met only weeks ago. Momma, certainly you’re mature enough to realize something as important as marriage takes a great deal of thought.”
    Clarissa beamed at her. “What an excellent mother you’ll make one day. I was never able to lecture quite like that.”
    “I don’t mean to lecture.” Mumbling, A.J. picked up her tea. “I just don’t want you to jump into something like this without giving it the proper thought.”
    “You see, that’s just what I mean. I’m sure you got that from your father’s side. My family’s always been just the tiniest bit flighty.”
    “Momma—”
    “Do you remember when Alex and I were discussing palm reading for the documentary?”
    “Of course.” The uneasiness increased, along with a sense of inevitability. “You felt something.”
    “It was very strong and very clear. I admit it flustered me a bit to realize a man could be attracted to me after all these years. And I wasn’t aware until that moment that I could feel like that about anyone.”
    “But you need time. I don’t doubt anything you feel, anything you see. You know that. But—”
    “Darling, I’m fifty-six.” Clarissa shook her head, wondering how it had happened so quickly. “I’ve been content to live alone. I think perhaps I was meant to live alone for a certain amount of time. Now I want to share the rest of life. You’re twenty-eight and content and very capable of living alone. Still, you mustn’t be afraid to share your life.”
    “It’s different.”
    “No.” She took A.J.’s hands again. “Love, affection, needs. They’re really very much the same for everyone. If David is the right man for you, you’ll know it. But after knowing, you have to accept.”
    “He may not accept me.” Her fingers curled tightly around her mother’s. “I have trouble accepting myself.”
    “And that’s the only worry you’ve ever given me. Aurora, I can’t tell you what to do. I can’t look into tomorrow for you, as much as part of me wants to.”
    “I’m not asking that. I’d never ask you that.”
    “No, you wouldn’t. Look into your heart, Aurora. Stop calculating risks and just look.”
    “I might see something I don’t want to.”
    “Oh, you probably will.” With a little laugh, Clarissa settledback on the sofa with an arm around A.J. “I can’t tell you what to do, but I can tell you what I feel. David Brady is a very good man. He has his flaws, of course, but he is a good man. It’s been a pleasure for me to be able to work with him. As a matter of fact, when he called this morning, I was delighted.”
    “Called?” Immediately alert, A.J. sat up straight. “David called you? Why?”
    “Oh, a few ideas he’d had about the documentary.” She fussed with the little lace napkin in her lap. “He’s in Rolling Hills today. Well, not exactly in, but outside. Do you remember hearing about that old mansion no one ever seems able to live in for long? The one a few miles off the beach?”
    “It’s supposed to be haunted,” A.J. muttered.
    “Of course there are differing opinions on that. I think David made an excellent choice for his project, though, from what he told me about the background.”
    “What do you have to do with that?”
    “That? Oh, nothing at all. We just chatted about the house. I suppose he thought I’d be interested.”
    “Oh.” Mollified, A.J. began to relax. “That’s all right then.”
    “We did set up a few other things. I’ll be going into the