The Ashtons - Cole, Abigail & Megan

is your niece from Nebraska and I’m your half sister.”
    Clearly startled by the revelation, Megan’s eyes widened and a quiet gasp escaped her lips. “Oh, my. I’ve always wondered if we’d meet one day.”
    Before Abby could assure the woman that they weren’t there to cause trouble, a tall, red-haired, middleaged woman hurried over to them. “What are you doing here?” she demanded, pointing a perfectly manicured finger at Mercedes.
    “Mother, this is—”
    The woman’s blue eyes sparkled with anger as she cut Megan off. “I know who she is.”
    “Hello, Lilah,” Mercedes said coolly.
    “You have a lot of nerve showing your face around here,” Lilah retorted. Her voice held a wealth of anger,and Abby suspected that, though the woman might have all the trappings of wealth and position, happiness with Spencer Ashton had definitely escaped her.
    Abby watched Mercedes’s chin rise a notch as she met the woman’s irate gaze head-on. “I have just as much, if not more, right to be here than you do.”
    Mercedes hadn’t raised her voice much above a whisper, but her meaning couldn’t have been clearer if she’d shouted it. She was letting Lilah know that she knew her affair with Spencer all those years ago had been a contributing factor to the breakup of Caroline’s marriage to him.
    “How dare you come into my house and—”
    “Whose house?” Mercedes asked quietly. “This estate belonged to my mother’s family long before Spencer married her or you became his secretary.”
    Abby had to give Mercedes credit for keeping her voice low and remaining calm. But Lilah wasn’t quite so diplomatic. She looked as if she might pop a blood vessel at her temple, and drew attention to the fact that she’d obviously had plastic surgery. There was no way a woman her age could get away without having a few crow’s-feet around her eyes, unless she’d had some kind of cosmetic procedure.
    “Get out!” Lilah screeched. “If you don’t leave immediately, I’ll—”
    “You’ll do nothing, Mother,” Megan said, placing herhand on Lilah’s arm. She nodded at the group of people that had moved in close, no doubt hoping to hear a juicy piece of gossip they could pass along to their friends. “Please. You’re creating a scene.”
    When Lilah looked around at the gathering crowd, she pasted on the most fake smile Abby had ever seen. “Just a little misunderstanding. Nothing to worry about.” With a final glare at Mercedes, she turned and strolled from the room like a queen dismissing her court.
    “I’m really sorry for Mother’s display,” Megan apologized. “She can be…difficult at times.”
    “Is your father going to be here?” Abby asked.
    Megan shook her head. “He rarely attends these events.” She smiled sadly. “You were hoping to talk to him, weren’t you?”
    Mercedes nodded. “I thought maybe…” She stopped and shook her head. “Never mind. It’s not important.”
    “I’m sorry,” a uniformed maid said, stopping a couple of steps behind Megan. “Ms. Ashton, you’re needed in the kitchen.”
    “I’ll be right there.” She gave Abby and Mercedes a smile. “I’ll only be a few minutes. Please feel free to look around.”
    “We really should be going.” Mercedes smiled sadly. “I’m sorry if we caused you problems.”
    “Thank you for being so kind,” Abby said, meaning it.
    “Don’t worry about it.” Reaching out to take one ofMercedes’ and Abby’s hands in hers, Megan smiled. “I’m glad we finally met.”
    “Megan?” Mercedes nibbled on her lower lip a moment before she reached out and gave the younger woman a quick hug. “Me, too.”
    Abby thought Megan’s eyes looked suspiciously moist when she nodded, then, turning, disappeared into the crowd.
    “I’ll go find Craig,” Russ said, leaving Abby’s side for the first time since their arrival at the estate.
    “Well, I guess this was a wasted trip,” Mercedes said, sounding tired.
    Shaking her head, Abby looped her arm with Mercedes’. “I think it turned out to be quite nice. You discovered that Spencer’s other Napa Valley offspring aren’t all that hostile, even if their mother is.”
    Mercedes looked thoughtful. “Megan was quite nice, wasn’t she?”
    “Yes, she was.” Wanting to lighten the somber mood, Abby grinned. “Lilah, on the other hand, was a real piece of work. I wonder what she would have done if I’d thrown my arms around her and called her Grandma.”
    “I