Ophelia had finished putting up her hair when there was a knock at her door.
"Come in," she called, looking over her shoulder as the door opened and Reyna entered, followed by Sawyer, Sullivan, and Pops.
"Is this an intervention?" Ophelia asked with a smile. They all looked so serious.
"In a way," Reyna confirmed as she moved to sit in a chair by the window. Pop's followed and sat in the chair next to her, Sawyer moved to look out the window, which was a sure sign that he was uncomfortable, and Sullivan leaned against the wall by the door as if he wanted to make a quick getaway.
Ophelia moved to a chair by the fireplace and perched on the end of it, waiting.
"It's cold in here. Why is it so cold? Sullivan, why did you give Ophelia the coldest room in the house?" Reyna asked as she rubbed her arms. It was evident that she was upset and stalling.
"It's usually not this cold. I normally have a fire, which warms the room nicely, but I didn't get to bed until late last night, so I didn't get a chance to light one," Ophelia explained.
No one replied, and after a minute, Ophelia decided she would have to lead the conversation since she had a feeling it was about her. "You all are here because you are either about to fire me due to my behavior last night, or you want an explanation about last night, but no one wants to ask for fear of hurting my feelings. Which is it?"
"I think your behavior last night was fine. You gave as good as you got, and I realized that our little Phee has a spectacular temper." Sawyer shot her a smile from the window. "I think your personal life is personal, and I object to us being here to ask you about it."
"I object as well," Sullivan said from his place by the door.
Ophelia looked at his broad shoulders in his dress shirt, his long legs in his slacks, and his damp hair curling around his collar, and she had to remind herself that they weren't going to acknowledge their attraction. She bet he smelled good too.
Ophelia forced her eyes towards Reyna and nodded.
"I would like to share. You all trust me with your private lives, and I think it's about time that I trust you." Ophelia looked at them, letting the comment sink in. She wanted them to know that their trust meant a lot to her and that sharing was a way she could do that.
"Sullivan knew I had family here," she began, "and I told him it wouldn't be a problem because I thought it wouldn't, but now it is. I had no intention of seeing them, but I forgot how small this town is after ten years of being away." She frowned as she gathered her thoughts. She had been rambling, and it was best to make this story a short as possible. They all had to get on with their day.
"You really don't have to, sweetie," Reyna insisted, even though she was the one who had gathered them all there. Perhaps she was having second thoughts.
"I'm just afraid that you all will think of me differently after you know all of the details. I'm used to being treated as an outcast, and I have a fear that you all will do the same." Ophelia shrugged as she looked at her hands in her lap.
"I hope you know us well enough to know that we aren't that fickle," Sullivan said drily from across the room.
"My brain knows that, but my emotions don't." Ophelia looked over her shoulder at him but couldn't read a response in his stony face. She took a deep breath and turned to the others, glad that he was behind her.
"My mother left my father, Ryan Carter, for Gavin Barrett, when I was six years old. I have a brother, Aaron, who is four years older than me." Ophelia took a deep breath. That had been the easy part.
"I look a lot like my mother did when she left. Her betrayal hurt my father and brother, and because I looked so much like her, they tended to take it out on me. Not physically or verbally, but by ignoring me and acting as if I didn't exist." Ophelia swallowed hard. "We didn't celebrate my birthday or celebrate first days of school. In fact, he probably wouldn't have even enrolled me if it hadn't been illegal to keep me out. I had to figure out everything on my own" Her voice shook as the memories overwhelmed her.
"You look nothing like your mother," Sullivan said from behind her.
Bless him for focusing on something other than her pitiful history, and Ophelia smiled in response, "No, years of going under the knife and hair dye can change a person."
"I thought she had some work done," Reyna nodded.
"Gavin Barrett is the wealthiest man in town. He owns more than half of it. He was married at the time my mother and he started their affair. His first wife was dying of cancer, and the town saw my mother as taking advantage of the situation. Which she probably did."
"But that's what your mother did, Phee. That doesn't mean they hate you," Pops insisted.
"They can't hate my mother because if they hate her they risk Gavin's displeasure." Ophelia bit her lip to keep it from trembling. She bit it so hard it started to bleed, which pulled her back into the present. "It started small. When I was eight, Kaylee was born, and I was replaced in my mother's eyes. People noticed how my brother and father treated me and took that as permission to treat me the same, but it took on a new level when I entered middle school. The boys started to treat me as if I was...loose, easy, slutty, whatever you want to call it, because of what my mother did. Lies started circulating, and they grew and grew until, to some, it became fact. Word got around to the kids' mothers and fathers and it sort of trickled down."
Ophelia stood and walked toward the fireplace collecting her thoughts while rubbing her arms. "In high school, I did my best to keep a low profile, but it was hard. I made money working on my father's shrimp boat and saved for college, and as soon as I could get out of here, I did." She pasted a smile on her lips and turned to face them.
Part of her did feel better for sharing. Hearing the words gave them less power and made her see the past in a different light. It could have been worse.
Reyna stood up and walked towards her, wrapping her in a hug. "You're with your real family now, dear. It just took you a little longer to find us, that's all."
Ophelia hugged her back and squeezed her eyes shut to keep the tears from escaping.
"Your girlfriend is back from her walk with your dog, Sullivan," Sawyer said as he looked out the window. "It looks like the dog is winning."
Reyna pulled Ophelia over to the window to distract her, and Pops followed. A moment later, Sullivan came up behind them and placed his hands on Ophelia's shoulders. It was a small show of support that she desperately needed.
Then they watched as Giselle held the leash with both hands while trying to dig her heels into the ground for traction.
"The Gazelle finds itself away from its natural habitat." Sawyer began in his best David Attenborough voice, and Ophelia bit back a smile. "It's a life and death struggle as the Gazelle does her best to keep from being dragged into the canine's lair."
His English accent really was very good.
"The Gazelle fights the canine with all of her strength, but it matters little as little by little the canine drags his prey, muddy and exhausted, to its final resting place."
Giselle disappeared up the porch steps and the moment ended, leaving an awkward silence behind.
"After hearing your story and having considered it, I am surprised you managed not to pull a gun on all of them last night," Sawyer tried to lighten the mood once more.
"I don't own a gun," Ophelia said. "Besides, what would have been the point."
"Uhhh, to kill and maim?" Sawyer said as if Ophelia was dumb.
"With as much work as Noelle has had done, the bullet would probably bounce right off," Reyna said, unwinding her arm from around Ophelia's waist and moving back into the room.
Pops wrapped his arms around Ophelia and hugged her close.
"I'm sorry about last night. I guess I should admit to you all that I wasn't drunk." He still looked pleased with himself.
Reyna, Sullivan, and Sawyer all acted surprised and shocked as they moved to the door, and Ophelia hid her grin while they left.
Pops hugged her for a little longer, then he stepped away and looked down at her. "You are like another daughter to us. You know that, right?"
"I do now," she nodded and sniffed.
"Tell me, what happened between you and Sullivan this morning? I saw you both on the bench together." He rubbed her arms in support or encouragement.
"Nothing, Pops. He kissed me last night as a thank you for helping you and being someone you all can trust." Ophelia shrugged and smiled.
"No, it was more than that. He kissed you!" Pops insisted.
"Sawyer kissed me, too, when I arrived. You're reading too much into it." Ophelia offered him another hug, which he accepted. It was nice to be hugged. It had been something that she hadn't experienced a lot of in her life.
There was a knock on the door, and it opened before Ophelia could call for whoever it was to enter.
Giselle entered, her eyes growing wide at the sight of them hugging. It took a minute for what she saw to register, and Pops kept right on hugging Ophelia as if daring her.
"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't know! I didn't mean to interrupt!" Then with a little smile, she backed out the door and closed it behind her.
"Pops?" Ophelia asked, still being hugged. In fact, he had now started to dance her around the room while humming.
"Yes, Phee," he said in between breaths.
"Why did you do that?" Ophelia leaned back and looked at him.
"To keep things interesting," he said as if she was dumb just as Sawyer had earlier.
Ophelia took a deep breath, then gave in to the dance and let him spin her around the room.
"All fathers should dance with their little girls at least once," he insisted.
At his words, Ophelia couldn't contain the tears anymore, and she let them come while she had Pops danced.