She nodded, not divulging what Sarah had told her. She wasn't sure how he would react. Would Josh be angry at Sarah for throwing herself so shamelessly at a man she barely knew, or would he be offended on his daughter's behalf?

Maybe both.

Instead she slid away and tugged him to his feet.

“Come on in," she said.

“Your daughter needs you."

Josh sat in his leather armchair, shaking inside, as his daughter padded quietly into the room.

You thought you were the risk-taker in the family, huh? Good God. You don't have anything when it compares to Rachel.

Sarah was wearing a white terrycloth bathrobe, belted around the middle, which reached below her knees. Her brown hair was still damp from the shower, and fell in gentle waves past her shoulders.

To her father's eyes, she looked very confused and very young.

And very, very desirable.

“Come and sit down with me, sweetheart," Rachel said, patting the sofa.

She was tucked into one corner, dressed in jeans and a light sweater.

Josh, at her explicit order, was wearing a t-shirt and a pair of flannel sleep shorts.

Sarah sat down warily, her body tense. It nearly broke Josh's heart to see her there, so fragile, so vulnerable. He ached to take her in his arms and tell her how much he loved her, but was warned away by

Rachel's glance. She put an arm around Sarah's shoulders, squeezing her tight.

"I want to apologize, Mom," Sarah said, Looking at her hands.

“For losing my temper earlier. It's not your fault you and Daddy are back together. And I should be happy for Alex and Maria. Although," she said with a quivering smile, “I don't know what Maria sees in a dope like him."

“There's nothing to apologize for," his wife said softly.

“In fact, we should be the ones apologizing to you." Josh nodded his firm agreement.

“We've been so caught up in ourselves we haven't told you often enough how proud we are of you."

"Or how much we Love you," Josh put in.

"It's not easy, we know, being the child of successful parents," Rachel continued. "People see the life you live, the money and the car and the big house, and think everything is just fine.

“What they don't see," Josh went on, picking up the conversation, “Is how hard it is to live up to that example. One parent is a successful lawyer, working high-profile cases and trying to save the planet. The other one is an artist who is always on the news, usually for pissing off the establishment."

“Plus," his wife said, her voice slightly bitter, “Your mother acts like you're a disappointment when you decide on an unconventional career."

“And your father isn't around to support you," Josh put in, not liking the picture he was drawing.