Rena woke up the next morning sitting in a chaise lounge near the side of her mother's bed. Out of everything that Ian had done wrong, he'd gotten one thing right. He'd bought a house that had an in-law suite. Even though her mother was not in the comfort of her own home, and despite the fact that the rest of the house was a wreck, Clarissa had 600 feet of clean, defined space that overlooked the bay. It was quaint, like a small cottage, and had all of Clarissa's southern charm – from the Tiffany lamps, to the quilt on her bed. She was surprised to see so many pictures of herself on walls throughout the quarters.

She'd come into the room the night before while her mother was asleep, despite Ian's objections. He didn't understand that she didn't want her mother to see the shock on her face if things were as bad as Blake said. So far, Blake had witnessed all of her shock.

It had been bad enough to make her leave the room in tears. Clarissa had been a full sized woman, beautiful and vibrant. Now, she was reduced to half her size, and the fiery red hair that she'd inherited had turned white. Her skin was smooth, pale and cool to touch. Rena had done the right thing by coming into the room before her mother awakened.

Rena sat on the edge of the chaise as her mother stirred. The first thing she noticed was the clarity in her eyes as they opened. Those were the same deep brown eyes sitting in Ian's face. He looked so much like his mother. Surprise registered across her face when she realized she was not alone. "Rena, oh my God! You're in Savannah?"

Rena was startled: Had nobody told Mom she was coming? Many thoughts flooded her mind. Perhaps they were careful not to tell her just in case I'd refused to come, as I've done so many times before.

Clarissa raised herself up in bed and had a very odd look on her face. "They must surely think I'm a goner if you're here. They don't know me. I have no intention of being a goner. Good Lord, I just can't believe you're here."

This was not a funny situation, but Rena suppressed a laugh. That body might be different, but that mind was Clarissa Blackshear. Though she looked frail, from the light in her eyes and the tone of her voice she had quite a bit of spirit. That was a good thing. Clarissa wasn't wallowing in pity and apparently wasn't looking for sympathy. She was fighting.

"I could kill Ian for not telling me you were coming. I'd have had that debacle out there cleaned and at least made him cook something. Stand up. Let me take a look at you. I haven't seen you in ten years."

Rena did a quick spin. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt today. She intended to take Blake's advice. It was time to roll her sleeves up and get to work. There were a lot of matters that needed to be settled before she went back to New York. "Mom, I don't even know where to begin."

"Well, I'd say we best not start in the past. There's too much pain in it. Wait just a minute. I've got something to do."

Her mother got out of bed, grabbed the robe hanging on the doorknob, and then walked down the hall. The next thing Rena heard was a loud yell. "Get up! You need to be at the restaurant." She heard some scuffling and then the sound of the shower, at which point her mother returned to her room mumbling, "That lazy rascal."

"Mom, what is wrong with Ian? Has he lost his mind?"

"You know he never took much interest in the restaurant, so this behavior shouldn't surprise you. Before I got sick I didn't have him doing much but ordering supplies and he got paid very well for that. But it wasn't enough for him. No, he wanted to become an investor. He almost gambled all our livelihoods away. He and that darned Debbie got involved in a Ponzi scheme and we nearly lost everything."

"But the house, Mom. Why did you rent the house?"

"When you're not feeling the best, you often don't make sound choices. It wasn't until I saw my whole life being carted off to storage that I realized I'd let Ian talk me into something that I shouldn't have. I guess I was just scared when all this happened and when he and Debbie said they could do more for me if I was closer. It seemed like the logical thing to do. The treatments made me very sick at first and I guess it got too much for Debbie to handle, so she walked out and divorced him. The divorce really messed him up."

"This is terrible."

"It's my fault. I should have made him more responsible instead of giving him everything. I should have made him learn the business, like I taught you and Blake."

"What's done can't be undone."

"Blake's a saint. He's the one that bailed us out of this whole mess."

Rena started shaking her head. Decisions are like dominos. One tip of a domino can cause a chain reaction that affects everything in life. Rena felt anger rising because she knew none of this would have happened if her mother hadn't sent her to New York. She would've been running the restaurant. Blake would be hers and everything would have been as it was supposed to be. They heard the front door slam.

"See how long it took him to leave the house? He does this every morning."

Rena was reeling on the inside. The thought of trusting Ian to run the restaurant was unnerving. She was still overwhelmed with the sight of Clarissa. She'd never seen her mother that thin in her entire life. It was troubling that Ian nearly played a funeral dirge as he described Clarissa to her over the phone. Yet, the woman in the room with her was frail, but quite feisty. Every time she thought about Blake leaving his business behind so that he could help Clarissa, it made her feel guilty. She should have been the one to come to Savannah, not Blake.

"Mom, I know Blake's done a lot to help, but you can't expect him to do this forever. And you know Ian is not capable of running the business. You don't have any other choice but to sell the business."

"You don't have enough feeling towards the business to want to keep it? You could easily run it."

"Do you expect me to? You ran me away from this place. I have a life in New York and have no intention of staying here. You may call Blake to your rescue, but I'm not the one after what you did to me."

Rena felt all the bitterness she'd held in for years come to the surface. Every stinging memory of her begging her mother to keep her in Savannah danced vividly across her mind. Every tear she cried on Blake's shoulder was as if it was still happening. "You always favored Ian over me. You got what you wanted."

"Is that what you really think?"

"That's the truth, Mother, and you need to own up to it. Listen, I just can't do this right now. I can't."

Rena left the room flustered. As she walked through the rest of the house and saw the messiness throughout, she got even more upset. Cleaning the house helped her to release her fury into the broom, the mop and any other cleaning apparatus she could find. She understood what cleanliness really meant after years of running a hotel, and this house was a cesspool in need of immediate action. She spent a few hours whipping the house into shape. She murmured, "He's irresponsible. He's a pig. By the time I leave this place I'm going to bang some sense into his head."

"I sure hope so."

Rena turned to see her mother crossing the newly mopped floor. She looked like the mother she remembered without the weight. Her long white hair was swept into a floppy ponytail. Her makeup was meticulous. Signature hoop earrings dangled about her slim face. She wore blue jeans, fancy sandals and a tight black tank top revealing an ample bust, which she still had. Rena couldn't believe how good she looked.

"Mother where are you going? Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Hell, no! What do you think I do all day, stay in bed? I've got to go down there and make sure that pinhead is working."

"But, Mom..."

"But Mom, nothing. I may not have the energy to be there at the crack of dawn like I used to, but I'm fired up and ready to go by noon."

"Mom, when Ian called he said that the doctor said you need to get more rest because it will make your immune system stronger. He also said..."

Clarissa Blackshear faced Rena in pure defiance, planting her frail hands on her hips. Then she stomped the floor. "Listen, Rena, I am going to live, period. I don't care what Ian told you. I'm not sitting here waiting on the grim reaper. Now, I did have a little setback last week and that's probably what's got his dander up. I take my treatments, and I'm in yoga classes twice a week and I'm dating Dr. Clark and loving it."

"You're dating Dr. Clark? The one who's renting the house?"

"No darling, his son."

The mop clattered to the floor. This had been one heck of a trip for Rena. "What?"

***Authors Note***

To: My Beloved Readers

From: Jaspira

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter.  I wanted to show the contrast between Ian and Rena, and to toss Rena and Blake into passions fire. That's another writer's tip - show contrast and increase tension.  A reader sent a wonderful note and said that my writing style made her want to read more of my books and she wanted to know how long I've been writing.  I wanted to share this with you because it takes a long time to develop a writing style. I've been writing since I was about 7 years old. So no matter where you are in your journey, keep writing and you'll eventually come into your style.  It doesn't happen over night.  Also keep reading, because reading teaches you to write.  You'll learn as you read.