Читать книгу Secrets Of The Tulip Sisters - Сьюзен Мэллери, Susan Mallery - Страница 12

7

Olivia’s bravado had lasted through the three-day drive up from Phoenix and walking into the house where she’d grown up. But as the evening progressed, it had slowly faded until now she was left with nothing but a gnawing sense of not belonging anywhere.

She walked through the empty house, trying to find some connection to her past. Funny how she’d assumed the old place would feel like home. It was where she’d grown up, but whatever part of her had been left behind must have gotten swept up with the dust.

The living room was different. New furniture and a bigger TV. The layout was all wrong, but that wasn’t her problem. The kitchen had been remodeled, as well. Whoever had done the design had used the space well and in the day there would be plenty of light.

Her bedroom was exactly as it had been. The same pale lavender walls, the books and yearbooks in the bookcase. She recognized the stuffed animals, but felt no need to hold them close. They were cute and all, but no longer a part of her.

Tucked into the big mirror over her dresser were several photos of her with friends. She looked impossibly young, with horrible makeup and hair. Thank goodness she’d learned how to make the most of what she had. Unlike her sister, who was determined to be as low-maintenance as possible, as if that were a point of pride. Olivia had already spotted her bargain shampoo-and-conditioner 2-in-1 bottle in the shower, along with a bar of generic unscented soap.

There were no lotions on the counter, no hint of makeup had ever been allowed past the hallowed doorway. Kelly was odd, but then they’d always been so incredibly different. She wondered how much of that was personality and how much of it was how they were raised.

She sat on the edge of the bed and tried to figure out if she could really stay here. And if she didn’t, where on earth would she go? Her dad had been happy to see her, which was nice. Kelly had just looked shocked and panicked and why not? They were strangers.

She tried to remember the last time she’d seen her sister and couldn’t. She and her dad had met up in San Francisco three years ago. Before that, he’d come to her graduation from Arizona State University. Marilee hadn’t—she’d gone on a cruise instead.

Olivia fingered the hideous floral bedspread, then stood and crossed to the mirror. Tucked in the corner was an old picture of her with her sister. Kelly didn’t look all that different from how she did now. In the photo, they were laughing together, as if they’d just shared a joke. As if they liked each other.

Olivia knew that at one point they had. They’d been close when they’d been younger, but after Marilee had run off, everything had changed and then Olivia had been sent away.

That part of her past was a blur. One second she’d been a diva in her high school and the next she’d been flying to an all-girls boarding school in Colorado. It had been mid-semester, when the cliques had already been established and no one gave a shit about the new girl.

She’d been so scared, so hurt. That first spring break, she’d refused to go home, out of spite. When someone had invited her home for the summer, she’d accepted, mostly to punish Kelly and their dad. She’d waited for them to call and beg her to come back, to be with them...only they never had.

She tossed the picture onto the dresser and stared at herself. She willed any hint of weakness from her eyes and squared her shoulders. She’d come a long way from that frightened teenager, abandoned by both her parents. She wasn’t going to let anyone control her destiny ever again. She was strong and in charge. If she wasn’t sure if coming home for the summer was a good idea, then she was going to damn well find out.

That decided, she went to her closet. She flipped through the dresses she’d unpacked and hung, stopping when she found a sleeveless little knit number that was exactly what she was looking for.

She touched up her makeup, fluffed her hair, then stripped down to her thong. The dress was snug, requiring her to tug and shimmy it into place. It dipped low in front and back and barely came to mid-thigh. Probably a little much for Tulpen Crossing, but she didn’t mind. Far better to cross the line than not be remembered at all.

She put on dangly earrings and several gold bangles and slipped on a pair of sandals with four-inch heels. When she was done, she stood in front of the mirror.

The dark green dress made her eyes look more hazel than brown. She checked herself from the rear, then faced front again. She adjusted her breasts to make sure they were even before pinching her nipples several times. Her nipples hardened and became clearly visible under the knit fabric.

Excellent, she thought as she reached for her small clutch. No straight guy would be able to turn away. It was just one of the tricks her mother had taught her. On the drive to the bar, she would turn the AC to frigid, ensuring plenty of nipple when she arrived. When one might be facing a battle, one had best show up armed. For her, that meant sex, or at least sexual interest. You could always control a man with his dick.

* * *

Olivia pulled into the parking lot of Candy Cane—the poorly named bar in town. Ryan had mentioned more than once he liked to hang out there with his friends.

She was already shivering from the air-conditioning, but took a second to pour cold water from a bottle on the inside of her wrists. She shuddered at the cold. Oh, yeah, this was going to be good.

She crossed the parking lot and walked into the bar. It was fairly typical with plenty of tables, a few booths and some guys playing pool in the back. The men at the bar turned to look at her. Three of them nearly fell off their stools while a fourth stared at her openmouthed. She ignored them and looked around. Tension left her when she spotted Ryan.

He stood by a large table, talking to his friends. He was tall and gorgeous, a beer in one hand. Anticipation combined with satisfaction. If all went well, they would be naked in less than thirty minutes.

As she approached the table, she felt everyone turning to look at her. She thought she recognized a couple of his friends and smiled at them. Someone said something and Ryan turned. His eyes widened and his expression turned practically feral. Oh, yeah. Starving man, meet your buffet, she thought smugly.

“Olivia? What are you doing here? I can’t believe it. Jesus, you’re stunning.”

He put down the beer and moved to her side. Dark hair, blue eyes and a dimple. Whatever more could she want?

“You’re really here,” he said.

She smiled. “I’m really here. How are you?”

“So much better now.”

He reached for her. She arched her back and watched his gaze settle on her breasts. His intake of air was audible.

“Ryan!”

The shrill single word cut through the charged moment and brought Ryan to a halt. Terror was followed by guilt, with a regret chaser. Olivia watched a pudgy blonde approach and step between them and knew her plans had just been flushed.

“Ryan, what do you think you’re doing?” the blonde asked.

“I, ah, I...” His gaze locked with Olivia’s. “This is Autumn.”

“Is it?” Olivia’s voice was cool. She looked the other woman up and down, taking in the worn, ill-fitting jeans, the unflattering too-tight top and the hair in desperate need of styling. “How unfortunate.”

Autumn raised her eyebrows. “Yes, it is unfortunate. Ryan’s with me. I don’t know who you are, but he’s with me.”

“You do keep saying that, as if we all need to be reminded.” Olivia paused. “Ryan especially.”

Autumn flushed. “Tell her to go away.”

“Autumn, she’s a friend. I’ve known her since high school.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t care.”

Olivia forced herself to smile casually. “Ryan, don’t worry about it. There’s no need to upset her. I’m going to be in town for a while. We’ll have plenty of time to...catch up.”

Autumn glared. Ryan grinned.

“I’d like that,” he said.

“I’m sure you would.”

Olivia maneuvered around Autumn, put her hand on Ryan’s chest, then kissed his cheek. As she drew back, she whispered, “Too bad, because I’m naked under this.” She smiled at a gasping Autumn. “So nice to have met you.”

“Stay away from him, you hear me?”

“Oh, honey, I’m not the one you have to explain that to.”

With that, she turned and walked to the door. A couple of guys approached, but she waved them off. She made it to her car before she began to shake. Tears burned. She willed them away as she drove back to the house.

Damn Ryan. He’d invited her here even though the bastard had a girlfriend? Okay, maybe invited was stretching things, but he’d told her he missed her and that she should come see him. She’d believed him.

Fine. If that was how he wanted to play it, game on. She had no doubt he would come crawling to her. And when he did, she was going to punish him. Not in a happy way, either. While Ryan would get the girl in the end, first he was going to have to pay. The only question was how.

* * *

Helen poured Jeff’s coffee as he sat at the counter. She did her best to wrap her mind around his news. Not only the shock of his youngest daughter’s return, but the fact that Kelly hadn’t called and told her.

“I never thought she’d come home,” he said. “I know it’s just for the summer, but still. She’s here.” He looked around. “I wanted to bring her this morning, but she was still asleep.”

“It’s 5:45 in the morning. Most people are.” She studied him. “I can’t tell if you’re happy or not,” she admitted.

He looked at her. “I’m happy. Of course I am. She’s my daughter.” He dropped his gaze. “I sent her away, Helen. I sent my own daughter to boarding school when she was fifteen. I can never forgive myself for that.”

She glanced at the clock and saw they only had a few minutes until her early regulars started showing up. She sat on the stool next to his.

“It’s not as if you got tired of her and wanted her out of the way. She’s not a puppy you returned to the pound.”

He shrugged. “Maybe, but still.” He turned so he was facing her. “I was terrified she was going to turn out like her mother. Marilee had always kept her close and after she left, Olivia was lost. I could see it, but didn’t know what to do. I tried, but hell, I’m sure I failed her a dozen ways to Sunday. As she got older, I could see more and more of Marilee in her. I told myself I was making the right decision, but sometimes I wonder if I took the easy way out instead.”

Every now and then she told herself the only solution to her problem was to fall out of love with Jeff. To figure out his flaws and focus on them. And then he went and did something like admitting his faults and regretting them. Because so many people ignored what was wrong. So many people simply pretended they were always right and everyone else screwed up.

“You wanted what was best for your daughter,” she pointed out.

“I sent her away.”

“You sent her to a well-respected school where she was able to be with girls her own age and grow.”

“I sent her away.”

“Yes, you did and saying that over and over again doesn’t change what happened. If you really believe you were wrong, tell her and apologize. If you made the best decision you could under the circumstances, then get over it.”

One corner of his mouth turned up. “That’s telling me.”

“I didn’t have a choice. You were turning into a girl.”

He chuckled. “You always surprise me, Helen. And I mean that in a good way. You’re smart, you’re determined, you speak your mind. When your ex cheated on you, you booted him out on his ass. I admire that. I should have done the same thing with Marilee. Instead I put up with her ways for years. What lesson did that teach my girls?”

“At least you got married for a fairly noble reason.”

“Because I knocked her up?”

“You know what I mean. You did the right thing. I can’t even say I did that.”

“Why did you marry Troy?” He held up a hand. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that. You were in love with him.”

She stared into Jeff’s brown eyes and knew she had to come clean. If not for him, then for herself. To say the truth aloud meant it wouldn’t have power over her anymore.

“He was the first person to say he loved me after my parents died. No one else ever had. I’m sure my aunt and uncle cared about me, but they weren’t the type to say the words.”

“Helen.”

His tone was gentle and caring. For a second she thought he was going to reach for her, but there was only the single word. Alas.

“They weren’t bad people,” she continued. “But it made me sad, so when he said he loved me, I married him.” She grimaced. “And then he cheated, so I threw him out.” She held up a hand. “I take that back. The first time, I gave him a chance. The second time, I threw him out.”

“Admirable.”

Before she could say anything else, the front door opened and a couple of customers walked in. Helen felt the tenuous connection between her and Jeff snap as she rose to greet them.

Customers were seated, orders taken. She poured coffee and chatted and before she knew it, Jeff was waving goodbye. She gave him a quick smile as she went to pick up several breakfasts.

The work was familiar, she thought, and all she’d known for years. Funny how she hadn’t planned to stay in Tulpen Crossing. She’d saved like crazy for college, thinking she would get her degree and leave town. She’d been considering nursing—the kind of skill that meant she could get a job anywhere and always support herself. Because that was important. Her parents had died broke, leaving her little more than memories and a piano. Her aunt and uncle had made it clear that once she turned eighteen she was on her own. If she wanted to continue to work at the diner, then she could still live with them. Otherwise, she was expected to leave.

She’d chosen the most sensible path—working full-time at the diner and taking classes at Skagit Valley College, all the while saving every penny she could for when she transferred to a four-year college. She’d met Troy her second quarter. They’d started dating and somehow she hadn’t had the time for her third quarter. An embarrassing truth, but there it was.

Instead she’d told herself she was in love and had accepted his proposal. They’d moved in together, had a small wedding and life had gone on with her working at the diner. Dreams of leaving town had been put on hold. After the divorce, she’d been too hurt and embarrassed to do much more than get through her day. And just when she’d been thinking of going back to college, her uncle had suffered his first stroke.

While he’d recovered from that, his second stroke had left him much more debilitated. Her aunt had offered to sell her the diner at a reasonable price. Helen had spent two weeks considering her options before coming to the realization that she had nowhere else to go. No family, no connections. Everyone she knew in the world lived in Tulpen Crossing. Ironically, Troy had left town after the divorce.

So she’d made the decision to stay. To buy the diner and make her life here. She’d taken up playing the piano again and through that had started working with JML, and had fallen for her best friend’s father. And here she was, all these years later, still in love with him.

She wasn’t sure if that made her slightly foolish or mortally idiotic, because to date she had no evidence that Jeff saw her as other than a friend.

Which left her with only two options—get over him or take a chance and be willing to live with the consequences. Because if he turned her down, well, then she would have nothing at all.

* * *

Kelly couldn’t remember ever having a hangover. She wasn’t one to get drunk very often, or ever. She enjoyed the occasional cocktail or glass of wine, but she was fairly confident she’d never downed half a bottle of vodka before.

Most of the details of the concert were hazy. She knew she’d hung out with Griffith and had said some fairly unfortunate things. What exactly wasn’t clear, although she did have a humiliating recollection of complaining that Olivia had boobs and she didn’t.

Somewhere around 2:00 a.m. she’d gotten up to drink more water and had promptly thrown up in the kitchen sink. That had been attractive. She’d stayed up, sipping water until nearly four when it had seemed safe for her to go back to bed. She’d slept until six thirty.

One shower later, she was feeling almost human. The pounding in her head was pretty awful but wouldn’t be fixed until she could down an aspirin—something that couldn’t happen until she ate. The thought of food was enough to make her want to kill herself, only she didn’t think she had a choice.

She pulled on jeans and a T-shirt, then ran a comb through her wet hair. Maybe dry toast, she thought. Or a banana. She thought she’d read somewhere that a banana was good for a hangover because of the potassium.

She stumbled to the kitchen and put a slice of bread in the toaster. Her father, a great, great man, who had warned her she was going to feel awful this morning, had started coffee before he’d left for the diner. She poured herself a cup and did her best not to notice how her hands shook.

The first sip had her system relaxing just a bit. When the toast popped, she grabbed it and took a bite. Her stomach was silent.

Kelly offered a prayer of thanksgiving before finishing the slice and her coffee. Only then did she down an aspirin and start to believe that yes, she was going to be all right. Except for what she might or might not have said to Griffith.

She also had to deal with her truck. She’d left it at the craft mall. When her dad got home, she would ask him to drive her out there. Yet one more check mark in the embarrassing column.

“Good morning.”

The happy, loud voice made her wince. She turned and saw Olivia walking into the kitchen. Her sister also wore jeans, but aside from the basic concept, they were nothing like Kelly’s. The denim was darker and the fit tighter. Olivia’s jeans were long, coming to the heel of her stylish boots. A purple sweater with a deep V exposed just enough cleavage to remind Kelly of her shortcomings.

Olivia’s hair was still all wavy, beachy, and she had on the kind of makeup that emphasized her perfect features. It was annoying and intimidating and made Kelly want to throw coffee in her pretty face.

“Morning,” she mumbled instead, when what she really wanted to ask was “Is everything you own either pretty or beautiful?” There was no point as she already knew the answer. Not that cute, stylish clothes were practical. Kelly was a farmer, after all. She would spend her day grubbing and hauling, but jeez, it was so depressing. And unfair.

Still, she wouldn’t say any of that to her sister. To be honest, none of what Kelly was thinking was Olivia’s fault, which made her feel guilty, so she said, “Are you getting settled?”

“I am. It’s strange being back.”

“I would imagine. Did you have fun last night with your friends?”

Olivia hesitated. “It was great. How was the band?”

“Awful. They usually are. They had their own vocalist. She was okay, but my friend Helen is way better.”

Olivia poured herself a cup of coffee. “Are you going to the farm today?”

“I’d planned to, why?”

Olivia studied her for a second. “I thought maybe we could spend some time together. After all, we’re sisters and we barely know each other.”

Guilt flooded Kelly. Guilt because she’d been the one to suggest sending her sister away. Guilt because she’d never wanted to be friends with the person she saw as their mother incarnate.

“Some of the reason is that as I grew up, you were always mad at me,” Olivia went on. “I get it. I was a pain in the butt and you thought I was too much like Mom.”

Kelly felt her mouth fall open. She carefully closed it. “I never said that.”

“You didn’t have to.”

Say it! Tell her! The voice in her head was so loud and spoke in time with the pounding of her headache. This was the moment, she thought, to come clean and say that she had been the reason Olivia had been sent away. Only the words got stuck and wouldn’t move.

“We’ve always been different,” Olivia said.

“I know. I take after Dad and you...” Kelly sipped her coffee.

“I don’t take after Mom that much.” Olivia glanced away.

There was something about the way she said it—as if she knew one way or the other.

“Do you ever see her?” Kelly asked.

Olivia sipped her coffee. “Ah, sometimes. Not all that often.”

Wow—there was information. Once Marilee had taken off, Kelly had never wanted to spend time with her mother again. Of course she and her mom had a very different relationship than Olivia and Marilee.

“You and I were always on opposite sides,” Kelly said. “Me with Dad and you with Mom.”

“Soldiers in their war.”

“Is that how you saw it?” Kelly asked. “I never did. Dad didn’t fight.”

“He should have. Things would have been better if he’d stood up to her.”

“I know. I think he was trying to get along.” Not that she wanted to say anything bad about Jeff. He’d been a good dad—always there for her.

“I was asking about the farm before because I thought we could hang out together. After work.”

“That would be great,” Kelly said automatically, then wondered what on earth they were supposed to do together. She doubted she and Olivia had anything in common and it wasn’t as if there was a ton to do in Tulpen Crossing. Part of the reason they had trouble attracting tourists in the off-season.

“I have a tourism board meeting tonight,” she said. “We’re trying to update the local craft mall and figure out ways to get more tourists to come to town. Maybe you could help us brainstorm.”

She expected Olivia to roll her eyes at the suggestion. Instead her sister nodded eagerly.

“I’d like that a lot. I worked with a couple of charities in Phoenix. Maybe some of the things we did there will work here.”

Kelly didn’t know which was more surprising—her sister’s enthusiasm or the fact that she’d volunteered for something. Which wasn’t fair, she reminded herself. Olivia wasn’t a teenager anymore. She’d grown up, graduated college and had created a life of her own away from her family. Of course she was different.

“That would be really helpful.” Kelly smiled.

“I hope so. I’ll see you after work.”

“You will.”

Kelly poured coffee into a to-go mug and grabbed her bag. She opened the back door just in time to remember that she had no transportation, only to find her truck sitting where it was supposed to be. The keys were in the ignition and a bottle of aspirin was on the front seat with a note that said, Hope it’s not too bad this morning. G

Griffith had somehow arranged to return her truck to her. Talk about above and beyond, she thought happily. She might not be sure about what to do about her sister, but her decision about Griffith’s suggestion was getting more and more clear.

She slid into the driver’s seat, then reached for her purse when she heard her phone chirp. The text message was from Helen.

Your dad just left. Olivia’s back? Are you still in shock?

Yes. Shocked. Stunned and seriously hungover. Missed you last night.

I heard the band was awful. I didn’t miss hearing that. Need to talk?

I’m okay. I’ll fill you in on everything tonight. Oh, Olivia’s coming with me.

Why?

I honest to God have no idea.