Page 114 of The Hardest Hit

“Olivia, are you in there?” yelled a female voice. “Can I come in? Um… After you put some clothes on?”

Olivia stared at the door in disbelief. “That’s my sister.”

“Want the oven mitts?” asked Evan.

“No!”

“Dominique got me new ones.”

“Just go answer the door! I’ll go put clothes on.”

When she came back downstairs, Sofia was standing awkwardly in the dining area, watching Evan cook. Evan was ignoring her. Olivia was rather afraid that Evan’s opinion of everyone in her family except Tyler was terribly low.

Olivia stared at her sister. Sofia was carrying the travel backpack that Olivia had purchased for the non-existent Mexico trip with Clark, and she looked a little glassy-eyed, like she was thinking about crying. Her red curls were escaping from her ponytail like they always did when she was tired.

“Sofia Lynn,” said Olivia.

“I went to your apartment,” said Sofia. “But you weren’t there and then I remembered that it was Tuesday. And then I called Tyler because I didn’t know what to do and he said to come here and he gave me the address.”

“OK,” said Olivia. She wasn’t sure what to do with that information. “Did you want to see me for something particular?”

If Sofia started in about wanton harlots again, Olivia was going to kick her straight out the door, no matter if the escaping curls said she needed a hug or not.

“I only had enough money for a bus ride to here,” said Sofia. “Or I would have gone to Tyler.”

“OK,” said Olivia.

“He told me—” A tear escaped Sofia’s eye and trickled down her face.

“He told you what?”

“Pops told me to go out with Clark,” said Sofia in a tiny whisper of a voice.

Olivia felt an overwhelming sense of rage. She looked at Evan and found her hands clenched in angry fists by her face.

“We don’t have any cakes,” said Evan. “Go for the pillows in the living room.”

“Agghhh!” yelled Olivia.

“Sofia, would you like some wine?” asked Evan.

Sofia looked from Olivia to Evan. “Yes, please?”

Olivia took Evan’s advice and went into the living room and kicked a pillow across the room. Then she took a deep breath, counted to twenty, and kicked another pillow. Then she went back into the kitchen and hugged her sister. “I’m sorry, Sofs.”

“I’m sorry,” said Sofia with half a sob, pressing her face into Olivia’s shoulder. “I shouldn’t have said those things to you. It’s just that ya’ll keep leaving me. And that hurts.”

“We’re not leaving you, Sofia,” said Olivia. “We’re leaving Pops.”

“Yeah, I figured that out right about the time he told me to go put on some lipstick and go talk to Clark.”

“I hate Clark,” said Evan, pouring stock into the pot of vegetables.

“So say we all,” agreed Olivia. “OK, so you left. That’s great.”

“Is it?” asked Sofia, looking worried. “Liv, I don’t even know what I’m going to do! I thought and thought the entire bus ride, but I don’t know. How am I supposed to even get a job? All I’m good at is farm stuff.”

“Well, Tyler says that he could get you a job in twenty minutes up in Washington,” said Olivia. “He says your farm management skills would be in high demand.”