Page 60 of Will Bark for Pizza (Bluebell Springs #1)

FORTY-NINE

BECKETT

“What are you doing here?” I asked my sister when I spotted her out on the deck of Kat’s Place . She picked a table by the water, which was why it was easy to find her.

“Wow, I’m happy to see you, too, Beck.” She stood, giving me a hug.

I hugged her back and felt her wilt in my arms. Shit. Was she going to cry? I should have insisted she meet me somewhere more private. But I didn’t know if she had a car or if she’d be able to make the trek out to the cabin without blowing a tie rod if she did.

“Where are the twins?”

“Kyle took them to his parents’ place.”

“Oh.”

“It’s not what you think.” When she pulled back, there were no traces of tears, but she wasn’t wearing her usual dramatic makeup.

She waved at the server and ordered a draft beer.

Madeline was unaffected by the alcohol problem in our family.

She could handle a single drink and not crave another.

She was never tempted to drown her sorrows with it.

“Then, fill me in.”

“Nana showed up.”

I nodded.

“Which you knew, of course.”

“I didn’t send her.”

Madeline let out a laugh. “I thought you did at first. I was so pissed at you, too. You could have warned me she was coming, you know.”

We both knew I couldn’t. “You bought a house?”

The server brought Madeline her beer, me a glass of iced tea, and an order of fried pickles for us to share. My sister waited until we were alone again to explain.

“I bought it for a dollar.”

“A dollar?”

“It was one of those auction houses.”

“A foreclosure?”

“I thought if Dad had a project, he’d stay out of trouble. For a while, it worked. The house was a complete pit. Barely above condemnable.”

It made sense why my sister went radio silent for so long. She considered the problem handled. I didn’t have to ask what happened. I was too intimately familiar with the pattern Madeline seemed dead set on ignoring.

“You and Kyle okay?”

“Yeah. He was pissed, of course. But I sold the house.”

“Already?”

“I sold it to Mom for a dollar.”

“Why Mom?”

“Dad’s in jail again. ”

The casual tone killed me every time. This was not fucking normal. I understood that well before moving to Bluebell Springs and being absorbed into the Mason/Weston clan. How did Madeline not know this?

“You don’t want to know what for?” she asked.

I somehow managed to swallow a sigh that swelled from the basement of my soul. “Don’t care.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s fair.”

I shot her a look, surprised by her reaction. This conversation usually took a different route. Was it too much to hope that Madeline had finally come around about how shitty our parents were? Maybe Nana got through to her after all.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but why are you here ?”

It wasn’t like my sister to show up anywhere unannounced. What made her a good attorney was her calculated and planned approach to life.

“Kyle and I agreed we need a fresh start. One far, far away from Mom and Dad.”

Excitement and dread warred for the top spot.

I would love nothing more than to have my family close.

To see the twins all the time. To take Kyle fishing.

For Madeline to experience what a healthy family dynamic was like.

But if our parents followed them here, I didn’t know if I could forgive Madeline.

“You look like you swallowed something sour,” she said. “You don’t want me to come.”

“I do.”

“Relax. I’m just here scoping it out as an option.”

“But you came alone. ”

“Kyle agreed to a fresh start, but he’s still pretty pissed about the whole thing.”

“Understandably so.”

“Gee, thanks.”

I took a long sip of my iced tea, scanning the deck out of habit.

I didn’t see anyone I recognized in more than passing.

I still couldn’t help but wonder how long it would take for a rumor to circulate that I’d been on a date with a strange woman.

Odd that it didn’t even bother me. Huh .

Maybe small town life had officially grown on me.

“Are those . . . scratch marks?”

“What?”

“On your neck. Did you get a cat? No. You’re allergic. If a cat did that, you’d be hospitalized by now.”

“I probably just scratched it on a piece of plywood or something. Been working a lot.”

“You’re a terrible liar, Beck. Always have been. Who is she?”

Fuck, this was not the conversation I wanted to have with my sister an hour after I finally had Kira in my bed.

I was still sorting out the jumbled thoughts in my head without also trying to articulate them out loud.

There was a very real possibility I was falling in love with her.

Maybe I already had. But that was not a topic I was comfortable discussing with Madeline.

“It’s nothing.”

“I know you better than that. You don’t do casual. It’s definitely not nothing.”

“How long you planning on staying in town?”

“A week. Maybe a little longer.”

“You were able to take that much time off work?”

“I’m kind of on an extended vacation.” Her eyebrows lifted a fraction. How much did Nana tell her? “And you still didn’t tell me her name.”

“I’m not telling you her name,” I said. “What happened at work?”

“So, there is someone. I bet she’s the redhead Nana mentioned.”

A mischievous smile formed across her lips. Fuck. This was never good. Madeline liked to meddle, especially when she was bored. And if she was here without any work to do, without kids or her husband to fuss over, she was definitely going to meddle.

“Difference of opinion. Nothing you need to concern yourself with. Are there any law firms in Bluebell Springs?”

I refused to acknowledge the redhead comment. “Don’t act like you haven’t already researched that. Where are you staying?”

“A little birdie told me you recently purchased a two-bedroom cabin. I thought I’d stay with my big brother. Help make sure you don’t enact another redheaded curse.”

Double fuck. There’d be no sneaking Kira over with my sister hanging around. I highly suspected Nana encouraged this sibling reunion. “That little birdie was Nana.”

“Serves you right for not warning me she was coming to pay me a visit.”

“She wouldn’t have shown up if you didn’t buy a house for our pathetic excuse for parents without telling your husband,” I pointed out.

“I’ll need a ride. ”

“How did you get to town?”

“Uber.”

“From Denver to Bluebell Springs?”

“No, from the North Pole. Duh, from Denver.” She swiped the last fried pickle from the basket before I could take it. “I didn’t think you’d mind. Nana said everything in town is within walking distance.”

“Not from the cabin.”

“So, I’ll ride with you.”

“I’m hardly home.”

“Because of some bookstore? What’s that about?”

“If you’re staying with me for a week, I’m putting you to work.”

“I’m a terrible laborer,” she said.

“Don’t remind me.”

“Seriously, Beck. Tell me about the bookstore. Nana said you bought a million-dollar commercial building.”

I emptied my iced tea, pushing up from my chair.

“Where are you going?”

“Home.”

I left a twenty on the table and walked away, wondering what special hell I was in for with my sister in town.

I loved her to death, but her timing couldn’t be worse.

The last thing I wanted Kira to think was that I only wanted her for sex.

And with Madeline attached to me at the hip for the next week, I couldn’t fathom getting Kira alone long enough to talk about what today meant.

But my sister left to her own devices was definitely the bigger risk.