Secrets of the Tulip Sisters

by Susan Mallery

  Helen’s stomach rose up in her throat. Had she eaten, she would have thrown up. As it was, she was terrified she was going to start retching, although maybe that wouldn’t be so bad. At least it would be a distraction for everyone.

  Time slowed, or maybe her brain sped up. She noticed how the second hand on the wall clock barely seemed to be moving. She registered that it was five in the morning and that Sven was with Griffith. Obviously he’d put a call in to his friend because he’d wanted moral support. No, that wasn’t the reason. He’d done it so she could have someone else to...to...

  Someone else to hang on to when he said what she knew he was going to say.

  “She said sex always made Jeff hungry. That she was fixing him a sandwich and wondered if Kelly shared that characteristic.”

  Griffith hung his head. “I’m sorry, Helen. I didn’t know what to do except tell you.”

  Sven’s hold on her hand tightened. She gripped him just as hard, hoping the pain would distract her. Tears filled her eyes and fell down her cheeks but that was nothing compared with the awful ripping in her heart. It was as if she were being torn in two and then tossed to the floor.

  She didn’t remember moving, but suddenly she was on her feet, being held. Both men hung on to her, offering comfort and supporting her as she tried to suck in air.

  He’d betrayed her. She’d trusted him and he’d betrayed her. Had anyone else told her, she would have had doubts, but not Griffith. He was a good guy. He would never tell her something that wasn’t true.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I couldn’t not say something.”

  “It’s okay,” she managed, wiping her face. “It’s horrible, but I’d rather know.” She sniffed and turned to Sven. “Thank you for coming with him.”

  “You’re a good girl. You don’t deserve this. I can beat him up for you.”

  She managed a strangled laugh. “I’m sure you could, but that would create a lot of trouble in our little community. Plus, you’re too handsome for prison.”

  Sven raised a shoulder. “You’re right. I would be very popular.”

  They hugged her again. She tried to control herself, but emotions overwhelmed her.

  “Child.”

  She turned and saw Delja walking toward her. She hurried to the tiny woman and began crying again. Strong hands held her tight.

  “I heard,” Delja said, then spoke in Russian. Helen had no idea what she was saying, but it sounded mean and violent.

  “You go home,” Delja told her. “You need time. I’ll get in someone else.”

  Helen started to protest, then nodded. “You’re right. Thank you.”

  “We’ll walk you back to your place,” Sven told her. “Make sure you get there okay.”

  She wiped her face. “I appreciate that, but I’m going to stay here and set up.” Once one of the other servers arrived, she would duck out. When she was in her own house, she could figure out how to deal with the gaping hole inside her heart.

  Neither man moved. Helen walked to the door and opened it. “You were great. I appreciate you telling me what you saw. Sven, thank you for being there for me. I’m not okay, but I will be. Seriously. You can go.”

  They started for the door. Sven paused and kissed her cheek. “Call me if you want me to come over and cook something.”

  She managed a smile. “I will. Thank you.”

  Griffith hugged her. “I didn’t tell Kelly. I didn’t know if you’d want me to, so I waited.”

  “Thanks. I think it’s better if she doesn’t hear about this just yet.” Kelly was already conflicted about everything going on and if she knew, she might feel she had to defend her father. That would be more than Helen could handle.

  They left and she went to work. At five thirty, one of her servers arrived and she was able to escape to the back.

  “I’m going to text him and tell him I have food poisoning,” she told Delja. “If I say anything else, he’ll want to stop by.”

  She thought her friend might tell her she was being a coward, but Delja only nodded. “Just make sure you’re clear it wasn’t my cooking.”

  For the first time since hearing the news, Helen laughed. “I swear. I’ll blame that fast-food place by the freeway.”

  Delja hugged her again. “You’re a good girl. I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  She collected her bag and left, careful to circle around the parking lot. The last thing she wanted to do was to run into Jeff.

  As soon as she got home, she texted him the lie, then went to her room and curled up on the bed. But no matter how tightly she pulled her knees to her chest, she couldn’t stop the bleeding. There was nothing to do but wait it out. Over time she would stop feeling stupid, hurt and betrayed. In time she would find her mad, then she would start to heal. But until then, there were only tears and the sense of having been the world’s biggest fool.

  * * *

  Kelly found her sister at the small desk in her bedroom. There was paperwork strewn across every possible surface—the desk, the bed, both nightstands and the window seat. Olivia was on the phone. As she spoke, she entered information on a spreadsheet. She smiled at Kelly, then indicated she would only be a minute.

  “Let’s say between three and three thirty. Uh-huh. I’ll have a room set up for you. It’s not huge, but it opens to the outside for walks. Yes, of course you can use the bathroom for the cats. That’s perfect. I’ll see you then. Thank you so much.”

  She pushed a button on her phone, then pulled off her headset and sighed. “A local animal rescue center has offered puppies and kittens for the grand finale fashion walk, which is fantastic. No one will be expecting it and hey, I’m all in favor of a surprise ending, but the fund-raiser is in less than a week and I wasn’t actually looking for one more thing.”

  Guilt rippled through Kelly, making her uncomfortable. “I haven’t asked how it’s going. Do you need help? Is everything set?”

  Olivia stood and stretched. “I’m good. A little frantic, but good. Sally and Hannah provided me with a list of volunteers. They’re mostly high school kids who need their volunteer hours. Sven’s been letting me store silent auction items in his barn and Griffith sent over a few guys to help me sort through them. The decorations are going to be pretty basic. With the tickets all sold out, I had a bigger budget than I’d first planned and I’ve given the caterers a bit more money, so what we lack in balloons and flowers, we’ll make up for in food.”

  “This is going to be a big deal, isn’t it?” Kelly asked. “You’re going to raise a lot more than roof money.”

  “I hope so.” Olivia grinned. “If that happens, I’m going to ask Sally for a raise.”

  Kelly had been so caught up in dealing with having her mother around and having amazing sex with Griffith that she’d totally forgotten about Olivia’s fund-raiser.

  “I should have been helping. I’m sorry.”

  “I’m fine,” Olivia told her, then sighed. “Okay, fine might be a stretch, but I’m okay. Only until Friday, then it’s done.”

  “What can I do to make things easier?”

  “On Friday morning I’ll need help getting the silent auction items into the craft mall, so if you and your hunky boyfriend could spare a couple of hours, that would be great.”

  “Done.” Kelly remembered why she’d come to see her sister. “I had a call from the mayor, which let me say, doesn’t ever happen.”

  “We have a mayor?”

  “Of course. Mayor America wanted your cell number. I hope it’s okay that I gave it to him.”

  “Our mayor’s last name is America?”

  “He’s Delja’s son.” At Olivia’s blank look, Kelly added, “Delja who works at Helen’s café and does all the baking.”

  “Oh, wow. I keep forgett
ing what a small town this is. Should I be worried that the mayor wants to talk to me?”

  “He wants to set up a meeting to discuss starting First Fridays as a way to draw in tourists.” When Olivia didn’t speak, she continued. “That’s when local businesses hold special events and stay open late to entice tourists.”

  “I’m clear on the First Friday concept,” Oliva said, taking her seat. “I’m just...” She stared at Kelly. “Why does everyone keep offering me jobs before the fund-raiser? After, sure. It’s going to be a success and then all this will make sense. But before? What if it’s a disaster?”

  “It won’t be.” Kelly cleared off a place on the bed and sat down. “I’m glad you’re staying. I hope you can be happy here.”

  Olivia grinned. “Isn’t there an old song about being happy down on the farm? I think I could. There’s not much for me in Phoenix. I think I can cobble together a few jobs here.” Olivia tucked her hair behind her ears. “That probably sounds really strange, but it’s appealing to me. I like the idea of doing different things in my day.”

  “You’re going to need more space than this.” Kelly motioned to the bedroom. “And a filing system.”

  They both laughed.

  “I’m going to find a place,” Olivia told her. “Office space can’t cost too much, right?”

  “I know somewhere.” The statement was impulsive. Kelly gave herself a second to reconsider, then added, “At the farm. We have a few empty offices and one of them is huge. You could use it for your business.”

  Olivia’s eyes widened. “You’re sure about that?”

  “Very. Dad and I have already talked. We also want you to come up with a marketing plan that focuses on tourists and help us develop some kind of tour for the farm.” Kelly grinned. “You’re going to be quite the entrepreneur.”

  “I’ll build an empire.”

  Kelly thought about all that had happened in the past few months. “I wish you’d come home sooner. Or that I’d gone to see you.”

  “Not that,” her sister said quickly. “Mom would have turned that into a disaster. But I know what you mean. We lost a lot of sister time.”

  Kelly stood and crossed to her. Olivia rose and they hugged.

  “We’ll make up for it,” Kelly promised.

  “Yes, we will.”

  * * *

  Olivia’s good mood lasted through to Tuesday. By noon she’d confirmed, double-checked and was thinking any triple checking should wait until maybe Thursday. The addition of puppies and kittens had been a bit of a twist, but they would add an “aw” factor to the antiques runway walk. She had tables and chairs, linens, food, drinks, items to sell and sold tickets. She could, maybe, take a breath.

  Which was how she found herself staring at a real estate listing online.

  She shouldn’t, she told herself. It was ridiculous. Not expensive and from the pictures, really nice, but still. Buying a place didn’t make any sense. What if she hated it here? Better to rent. Yet the duplex appealed on so many levels.

  For one thing, the houses were connected by their garages, rather than by the living areas, limiting any noise issues. The backyards were big, the roof new and the other unit was rented with a two-year lease.

  She had the money for the down payment. The trick would be qualifying for a loan—that might take some doing, especially with her newly self-employed status, although a tenant with a lease would help. She had to admit, she was tempted...

  She grabbed her cell and dialed the broker, telling herself if no one answered, she would take it as a sign. The Realtor picked up on the first ring.

  Thirty minutes later Olivia parked in front of the duplex. The yard was pretty, the exterior freshly painted. The agent, an attractive, friendly woman named Sherry, met her out front.

  “You’re going to love this property,” Sherry told her. “The owners have maintained it really well and the location is great. The renters are an older couple with grown children in the area. They travel a fair amount. The duplex is their home base. They’re very willing to sign a four-year lease with the new buyer, so you’d have steady income from that. Come on inside and I’ll show you around.”

  Olivia followed her into the right side of the duplex. The entryway led to an open concept kitchen/great room with a small formal dining room beyond. To her right was a den. The hardwood floors needed refinishing and the interior walls could use a coat of paint but it was clean and the appliances had been updated.

  The kitchen cabinets were in great shape. Olivia eyed the tile countertops and quietly groaned. Not her style, but a solid surface would completely change the look. She liked the big windows. Come winter and the very short days, getting in as much light as possible was important.

  There was a big pantry and a laundry room with the entrance to the garage off the kitchen. She wouldn’t need space for two cars, so she could use the second bay for storage.

  They walked down the short hall. There was a tiny half bath, an en suite second bedroom, then a nice-sized master with a sliding door that opened to a small patio. The attached bathroom needed to be redone, but it was functional and the closet was happily large.

  Olivia returned to the great room and closed her eyes. She breathed in deeply, trying to get a feel for the space. Some houses looked great but had an uncomfortable vibe about them. As if something bad had happened or the people who lived there had been desperately unhappy. She wasn’t a big woo-woo person, but had been in enough houses to pay attention to the feel of a home. This one was happy, she thought as she turned to Sherry.

  “You’re right. It’s really nice. It needs updating and it might be bigger than I need, but I’m going to think about it.”

  Sherry handed over her card. “Let me know if you have any questions.”

  “I will. Thanks.”

  Olivia returned to her car and headed home. She’d liked the duplex a lot. She should talk to her dad. He might know a local banker who would be sympathetic to her situation and be willing to take a chance on her. With the tenants in place and a shiny new four-year lease, she could swing the payments. It was a risk, but a good one. Now that she’d decided to stay she was going to—

  There was no way to avoid it. She was going to have to tell her mother she was quitting.

  There’s a conversation that’s going to go smoothly, she thought as she got out of her car and closed the door. In theory Marilee should be pleased. It wasn’t as if they’d been getting along. But having Olivia quit was very different—it was someone else making the decision and Marilee wasn’t going to like that at all.

  Olivia eyed the house and wondered if she should just get it over with. Do it fast—like ripping off a bandage. Then she thought about all she had to get through in the next few days. The fund-raiser was Friday. Was it wrong to wait until that was over?

  Before she could decide, a truck pulled up next to her car and Ryan got out. He was tall, handsome and when he smiled at her, all she felt was a strong need to escape...and maybe a little guilt.

  She hadn’t seen Ryan in ages and she hadn’t much thought of him, either. She remembered that first night, when she’d dressed up and had done her best to entice him. Embarrassment heated her cheeks as she got out of the car. She’d been an idiot.

  “Hey, babe,” he said as he walked toward her. He grabbed her around her waist and drew her close, then kissed her.

  She pushed him away before stepping back. “What are you doing?” she snapped, glancing around, hoping no one had seen them. Guilt and annoyance merged—the former because of Sven and the latter because she wasn’t a girl who felt guilt over very many things and certainly not Ryan.

  “I haven’t seen you. I thought we could get together.”

  He moved toward her but she held him off with a glare. “And Autumn?”

  “We’re done.” />
  She rolled her eyes. “Right.”

  “I mean it, Olivia.” He actually looked stricken. “It’s your fault, too. I’ve been thinking about you all the time. Autumn figured it out and dumped me.” He reached for her and drew her close. “Come on. You know it was always good between us. Things have gotten in the way before, but now we’re both free. It could be like it was.” He leaned in to kiss her.

  She ducked away and stared at him. “Like it was before?” she repeated. “You mean back in college when you only had time for me when it wasn’t baseball season?”

  He flinched. “That’s low. You know I can’t play anymore. I’m stuck being just like everyone else. Don’t worry—I’ve got nothing but you.”

  She thought maybe he meant that as a good thing, but it sure didn’t sound that way.

  “So we’re going to start dating now?” she asked. “I want to make sure I understand how things are.”

  He brightened. “Sure. We can start right now. Come home with me.” He winked. “I remember how you like it.”

  “Uh-huh.” There was no way she was going anywhere with him. But why after all this time was he seeking her out? “What aren’t you telling me?”

  He looked down, then back at her. “Nothing. It’s great. I quit that stupid job with Griffith. I’ve got some ideas about what to do next. I’m thinking I might start my own business. I’m good at a lot of things, you know. But Griffith doesn’t see that. He’s an asshole.”

  Olivia translated the handful of sentences. If she had to guess she would say Ryan had been fired and was looking for work. While it was unlikely his brother would have thrown him out at the same time, he might have put a time limit on how long Ryan could mooch room and board. Ryan was looking for a meal ticket and he figured Olivia was a better bet than Autumn.

  “Did you really break up with her or is that going to happen if I say yes?”

  He shoved his hands in his front jeans pockets. “We’re done, I swear. She, ah, might be pregnant, but I think she’s lying about it. You know, to trap me.”

  Olivia circled around to the driver side of her car. “Get away from me, Ryan. I wasn’t interested in you before and I’m sure not now. Go back to Autumn and make things work.”