by Aubree Lane
His role in their odd partnership was more for support. Larry was there for backup when Terence and Annie needed it. Last week when Erika told them both a bald-face lie and snuck out, he stood right by Terence’s side when they tracked her down, hauled her home, and grounded her. The Javiers faced the brunt of the young teen’s emotional highs and lows. Larry and Eleanor were more like trusted friends. They offered comfort and support. When Erika came to their house, she came to visit. When she went back down the street, she was going home.
Little by little, with Eleanor’s help, he grew to enjoy the time he had with his daughter and rejoice in the time he didn’t.
Larry could tell by the tone of Terence’s voice that his tirade was winding down. In a few moments, he might even be reasonable. He could see Eleanor outside the window talking on her cell phone. She and Annie were probably figuring out a strategy to get this problem worked out.
Larry wasn’t worried, as problems went, this wasn’t much of one. He was completely innocent of the crime he was being accused of. He doubted Terence would believe him, so Larry chose not to defend himself.
Terence pointed a warning finger so close to Larry’s nose, his eyes crossed. “Stop manipulating our daughter!” he shouted. Then he turned his six-foot-plus frame around and stormed out.
Eleanor saw his departure and rushed inside. Larry braced himself.
“Lawrence Wright,” she began, “I can’t believe you would do something like this.”
Larry scratched his head. He looked at the love of his life and said sincerely, “I didn’t.”
“But...” Eleanor stumbled, trying to wrap her head around the misunderstanding. “Annie told me a kid named Warden showed up at Lena’s yesterday. The boy said you hired him to do some yard work around the B&B.”
Larry couldn’t honestly say he disliked the idea. The family knew him well, and he could see how easy it was for them to blame him. If he was acquainted with anyone Erika’s age, he just might have been the culprit.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I wonder how much I’m paying him.”
Eleanor’s fist connected lightly with his bicep. “This isn’t funny,” she scolded. “Are you sure I shouldn’t have you checked out for Alzheimer’s?”
“Pretty sure,” he replied, rubbing his arm. “But keep an eye on me anyway.”
7
“Is this how you do it?” Brittany asked as she carefully cut out one of the beautiful ornaments Erika designed. Not being the crafty type, Brittany couldn’t fathom how the plain blue paper would transform into one of the delicate beauties she coveted on the Javiers’ Christmas palm.
Erika leaned across the kitchen table. She studied Brittany’s work and scowled. “The lines have to be perfectly straight or it won’t line up correctly.”
“Am I helping or hindering?” Brittany asked with a sigh. The edges she butchered would never match up. “I don’t want to make more work for you. Should I stop?”
“Do you always give up the first time you don’t succeed at something?” Erika remarked coolly.
Brittany was struck by the question. Even more, she was surprised Erika would be the one to ask it. She was only thirteen, but she was more than simply bright, she was insightful. Not wanting to sound flippant, she gave Erika’s question some thought before she answered. Brittany drummed her fingers on the table. She was about to reveal a piece of her life she didn’t particularly want to revisit. “I was never given a choice. Failure was not an option. Until the day I hopped a flight to Oahu, my life was not my own.”
Erika looked into Brittany’s eyes and a glint of understanding glimmered. “You’re referring to your parents. Annie doesn’t talk about them. The first time I heard about you was when Dad woke me up and told me you were asleep out on the porch swing.”
“I wonder how he knew who I was.”
Erika’s X-Acto knife slipped when she giggled. She quickly discarded the ruined ornament and pitched it in the trash. “Seriously? Are you honestly going to sit there and tell me you can’t see the family resemblance? You and Annie are practically twins.”
That was something Brittany found extremely hard to believe. Annie was beautiful. She had glamorous friends back in high school. She went out and earned a college degree without any help from their parents, and she ran a top rated design business when she lived in San Diego. Brittany dug in the dirt and planted plants. It was the only thing she was good at. She supposed she could thank her father for that, but the way he treated her made it impossible to feel grateful.
Erika must have seen the disbelief written on Brittany’s face because she pulled out her cell phone and snapped Brittany’s pic. Then she found a photo of Annie and placed the two side by side. Holding the phone up, she asked, “Now can you see it?”
Annie smiled brightly. Her auburn hair, blue eyes, and straight teeth were perfect in every way. Brittany saw they shared the same hair color, but nothing else struck her as twin-like. She examined the photos a bit more closely. Annie was bright and cheerful. Brittany’s grimace and furrowed brow displayed a vastly different attitude. Annie was light and happiness, Brittany was nothing but a major grump.
“Minor similarities at best.” She shoved the phone back in Erika’s direction.
Erika began flipping through her gallery of pictures. “Hang on a minute.” She found the one she was searching for and slid the phone back across the table. “This is one of Annie when she and Dad were about to ground me. She was hopping mad.”
The image which floated across the display shocked Brittany to the core. She was looking at a slightly mature version of herself. The lines in their brows even held the exact same pattern. Annie’s face was heart-shaped, while Brittany’s was more elongated. The shade of their blue-green eyes were also a little different, but they were so close to a match, Brittany knew she was nitpicking. The biggest similarity was the furious glare they both possessed. It was exactly like their mother’s.
Brittany shuddered and pushed the phone away. “Stop it,” she said, rubbing her arms to dissipate the shivers which suddenly ran up them. “You’re giving me the creeps.”
Erika shoved the phone back in her pocket and let her off the hook. “You don’t have to help me if you’re not having fun. I love this kind of stuff. Annie sells it off the Coffee Cart for me. We sold out this morning. She won’t take a cut of the profits no matter how hard I try to push them on her. I earned sixty dollars today. For someone who’s supposed to be a wonderful business woman, she’s a sucker for the people she loves.”
“Are you complaining?” Brittany snickered.
“No, but she’s been by my side the entire time. She helped me figure out how to make them, and now she’s doing all the selling. Until I get out of school for winter break, I’m only working production, but I’m raking in all the profits. I’m just not sure it’s fair.”
Erika was homeschooled. She didn’t have any set hours in which to get her work done. Brittany wondered why she didn’t go down with Annie and the Coffee Cart and sell them herself. “Why can’t you just start school later in the day?”
“Have you met Larry and Eleanor?”
Brittany shook her head.
“They are my learning coaches and I’m not allowed to deviate from our set schedule. The school is not like it used to be either. There was a time when I logged in and watched a recorded version of the class, now I have to attend it live. The teachers take attendance and everything. Too many learning coaches weren’t following through with their responsibilities and students were falling behind. The teachers have a lot more oversight to deal with,” Erika stated matter-of-factly. “With Larry and Eleanor watching my every move, I was always ahead of everyone else. The new system slows me down, but I guess we aren’t like other families.”
The eyebrows on Brittany’s face rose. “I agree. You aren’t like any family I’ve ever known.”
“Are you making fun of our uniqueness?” Erika said with a straight face.
Brittany didn’t fall victim to Erika’s humor this time. “Probably.”
Erika caved and patted Brittany’s hand affectionately. “You’re catching on, Auntie.”
The frown that suddenly crossed Erika’s face worried Britt. They were having such a nice time, but Erika’s entire being had turned serious.
“I know you and Grady like each other,” Erika began. “I wasn’t going to say anything. I was going to let you figure it out for yourself, but there is something you should know before you get in too deep.” She gathered up all the card stock and pushed it off to the side before she continued. “I like him, but I’m not saying this because I don’t want you to see him. I’m saying it because we’re family.” She closed her eyes and blurted out, “Grady sees a lot of girls, but never for very long. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Brittany released the breath she was holding. That wasn’t news to her. Grady hid his phone far too often for her to believe she was the only girl in his life. She was much more concerned about how her seeing Grady would affect Erika. “We won’t take our relationship any further if it bothers you. Grady and I have already talked about it, neither one of us wants to hurt you.”
Erika took a moment to consider her offer. She bit her lip as she wavered back and forth. Her nose scrunched when she came to her decision. “I’ve been hurt every single day for the past six months. I’m tired of it. Grady is never going to see me as anything other than the little girl across the street. He may even love me like a sister, but that’s not what I want from him.” She stood and paced the room. “Everyone has told me that there is no future in loving him the way I do. I just never believed it until I saw the way he looked at you the first day you arrived. I tried to tell myself his goo goo eyes weren’t real and that it wouldn’t amount to anything, but he never looked at me like that. He never looked at any of his girlfriends that way either.” Erika’s distress intensified with each word she spoke. “I can’t lie to myself any longer. I want to be happy. I want a real boyfriend. I want ―”
Erika was on the verge of tears. Needing to defuse the situation before that happened, Brittany cut in. “A cute boy named Warden,” she said with a wink.
Erika cocked her head and grinned. “I don’t know about that, but meeting him certainly didn’t hurt.”
• • •
Brittany cursed Lena’s loppers. The yard tools she owned were cheap, flimsy, and practically useless. She positioned the blades on the dying branch and pulled the handles together with all the strength she could muster. The blades torqued off center and made a clean cut impossible. Now Brittany faced prying the loppers from the outer layers of bark without causing any more damage. It took her a while, but once one blade released, it was a simple matter of bending the limb away from the one still embedded in the bark and wiggling it out.
The moment it was free, she pitched the inefficient piece of garbage across the yard. Lena was simply going to have to invest in some quality equipment or Brittany would never make any headway.
Mr. Kaplinger walked down from the lanai. His tall, lanky body was slightly hunched over with age. The humid, overcast day pumped moisture out of him and the man wiped sweat off his brow before replacing his baseball cap. He picked up the loppers and gently wiped off the dirt as he made his way back to her.
Brittany was a jerk. How was she ever going to become the plant whisperer for Warden if she couldn’t get along with an inanimate object? Somehow she had to get her dad out of her head. This was her life. She wasn’t under his influence any longer. How she chose to behave was completely up to her. She alone was responsible for her actions.
“Hi, Mr. Caprice,” she called out. “Sorry about that. It won’t happen again.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” he chuckled. “I’ve thrown a few things out of frustration before. Where is young Warden this morning?” His brow furrowed and his head tilted questioningly. “Did you just call me Mr. Caprice?”
Brittany smiled and wondered if she should tell him about their crazy theory. She didn’t believe it would offend him and thought he might even think it was funny, so she said, “Yes, I did. That was the model of the cab you were driving when you dropped me off at the Javiers’ several mornings ago. It was the same cab Warden was driving when he dropped you off here.” When she heard the words spoken out loud, she realized how crazy it sounded.
Mr. Caprice scratched his head. “Excuse me?”
He was going to think she was insane, but she explained anyway. “You came with the dolphins to bring us luck and love. Don’t try to pretend it isn’t so. We have it all figured out.” Brittany smiled brightly and hoped he thought she was joking.
He handed the loppers back. “Well, in that case,” he said, tipping his Yankee’s ball cap politely, “have a good day, Miss Brittany.”
Britt took the loppers and called out after him. “You, too, Mr. Caprice.”
Terence was making his way down to the dock. His hair needed a trim and Brittany didn’t think he had shaved since the day she arrived. There was much more to the man than being the captain of the Erika Rose. He was also a computer consultant of some kind, but it was obvious his boat and being on the ocean was his first love. He wore a dark blue t-shirt, brightly colored board shorts, and a pair of river sandals graced his feet.
Her sister snagged herself a very handsome man. The love they shared was evident with every touch, glance, and word they spoke to each other. They seemed to understand how special their relationship was, so they treasured every moment they spent together.
Brittany thought about that for a moment. Maybe it was the other way around. Perhaps it was the fact that they treasured every moment that made their relationship special. A warm feeling flowed through her body, and Brittany realized it wasn’t luck which made their relationship work. Despite the demands of their jobs, Erika, Max, and now herself, Annie and Terence made each other a priority. They didn’t take each other for granted.
“Hey Britt!” Terence hollered her way. “Can I get your help for a moment?”
“Not another tour,” she groaned loudly.
Terence made an X across his chest with his finger and vowed with a cheeky grin. “I will never ask that of you again. I need help carrying all these boxes. I don’t want to have to make thirty trips back up to the truck.”
Brittany saluted. “On it, boss.” She dropped the loppers on the grass and looked around for her apprentice. “Warden!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Put the loppers away for me, I’ll be back in a bit.”
She followed Terence up to his truck and realized she yelled at Warden again. Becoming the plant whisperer was going to be tougher than she thought.
• • •
Lena called them all in for lunch. She didn’t need to include Mr. Kaplinger. She ran a bed and breakfast, lunch was not part of the deal, but she called him, too. He was a curiosity and she wanted to learn more about him. After sleeping on it, she saw how far she and Brittany had fallen down the rabbit hole. Mr. Kaplinger couldn’t have possibly been Brittany’s cabbie, and Warden couldn’t have been Kaplinger’s driver. It was ridiculous.
Mr. Kaplinger was the first to enter the kitchen. “Lena, please call me Kap. No one calls me Mr. Kaplinger.” He removed the Yankee ball cap from his head and held it to his breast humbly. “I’m a guest. You know you don’t have to include me.”
Lena reached out and touched his arm. “Kap, I’m feeding three other people today, what’s one more?”
He leaned in and whispered, “But you aren’t including the other guests.”
Lena mirrored his movements and lowered her head next to his. “You’re special.”
Kap laughed. “Oh yes, I heard all about it. Brittany told me how I came in with the spinners and that I’m lucky.”
Lena held up a plate. “I hope you like calamari.”
“Of course I do,” he chuckled. “Squid is a dolphin staple. I only hope I prove to be as fortunate as you expect. At any rate, I’m grat
eful for your hospitality.”
“Hush and sit down. We don’t really believe that old tale.” Lena placed the plate in front of him. “It’s just a story my mother used to tell us. Whether you are blessed or not, we’re happy you’re here.”
Terence banged open the screen door. He was followed by Warden and Brittany. As the trio washed up, Lena retrieved a green leaf salad and plate of fruit from the refrigerator.
Brittany pulled out a chair. “I’ve never had an employer feed me before.”
Terence slid some mango onto his plate. “I thought you worked for your father?”
“Like I said,” Brittany sneered, “I’ve never had an employer feed me before.”
Warden looked horrified. “But he’s your dad!”
Brittany waved off his conclusion. “I guess no one ever told him that.”
Lena pushed the calamari in her direction. “Eat all you like, sweetie. I need you nourished so you’re able to put in a full day’s work.”
Brittany smiled and turned to Warden. “Did you put the loppers away like I asked? I’m not sure you heard me.”
Lena grabbed Warden’s arm and laughed heartily. “I heard her hollering all the way up here. If you missed that, we’re going to have to get your ears checked.”
Brittany slunk down in her chair. Guilt was plastered all over her face. “Sorry, it’s a process. Do I get any brownie points for hearing how I sounded and chiding myself?”
Mr. Kaplinger voiced his opinion. “I’ve found that recognizing a trait you don’t particularly care for is the first step in changing it. My vote doesn’t count, but I’d give you a brownie or two.”
“I heard you, Miss Brittany. I put the tool away just liked you wanted,” Warden confirmed.
Brittany sat up, impressed by the kid’s manners. She punched Warden lightly on the arm. “Just call me Brittany or Britt. That Miss stuff is a little too formal for me.”
