by Liz Schulte
“So, you ready for dinner tonight? You’re expected promptly at 7:30 for cocktails, followed by dinner at 8:00,” he said with mock official-ness.
“I only got two hours of sleep last night, and it’s been a stressful day. Maybe we should—” I broke off as he vehemently shook his head.
“You promised, Ryan, and you owe me. You can’t bail.”
I looked into his earnest, hurt eyes and nodded at him. Dinner with the family was about as exciting as walking to the gallows. But a promise was a promise. “So, little brother, you have a girlfriend?” I asked, wanting to distract myself from worry.
He smiled slyly. “A couple.”
I laughed but believed him. I was about to dive in further when the door opened. I didn’t jump up this time. Judging by Blair’s face, it wasn’t Bee who came in. His jaw dropped, and he stared in wonderment.
“Is this—is Ryan here?” Vivian asked.
I pulled back the curtain and waved at her. “What are you doing here? What happened at the store?”
“Nothing. I’m on lunch, so I thought I’d run some choices by you.”
“Choices?” I asked, and Blair cleared his throat, reminding me he was there. “Oh, sorry. Blair, this is my old school roommate and friend, Vivian. Vivian, this is my little brother, Blair.” I made sure to stress ‘little’ when I saw her eyes scan over him. We would have no cougar claws in my baby brother.
“The furniture.” She walked over in a pair of my jeans and a tight, sparkly pink cardigan that I didn’t recognize.
“Where’d you get the sweater?”
“I bought it from the store. All of your tops are too …” She trailed off, looking for the word.
“Sedate?” I offered.
“Conservative,” she said, crinkling her tiny nose.
She turned on her camera and gave me four different couch options. I chose a linen-colored one with square arms and a low back. “Is it comfortable?”
“You bet—I tried them all.”
“Then I like it. How much?” The amount she said made my eyes bulge. “For the whole set?”
She laughed wickedly. “No, silly. The couch. The material was imported from—”
“I don’t care. Don’t tell me. I have enough to worry about. I just want it done.”
“Great. They can deliver next Tuesday. All we have to do is finish cleaning out the rooms and paint.”
“Tuesday’s only three days away. I don’t know if we can finish that fast. And how do you know when they can deliver it? You haven’t even ordered it yet.”
“Wrong. I thought that was the one you’d choose and took a chance.”
“And if I’d chosen differently?”
Vivian smiled and patted my arm. “I’d just call and change the order.”
“Well, I can’t do anything tonight—dinner with the family.” I shot a look at my brother.
“I don’t have anything going on this afternoon. I could help,” he offered, smiling at Vivian.
I shook my head at her, but she agreed. The two of them went off, giving me yet another thing to worry about. People were determined to give me an ulcer.
Bam!
The closet door flew open and smashed into the wall with a thump. I started toward the door, but it slammed closed again. I went into the hallway and walked in the direction of the elevators, concentrating on slowing my racing heart. I couldn’t be in that room anymore. “It’s not possible,” I whispered to myself over and over again.
“Are you okay, dear?” Nurse Leigh asked.
“I heard whispering earlier today—someone or something saying my name—and the closet door just slammed opened then shut all by itself.” I watched her, waiting for that humoring grin people give when they think you’re nuts, but she frowned.
“You know these old buildings,” she said and turned away from me, walking quickly down the hall.
I followed her, determined she knew more than she was telling me. I wanted to be a reporter for crying out loud. Surely I could get to the bottom of this. “Leigh.” I hurried around her, cutting her off. “I think you know more than you’re telling me. Is my aunt’s room haunted?”
She stepped in close to me, fear filling her eyes. “The whole hospital is, dear, but for Heaven’s sake, stop talking about it.”
I could hardly comprehend what she was saying, what she was confirming. “Should I move her?”
“I would,” she said before rushing around me and darting into another room.
Dr. Sadler came down the hall, pushing a much happier Bee. She waved at me, and I headed their way. We helped Bee back into bed, and Dr. Sadler assured me everything went really well. He started to leave, but I caught him at the door.
“Do you have a few minutes?”
He grimaced and shook his head. “I really don’t.”
“Are you free tonight?”
He raised an eyebrow and a smile danced on his lips. “I can be.”
I quickly explained, not wanting to get his hopes up. “I’m supposed to have dinner at my parents’ house, but if you came, we could talk. I have some questions.”
“Huh.” He nodded slowly and glanced at his watch again. “Okay, sounds nice. What time?”
“Pick me up here at 7:00?”
“It’s a date.”
As he walked away, I muttered to myself, “It’s an interview. Just an interview.”
I tried to call Blair, but his phone went directly to voicemail. I certainly wasn’t calling my mother, so I guessed Dr. Sadler would just be a surprise. Mom loved those.
Chapter 7
Driving down the winding drive, the headlights making the trees on either side glow, I began to doubt the wisdom of my impromptu plan. Yes, it was an opportunity to scare off Dr. Sadler and to find out what the nurse wasn’t saying, but ugh. Just the sight of the palatial house made me want to throw up. No crime I’d ever committed deserved a punishment as severe as this. I couldn’t believe Blair had talked me into dinner.
“You all right over there?” Jack asked.
I swallowed the fear and looked over at him. “I’ll give you a thousand dollars if you turn the car around now.” My voice came out huskier than normal.
His laugh filled the car and tried to make me feel better, but I was having none of it. “You think you want to turn around? I’m the one meeting your family on our second date.”
“This isn’t a date. You’re my human shield. And the diner wasn’t a date either.”
“They can’t be that bad. They raised you—and Bee’s one of them. I’ve never met a nicer woman.”
I shook my head. He had no idea what he was in for. He parked the car and turned to look fully at me. “So what do I need to know?”
“What do you mean?”
“This is normally where you tell me I shouldn’t bring up pickles because Great Uncle Alfred on your mother’s side was an alcoholic and always ate pickles when he drank so it makes your mother think of him. You know—the idiosyncrasies of your family.”
I finally smiled. “My whole family is one big idiosyncrasy. Talk about whatever you want.”
He frowned. “Are you deliberately trying to be unhelpful?”
“Seriously, I don’t know because I never brought anyone home to meet them. I haven’t been back since I graduated high school.” I bit my lip and wished I had survival advice to give—or in my case, use. “Best I can offer is watch your back. Underneath the perfected manners and gilded smiles are people who would rather step on you than talk to you.”
Jack’s eyes strayed over to the house for a moment then moved back to mine. “If you haven’t seen them since you were eighteen, chances are they’ve changed and you’ve probably changed as well. Let’s keep an open mind.”
“I guess we’re gonna find out.” I opened the door and headed for the house. Before I could knock, the door swung open, and Blair greeted me with a big hug. A tormented looking maid stood behind him, wringing her hands like she didn’t know what to do si
nce he answered the door.
“I honestly can’t believe you came.” Blair kept his arm flung around my shoulders like I might try to bolt, which had crossed my mind.
“That makes two of us,” I said under my breath. “Blair, this is Aunt Bee’s doctor, Jack Sadler. Jack, my little brother, Blair.”
The grin fell off Blair’s face. He took Jack’s extended hand but narrowed his eyes. “We just got Ryan back. If you do anything to make her leave, you’ll have me to deal with.”
I stared at Blair in shock. What the hell—
Blair’s laughter boomed, and he shook Jack’s hand vigorously. “You should see the look on your face. Priceless. I’m only teasing, man. Come in, welcome. I’m sure Ryan’s told you nothing about us.”
Jack laughed too, but it sounded forced. Blair released his hand and headed toward the blue parlor, if I remembered correctly. Jack put his hand on my back, still looking much more relaxed than he had any right to be. My heart pounded as I slowly trailed behind him. Before we went in I whispered, “I’m sorry about that—and about the rest of tonight. Thank you for coming with me.”
Jack gave me a “you owe me one” look and we walked through the French doors into my own personal hell. Blair settled in a wingback chair, Ashley and the person I assumed was his wife sat on the couch, my father stood staring out the window, and my mother was perched in a laughably throne-like chair.
“Nice of you to dress for dinner. I didn’t know you planned on bringing a guest.” Mother bit off each word as if looking at me in my current state pained her.
My father glanced away from the window, and a smile spread across his face. Blair looked a lot like him. He was to me in three steps, sweeping me into his arms and twirling me around slightly. “I think what your mother means is, it’s so good to see you, Ryan,” he said with his rich baritone voice as he sat me safely back on the ground.
I had no doubt my mother said exactly what she meant, but I let it go. I only had to make it through one evening. I cleared my throat. “This is Bee’s doctor, Jack Sadler. Jack, this is my father, Cornelius Sebastian Sterling V—a”
“Neil,” Dad interrupted and shook Jack’s hand.
“My mother, Blythe Sterling.” She nodded slightly. “My brother, Ashley, and his wife, and you’ve met Blair.”
Ashley smiled but looked disinterested and didn’t even bother to introduce his wife. My mother, on the other hand, looked anything but disinterested. Her appraising eyes followed Jack as if she could determine his net worth based on his posture—or whatever criteria she used to determine if someone was Sterling worthy. Jack didn’t seem to pass her test, though, because her mouth creased into a frown and a long suffering look blanketed her face. She turned her attention from him and honed in on me as I took the martini offered by the same woman who’d tried to answer the door. Jack declined a drink, saying something about being on call, before returning to his conversation with my father. I ignored Mom’s eyes drilling into me until she took me by the arm and pulled me over to the side of the room.
“I hardly think it is appropriate for you to bring a stranger here. You should be more careful who you associate with.”
“He’s no more a stranger to me than the rest of you are.” I yanked my arm away from her and took a seat next to Blair. He winked at me, and I prayed that Jack would be paged.
“So, Ryan, what brings you back?” My mother’s pinched voice was loud enough to make everyone in the room stop and stare.
I bristled and tried to count to ten but didn’t quite make it. “Well, Aunt Bee—you know, the sister you haven’t visited in the hospital who is fighting for her life—needed me.” I met Mom’s glare head on. There was no way in hell I was backing down. I wasn’t eighteen anymore, and she didn’t scare me. What could she do to me? I wasn’t going to let her keep running me off.
Blair’s eyes widened, and he scrunched down in his chair, all smiles evaporated. Ashley sighed heavily, and Dad put his hand on my shoulder. “How is Bee?” he asked in the same tone he used when I use to cry about having to leave after summer vacations, which only infuriated me more.
I ignored him and continued to glare at my mother. “So what is it? Hospital visits aren’t in vogue this spring? Haven’t found the perfect outfit for sick rounds yet? Or is Bee just not worth your attention?”
“You will not speak to me in such a manner in my home. You will show me respect or leave.”
So much anger roared to the surface that I couldn’t stop myself. “This is all the respect I can muster, Mother. I guess if you’d like to continue to talk to me, we’ll have to do it outside of the house.”
“Neil, did you just hear her? I told you she couldn’t be civil.”
Before my father could say or do anything, I stood up and Mother flinched like I might actually attack her. I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Blair. I can’t do this.” I walked out of the room, making a beeline for the front door. Jack apologized and said it was nice meeting them as he followed me out.
Once in the cool night air, I was embarrassed. I shouldn’t have lost it, especially in front of Jack. My mother always brought out the worst in me. “I’m sorry,” I said once we were safely in the car.
Jack gave me a searching look and smiled. “You still owe me dinner.”
“I can’t believe you still want to have dinner with me after that.”
“Are you kidding?” he asked, eyes twinkling. “After that, I intend to ask you out every day until I wear you down.”
I stared at my hands. “I’d invite you over but—”
“Okay,” he interrupted me.
“But I don’t have furniture or a kitchen that works in the apartment, and I can’t stay in the cottage tonight. It’s too close to the house.”
“We’ll figure something out.”
It was clear he wasn’t letting me off the hook. I was about to flat out tell him I just wanted to go home and go to sleep when I remembered I hadn’t asked him about the hospital. I bit my tongue and leaned my head back against the seat, letting the hum of the road carry me away.
I opened my eyes when I heard the car door shut. We were outside of a restaurant I didn’t recognize. I stretched slightly, ashamed I’d fallen asleep. A couple minutes later, Jack bounded back towards the car with endless energy and a brown paper sack.
“So how do we get to your house? Or would you rather come to mine?” he asked after he deposited the food in the back seat.
I considered which would be better. His house was probably furnished, but I would be on home turf in mine. Plus, he wouldn’t get too comfortable so it would be easier to end the date when the time came. “I live on Main Street above Blueberry. Do you know where that is?”
“I think so.” He pulled out of the parking lot and headed east. “So are you going to tell me what exactly happened between you and your mother?”
“There’s nothing to tell.” I looked out the window. “We just never saw eye to eye on anything. She wanted to control me, and I wouldn’t let her. When I refused to do what she wanted, despite being sent to the best boarding schools, she gave up and it’s been dodgy ever since.”
“Which is why you don’t go home?”
“Yes.”
“But you kept in touch with your brothers and father?”
“No.” I looked over at Jack, needing to see his expression while we talked about this, but it was hard to see him clearly in the streams of headlights. “I’ll tell you my excuses when we get to the store.”
Goodson Hollow wasn’t very big so we were at Blueberry in a matter of minutes. Jack parked on the street, and I led him in the side entrance. I unlocked my door, unsure what sort of mess I would find on the other side with Vivian and Blair having painted today, but to my surprise, it was spotless. All the paint and drop cloths were gone from the living room. Boxes completely blocked off the kitchen, but the floor in the rest of the room looked freshly cleaned and polished. The wall color, a rich sandy color, was beautiful. Vivian ha
d done a wonderful job. I made a mental note to thank her and to apologize to Blair.
Jack wandered around the empty room, taking in the few details—my new mattress smack dab in the middle of the floor and a couple of lawn chairs on the balcony. “You’ve been living here?”
“No, but I will be. Starting tonight. You should’ve seen it yesterday.” I quirked an eyebrow and beckoned him over to one of the bedroom doors. I opened it wide, displaying the musty space, crammed with old dusty boxes. “All this was out there—and the now lovely walls were gross and stained.”
He laughed. “How do you find the time? It’s no wonder you’re tired. I know for a fact you’re at the hospital twelve hours a day, you’re running the store, and somehow you’re managing to clean out this place? Do you sleep?”
“Not much. But I can’t take credit for the store or the clean up. I’d have had a nervous breakdown by now if I hadn’t run into my boarding school roommate, Vivian. I don’t know if she saw I needed help, or if it was just good timing, but she said she was bored and would like to work in Aunt Bee’s store, so I hired her on the spot. She’s taken over the day-to-day at the shop, and she’s helping me with this as well.”
“How long did you go to boarding school?”
I retrieved a blanket from one of the boxes that didn’t look too bad and spread it on the floor. “Since I was seven.” I sat down on the blanket cross-legged and looked up at him. “So what are we having for dinner?”
Jack’s charming smile returned in full wattage as he sat down across from me, paper bag in hand. He pulled out one container after another, spreading them haphazardly around the blanket, and then sat two off to the side. “I wasn’t sure what you like—”
“So you ordered everything?”
He laughed. “No, I ordered Thai Lettuce Wraps because I figured you could pick and choose what you put on yours, plus dessert.”
“Sounds good and messy.” I hopped up to see if I could rustle up some plates. I came back with two chipped hazelnut-colored dinner plates. “So how long have you been here?”
“Born and raised.”
“No.” My hand stalled mid-reach for the coconut curry noodles. I certainly hadn’t expected that. “So do you know my brothers?”
