Like One of the Family

by Kimberly Van Meter

  Lilah nodded, but she was plainly still miserable. His heart broke for the young woman and even though she was an adult and clearly not a little girl anymore, he gathered her in his arms and hugged her tight. “Don’t let her get to you. She’s all bark and no bite,” he assured Lilah, and she shuddered against him, clinging to him like a spider monkey. “She has a tendency to lash out when she’s backed into a corner. She’ll come to her senses and realize what a royal—well, for lack of a better word—bitch she’s been and maybe if an apology isn’t in her vocabulary she’ll at least show with her actions that she’s sorry.”

  At that Lilah lifted her head and gave him a wry look. “My sister? Show that she’s sorry? I don’t think she knows how.”

  “Well, one can hope there’s some shred of humanity left in her, right?” he joked, coaxing a smile from Lilah. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

  He could tell she wanted to believe him but Lilah knew the score. She knew Larimar was in trouble and she knew he was doing everything he could to fix it but if Lora worked against him instead of with him—they might lose Larimar all together. And if that happened, Pops would lose whatever bit of sanity he had left.

  And that would kill them all.

  “Thanks, Heath,” Lilah said, pulling away. “Maybe you’re right. She’ll come around.”

  As soon as she said it, they both realized how ludicrous the statement was and burst into rueful laughter just in time for Lora to round the corner.

  Lora took in the two of them sharing an easy familiarity with one another and stiffened. A warning tingle went up his back and he realized a moment too late that she’d taken the situation and spun it in a completely different direction in her head. And to prove his fear, she observed in an icy tone, “I see you’re not only preying on an old man but a naive young woman, too. Tell me, Heath, are there no boundaries you won’t cross?”

  Lilah looked shocked and simultaneously grossed out at Lora’s implication but before Lilah could defend his actions, he simply waved away her attempt with a snort of disgust Lora’s way, saying, “Don’t waste your breath, Lilah. Your sister is not only blind…she’s an idiot.”

  And he stalked from the room.

  * * *

  LILAH FELT CAUGHT BETWEEN two opposing forces and while her loyalty ought to be with her sister, she had to admit Lora seemed to be acting deliberately difficult.

  “Why are you doing this?” she cried, angry. “Can’t you see that he’s been nothing but helpful through this whole ordeal? When you weren’t here, he stepped up and did everything he could to save Larimar.”

  “Do you know about the deal he struck with Pops on the gift shop?” Lora asked.

  Lilah winced, knowing how her sister would interpret the deal. “Yes. But you have to know that he would never do anything that would hurt Pops or the resort. This place and our family has been his family since he was a kid. You know this better than anyone and yet, you’re so willing to throw him under the bus. For what? So you can feel justified in your anger, or so you don’t have to deal with the fact that when we needed you the most, you didn’t come?”

  Lora appeared shocked at Lilah’s impassioned speech, but no one was more surprised than Lilah. She wasn’t the one who took stands and got involved beyond the superficial. She hated confrontation and always sought to avoid it, but she’d reached her limit with Lora’s cold and cruel attitude and since Lindy wasn’t here to back her, she had to stand alone and tell her oldest sister the plain truth. What was the worst she could do? It wasn’t like Lora would ground her—or worse slap her—for her opinion. And it was high time she stood up to her, anyway.

  “You don’t think it’s coincidental that he struck that deal when Pops’s mental acuity started to fail?”

  “No one knew Pops’s mind was slipping. He hid it from all of us for a long time. When Heath discovered what Pops had done…he felt terrible. But don’t take my word for it, just ask him. He’ll tell you,” Lilah said, hoping she was right and that Heath would indeed, swallow his pride and tell Lora the straight truth about his guilt. But even as she knew that Heath never seemed to shy away from sharing personal information with her, there seemed to be some block between Lora and him. At one time, Lilah had wondered if Heath had had a crush on her sister but given the tension between them as they grew to adulthood, she discarded that idea. Instead, she settled on the notion that they simply didn’t get along, which was a shame because Heath was probably the only person on this planet that Lora couldn’t bully.

  “Lilah…I know you have a soft spot for Heath but—”

  “Stop. I won’t listen to you pile more bricks on Heath when you have no proof that he did something to swindle Pops. It’s ludicrous to begin with but I won’t listen to another word so don’t waste your breath. You can spend all the time you want trying to nail Heath to the wall or you can spend that energy helping us.”

  “I am trying to help. Don’t you find it the least bit suspicious that Pops handed over all the money in the reserve account to Heath for his business when we needed that for repairs, taxes and other resort expenses?”

  “No.” Lilah refused to budge. Lora wanted to vilify Heath, needed to, perhaps, for her own sake but Lilah wouldn’t take part. No, Lora would have to shoulder that burden on her own. “You need to take a good look at your motivation. As much as you say that you’re just looking out for Pops’s interests, you should look inside and see if that’s true. For what it’s worth, and I know you don’t value my opinion because I’m just the baby of the family, Heath feels more like family to me than you right now. If you go after him, you’re going after me, too, because I’ll stand behind him.” Lilah started to leave but decided to leave her sister with one final thought. “Oh, and before you start thinking something completely far afield like I’ve got the hots for Heath or vice versa, he’s like a brother to me and I love him as such. For the record, the only Bell sister he might’ve ever had eyes for was you. A long time ago, that is. Now? I think you pretty much destroyed whatever he might’ve felt for you. But that should suit you just fine, right?”

  And then Lilah, her heart thudding quickly and painfully in her chest, left her sister standing in the hallway with her mouth open.

  Welcome home, Lora.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  LORA STARED AFTER HER SISTER, wondering what had just happened.

  First, if she could manage to get over the shock of her baby sister bawling her out when she’d never said a cross word to her in all her life, then she could focus on the bombshell Lilah had dropped as if it’d been common knowledge and not some major revelation.

  Heath? What? Of course, it mattered nothing to her if Heath had once had a crush on her, but surely she would’ve noticed, right?

  Lora searched her memory for evidence of this so-called fondness and something sat like a forgotten relic in the recesses of her mind. A flash of laughter echoed and the image of Heath’s twinkling eyes bounded back to her. Her heart warmed instantaneously until she remembered something else.

  He’d left her when she’d needed him the most. She stiffened against the wave of pain that followed. It was the memory of her mother dying, a small girl’s heartbreak and the search in vain for the island boy whose shoulder soothed her most. It was the pain of abandonment and loss, the humiliation of being easily left behind; Lora shied away from it as if afraid of being burned.

  Stop it. Stop wallowing in stupid childish thoughts that can help no one or nothing, she berated herself even as she floundered momentarily. In Chicago, she’d been able to be exactly what she chose to show people. Here, there was too much history to hide from and too many memories that followed. She’d preferred the anonymity of her windy adopted city. She’d even come to appreciate the loneliness that dogged her when she’d found herself a moment without work to fill it. Now that she’d re
turned home to the island, she was surrounded by everything she’d tried to run away from.

  She barked a mirthless laugh tinged with embarrassment at the idea of Heath feeling anything but animosity for her because of the way she’d treated him. Lora stared at her bare toes, squirming privately at the feeling that admission caused. She hadn’t been friendly or nice to anyone, really. Lora had been hyperfocused on getting good grades so she could get into a top college and leave St. John. It wasn’t that she hated the island, but her dreams were bigger than the island could hope to sustain. She returned to the memory of doing homework—a lot—and Grams teasing her about missing out on her childhood to keep her nose in a book.

  She picked at a mental image, unraveling it from her cache of treasures and exhaled softly at the wince of pain from its bittersweet sting.

  “You’re such a lovely girl,” Grams had said one day, frowning, her eyes sad. “Don’t you want to go to the school dance with a nice boy?” she’d asked.

  The high school had hosted a dance, something tiki-themed, of course, and Lora had been happy to miss it. The idea of mingling with the very people she sought to avoid during most days at school didn’t appeal. But Grams had been truly distressed at her choosing to remain home, which Lora had found odd. “Aren’t you glad I’m not running around giving you something to worry about?” Lora had said, hoping to coax a smile free from Grams’s worried frown. “Enjoy the calm before the storm that will be the twins when they get to high school. Trust me, at the rate they’re going through boys, they’ll have to start dating from the British side of the islands just to meet someone new.” She added with a shrug, “Besides, Grams, I don’t have a date. No one asked me.”

  “How about Heath?” Grams had suggested, and now that she recalled the conversation she realized Grams had been a little quick to throw Heath’s name out there. Had she known, too?

  Heath, the boy who had appeared at her family’s dinner table one night, obviously hungrier than she’d ever been in her life, the planes of his face sharp and angular from eating too little for too long, and she’d been shocked to see him after he’d virtually disappeared from her life overnight. After she’d recovered from the painful surprise, she’d pretended not to know him at all. It was easier than admitting that she’d been devastated when he’d disappeared. She’d had enough people abandon her in life; she didn’t need another.

  And if she’d noticed the furtive glances her way, she didn’t acknowledge them. She supposed he had tried to make a few attempts at explaining his disappearing act but by that point, Lora had sealed her heart tight and wouldn’t listen.

  If she’d been nothing but cold and dismissive, the twins, on the other hand, had been delighted.

  “Can we keep him?” Lindy had asked, passing the fresh papaya with a grin. When Lora had gasped that her sister had even suggested such a thing, Lilah had simply chimed in.

  “I’ve always wanted a brother,” Lilah had said in her soft, wistful voice that always managed to make it sound as if she were somewhere else in her head and not planted in the here and now like everyone else. “He seems like he’d be a very good brother.”

  Grams and Pops had been vastly amused by the conversation while Lora had plainly been the opposite. Now that she remembered that day, she wondered how Heath had felt about being inducted into a family without so much as a voice in the matter.

  She supposed he hadn’t minded—he was still hanging around.

  Lora exhaled loudly and climbed to her feet, needing to clear her head. There was too much clanging around in her mind, too many variables to consider. The best course of action would require concise thinking.

  Larimar was in serious trouble. And by Lora’s way of thinking, Heath was partially to blame. If he hadn’t talked Pops into that business deal, at the very least the money would be there so she could straighten out this misunderstanding with the IRS. But the reserve was terribly low—barely enough to cover a plumbing issue if the need arose—and that made her alternately nervous and angry.

  Well, anger was something she was familiar with and even if she wasn’t proud that she’d been perpetually accused of shouldering a chip her entire life, at least she knew how to handle herself.

  She didn’t have enough in her own personal accounts to pay off the debt and if Heath had the money, she was fairly certain he would’ve paid the debt by now. At the very least, to her knowledge, he wasn’t one to shirk his debts.

  And, whether she liked it or not, Heath truly loved her family and they loved him.

  So that left one option—an option she wasn’t comfortable with, but when backed into a corner one could either spit and scratch or surrender quietly to fight another day.

  Lora flopped on her childhood bed, the scent of summer and sun surrounding her, and stared at the ceiling.

  “Damn it,” she murmured, a well of frustration laced with something else. She’d have to put aside her grievances with Heath and work with him to fix this problem. However, as soon as Larimar was in the clear, she would be having a serious discussion with him about moving his business out of Larimar. If he wanted to be a businessman, he could peddle his goods elsewhere. She wasn’t interested in his success or failure—only that of Larimar.

  Tomorrow she’d call a meeting with Heath and try to work out a solution together. A small, reluctant grin found her lips as she chuckled without humor. Grams was probably watching from her beach in heaven—giggling.

  The mad woman had always enjoyed stirring things up.

  * * *

  HEATH DOVE ONE LAST TIME under the dusky waves as the sun crested the horizon, bathing the beach in soft amber-yellow light. He always swam with the morning light, enjoying the way the water muted the early chorus of bugs and birds welcoming the day with a cacophony of noise. The brief moment of stillness soothed his turbulent thoughts and he welcomed the respite.

  He was a ways from the shore. Flipping on his back, he floated, gazing at the breaking dawn sky, loving his slice of heaven no matter how difficult it seemed to make a living. If it weren’t for tourists and the internet…he’d be screwed.

  Sighing, he turned and made a slow, almost reluctant return to the beach, only to find Lora walking the shore, her white gauzy sarong swaying with the movement of her hips. She walked head down, gazing at her feet in the soft sugar-white sand as the water reached for her with each tidal surge. Her hair drifted down her back, rippling in lazy waves, the humidity curling her hair with wild abandon. Something in him clenched, twisting him in knots, a remnant from the time when he was a poor, neglected island boy with nothing to his name and even less to aspire to as both his parents had run off, leaving him to fend for himself at the age of ten.

  What was it about Lora that made him want what she’d never offered? He’d been a fool then, but he wasn’t the same love-struck boy now. Today he saw her for what she was, a beautiful woman with ice in her veins.

  “I brought this for you,” a voice whispered from his past, the hushed voice of a young Lora as she handed him a basket of fresh fruit and beef pâté. “The pâté is fresh. Pops bought it from Simon today.”

  The sharp hunger cramping his belly roared like an angry beast at the sight of the basket and the knowledge that food was inside. He took the basket, not sure why she was being so nice. He’d seen her around the island in the square; she was hard to miss with that dark hair and exotic features, and he’d followed her home, curious to see where such a beautiful girl lived. Lora must’ve seen him creeping along the fringe of the private beach, but worse, she must’ve guessed the hollows in his cheeks weren’t natural. He’d like to say he accepted the basket with some sort of grace, but as he flushed with the memory, he remembered how it’d happened.

  He’d torn into the basket and eaten the entire pâté before Lora’s astonished eyes with great gobbling bites, stuffing his mouth
until he thought he might choke but he hadn’t eaten anything aside from what he could scrounge from the restaurant scraps for the past month. He might’ve been two steps away from death, if it hadn’t been for Lora’s basket.

  And then, clutching the basket to his chest, he’d run away.

  He’d come back the following day, seeing her at the marketplace buying fresh fruit. She’d caught sight of him and waved him over. He’d shyly thanked her for the food, but stopped short of telling her just how bad things were for him. She seemed to understand that he was holding something back and must’ve known what it was like to need to keep some things private, because she didn’t mention it again. In no time, they’d become fast friends. He’d meet her in the plaza and they’d spend the day romping around, swimming, fishing, sharing smoothies.

  Until the day came when he’d come home and discovered his parents had truly taken off for good this time. He’d been terrified. So he’d tried to follow. With disastrous results.

  It would be a year before he saw her again when Pops brought him to the resort on the guise of needing a young strapping boy to do the heavy lifting for him in the form of odd jobs.

  That’d been the year Pops had unofficially adopted him.

  Lora hadn’t been happy. In fact, she was so cold and closed off, he almost wondered if she remembered that he was the same boy that she’d saved from starving only a year prior. She’d rebuffed any attempt he’d made to explain, sending the message quite clearly that whatever they’d had before he left, hadn’t survived the absence. Which, honestly, if he hadn’t developed feelings for her, would’ve been fine. But that’s not how it had turned out. He’d been doomed to fall for Lora Bell because fate had decided his life hadn’t been filled with enough turmoil.