Sisters by Choice

by Susan Mallery

  Her excitement was tempered by a strong sense of loss. She wanted Jaxsen to be here with her. She’d promised the boys they could come by later and explore the place. While they were excited for her, even JJ, it wasn’t the same as having Jaxsen around. He was her husband—shouldn’t he be sharing this with her?

  Had she done the right thing? Maybe she should have waited and—

  “No,” she said aloud. “This is where I should be.”

  She went to check out the rest of the building. The storeroom would need shelves, she thought. Cabinets would be nice, but shelves were a whole lot cheaper.

  “Kristine, honey, where are you?”

  The familiar voice surprised her. “Sophie?”

  She hurried to the front of the store and found her cousin waiting there, a tote bag in one hand.

  “You did it!” Sophie crowed. “I’m so proud of you.” She pulled a bottle of champagne out of the tote and held it up. “We are going to celebrate.”

  Kristine raised her eyebrows. “It’s eleven in the morning.”

  “So? We party when something good happens and this is great.”

  Sophie set the champagne on the counter, then pulled out two glasses and two mason jars filled with what looked like deconstructed cake.

  “Cupcakes,” Sophie said, pushing one toward her. “I ordered them online. I thought they might be something you could offer, as well. But maybe not. Either way, we need something to go with our champagne.”

  She unwrapped the foil and popped the cork, then poured them each a glass. They sat on the chairs that had been left behind and Sophie raised her glass.

  “Did you create an LLC?” she asked.

  Kristine grinned. “Yes.” She’d created her limited liability corporation before she’d signed the lease. “And I have my federal tax ID number.”

  “And insurance?”

  “Yes, Sophie. I have insurance, a contractor, a lease and three very excited boys.”

  Sophie grinned. “Congratulations. To my cousin, the business mogul. May you exceed your wildest dreams.”

  “Thank you.”

  They touched glasses.

  Kristine took a sip. “How did you know I signed the lease?”

  “I asked Stacey to tell me when it happened. I knew you’d come here right after, so I was ready.”

  “Just waiting with champagne and cupcakes?”

  “Once I knew when the appointment was, I got ready.” Sophie smiled at her. “This is so great. Are you scared?”

  “A little. It’s a big step.”

  “You’re ready. You’ve been preparing for years, and I mean that literally. You’ve thought of everything.”

  Everything except doing it without Jaxsen’s support.

  “I still have a lot to learn. Do you think we could talk about shipping and stuff? I’ve done a lot of research, but that’s not the same as talking to someone who has that as a big part of her business.”

  “Of course. Or you could talk to Bear. He’s made some changes in how we do things. He claims it’s more efficient.”

  Kristine smiled. “You don’t sound convinced.”

  “Oh, he’s right. It’s just change is hard. Even when it’s for the best.”

  Kristine knew Sophie was talking about CK Industries, but wondered if there was a message in there for her.

  “Jaxsen’s still gone,” she admitted.

  “Stupid man.” Sophie touched her arm. “You okay?”

  “No, but I’m dealing. I don’t know why he’s being so stubborn. It’s not like I want to burn down the house and force us all to live in tents. I just want to open a business and do something that makes me happy. Why is that wrong?”

  “You know it’s not and that I totally support you.”

  “Why doesn’t my husband?”

  “Have you asked him?”

  “I’ve tried. He just keeps telling me that I’m being selfish and not thinking of the family.” She clutched her glass. “He’s not acting like anyone I know. I don’t get this side of him at all. He’s always been a little self-absorbed, but not in a destructive way. Plus, I know I always give in to him. Maybe I should have stood up for myself before.”

  “Do not make this your fault. Don’t do it. You’re not the bad guy. Most people only talk about what they want to do, but they never bother to take the steps and do the work. Look at Amber.”

  Kristine thought about her cousin. “Please don’t compare me to her. Did she tell you about the apartment she wants to rent? It sounds beautiful, but so expensive.”

  “She mentioned it,” Sophie said, pouring them each more champagne. “My point is all she does is talk. ‘I could have gone to college.’ Oh, please. No, she couldn’t. Even if she hadn’t gotten pregnant, she would have had a thousand excuses. You’re not like that. You’ve done the work and now you’re going to do even more work.” Sophie raised her glass. “You are my hero.”

  Kristine knew Sophie was being nice, but still, the words made her feel good.

  “You’re my hero, too. Plus, now you’re officially a crazy cat lady and I think that makes you slightly less intimidating.”

  “I’m not intimidating and I’m not a crazy cat lady.”

  “You have what, ten cats?”

  “Technically eleven, but nine of them are kittens and when they’re old enough, they’re going to be adopted.”

  “What about Lily and Mrs. Bennet?” Kristine grinned. “Sophie, are you keeping the mama cats?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know. They really like each other. I’d hate to see them separated just when they’ve become friends. They’re good cats. They’d have to be spayed, but they could have the surgery at the same time and recover together. I’m thinking about it.”

  “CK would understand. She would want you to have another cat. A dog would piss her off, but she gets cats.”

  Sophie nodded slowly. “I still miss her.”

  “Of course you do. But that doesn’t mean you can never have another cat again.”

  “I haven’t totally decided, but I’m leaning in that direction.”

  “Good for you. And please, call on the boys to hang out with the kittens. They’ll love it and provide plenty of socialization.”

  “I will.” Sophie handed her a mason jar. “Try these and tell me what you think. If they’re as good as the reviews say, you should try making something like them yourself.”

  “You’re already expanding my product line?”

  “Taking you to the big time, cuz.” She passed Kristine a spoon. “We’ll be moguls together.”

  Kristine told herself to be grateful for the support. Even without Jaxsen, she was hardly in this alone. She had family and friends and people who would be there for her. Funny how knowing that didn’t take away the tiny knot of fear that had taken up residence in her heart.

  * * *

  Heather set three bins on the workbench in the garage. She remembered when her stepfather had built the bench. He’d stocked the shelves with his worn tools and had set to fixing all the things that were broken in the house.

  George had been such a good guy, she thought, remembering how patient he’d been with her. He’d been excited to be a stepfather and he always talked about all the things they were going to do together.

  But he hadn’t stayed. Her happiness had faded as she listened to the fights that had gotten more frequent. She remembered begging her mother to at least get a part-time job to help out financially. But Amber had refused to do anything and eventually George had moved out. Heather was pretty sure she’d missed him more than Amber had.

  Now she touched the workbench and hoped the new owners, whoever they might be, would appreciate the solid surface and the storage below, then she pushed away memories of George and opened the first bin.

  Inside were a lot of h
er old toys and books. She wasn’t sure why she’d kept them. She was never going to play with her Barbie or My Little Pony dolls. She quickly sorted through everything, keeping a couple of the books for sentimental reasons, then placed everything else in the giveaway pile she’d started against the far wall.

  Two hours later she’d gone through her things and had started on the stuff from the house. There were broken toasters and mismatched dishes, old towels, a record player and stacks of records.

  She sorted as best she could, putting things in the giveaway pile, the trash pile or the “to be discussed” pile. She thought the records might have value. There was an antiques store on the island, Blackberry Preserves. After clearing it with her mother, Heather would take them there to see if they wanted to buy them.

  Around eleven in the morning, Amber wandered out.

  “What are you doing out here?”

  “Cleaning out the garage. We talked about it last night at dinner.”

  “I didn’t think you meant it.”

  “Someone has to do it.” Heather tried to keep her tone neutral, but knew she wasn’t successful when her mother’s gaze sharpened.

  “What does that mean?”

  “Nothing, Mom. I want to take a few things over to Blackberry Preserves and see if we can sell them. Once I’ve sorted through everything, you’ll need to tell me what you want to keep.”

  Amber looked around. “It’s all junk. I don’t care about any of it.”

  Heather knew the trap of that. If she did as her mother said and got rid of it all, she would hear about it for months. How “treasures” had been cavalierly tossed into the trash heap.

  “I’ll let you know when I’m ready to have you double-check.”

  “Fine. Whatever. We need to go sign the lease for the apartment.”

  A subject they had carefully avoided, Heather thought grimly.

  “The one with the view?” she asked, hoping she was wrong.

  “It was so beautiful. You have to admit it’s so much nicer than this place. We’ll love it there.”

  “We can’t afford it.”

  “Sophie’s giving me a raise. That will help.”

  “Why would Sophie give you a raise?”

  “Because I deserve it. I’m an excellent employee. Plus, I talked to her about the apartment and she wants to help. She told me so.”

  Heather had no idea what the actual conversation had been, but she wasn’t going to get into that now. Yes, the apartment was nice, but there was no way they could come up with the money for it. Even if her mom did get a raise. Besides, there was no way of knowing how long Amber would keep her job. She was notorious for quitting without warning.

  Even more troubling was the reality that if Heather managed to escape the island, there was no way she could earn enough to support herself and her mother—especially in the high-rent apartment. It was just too risky.

  “I can’t,” she said, bracing herself for the outburst. “I can’t sign that lease.”

  Her mother’s face tightened. “What did you say?”

  “It’s too expensive. I won’t take on that much of a payment.”

  “You can’t tell me no. You ungrateful brat. You know I can’t get the lease on my own. You’re doing this on purpose. You want to punish me. How could you?” Her mother’s voice was a scream. Her whole body began to shake. “I can’t believe you’re being like this. I will never forgive you, Heather. Do you hear me? Never!”

  Amber ran out of the garage and into the house. The door slammed behind her. Heather had never refused her mother anything. She always gave in. Only this time she couldn’t. It was too much money that she didn’t have.

  “I’m putting on my own oxygen mask,” she whispered, doing her best not to give in to the need to throw up. “I’m saving myself. I’m allowed to do that. It’s going to be okay.”

  The words were all lies, but she kept repeating them on the unlikely chance that one day they would be true.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Sophie had a lot of feelings and nowhere to put them. She’d spent over two hours playing with the kittens, stopping only when they collapsed in exhaustion. She’d cleaned her house and brushed the mama cats and got groceries. By then it was three on a Sunday afternoon and she still had too much energy to just sit and read or watch a movie.

  This was when it would be good to be the kind of person who went for a run, she thought. But she wasn’t. And with things still weird with Dugan, she hadn’t even gone to his class that morning. Which made no sense—the man had done as he’d promised. He’d moved Judy to the Blackberry Island Inn. So where was the bad?

  It was a question without answer so she did the only thing that made sense. She drove to the warehouse. After deactivating the alarm code, she prowled the shelves, scowling at the changes Bear had made. By the huge overhead doors, she saw several pallets of merchandise that must have been delivered late on Friday. Her spirits lifted. At last, something to do that would leave her tired enough to ignore the churning in her brain.

  She used the forklift to move the pallets, then removed the protective layer of plastic and began logging in the items. As she worked, she tried to figure out why Dugan had been so accommodating. That was better than dissecting the whole “I’m crazy about you” line he’d fed her. He couldn’t be. She was grumpy and stubborn and now she wouldn’t sleep with him. No way he could still like her.

  But thinking about him not liking her wasn’t fun, either. Maybe if she could define what they had. It wasn’t a relationship—not in the traditional sense. She couldn’t do that. Not anymore. She’d tried with Mark and all that had gotten her was a ridiculous alimony payout for his half of a business he’d never had anything to do with.

  She didn’t want that again. She didn’t want to work her butt off seven days a week only to have some man take half of it from her. She didn’t want to be the only one who was ambitious. She wanted...

  She had no idea what she wanted, she admitted to herself. She liked Dugan. He was fun to be around and he was insightful, which was a little scary, but maybe also a good thing. God knew she had the insights of sandpaper. If only he wasn’t so together. She didn’t like that about him. It was too off-putting. Which made no sense. If she liked him being insightful, shouldn’t she appreciate him having his life together?

  Maybe it was because she knew she couldn’t say the same about herself. She didn’t have any life balance. Of course, she didn’t think life balance and wild success were possible. Not that she’d been wildly successful, but she’d done a good job and that meant working long hours and why did anyone get to judge that if it made her happy? Stupid life balance judgers.

  She shook off her thoughts and focused on moving the pallet. Coming to the warehouse didn’t seem to be having its usual calming effect on her. Maybe she should have gone to see Kristine, although her cousin had said she was going to spend the weekend cleaning the bakery. Why anyone would want to scrub walls and floors before a remodel was beyond her, but that was Kristine. And while Sophie was looking for a distraction, she did not want to get roped into scrubbing anything. Logging in inventory was much more satisfying.

  Heather was an option, only she should be hanging out with friends her own age and not her aunt. Which left Amber and that was a nonstarter. Although Sophie still had to figure out what to do about the apartment. Was she willing to cosign a lease so Heather didn’t have to? If she did, she knew there was a better than even chance that Amber would simply stop paying the rent. Assuming she had enough money in the first place. Sophie didn’t want Heather to be trapped, but shouldn’t Amber be the one taking care of her own daughter?

  The obvious solution was to make more friends, she thought, loading a cart with cases of cat food. Then she would have a wider group from which to choose when she needed to hang out with someone. Not that she was very good at making
friends. She was always busy with work and—

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  The loud question startled her so much, the case of food she’d been carrying slipped from her hands and nearly landed on her foot. She jumped back and spun to see Bear standing by the pallet, his hands on his hips, his eyes narrowed.

  Sophie pressed her palm against her chest. “You scared me,” she gasped. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

  “You didn’t answer the question.”

  “What question? Oh, I’m logging in merchandise.”

  His slightly hostile expression didn’t change.

  “What?” She lowered her arms to her sides. “I was feeling out of sorts, and working in the warehouse relaxes me. I’m not doing anything bad.” She resisted the need to roll her eyes. “I’m following procedure.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “I am, too.”

  Bear glared at her. “We had a deal, Sophie. You’re to stay out of my department. You said you would stop messing with things. You can’t show up on a Sunday afternoon and do your own thing. It doesn’t work that way.”

  He had a point. As much as she wanted to say that it was her company and that she could damn well do whatever she wanted, she had, possibly, promised Bear she wouldn’t get in the way. Not that she wanted to admit that if she didn’t have to.

  “How did you even know I was here?”

  “Since we made changes in the alarm system, I get notifications if anyone accesses the building after hours. Once I got the alert, I checked out the cameras and saw you messing in my department.”

  He’d been watching out for the company, she thought. That was so nice.

  “Sophie, you can’t keep doing this. It’s not fair to me and sure isn’t healthy for you.”

  She hung her head. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “Can’t you go shopping like every other woman? Or get your hair done? The Mariners are playing. Go watch the game. Something. Anything.”

  He was right, she told herself. She had promised and he was doing a good job and she really had no right to mess with that.