Twisted Arrangement 3

by Mora Early

  He leaned over and grabbed a mini crab cake, his mother’s favorite, and popped it in his mouth, pretending the sharp pang in his gut at his father’s words was hunger. “No, she’s not pregnant.” They hadn’t even had sex. Yet.

  Not that he was about to tell his parents that. He was close with them, but not that close. His mother was back up, flitting to the conservatory windows to poke at some of the potted plants there.

  “So why the rush then?” She tossed the words back over her shoulder as she bent and ran her fingers along the fronds of an aloe plant.

  Josh heard the soft clop of Emma’s heels on the wood floor before she rounded the corner. They’d be low, sensible heels. Brown or black. Nothing like the dangerous spikes she’d worn as Madame Butterfly. The pair that had made her legs look nine miles long. And yet, high heels or low, she always managed to look beautiful.

  Emma stepped into the doorway of the conservatory and Josh’s breath caught in his chest. She was wearing her usual work attire – a pencil skirt and button down blouse, this one in a rusty red that looked exceptional against her cream and honey complexion and her dark hair. The skirt was dark shade of brown and ended two inches above her knee.

  He wondered what it would be like to press his mouth to the smooth skin there, to taste her flesh and hear the soft gasp she would make. His blood thickened in his veins, pooling in his groin the way it had a habit of doing around her of late. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, her green eyes sparkling, and a faint smile hovered around the upturned corners of her plump mouth.

  “Good afternoon,” she breathed, her voice a little raspy. It wasn’t her usual prim party planner voice. It was a little closer to Madame Butterfly. “I hope I didn’t keep anyone waiting.”

  “Hardly, seeing as we didn’t know you were coming. You must be Emma.” His mother stuck a hand out, her long fingers dusted with dirt from poking at the plants. Emma took it and gave it a brief, firm squeeze.

  “You must be Mrs. Owens. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” She brushed a stray wisp of brown hair off her cheek. Her chignon, usually so neat, had come loose, several strands curling wildly around her face. It was a good look on her. Really good.

  Josh crossed his legs. “I wasn’t sure Emma would be able to join us. I didn’t want to get your hopes up.”

  His mother shot him a narrow-eyed look that said she knew that was a line of bull, but she squeezed Emma’s hand back. “It’s nice to meet you too. And please, call me Kara. This is my husband –”

  “Professor Owens!”

  Josh and his mother both gaped a bit at Emma’s exclamation. His father rose from his seat and crossed to her, shaking her hand in turn. “Emma... Ness, isn’t it?”

  As Josh watched, a tide of deep pink washed across Emma’s cheeks. “It is, yes.”

  “Call me Cameron, please. Or Cam.” He smiled.

  “I take it you went to Berkeley,” Josh’s mother said wryly. Josh could have smacked himself in the forehead. He’d known that. He’d seen a copy of her transcripts in the file Ben had given him. It just hadn’t clicked in his head.

  “Were you in any of Dad’s classes?”

  “Oh, no. He’s sort of a legend on campus though. It’s almost impossible to get a place. I had Professor Burling for sociology.” There was that blush again. His father chuckled.

  “Carrie still remembers you fondly. I’ve heard the stories. Come, sit.” He drew Emma toward the couch but she veered slightly, taking the chair beside Josh. Josh covered his surprise by grabbing another crab cake. His mother snatched one as well, folding herself into complicated origami on the couch beside his father.

  Josh turned slightly toward Emma, cocking a brow. “What stories are these?”

  “Nothing.” She dropped her eyes, brushing at her skirt. “Just a few silly college pranks that got me into a bit of trouble, that’s all. Professor Burling was kind enough to go to the administration on my behalf and convince them it was part of ‘a very important sociological experiment’.”

  For just a second, as she’d spoken the last few words, she’d slipped into a posh British accent. A perfect Mary Poppins. He saw his dad’s eyes widen a little, and then he covered his mouth and chuckled into his fist.

  “Ha! That’s Carrie to a tee!”

  Emma shrugged. “I have sort of an ear for accents.” Her fingers curled tightly around the arm of her chair. Josh saw the white-knuckled grip and reached over, tugging her hand free and drawing it across to him. He uncurled her fingers and pressed his thumb into the tense muscle of her palm, rubbing in small circles.

  She inhaled a sharp breath, but then her shoulders relaxed the tiniest bit and she smiled. Her fingers tightened around his briefly.

  His mother’s hawk eyes hadn’t missed a single bit of that interaction, Josh knew. He wasn’t even sure why he’d done it, except Emma seemed nervous and he was hoping she’d relax.

  “So,” she cut back into the conversation. “You were about to tell me why you’re in such an all fire rush to get married to this girl we’ve never met and you barely know.”

  He heard Emma’s tiny gasp and her nails dug into the back of his hand. “Kara,” his father cautioned, but his mother held up her hand.

  “I’m not trying to be mean to Emma.” She turned her gaze on the younger woman. “Any of my mean is directed solely at my son, not you, I assure you.”

  “It’s not entirely Josh’s fault. I’m as much to blame as he is, maybe more.” Emma flashed him an emerald glance and he realized she was referring to her theft. Not that that really made her responsible for the situation that they were currently in. That was all him. Him and his gut.

  “No, Mom’s right. I should have told them I’d met an amazing woman who laughs at my geeky jokes and could herd a clowder of cats into rank and file, who dances like Ginger Rogers and looks like Rita Hayworth, only prettier. Then they might not have been so surprised.”

  Emma flushed. Josh was a little surprised himself. Although everything he’d said was totally true. He didn’t know for sure whether Emma really liked sci-fi or if that was part of the act, but she got his jokes. And he’d seen her ability to corral the vastly different personalities of her team when she planned the ball and the luncheon.

  His mom huffed and plucked another crab cake from the platter. “That might have been nice. What about you, Emma? How are your parents taking this whole sudden marriage?”

  “My parents died a long time ago, Mrs.... Kara. I was raised by my great aunt. She’s passed on as well. She was very elderly.” Emma shrugged, as if the death of all her parental figures was no big deal. But Josh could see the tightness around the corners of her mouth.

  His mother leaned right across the table and squeezed Emma’s knee, her eyes soft and sympathetic. “Oh, sweetie. I’m sorry to hear that. Do you have any family at all? Well, no matter, we’re family now. Or as good as, anyway.” Just like that, his mother had gone from steely-eyed detective, intent on ferreting out any and all information on his and Emma’s relationship, to nurturing caregiver.

  Emma blinked rapidly and Josh thought he might have seen a sparkle of tears in her eyes. But if so, she marshaled them. “Thank you. That’s very kind. I do have a brother though. He’s a few years younger than me. We’re very close.”

  “Of course you are. I bet you two are as thick as thieves, growing up all alone like that.” His mother toasted Emma with a half-eaten crab cake. Josh snorted. Thick as actual thieves. Emma withdrew her hand, which was when he realized he’d been holding it this whole time, stroking the smooth skin of her wrist. His fingertips tingled at the loss.

  Josh opened his mouth, about to steer the conversation to the wedding, jump in with both feet, when the circus arrived.

  The circus in the form of a frantic Martin trailing after a grim-faced William Ransler. Emma’s brother Todd, sporting a raised red lump on his cheek just below his left eye, was bringing up the rear, shouting over Martin at William. All three came boiling into the
conservatory as Chewie ran circles around them, yapping frantically.

  Josh could only stare. His father’s brows crawled up to his hairline. His mother’s mouth fell open, a bite of crab cake still inside. As usual, Emma came to the rescue. It was kind of a habit with her.

  “Chewbacca, you come here now.” She pointed one slim finger at the carpet by her feet. Her voice wasn’t loud, or harsh. Just firm and brooking absolutely no disobedience. The fluff ball, who Josh usually thought was pretty dim, seemed to understand. He left off his circling and loped to Emma’s side, yipping.

  As soon as he collapsed at her feet, like he usually did, she whispered ‘hush’. And the damn dog did! Next, she turned to the men who had all, thankfully, quieted along with the dog. Her furrowed brow was only for her brother, however. “What’s going on, Todd?”

  He squared his shoulders and crossed his arms over his chest. “Pretty boy here was snooping around the house looking for you. When I told him you weren’t home, he got pushy.”

  Emma shot to her feet, green eyes sparking. “Mr. Ransler, did you hit my brother?” She was concerned about Todd first, of course. Just like her. The fact that Ransler was poking into her personal life was bad. It showed he was being tenacious in his disbelief. What the hell had Lolly Tate told him that had him so dead set against Josh?

  “He hit me first,” Ransler rumbled, rubbing his jaw. There was a faint red mark there as well.

  “He called you a whore!”

  Chaos exploded once again. William began protesting loudly that he’d said no such thing, while Todd argued equally as loudly that just because you didn’t say the exact word didn’t mean you didn’t mean something. Martin was trying to explain to Josh that they’d just barged in and he’d tried to keep them out, but Mr. Ransler was a very large man.

  The blood had drained from Emma’s face, leaving only two hectic patches of red high on her cheeks. Josh’s father began to sniffle and sneeze, which is when he remembered the dog and his dad’s allergies. He’d deal with that in a minute. Josh pushed to his feet and grabbed William Ransler’s arm, yanking him out of the knot of shouting men.

  “If he’s telling the truth, I’ll hold you down and give him a few free shots. And then it’ll be my turn.” He felt surprisingly calm, considering the words coming out of his mouth. Once again, Josh was going with his gut.

  “Josh!” Emma gasped. “Don’t!” Her startled exclamation set Todd off. He clenched his fists and went red in the face.

  “Ems, you can’t just expect us to sit here and listen to him insinuate –”

  “I expect exactly that, Todd Franklin Ness, and you know it! Didn’t we have this conversation when you were 12? And 14? And 17? How many times do I have to tell you I don’t care –”

  “I care!” He thumped a fist on his chest. “How would you feel if it was someone saying something like that about me?”

  “I’d never resort to violence!”

  The rest of them watched in awe as the Ness siblings stalked closer and closer to each other, until they were practically nose-to-nose. Emma was white faced. Her small hands were fisted hard at her sides, her chin up. Todd was red from hairline to throat.

  “You socked Sammy Markham in the nose for calling me an urchin! That’s not even half as bad as –”

  “I was 13! I wouldn’t do that now! You’ve got to start thinking like an adult, not a kid who –”

  “A kid! I was defending your honor! That’s what a man’s supposed to do!”

  “Who taught you a man defends honor with his fists? Not Aunt Margaret! Not me!”

  “Dad would have agreed!”

  “Dad would be ashamed of you!” She gasped the second the heated words were out of her mouth, slapping her hand to her lips. Todd reared back as if she’d hit him instead. Emma’s green eyes ate up her whole face as she stared at her brother. Tears filled them and overflowed her lashes. She backed away from Todd two stumbling steps, shaking her head.

  “I... I’m sorry. I...” She spun and ran from the room. Stunned silence descended in her absence. Todd stared after her, a jumble of emotions twisting the handsome young man’s face. Anger, hurt, fear. He made a lurching, convulsive move to go after her and then drew back, unsure.

  Josh pushed Ransler lightly toward the chair he’d vacated. “Have a seat. Mom, can you deal with this one?” He inclined his head at Todd. She brushed off her hands and got to her feet, nodding curtly. His dad sneezed again. Josh sighed.

  “I’ll be back in a minute.” He headed for the door, whistling for the dog. “C’mon, Chewie. Let’s go find your mistress.”

  It took him a few minutes to locate her. She wasn’t in the living room, the library, or the den. He checked the ballroom and the billiard room before thinking to look in his office. She was curled up in his chair. The sight arrested Josh in his tracks.

  Emma had kicked off her shoes and pulled her knees to her chest, burying her face against them. Her bare toes, nails painted a soft plum he noticed, curled against the leather chair. Her shoulders were quivering almost imperceptibly. She looked very small, folded in on herself like that. It gave him an odd feeling of unease, like bubbles popping in his chest.

  It was just that crying women made him uncomfortable. That was all. He cleared his throat, trying to think of something to say. She didn’t jump at the sound. She knew he was there. But she didn’t lift her head.

  Chewie scrambled over to her and prowled around the chair, whimpering when he realized he couldn’t jump into her lap. With a sigh, Josh rounded the desk, perching on the edge and touching her shoulder.

  “Emma...”

  She spoke without lifting her head, her voice muffled against her knees. “I can’t believe I said that! What a horrible...” She sniffled.

  “Siblings fight, Emma. I’m pretty sure that’s a universal truth. He’ll forgive you.”

  “He shouldn’t. God, I’m the worst sister ever.” She actually thunked her forehead against her knees then, with a dull thud. Josh snorted. He crouched down beside her, reaching out to lift her chin and make her look at him.

  Her green eyes were bright, the whites bloodshot, her dark lashes spiky and sparkling with unshed tears. Her nose and cheeks were pink and her lips trembled. Hell, even while crying she looked amazing. He brushed a thumb along her cheek, wiping away a tear.

  “You’re an amazing sister. Forget the fact that you practically raised him. I’ve seen the file, remember? You’re always bailing him out of scrapes. Most people would have given him up as a lost cause by now. But not you.”

  She tugged at the hem of her skirt, dropping her eyes. “Of course not. We’re all we’ve got.” Emma looked up at him, lashes fluttering. “I know everyone thinks Todd is this total screw-up. But he’s really not. He’s got a good heart and he’s really smart. He just... He’s searching for something. And he gets in over his head because he’s a people pleaser.”

  Josh thought back to the poker game. Todd had been a lot of fun at first, before the game started, cracking jokes and telling stories. He’d put people at ease. Even once play had begun, for the first few hands he’d kept a steady round of chatter going.

  Making everyone laugh. Making everyone like him. And then when he’d started to lose, his bonhomie had become a tad frantic. As if he could turn the tides of his luck with the force of his personality. The round he’d lost the watch, Todd had taken a long time to consider his cards, his face becoming serious for the first time that night.

  One of the other players, Phil, the guy who’d brought Ness in, had egged him on, urged him to bet big. Phil’s cajoling had seemed like light-hearted ribbing at the time. But if what Emma said was true, he almost felt bad for Todd. Had he been trying so hard to get in with the poker crowd that he’d bet more than he could afford? Ultimately, Todd had made the decision himself, but he was still practically a kid.

  “I know he’s not a bad person, Emma. But he does seem to have a knack for getting himself, and you, into trouble. I’d be wi
lling to bet that the incident my father mentioned, when you were in college, had something to do with him too. Didn’t it?”

  Emma blushed, but the corner of her mouth quirked the tiniest bit. “You’d lose. That one was all me. And Todd’s never forced me to help him.”

  Josh touched the tip of his thumb absently to that ticked up corner of her mouth. He’d be interested to hear what kind of trouble Emma got up to on her own, but that would have to wait.

  “No, but he takes advantage of your devotion to him.” Josh tilted her chin up further. “Which he can do because you’re such a good sister. Which is why he’ll forgive you. Brothers and sisters do that kind of thing. You should hear about some of the fights Ben and his sister had. I thought they were going to kill each other.”

  “She told me.” Emma’s lips curved into a smile, but then it faded again. “But you don’t understand. It’s not like Todd and I have never fought before. But...Oh, I know I’m being over-emotional. I blame it on the champagne.” She shook her head a little.

  Josh tilted his head. “Wait. What? When did you talk to Suzanne?” Ben had said his sister wasn’t going to be here until the day of the wedding. A tiny tingle of worry curled through him at the thought of what the brash brunette might have said to Emma. Emma frowned at him.

  “She met me at the fitting today. She’s the one who brought the champagne.”

  He shook his head. He could deal with Suzanne, and whatever she might have said, later. “Listen, people say things they don’t mean when they fight. You are under a lot of stress.” One of her brows kicked up at that and Josh smiled at the sight, squeezing her chin. “Maybe you were harboring a little resentment toward him for the part he played in putting you in your current situation?”

  She pulled out of his grip, sliding her feet to the floor. “Maybe. Probably. But that’s not an excuse. If I take out my frustration on anyone, it should be you. You’re the one blackmailing me.” And then her shoulders slumped. “No wonder Todd is so screwed up with me for a sister. I shouldn’t be throwing stones.”