My goodness, that woman was ambitious.
"Okay." I slid my eyes to where Kitty was curled up in her bed and I heard the monster fart that escaped her sleeping form.
"Back on topic. My father mentioned your dad's name when he was talking on the phone. Said he was worried something might have happened to him because he had mentioned at a dinner party that one of the Love Foods' managers in Maryland had gone off the rails. I don't know what happened, but our company fired him. He was angry about many things and kept claiming the government was listening in on our conversations. That your father and the president were working on a bill that would put listening devices in all electronics. The guy sounded unstable."
I was thankful Bea had me sit down because I would have fallen over by now if she hadn't. My throat felt tight and it was hard to swallow.
"If you wish me to stop, I can. I understand if this is too much."
I expected to find the evil grin once again, but her eyes were soft, like she was earnestly concerned.
"My father never discussed anything with me. I found out after he died. He left a letter for me to be opened upon his death. It explained a lot."
She leaned forward. "What did it say?"
My eyes narrowed. If I wasn't going to tell Olivia about the letter or anything about my father, I certainly wouldn't explain it to Beatrice.
"That's not really your business."
"You're right. I'm sorry . . . I'd been fascinated by your tale for so long, I got too wrapped up."
I nodded and thought about the robber from last week. I knew who he was the moment he mentioned the money. When I saw Sheriff Garrison Heart cuff him after the ambulance medics checked him out, I felt sorry for the guy.
I knew why he hated me, and I didn't blame him. I read the articles about how his family was ridiculed due to his father's actions. The legal fees bankrupted them. He couldn't help what his father did any more than I could help being born into a rich and powerful family.
"What did your father say about the fired manager?"
"That he was used. Someone took advantage of his fragile state and encouraged his ideas about your father."
I clasped my hands on the table, trying to hold myself together. I hadn't felt this uncertain—this on edge—since my father's death.
"But what that guy said wasn't true. There was no bill about listening devices in electronics. Who was the person taking advantage of the manager?"
Bea sighed and rubbed at her neck. "I don't know. My father only called him the chief, never mentioning a name. I don't even know who he was talking to on the phone. He usually mentions the person's name as he says goodbye, but he didn't that time. I went back for weeks afterward whenever I could to hide in his office, but he never discussed it again."
"Please don't say anything to Olivia or anyone else, for that matter. Just because the shooter got locked away, doesn't mean this is over."
Bea bit her bottom lip and took a deep breath. "There's one more thing you should know. About your uncle . . ."
"I'm home," Olivia said as she opened the front door.
Bea and I turned in surprise while Kitty jumped up and barked.
For a moment I had forgotten where Olivia had been, but then I saw the Town Grocery plastic bags hanging from her hand.
"Who wants a fruit salad?" Olivia's rosy cheeks and wide smile helped ease my heart.
These past twenty minutes had been a bad trip down memory lane. As much as Beatrice irritated me, I was thankful for her information about what she knew.
"I would love some fruit salad," I said, plastering a grin on my face.
Olivia turned from the kitchen counter after placing the bags down. Her eyes rounded in worry. "What's wrong?" she asked, glancing between me and her sister.
"What? Why would you think anything was wrong? The man wants fruit salad, same as me. It's a good thing I had you run to the store to get some winter fruit." Bea leaned back in the chair and was about to lift her feet to the table when she caught my stare.
"Because the man never wants fruit. I've only seen him eat fruit once, and that was the berries on his pancakes he got at Fire and Ice diner. I'm surprised he doesn't have rickets."
I went to stand by Beatrice. Placing my hand on her shoulder, I said, "I had a long discussion with your sister. The way she talked about the fruit—"
"Winter fruit. The kumquat to be precise." Bea's lips widened into her ridiculous grin as she tilted her head back to watch me.
"Yes. Kumquat." My jaw tightened as I glared back. "It sounded so delicious, I just have to try it for myself."
Olivia frowned. "I don't know if you'll be happy. They didn't have kumquats. But I got pomegranates."
"Ugh, I am so over pomegranates. I don't want the salad anymore. I have to use your bathroom." Bea shrugged off my hand and stood.
I stared with an open mouth as she strolled toward the bathroom. That woman had some nerve.
"Do you still want some? I was actually looking forward to it, too. Unlike my sister, I enjoy pomegranate seeds." She held the large red fruit up in her hand.
For a moment I wondered what would have happened if Beatrice, not Olivia, ran to my cabin two weeks ago. Then the answer came to me—I would be wanted for murder.
"Of course, I still want it." She smiled and turned to the counter. "Because I'm not a selfish jerk," I whispered to myself.
I went over to Olivia and curled my arms around the back of her. She sighed and leaned her head back, resting it against my chest. She felt right.
TWENTY-THREE
Olivia
"Are you sure you don't want to come home with me?" Bea asked for the fifth time this morning.
"I can't. I told you I need to help Carter on the farm, and today's my first day working at the vet." I kept jumping between feeling sad that Bea was leaving and excited about my first day at a job.
She shook her head holding up a dress. "You want this? I'm over dark blue. It's almost spring, I need to feel light color against my skin."
Was Bea always this obnoxious? I loved my sister, but I found my eyes rolling more than usual the past week since she'd arrived.
"I don't know where I would wear it. It's not like Carter would take me to a restaurant. If you hadn't noticed, he's a bit of a recluse."
"You don't say."
We both laughed.
Bea moved around her hotel bed and placed the dress in my arms.
"Despite his grudge against the human race, I like him."
"Really?"
Bea had never liked any guy I had dated before. She believed they were all using me and that I deserved better. I guess since she believed Carter had the Fitzwilliam fortune in his pocket, he was the better I deserved.
As much as everything added up about Carter being the son of the missing Senator Lorne Fitzwilliam, it felt like he didn't fit into that family. I'd met a few members of the Fitzwilliam's family and they acted as if they were American royalty. Maybe because they were, but still, they didn't actually have royal blood.
I held up the dress. It was pretty and it felt like forever since I had worn something well-made.
"I see the way he looks at you. The man is falling in love, if he hasn't already."
Lowering the garment, I tilted my head. "You think?"
"Oh, yeah. That man is over-the-top smitten with you. I'm kind of jealous."
I blushed as random scenes of what he did to my body popped like bubbles in my head. He definitely liked my body but was there something more?
"You're the last person who should be jealous. Every guy you've dated has fallen for you."
She turned back to her cherry-red suitcase and haphazardly threw clothes inside. It was frustrating to watch her pack. I was always the organized one while she didn't care, expecting every maid or servant to pick up after her mess.
"Not really. They thought they loved me, but how can you fall in love after one or two nights? I think they fell for the idea of me. It's like no one kn
ows the real me."
I went over and placed my hand on her back. "I know you, Bea. You're my sister. I love you."
She took a deep breath and turned her head. There was something in her eyes she rarely showed anyone—loneliness. The world believed my sister to be the most fun, the most beautiful, and so rich she would never need to work. Yet, she busted her ass to become an executive in my father's company.
There was no nice way to put it—my father was a sexist jerk. He didn't think any of his daughters should work. Bea was only employed at Love Foods because she faked her name on her résumé and started as an office assistant. Most of the people she worked with had no idea who she was for six months until the Christmas party. My father invited all the employees to his home every year.
Bea was found out and not wanting to look like a complete dick, my father wouldn't fire her. He threatened to in private but knew his workers would think he was an asshole for firing his daughter.
"And I love you." She pulled me in for a hug. "I guess seeing you with Carter has made me realize I might want something like that. You know . . . real love."
"It's not love. And even if it was, could you see Dad relating to the sheep farmer Carter?"
Laughter erupted from her mouth and I followed.
"Oh God, Dad would hate him. Until he finds out who—"
I pulled away. "No. Don't start that. No Fitzwilliam talk."
My sister rolled her lips between her teeth and gave me a quick nod. "You're right. No more talk about his possible relation to the Fitzwilliams back home."
That was a surprise. Bea never gave up on her theories. When we were kids, she thought grass was green because there was an ocean under the ground and if she dug far enough, she'd find saltwater. Even when she dug a huge hole in the backyard, upsetting the groundskeeper, and only found dirt, she still claimed her theory true.
"I'm glad you won't tell anyone. I was worried since you've been obsessed with the Fitzwilliam legend since we were kids. And it's not like you and Carter get along."
She turned back to the clothes scattered across the bed, picking up a pair of jeans and pushing them into the case.
"We get along."
Something wasn't right. I may be the organized one, but Bea was the observant one. She never made the mistakes with men that I had in the past.
Yet, almost every time Bea would speak, I could see Carter grit his teeth. When we went out to dinner that first night, he turned to the waiter at the end of the meal and apologized for Bea's rude behavior, right in front of her.
She had always been that way with anyone who wasn't close to her. Bea knew a good server was to remain almost invisible. She was treating the waiter as he should be treated, and for the first time, I realized something felt cold about that. Bea did appear distant, but I was the one who knew why she did it. And as much as it looked to anyone watching that she thought herself better than the waiter, it was that she had been taught—as had I when we were children—to keep a distance from anyone who was paid to take care of us.
That idea only alienated us more.
"No, you don't."
"I still like him and am happy for you two. Maybe that's why I'm keeping my mouth shut about the Fitzwilliam thing. Because I am glad to see my sister finally end up with a good guy." There was sadness in her smile.
"Are you not telling me something, Bea?"
Something definitely wasn't right. Her usual air of confidence and zest for life wasn't quite as vibrant.
She turned to me, her arm folded over herself and she opened her mouth to speak. Nothing came out. Bea stood there at war with herself, fighting for words.
"Whatever it is, I love you. Good or bad, I'll still be your sister. Twinsies, remember?"
"It's not for me to say, okay? Please remember that we don't choose the life we're born into, the family we are born into. That life may deal some hard blows, but it's up to us to deal with it as best we can. But we're human, so no decision is perfect."
It was obvious who she was talking about. She knew something more than she was telling me about him.
"Look, Bea, I know it's been almost a month since the wedding, but you have to understand that I'm over Derrick. I don't think I ever loved him. He was just the first guy who checked all the boxes Mom and Dad set for me, and he stuck around." I sighed at how pathetic that sounded. "I know now that he wasn't a good guy, and I'm glad he's out of my life. And if anyone should be warning someone about Derrick, it's me warning you—"
"No, Olivia. It's not . . ." Bea's eyes grew large, distant, and for a moment, I thought a tear might escape. "Actually, you're right. I was afraid to tell you that Derrick started to date Cousin Kiki."
The images of Derrick between Kiki's legs in the bathroom before the wedding was seared into my brain. I don't think bleach could kill that picture of her overly tanned legs wrapped around him as she sat on the counter.
Kiki was one of those people who was never happy with what she had, and she had more than most.
"That doesn't surprise me. And he'd been seeing her for a while. Why do you think I ran?"
Bea covered her cheeks with her hands in surprise. "What? I just thought my words finally sunk in and you made a mad dash. I had no idea you knew. How did you find out?"
"The toilet was broken in the room I was using to get ready for the wedding, so I thought I would sneak in the men's bathroom. Unfortunately, it was occupied by Derrick and Kiki. And they weren't using the facilities properly." Irritation twisted the corner of my mouth.
Bea pulled me in for a hug, her caring embrace relieving a little bit of the weight I'd been carrying around over the last several weeks.
"That fuckhead! I knew he was garbage when he first weaseled his way into our group of friends." She pulled back and ran her hand over my cheek. "Kiki may be our cousin, but she's dead to me. She's always been jealous of us. Her parents are more than wealthy, yet, because Dad had more money than her family, she wanted it. God, I hate her. In a way, I'm glad they ended up together, they deserve each other."
I nodded and wondered why this was bothering me more than it should. Then I remembered what their dirty talk was about. It made me nauseous that speaking ill of my family turned them on.
"Bea, they said some terrible things."
She tilted her head. "I thought they were having sex when you walked in on them?"
"They were. The things they said seemed to excite them though if you know what I mean . . ."
I let out a laugh at her overly exaggerated frown. "Oh, Ollie, I don't want to know what kinky shit they said to get off."
"Oh, but I think you do."
Bea stepped back, covering her ears with her hands as she's done since we were little.
"I'm not listening. La, la, la . . ."
"It's about taking over Love Foods," I said louder than usual to get her attention.
It worked. She lowered her hands and with worried eyes, stared at me.
"Derrick said that by marrying me he would become the perfect son-in-law. Find out what he could about Konrad and all the rest of our brothers. Then, he would plant seeds in Dad's head about how bad they would run the company after he retired."
"They got off on this?"
I nodded. "Yes, and Kiki added that she would introduce Konrad to one of her drug dealer friends. Whip up some scandal to make it appear like he was doing drugs. You know how Father detests the thought of drugs. He barely tolerates drinking."
"What about me? Did Derrick mention finding anything on me?"
"No. But I don't think he sees you as a threat. You know Dad, he'd rather put the company in the hands of a deadbeat, as long as it was a man."
There was pain in her eyes as she nodded. I knew it hurt her to work so hard for the company all while knowing that Father couldn't see past her being a woman. As if it's the middle-ages and only a male heir would do.
Her phone buzzed from her pocket. Removing it and lifting the phone, she said, "The car is here. It's
time for me to head to the airport."
She closed her suitcase, and I had to sit on it while she locked it in place. I was surprised she showed up here with only one bag. She rarely brings less than three. Maybe she hadn't meant to stay a full week.
We hugged, and I clung to her, wanting my sister never to leave. But I had to let go and walked with her down to the lobby. Standing outside the black sedan she hired to take her the two hours to the airport, I gave her another hug.
"Be careful, Ollie. Carter is nice, but he's not perfect. Okay?"
I nodded, and she stared at me for a moment before slipping inside the backseat of the car. The driver shut the door and in what felt like an instant, the car pulled away. I stood as flurries floated past my eyes and felt torn.
My time here with Carter had been a learning experience, and it felt wonderful to have someone who liked me for who I was, not what he thought I could give him. But, as much as I had grown, I was still Bea's sister. I was still part of the Love family and missed them. Despite my father being a sexist jerk, he was still my dad, and I loved him, too.
I made my way through the parking lot until I reached the truck. As I started the ignition, I smiled. To think, a month ago I wouldn't have been able to drive this vehicle, or any vehicle, for that matter. My life had changed so much in a short amount of time. I felt happy but there was something nudging me. It was small, just a tickle really.
While I finally believed that Carter could be Senator Lorne Fitzwilliam's son, he never wanted to discuss anything about his family or his past. I knew in time he would but what worried me was that there might be more to the story than anyone knew. His father would have had to go to great lengths to stay hidden for so long.
The person who killed his wife and daughter was captured and thrown in jail. So why did the senator stay hidden all this time?
TWENTY-FOUR
Carter
"More coffee?"
I glanced over from staring out the window to find the waitress holding up a half-filled coffee pot.
"Yes. And can I get a mug of hot chocolate, too? The woman who's going to join me will want it." I smiled imagining Olivia's face when she sees the cocoa. She had agreed to meet me at Fire and Ice after work.
Lost and Found (books 1-3): Small-Town Romantic Comedy Page 16