by Aubree Lane
Published by Aubree Lane
Copyright © 2015 Aubree Lane
No portion of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any print or electronic form without written permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance between persons living and dead, establishment, events or location is entirely coincidental.
Acknowledgements
Some of the best times of my life have happened in Hawaii. In my humble opinion, it is the best vacation spot in the world. Thank you, Mom and Dad for sending us there for our first wedding anniversary. The lovely resort where we enjoyed brunch is gone, but the memories and pictures aren’t.
Once again my beautiful cover was done by the amazing JC Clarke at The Graphics Shed.
This writer’s family gets ignored on a regular basis. As I type this, my youngest is talking to me. I’m nodding like I’m listening, but I’m not. He is well aware, yet doesn’t call me on it. Thank you Kyle and Jacob, I love you even if I tend to tune you out.
My husband gives me his unwavering support and never hesitates to buy me a new laptop when the one I’m using starts acting hinky. I couldn’t ask for a better partner.
#PTTP! The Crazy Lady Authors are my very special peeps. Our members are located in many different time zones. Someone is always around to boost spirits, commiserate in sadness, and best of all, lift a glass in celebration.
Also by Aubree Lane
Early One Morning
Tahoe Blues
15 W. Gibson
Sierra Mist
Cooking With The Crazy Lady Authors
The Fallen Leaf Collection
The Kissing Ball
Negative Eight
1
The taxi ride to Annie’s was filled with trepidation. Brittany should have let her sister know she was coming, but considering the last time they saw each other, Christmas two years ago, Britt figured she was better off simply appearing on her doorstep.
She hoped Annie would be happy to see her, but she wasn’t counting on it. The amount of contact Annie had with their side of the family had dwindled to the occasional email or text message. Annie hadn’t even called with the happy news of the birth of her son, Max. The only reason Brittany found out about the bundle of joy was because a friend pointed out the announcement in a local newspaper.
The way their mother treated Annie, after she told them she was in love with a wonderful man, was horrible. The only good thing that came from that tumultuous Christmas was Brittany had returned Annie’s expensive gift and added the cash to her escape fund.
Britt couldn’t recall a time when the relationship between Annie and their mother wasn’t strained. For most of her life, Britt blamed Annie for the rift, but over the last few years, she realized exactly what Annie faced every single day living under Darleen and Carl Sutherland’s roof. After Britt’s sixteenth birthday, she was forced to work in her father’s landscaping business. When Carl decided to pay her for the long hours of manual labor, which wasn’t often, it was less than minimum wage. Along with the job, she was expected to keep her grades up and the house spotless. Seemingly overnight, she became a slave, and she hadn’t heard a kind word from her parents since.
With the money she managed to squirrel away, Britt purchased a one-way ticket to Honolulu and prayed Annie wouldn’t close the door in her face. Even if her half-sister took pity on her homeless status, Britt worried her husband would object. Not having met Terence Javier, it was impossible for her to gauge how he would react to having an unexpected houseguest.
The taxi pulled up in front of a cute little bungalow, and Brittany knew she was in the right place. In a former life, Annie owned her own business as an interior designer, and it looked as though her knowledge extended to the exterior as well.
She paid the cab driver, and the old model Chevy Caprice drove away. Brittany felt bad about the chintzy tip she gave him, but money was tight and not knowing what her future held, she couldn’t afford to be generous. Amazingly, the driver smiled kindly and helped her with her bags.
Britt blew out a breath and braced herself. She stuffed her winter coat on top of her suitcase and rolled it up the walkway. It was early and she was hesitant about ringing the bell. Waking a sleeping baby probably wasn’t the best way to start off the family reunion. Brittany propped the suitcase up against the railing, settled down on the porch swing, and waited for some morning noises which signaled the start of the family’s day.
It was already warm and a bit humid. Brittany rocked back and forth. The rhythmic moaning of the chains calmed her anxious nerves. Her eyes grew heavy and twenty minutes later, Brittany was curled up with a floral pillow tucked under her head, sound asleep.
• • •
Terence Javier jogged to a stop. He grabbed the bottom of his shirt and wiped the sweat from his face. The hour he spent running on the beach felt good. It had been a long two weeks back in Ohio, and he needed to purge every trace of that city, and the people he worked with, out of his system. Total ineptitude forced him to travel during the worst snowstorm in history to retrain an entirely new round of employees on the system he set up almost three years ago. The owners took advantage of a loophole in their contract and he hadn’t received so much as a dime for his trouble.
It was his standard contract, but nothing like this ever happened before. He made a mental note to contact his lawyer and have him come up with better wording. Terence needed his expenses paid in the future. Since his lawyer lived right down the road and they shared custody of their daughter, he was positive a new contract would be in the works before the day’s end.
He wanted a longer run, but his wife and baby son were working Annie’s Jamoka Jack Coffee Cart. Terence wanted breakfast ready for them when they arrived home. Annie had kindly let him sleep in and took Max with her while she provided specialty coffee to her regular clientele. Max wasn’t exactly a help, and he wasn’t anywhere close to being the best behaved baby. His wife would need a little tender loving care after this morning’s adventure. He found no difficulty imagining how frazzled she would be with a crying baby strapped to her back and demanding customers at her front. If he hadn’t enjoyed his calm morning so much, he would have gone down and relieved her of the kid, but since his beautiful wife wanted him to take the morning off Max duty, he decided to let her spoil him.
Terence approached the house and frowned. He spied a dark blue, hard-shelled carry-on piece of luggage through the lavender blooms of the thorny Bougainvillea. Two steps and one giant leap forward, he found a young woman, with a beautiful shade of subtle auburn hair, sleeping soundly in his porch swing.
He knew that face. He saw it every time he looked at his wife. She had to be a relative of Annie’s and he guessed she must be her half-sister.
Annie rarely spoke of her family, but when she did, it was usually with disdain. She occasionally expressed concern over her younger sister’s well-being and wondered how she was surviving in that unhealthy household. To the best of Terence’s knowledge, Brittany’s arrival was unexpected, and Terence surmised the answer to Annie’s question was that Brittany hadn’t been doing well at all.
Terence never considered his house small, but bed space was already straining capacity. His daughter, Erika, had been an only child for most of her thirteen years. This was the first time she would have to share her room. More and more, Terence liked the idea of Brittany staying with them, it would give Erika the opportunity to see what it was like not to have everything her way. If she didn’t like it, she could spend more time at her oth
er father’s home.
He grabbed the handle of the suitcase and rolled it into Erika’s bedroom. Terence didn’t worry about disturbing her slumber. At thirteen, nothing was capable of waking her on a weekend. His daughter took full advantage of not having to get up for school. On a typical Saturday, they were lucky if they saw her before noon, but today was not typical. Her help was needed.
“Erika baby, wake up.”
She gave him a groggy groan and rolled over.
Terence grinned, knowing the torture he was about to inflict upon her. He shook her arm gently. “Erika, your Aunt Brittany has come for a visit. She’s asleep on the front porch, and I don’t want to scare her. I need you to take her a cup of coffee and wake her up.”
Erika opened one eye and glared. “Who?” she asked.
“Annie’s sister from San Diego.”
Her other eye opened and Erika scowled. “Are you serious?”
“No, I made it up just to get you out of bed.”
Erika rolled away and pulled the covers back over her head. “Dad,” she whined. “Why’d you do that?”
Terence broke out laughing. This wasn’t going to be easy. “Nice try. Get up. I need your help.” He gave her bottom a quick swat through the blankets and headed for the door.
Erika sat up. “Dad! I’m thirteen. You can’t spank me anymore.”
With eyebrows raised in warning, he faced his daughter. “You’re lucky I’ve been away for a couple of weeks, and that I’m still able to find this attitude of yours amusing. If that little love tap was a spanking in your eyes, it shows exactly how much we’ve abused you.” His eyes narrowed and his voice grew firmer. “I need your help and I expect to get it. Do we understand each other?”
The thirteen-year-old’s eyes reeled up towards the back of her head. “Fine, I’ll get up.”
She immediately flopped back under the covers and Terence felt the need to reiterate his request. “I’ll be in the kitchen fixing breakfast and I better see your smiling face in ten minutes.”
Erika moaned.
• • •
Terence knew miracles were possible when Erika actually made it into the kitchen a mere fifteen minutes later and was fully clothed in shorts and the Maroon 5 t-shirt she purchased at their concert last June. She climbed up on a stool, reached across the counter, and grabbed a piece of bacon off the plate. Shoving it in her mouth, she crunched its mouth-watering goodness. “Who is this aunt I have never met, and why is she asleep on the porch?”
Terence handed her a glass of orange juice. “Just so we’re clear, I only believe it’s your Aunt Brittany. I don’t know why she’s here, but I assume it’s because she needs to get away from a difficult home life. Annie told me some horror stories about her childhood and if the same is true for Brittany, I’m surprised she hasn’t shown up sooner.”
The young girl yawned, walked over to the coffee maker, and poured herself a cup.
Erika had never tasted coffee before. Amused, he watched and wondered if his daughter planned on drinking the brew, or if she was just trying to shock him. Either way, he wasn’t going to miss this for the world. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited for the show to begin.
With her cup filled to the brim, Erika brought it to her lips, took a big gulp, and promptly spewed it all over the kitchen floor, counter, and walls. Her hand flew to her mouth and her eyes went wide at the horrid taste. “That was hot,” she gasped. “And it tastes like sewage. I can’t believe Annie makes a living selling that muck. People are weird.”
Terence closed the gap between them, took her face lovingly in his hands, and kissed her forehead. “I missed you, Pumpkin.”
Erika leaned into her father and hugged him tight. “I missed you too, Dad.”
After another quick kiss, Terence relieved her of the mug. He filled it half full of coffee, added a generous amount of milk, plopped in a couple of teaspoons of sugar, then went to the refrigerator and found the chocolate syrup. He squeezed in a substantial amount and popped the concoction into the microwave. When everything was warmed to temperature, he gave it a stir, and handed it to his daughter. “Try this, baby. I bet it’s more to your liking.”
Erika took a cautious sip and grinned from ear to ear. “Can I have this every morning?”
Terence should have seen that coming. “It’s a weekend treat only.” He grabbed another mug from the cabinet and filled it. Annie liked her coffee with only a little half and half, so he did the same for her sister. “Take this out to Brittany and get her off that porch swing. It’s not meant for sleeping.”
“Why me?”
He ruffled her hair, knowing the time was fast approaching when his daughter would no longer tolerate or appreciate the gesture. “Put yourself in her shoes,” he explained. “She showed up here unannounced. Annie hasn’t seen her in years, and they never had a good relationship. I imagine Brittany is nervous about meeting us. I think it would be an easier transition if she woke up to your sweet, friendly face, instead of her inquiring brother-in-law’s.”
“Is Brittany really my aunt?”
Terence shrugged. “Just like Annie’s your mom and I’m your dad. We’re not blood related, but it doesn’t matter, family is family.”
Erika crossed her eyes. “Yeah, if we waited for someone to be related by blood around here, our family would be mighty small.” She picked up the mug Terence prepared and walked out of the kitchen. “Wish me luck.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be right here if you need me.”
His daughter looked over her shoulder and grinned. “You always are.”
Terence snickered at the barely veiled sarcasm and opened the window so he could listen.
• • •
Erika sat on the deck in front of the porch swing and waved the coffee mug under Aunt Brittany’s nose, just like they did in the commercials. The aroma failed to wake her aunt. Erika had a better idea. Plan B was to stare intently at her target until they felt the force of her gaze. The ploy worked a million times on her dad, Annie, and the multitude of girlfriends who stayed over for slumber parties.
Today was no exception. A few seconds later, Brittany began to stir. A moment later her eyes began to flutter, and Erika knew she was about to lay waste to her latest victim.
She braced herself for Brittany’s reaction. One of her friends had startled upon waking and punched Erika in the eye. The shiner she received that day made Erika a bit more cautious when applying this waking technique, but it hadn’t stopped her from flirting with disaster. She smiled, knowing her father was inside shaking his head at her folly, but if Aunt Brittany planned on hanging around, she should know what she was getting herself into.
Erika’s concentration was interrupted by a clatter coming from across the street. She turned and watched Grady Barlow, her-twenty-year-old, sandy blond, beach bum of a neighbor, come flying out his front door. He clamored down the steps, and out into the yard. That could only mean one thing. Annie and Max were making their way up the street.
“ANNIE!” Grady yelled with an insulated travel mug in his hand. “Any coffee left today?”
Annie and Max weren’t anywhere in sight, but Erika heard her quite well. “Only if you help me get this little monkey off my back!”
A few moments later, the Jamoka Jack Coffee Cart came into view. Grady was pushing it. His sandaled feet clomped on the asphalt with every stride while Annie wrestled with a squirming Max in her arms. Annie’s eyes caught Erika’s and silently begged for assistance.
Max was in a mood. Her baby brother might be the most beautiful kid on the face of the earth, but he could also be a major pill. Not really wanting to, she got up to go to her sorta-mom’s rescue.
Erika avoided labeling the people in her family. While Terence still claimed the moniker of Dad, and his sister was still Aunt Lena, she referred to everyone else by their first name. Larry Wright was her biological father, but he would never be her dad. The man was old and felt more like a grandpa. Erika supposed sh
e loved him. She certainly could wrap the old guy around her finger. Not that it did much good, Terence and Annie were usually right there to counteract her blatant manipulation of the man who still felt he needed to make up for lost time.
Terence opened the door and waved Erika off. “I’ll get Max. You wake up Brittany.” A few steps later, he called out, “It might be a little more effective if you just shook her arm.”
Her father trotted off in the direction of his main squeeze. Annie was capable of putting a smile on his face like no one else, not even her.
Brittany stirred. Erika took her father’s advice and touched the girl’s deeply tanned skin. It didn’t look like Annie’s sister was afraid of soaking up too much sun. Erika wondered how it would hold up under the piercing Hawaiian rays.
Brittany’s eyes fluttered open, and Erika introduced herself.
• • •
Brittany shot upright and looked around. It took a few seconds to figure out where she was. As her senses returned, she remembered she was in Hawaii. The young girl sitting beside her was waiting for a response. “Hello,” Brittany began timidly. “I’m sorry for the intrusion, but I’m looking for my sister, Annie Harper. Is she here?”
A huge smile broke across the girl’s face. “You mean Annie Javier? My...” The teen struggled for a moment as if she were unsure how to proceed. “My, umm, stepmother?”
Britt stared blankly. “I’m sorry, what did you say your name was?”
The girl stuck out a friendly hand. “I’m Erika Turner, daughter of Terence Javier and Larry Wright.”
Britt eyed the girl suspiciously, but grabbed her hand. “You’re kidding me, right?”
Erika burst out laughing. “You and Annie aren’t close at all!” She pulled Brittany to a standing position. “Come on and meet everyone.”