Most of the greenery was overgrown from the summer. During my vacation, I’d remedy that with a few hours of trimming and pruning. Clara’s only requirement for me when I’d added all of the greenery had been maintenance. She’d water but that was about it.
I put the Cadillac in park, and before I could step out, the front door to Clara’s house burst open and Gus came racing my way.
“Aunt Aria!”
His dark blond hair had grown some since our last FaceTime. His legs looked longer, his face fuller. I’d blinked, and my nephew had changed from a toddler to a boy. He had a dust streak on his cheek and grass stains on his bare knees. He grew too fast.
“Hey!” My heart leapt as I climbed out of the car. I bent, bracing for impact, and scooped him into my arms when he came crashing like a wave. “Oh, I missed you.”
“Where’s my present?” He squirmed out of my hold, taking in the car.
“August,” Clara scolded, coming out the door.
“It’s okay.” I waved it off and took in my beautiful sister. “Hi.”
“Hi.” She, like her son, came rushing into my embrace. “We went too long this time.”
“I know.” I squeezed her tighter.
Normally, we planned five to six visits in a year. Seven if I was lucky. But going four months without seeing them was too long. Work might have kept my mind and body busy, but my heart had paid the price.
A mistake I wouldn’t make again.
Clara and August were my only family. We needed each other.
Today maybe more than yesterday.
Clara’s nose was red and her cheeks splotchy. Her pretty brown eyes didn’t have their usual sparkle and her shoulders slumped low. She’d trapped her blond hair in a loose ponytail, the ends hanging limp over one shoulder.
“You don’t look good.”
“I don’t feel good.” She shrugged and ran a hand over the gleaming hood of the car. “Wow. Look at this thing.”
“A beauty, isn’t it?”
“I can’t believe it’s here. That it’s my turn.” She smiled and stroked the car again. “I love this whole handoff thing.”
Clara was a romantic. As teens, she’d buy romance novels for a dime at the thrift store and stay up late reading under the glow of a flashlight. I suspected I’d find a stack of them beside her bed, or a well-stocked Kindle, when I tucked her in for a nap this afternoon.
We’d taken care of each other for the past twenty years. Longer, really. Since our parents had died. We were thirty years old, but that wasn’t going to stop me from pampering her while I was here. She’d do the same for me.
“You can gush over the car later. First, we unload. Then, we do presents.”
“Yes.” Gus did a fist pump.
“And after that, you’re taking a long, hot bath followed by a long nap.”
Clara gave me a sad smile as exhaustion clouded her pretty face. She looked like she was about to cry.
“What? What is it?” I asked.
“Nothing. I’m just really tired.”
I pulled her into my arms again. “Then we’ll make sure you get lots of rest.”
She collapsed onto my shoulder. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me too. We both need a vacation, even if yours is at home. No work. Fun only. Just the three of us.”
“About that. There’s sort of been a change of plan.”
I let her go and narrowed my eyes. “What change?”
The whirl of tires and the hum of an engine filled the air before she could answer. A shiny black Jaguar came down the driveway and my heart dropped.
No. That son of a bitch Brody Carmichael was going to ruin my vacation.
“He’s supposed to be gone.” If he dared encroach on my time with Clara, I’d sneak poison ivy into his bed.
“It’s not his fault.” Clara sighed, quick to defend her boss.
“Did his private plane not have enough spiced cashews for his liking? Surely he can afford jet fuel.”
The second-best part of this week, besides Clara and Gus, was Brody’s scheduled absence. Clara knew there was no love lost between me and her boss, so she’d suggested travel dates that coincided with his vacation.
Yet here he was, parking a car that likely cost more than all of my worldly possessions combined.
Brody parked behind the Cadillac and stepped out of his car, sliding the sunglasses off his face. He wore a navy suit tailored to perfection around his broad shoulders and long legs. In the years I’d known him, I’d never seen him in anything but a suit. Did he not own jeans?
“Brody!” August raced over, holding up a hand for a high five. “Aunt Aria is here. We’re gonna open my presents.”
“I see that.” Brody’s lips turned up in a smile. Barely.
If the man ever learned how to deliver one properly, actually show some teeth, he’d be devastating. Especially with the dark, trimmed beard he’d grown a few years ago. It gave him a sexy edge. Or it would have, if his perpetually sour mood wasn’t such a major turnoff.
He definitely, definitely didn’t turn me on. Oh no.
Broderick Carmichael was enemy number one.
One day I hoped to convince Clara to quit her job with Brody and join me in Oregon. The only flaw in my plan was that she loved her job. She loved her boss.
My beautiful, loyal sister had been duped by the devil.
“Hey.” Clara waved at Satan incarnate. “How was the flight back?”
The flight back? From where?
“Fine.” He shrugged. “Just wanted to stop by and see how you’re feeling.”
“I’m good,” she lied.
“She’s sick,” I corrected. “And she’ll be spending the weekend recuperating.”
His jaw clenched but he didn’t respond. He simply gave Clara a nod. “Call me if you need anything. See you tomorrow.”
“I’ll be ready,” she said.
Without another word, he ruffled August’s hair, then got in his car and disappeared.
I turned on my sister. “Um . . . ready for what?”
“It’s nothing. Just a work thing. And I don’t have the energy to get into it right now, so how about presents and that nap you mentioned?”
If not for her cold, I would have insisted on answers. But I’d gotten pretty good at ignoring Brody’s existence, and Clara deserved a break.
So I did exactly what I’d promised. I hauled in my things and we both cheered as August opened his gifts. With their living room littered with wrapping paper, I put her to bed and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening entertaining Gus before it was time to put him to bed.
With him tucked in bed, I did the same for my sister, who’d roused around dinner.
“I’m glad you’re here.” She snuggled into her pillow. “Thanks for watching him.”
“My pleasure. Now sleep.” I kissed her forehead. “See you in the morning.”
She was snoring by the time I eased out of her room and closed the door.
The fading evening light drew me outside to her deck for a few moments alone. I’d stolen Clara’s Kindle and uncorked a bottle of wine. As I settled into a lounge chair, I tipped my head to the heavens.