LITMIR.BIZ

      Chapter Two

      Frankie wanted to leave more than ever. She wanted to go home and forget she even had a sister. She really, really wanted to snatch Penny by the throat and shake some sense into her fluffy blond head. She decided to talk to Penny. She’d be reasonable, she wouldn’t yell, but she’d let the girl know exactly where she stood: Penny could have Julius or she could have Frankie, but not both. Then she would leave.

      She allowed Ross to drive her to the resort lodge. He guided her to the family’s private dining room and fetched a carafe of hot coffee. The coffee chased away some of the chill. She wrapped both hands around the mug to warm them. Her face felt crackly, as if it might break if she moved too fast. She lifted her gaze to Ross.

      “She isn’t pregnant. No way. She’s too smart.” Frankie knew the pregnancy had to be a lie. Penny probably used it as an excuse for a hasty wedding.

      Ross sat at the table and folded his hands atop the surface. The pity in his gray eyes scratched her bones.

      “She has plans,” she insisted. “She’s going to travel the world.”

      “Stuff happens, plans change. You girls need to talk.”

      Snorting in disgust, Frankie turned her glum gaze on the trophy wall that chronicled her uncle’s long and distinguished military career. She wondered again how he and his family could have betrayed her like this. A glance at a wall clock showed that even if she left now, she’d be late for work. “Is there a phone I can use?”

      He brought her a cordless telephone, then moved to the other end of the table to give her some privacy. She dialed the number of her neighbor. Sally answered with a syrupy hello.

      “This is Frankie,” she said. “Can I ask you a big favor?”

      “Are you okay? You sound funny.”

      “I’m fine.” Sally’s concern lifted her spirits somewhat. They’d met on the day Frankie moved into her apartment and had been good friends ever since. Wait until Sally got an earful of this debacle. “I’ve got a...situation. I’ll tell you all about it later. Can you feed Cat?”

      Sally didn’t answer right away. Frankie groaned inwardly. The cat, whom she called Cat, had shown up a few months ago and stayed. He was neither pretty nor sweet tempered, and he had a bad habit of shredding her books, magazines and newspapers when he lost his temper. He also attacked people on occasion. Frankie let him stay because he seemed like the one creature in the universe whose life was in worse shape than hers.

      “Please,” Frankie said. “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t have to.”

      “Oh, all right. I’ll take an oven mitt for protection.” She sighed dramatically, then laughed. “That animal belongs in a zoo, you know. When will you be back?”

      “Very late tonight. I owe you one, girlfriend.”

      “You owe me two.”

      After she finished that call, she dialed another number. She hoped anyone but Bob answered. A scratchy, petulant voice answered the phone: “Martha’s Pie House, may I help you?”

      “Hi, Bob,” she said, “it’s Frankie.” She waited a beat, then added, “I can’t come in to work tonight. I have an emergency.”

      “What do you mean you can’t come in? You know I’m shorthanded.”

      Frankie dropped her face onto her hand. Bob ruled the pancake house as if being assistant manager made him emperor. The little twit. “It’s an emergency. Call Julie.”

      “I know who to call. It’s my job to know. I keep the schedules, you know.” Papers rustled. “You’re working Saturday, then.”

      “Fine.” She noticed he didn’t ask about the nature of her emergency.

      “From now on I need at least twenty-four hours notice.”

      “I’ll plan more carefully for my emergencies, Bob.” She hung up and placed the telephone on the table.

      “Everything okay?” Ross asked. Questions lurked in his eyes.

      Frankie hadn’t told the Dukes about her recent situation. Since Penny was acting so sneaky and self-absorbed, it was doubtful she had told them, either. Guilt crept through her. Ever since Max had dumped her, she’d shut out her family. Ross and Dawn lived in Colorado Springs, perhaps twenty minutes from Frankie’s apartment. Embarrassment and pride had prevented her from running to them with her tales of woe.

      “I don’t work for Max Caulfield anymore,” she said.

      Ross cocked his head and assumed an expression that invited confidences. He’d always been easy to talk to.

      Explanations caused a traffic jam of words in her throat. Even after six months it hurt to talk about Max. “Things got intense,” she finally said. “I’m waiting tables until I can figure out how to market myself as a freelance graphologist.”

      “Self-employment is the best.”

      Grateful he didn’t probe too deeply, she nodded.

      “Julius is related to Caulfield.”

      His statement made her wince. She stared at her hands. The redness had faded, leaving them looking paper-white against the chestnut hue of the tabletop. “Max married Julius’s mother. She’s rich.” She wished she’d never voiced Max’s name.

      “Does that have something to do with you disliking Julius?”

      She winced again. Ross knew. Not everything, but he suspected something heavy lurked beneath the surface. “Penny knows my reasons. We settled all this months ago.”

      “Apparently not.” He topped off his coffee mug and offered her the carafe. “Maybe you kept her on too short a leash, Cuz.”

      “Not short enough.” She waved away the offer of more coffee. “Apparently.”

      “You’re a lot like the Colonel, Frankie.”

      She knew Ross didn’t mean the comparison as a compliment. She scowled into the steam rising from the mug. “Contrary to what that brat says, I am not trying to ruin her life. Or run it for that matter. But she has no business getting married at her age.”

      Elise Duke’s high heels clicked softly on the polished wood floor. “How are you, dear?”

      Frankie shot a glare at Ross to let him know she didn’t appreciate his insinuation that she was a control freak like his father. “Where’s Penny?” She pushed away from the table, starting to rise.

      Elise placed a gentle hand on Frankie’s shoulder. “It might be best if you kept your distance. She’ll speak to you tomorrow.”

      Somehow, Frankie felt no surprise. Her entire chest ached as if she’d been walked on by an elephant. She slumped on the chair and sipped from the coffee mug.

      “Penny and Julius are spending the week in the Honeymoon Hideaway.” Elise settled on the chair next to Frankie. Despite four grown children she looked youthful, slim and beautiful. Her serene demeanor had a calming influence. Her soft hand touching Frankie’s arm chased some of the cold from Frankie’s soul. “Stay the night with us, dear. We can have a nice visit. I haven’t seen you in far too long. Tomorrow, you and Penny can talk.”

      She didn’t want to stay. She wanted to go home to her nasty old cat and sulk in peace. “Is she really pregnant, Aunt Elise?”

      Elise shrugged delicately and flashed a wan smile at her son. “The child shall have two parents.”

      Frankie groaned. “You don’t get it. None

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