Twins For The Soldier

Chapter Three

Lee opened the door to his sister’s knock. The first thing he noticed was that she didn’t look as tired as she had the week before. Pulling her into the suite, he dropped a kiss on her hair. She had blown out the curls and in its place was a cascade of raven strands sweeping down her back.

“Welcome to my humble abode.”

Viviana smiled and the gesture lit up her brown eyes. “It doesn’t look that humble to me. I’ve passed this place a number of times and never knew it looked like this inside.”

“I was also quite surprised,” Lee admitted. He had spent the past few days catching up on sleep, swimming laps in the outdoor pool, working out in the exercise room and binge-watching a favorite TV series of which he’d missed a few episodes. The suite had everything he’d want if he was looking to rent a furnished apartment. “How are you?”

“Much better now that you’re here.” She sniffed the air. “Something smells good.”

Reaching for her hand, Lee eased the canvas tote from her fingers and placed it on a side table. He led her into the dining area and pulled out a chair to seat her at the table set for two. “I decided we’d eat before wading through what I expect is tons of paper.”

Viviana’s expression sobered. “And it’s more paper and receipts than I’d expected to find. I still can’t believe that rat hid bills that the mail carrier delivered to the house. And it wasn’t until the bank manager called and told me that I’d overdrawn my line of credit that I realized something was wrong.”

“We’ll talk about your rat later, but right now I need you to tell me how much you need to cover the delinquent property taxes.” Lee schooled his expression not to reveal his shock when Viviana quoted a figure that was a lot more than he’d anticipated. “That can’t be for one year.”

“It’s for two years.”

“I’ll make arrangements to get a bank check and then drive over to the county offices and take care of it.”

Viviana lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry you have to dip into your savings to bail me out. As soon as the boardinghouse is up and running again I promise to pay you back.”

Lee smiled. “Did I say anything about you paying me back? Remember, I own half the property, so I do have a personal stake in keeping it in the family.”

Their mother’s will bequeathed them the house and the twelve acres on which it sat. He and Viviana were also equal recipients of their mother’s life insurance. The terms of the policy had designated her older sister Barbara Wolfe-McCarthy as executor and legal guardian for her children until they were eighteen. Lee had taken control of his trust months before enlisting in the army, purchasing ten-year tax-free municipal bonds. Once they matured he’d reinvested half in a retirement fund and purchased certificates of deposits with the remaining half, while Vivi had used her inheritance to pay for college and set up a partnership with their aunt and uncle to convert The Falls House from a private residence to a boardinghouse.

“I can’t believe I trusted someone so much that I wasn’t able to see what was right in front of me. His online profile was almost picture-perfect. I’m definitely through with online dating sites.”

“I didn’t invite you here for a pity party, Vivi. What’s done is done, and hopefully it will never happen again.”

Viviana met her brother’s large eyes, eyes that reminded her of their mother’s. When he’d walked into The Falls House, she was seeing him for the first time in nearly four years, and she was shocked at how much he resembled their father. He could have been Emory Remington’s younger clone, except for the eye color. She was only two years younger than Lee, but there were times when she felt he was more of a father figure to her than an older brother. She was also aware that if he did come back to Wickham Falls it would be to visit, but never to live again.

Days before he was scheduled to leave for basic training he’d told Viviana there were too many bad memories to make him feel at home in his place of birth. However, he did come back to attend her high school and college graduations, and to sign the legal documents transferring half their share of the boardinghouse to Aunt Babs before she relocated to Arizona. He had also come back for the funeral of Justin Mitchell. Not only had he looked different, but something inwardly had changed. There was a vacant look in his eyes that frightened her, and he didn’t speak unless spoken to. He’d stayed long enough to pay his respects, and then he was gone.

“What are you making?” she asked, changing the topic of conversation.

“Your favorite: rack of lamb with mint sauce, roasted asparagus and rosemary potato wedges.”

Viviana smiled. “You remembered.”

Lee opened the oven to check on the meat. “There aren’t too many things I forget.”

“Like Dad being gone more than he was here?”

He went completely still. “I really don’t want to talk about him now.”

“Sorry about that.”

“There’s no need to apologize, Vivi. I’m just not ready to relive the past.”

She nodded. He didn’t want to talk about the past and she did. Times had changed and so had their father, so she decided to bide her time before broaching the subject again. Pushing back the chair, Viviana rose to her feet and walked over and stood next to Lee as he blended fresh mint leaves, confectioners’ sugar and cider vinegar in a mini food processor.

“Have you thought about getting married?”

“No. Why would you ask me that?”

“I just thought you would’ve been married and made me an aunt by the time you were thirty.”

He gave her a sidelong smile. “I could say the same about you making me an uncle.”

Viviana affected a frown. “Not with my track record for attracting lowlife vermin masquerading as the opposite sex.”

“Maybe men see you as an easy mark because you smile and talk to everyone.”

“Well, I do have a background in advertising, marketing and hotel hospitality.”

“You have to separate the business hospitality from the personal one. What works when greeting guests and working the front desk shouldn’t carry over to becoming personally involved with a man.”

She paused. “I don’t know what it is, but I go on a hiatus where I won’t date anyone for months or even a year, and then when I do he’s usually not worth wasting my time with.”

Lee wiped his hands on a terry cloth towel after blending the ingredients in the food processor and spooned it into a small glass bowl. “Don’t beat yourself up, Vivi. Men go through the same thing. I’ve met women who I feel may be that special one, and then without warning she’ll change into someone I don’t recognize.”

“Do you think it’s difficult for you to form a lasting relationship with a woman because you don’t know when you’re going to be deployed?”

“That and a few other things.”

Resting her hip against the countertop, Viviana stared at her brother. “Do the few other things include you thinking you’ll not be a good husband or father?” She froze when Lee impaled her with a lethal stare that sent chills up and down her body despite the heat coming from the oven.

“I saw firsthand how not to take care of my wife and children.”

Viviana’s eyelids fluttered. She didn’t know what all had gone on between her parents, because most times Aunt Babs had made excuses about her father’s frequent absences and had attempted to shield her from the disease that changed her mother from a happy young woman into one who spent more time sleeping than awake. Even when Lee elected to attend the local high school, she’d continued her classes at the parochial boarding school because she didn’t want to leave her friends. And that meant coming home during school recess and holidays and occasionally some weekends.

“Is there anything I can help you with? I feel so helpless standing around watching you cook.” Aunt Babs had taught her and Lee to cook. Her aunt had graduated culinary school but her career was short-circuited when Babs returned to The Falls House to care for her sister, niece and nephew.

“I didn’t know if you want wine with your meal, but just in case I bought a couple of bottles of white, rosé and red.”

Lee’s voice broke into her thoughts. “I’ll have rosé but only if you’ll join me.” Viviana knew Lee rarely drank, and if he did it was either a glass of wine or beer, but never hard liquor.

“The wine is in the fridge, and the corkscrew is in the drawer on your right.”

Twenty minutes later Viviana sat down with Lee to enjoy the most delicious meal she had had in months. Once she’d discovered her ex’s duplicity she was unable to eat more than a few morsels before feeling full. She exhaled an audible sigh after swallowing a tender slice of lamb. Her world had righted itself. Her brother was back and so was her father, the latter informing her he was only going to spend a few weeks in The Falls before returning to Philadelphia—a city that was now his permanent home.

Over dinner they discussed Lee’s proposal to turn The Falls House into a bed-and-breakfast, while both agreed that she should file for chapter 7, which would wipe out her debt, allow her to keep her assets, rebuild her credit, incorporate another business, make repairs and start anew. His next suggestion rendered her mute for a full minute.

“You want to sell off more land?” she asked, once she recovered her voice.

Lee laced his fingers together. “Not all of it. Every generation since the turn of the twentieth century sold large parcels of the original two hundred thirty acres. The house and outbuildings sit on twelve acres. If we sell eight, then you’ll have more than enough money to make repairs and put some away for your retirement.”

She blinked slowly. “But the land is a part of our legacy.”

“What legacy, Vivi? We are the last of the Wolfes and the exterior of the house is falling apart. I’ve told you that I’m going to stay long enough and help you get your business up and running and then I’m out of here. So if you want to hold on to the property, then you cannot continue to go down the same path.”

Viviana knew Lee was right. What once had been the grandest house in Johnson County was now becoming a shabby replica of what it had been. “I’ll think about it,” she said, not willing to give in that easily to her brother’s proposal to sell off the land that had been in their family for more than a century.

“Don’t think too long,” Lee said softly.

She ran her fingers through her hair and closed her eyes. So much had happened over the past year to turn her life into a nightmare. Creditors were calling incessantly, asking for money she didn’t have, and three months ago, she had given employees and lodgers of the boardinghouse notice that she was going out of business. Viviana opened her eyes and gave Lee a long, penetrating stare.

“It is a lot to think about.”

A hint of a smile played at the corners of his mouth. “I know it is, but gone are the days when the Wolfes had an active social calendar when they entertained friends and elected officials. And even if you do decide to marry and start a family I doubt if you’ll have enough children to fill ten bedroom suites like our relatives did in the past.”

“I doubt if I’ll ever marry and have children.”

Lee winked at her. “Don’t say ever, little sister.”

“Enough talk about marriage and babies. Do you want me to call Preston McAvoy’s office and set up a meeting to discuss filing for bankruptcy and setting up a new corporation?” she asked.

“Yes, and try and come up with several names for the new business. Meanwhile, I’ll cover the past-due taxes and utilities.”

Viviana pulled her lip between her teeth for several seconds. “Dad paid the electric bill.”

Lee sat straight. “I don’t want you to accept any more money from him.”

Viviana knew Lee didn’t want to talk about their father, but she did. When Emory offered to pay the delinquent electric bill she’d wanted to tell him that he was twenty years too late in his attempt to play the supportive father, but had held her tongue. Even if he hadn’t been able to provide for his family financially, she’d realized once she was older that he could have been there emotionally for them.

“I didn’t ask him. He volunteered.” She didn’t want to argue with Lee about their father. And she didn’t want Emory involved in something that had nothing to do with him. His name did not appear on any of the documents in connection with the main house, the guesthouses or the land. “I’ll make certain not to involve him again.”

Lee gave her a barely perceptible nod. “Thanks. You have a lot on your plate before the B and B is up and running, and that means prioritizing.”

“You’re right. I think we should take care of legal matters first.” Reaching for a pencil and pad she began jotting down possible names for the new corporation. Her hand stilled. “I did something I never thought I would do.”

“What’s that?” Lee asked, as he stood up and began clearing the table.

“I posted a photo of Marcus on a number of social media sites with a warning that he’s an identity thief. Hopefully someone will recognize him and call the authorities.”

Lee’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “Scamming you probably wasn’t his first rodeo, and if he’s done this before then someone is sure to recognize him.”

Viviana pushed back her chair, stacked plates and flatware, and joined Lee in the kitchen. “That’s what I’m hoping.” She pressed her lips together when she recalled meeting Marcus for the first time. He was everything she wanted in a man, and then some, but that was before she realized he’d hustled her. “You’re probably right about that. Everything about him was so calculating and I...” Her words trailed off when Lee’s cell phone rang.

Wiping his hands on a towel, Lee picked up the phone and glanced at the display. “I have to take this.” Angela was calling him again. He tapped a button. “How’s it going?”

“Great. I just called to say I’m back in The Falls.”

Lee turned his back when he noticed Viviana staring at him. “I thought you were going to be away for two weeks,” he said under his breath.

“That was before my parents decided to fly to LA and take Malcolm and Zoe with them. My kids were beside themselves once they discovered they were going on a plane for the first time.”

“Can I call you back later, because I’m having dinner with my sister?”

“No problem. Call me whenever you get the chance.”

He smiled. “I will.”

“Who was she?” Viviana asked once he ended the call.

He set the phone on the countertop. “What are you talking about?”

“I know you were talking to a woman because your voice changed. Have you been holding out on me?”

“No. And for your information, Miss Busybody, the woman is Angela.”

“Angela Banks?”

“Remember she’s now Angela Mitchell.”

Viviana snorted under her breath. “It appears as if you haven’t wasted any time hooking up with your best friend’s widow.”

A frown appeared between his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I always thought Angela married the wrong friend.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, so get your mind out of the gutter because I have no intention of hooking up with her.”

Viviana held up her hands. “Don’t get me wrong, Lee. I happen to like Angela and wouldn’t mind having her as a sister-in-law and becoming an auntie to her adorable twins.”

Lee smiled when he should’ve told Viviana to stop meddling in his life. “I never figured you for a matchmaker.”

“That’s because I’m a true romantic at heart.”

He tugged on the end of her unbound hair. “Let me know when you’re ready to meet a nice guy and I’ll introduce you to one of my buddies.”

Viviana scrunched up her pert nose. “Nice, or even close to perfect, but no thanks. I need to concentrate on reviving the business before I even consider looking at another man.”

Lee dropped a kiss on his sister’s hair. “It’s going to happen, and when you reopen it will be better than before.”

Wrapping her arms around Lee’s waist, Viviana rested her head against his shoulder. “That’s what I always like about you. You’re always so optimistic.”

He wanted to tell her that optimism was what allowed him to survive dangerous missions. And whenever Lee went out with his team his sole focus was completing what he’d been ordered to accomplish and return alive. “Why don’t you go home before it gets too dark.”

She lowered her arms. “Don’t you want me to help you clean up?”

“No. Everything can go into the dishwasher.”

Viviana kissed Lee’s cheek and then gathered her tote as he walked her to the door. She smiled up at him. “You’re the best brother a sister could ever have.”

He winked at her. “That goes double for me when it comes to choosing a sister. Text and let me know when you get an appointment with the lawyer.”

“I will.”

Lee closed and locked the door behind her, and then returned to the kitchen to finish loading the dishwasher. On average, he and Viviana communicated several times a month, either Skyping or through text messages. He’d felt obligated to let her know that he was all right, because aside from their Aunt Babs he was her only other surviving relative. And they’d agreed to give each other power of attorney for all legal matters if he wasn’t available to sign in person. There were few things they hid from each other—the exception was his missions—and what he found odd was her not mentioning that her relationship with her latest boyfriend had ended nearly four months earlier. It was only when she received a notification that the property would be added to an auction listing that she was forthcoming, finally admitting she’d been too embarrassed to tell him that she had been scammed and faced losing the house.

Viviana claimed she was a romantic, but she was also a grown woman who didn’t need him lecturing her about the men she chose to become involved with; he’d hoped the imminent fear of finding herself homeless would finally allow her to think with her head and not her heart. A wry smile twisted his mouth when he recalled his mother claiming she was a romantic, hopelessly in love with her husband, and would stand by her wedding vows until death parted them. And it had.

Lee programmed the dishwasher and punched the start button. He then picked up his cell phone and tapped Angela’s number. She answered after the third ring.

“Leland, come and get me!”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, hearing panic in her voice.

“Please come.”

His heart rate sped up. “Where are you?”

“I’m at Miss Joyce’s.”

“I’m on my way.”

Lee hung up and dashed to the bedroom to retrieve his keys. He had never known Angela to be a drama queen, not even when she and Justin split up temporarily. She’d come to him and say, “Justin and I are not speaking,” and whenever they continued to share the lunch table she was the epitome of poise, not allowing anyone to suspect she and Justin were no longer a couple. But hearing her strident tone now had momentarily unnerved him. He wondered if something drastic had happened between her and her mother-in-law.

He wasn’t overly fond of Joyce Mitchell and had never felt welcome in her home, but he respected her as Justin’s mother. Most times he’d suggested Justin and Angela come to The Falls House for their study sessions whenever it was Justin’s turn to host the meetings. Miss Joyce, as people usually referred to her, used to glare at him and then turn her back without saying a word. It was apparent she sided with those in The Falls who believed he would end up like his father—a drug-addicted felon.

Lee tried not to overthink why Angela wanted him to come and get her as he managed to stay under the speed limit on his way to The Falls. Night had fallen over the landscape when he maneuvered up in front of the Mitchell house and spotted Angela waiting at the curb, clutching the handles of a Pullman. He got out of the jeep and came around to help her in at the same time the front door to the house opened and Joyce came down off the porch, gesturing wildly. He lifted the Pullman, storing it in the SUV’s cargo area.

He closed the passenger-side door once Angela was belted in.

Angela’s chest rose and fell heavily as she stared out the windshield. “You just got back and this is the second time I’ve burdened you with my problems. But I didn’t know who else to call.” She didn’t have any close friends from high school, and had made it a practice not to discuss her personal business with coworkers.

Lee gave her a quick glance. “It’s okay, Angie.”

“Nothing is going to be okay until I finally move out and take control of my own life. When I told her that I was going to look for a house she went off on me, and I knew I couldn’t spend another night under her roof without losing it completely. The woman knows exactly what buttons to push to make me lose it.”

Decelerating, Lee rested his right hand on her denim-covered knee and gave it a gentle squeeze while steering with his left. “That’s because she knows what to say to set you off.”

Angela slowly shook her head. “She messes with me so much that I’ve learned to ignore her, especially when the kids are around, because I don’t want them to see their mother go ballistic on their grandmother. She said something so twisted tonight that I knew I couldn’t spend another minute there.”

“Where do you want to go?”

She stared at Lee’s distinctive profile. She had always thought him incredibly handsome, but his attractiveness didn’t end there. He exuded a masculinity that was almost palpable. “I’d like to spend the night with you.”