Sibling Rivalry

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

AIMEE STRETCHED, HER muscles screaming at her as she did. She knew she needed to get up, but her bed felt way too good. All she wanted to do was hibernate under her thick comforter. Last night, she came home to her mother and sister drunk and making a mess of their kitchen. Alcohol bottles were scattered everywhere, and the counters were sticky with fruit juices and sodas. Aimee just shook her head and went to bed. Her night ended too well for her to allow her family to ruin it with their chaos. On her way to her room, she saw the shopping bags and the new clothes thrown everywhere. Karla obviously connived some money out of their mother. Clothes and alcohol. What a shopping spree.

She wasn’t sure why she even cared. It was a never-ending battle trying to keep her sister from milking her mother out of everything she owned. Their father had only been gone a couple of years, lung cancer having taken him way too early, and their mother needed what he had left her to survive. Yet, Karla didn’t seem to care, using their mother as her personal bank. It was deplorable, but Karla never seemed to display a conscience and their mother never instilled boundaries in her daughter. Well, none that she would enforce anyway.

Forcing herself out of bed, Aimee made it over to the window and pulled the curtains open, allowing the Sunday morning sun to bathe her bedroom with its warm light. Her room faced the ocean and, when she had time, she loved to sit there in the morning, savoring her coffee as she watched the waves roll in, crashing down on the sandy shore, creating its own artwork. This morning, the beach looked very inviting. With nothing on her schedule, she decided she would take advantage of the quietness and the sun. She could probably even get a few shots in with her camera. Stepping back into the room, she glanced at her phone. Nothing. Not from Mitch or Clint. She wasn’t sure if she should be happy or disappointed. What had she gotten herself into by going out with both of them? She decided she didn’t want to think about it. It made her head hurt. Instead, she dug her two-piece out of her dresser. Some sun, a book, her Nikon, and she would be able to relax and clear her head.

She ignored the mess that was still scattered everywhere as she passed through the condo and out the door. It was Karla’s leftover debris, and she could clean it up. Aimee just hoped her mom had crashed there and not driven home drunk.

The pool was full of people as she walked around it to the wooden steps that led to the beach. Hopefully, the shoreline had not filled up too much, yet. Usually, the area right behind the condo was pretty quiet. Up the way was a beach access area and people tended to stay near there, not wanting to trudge down and then have to haul all their stuff back. The condo had even put some chaise lounge chairs on the beach in front of them for people to enjoy.

“Aimee!”

She turned at the sound of Abigail’s scream. She hadn’t even seen them as she descended the steps. How lost had she been in her thoughts? She put a smile on her face and waved as the little girl came running over to her, sand kicking up behind her. So much for not having to face either of the two men that morning. Clint smiled at her from a hole in the sand he was digging. He waved after he brushed his hands off on each other and then stood up as his daughter reached her. Without thinking, Aimee peered through the camera lens and snapped a few photos. His wave. His climbing out of the hole. His smile. Then Abigail reached her.

Aimee hugged her as she braced herself for the impact. For a little girl, Abigail had strength in her mad rushes. “Hey, sweetie. How are you this morning?”

“Do you want to help us build a sandcastle?” She gripped Aimee’s hand and dragged her over to where her father and she had set up. “Daddy’s digging a hole for the moat.”

Clint glanced back at the hole he was digging. “Is that what I was doing?” He laughed as he took Aimee’s hand and squeezed it, leaning in and kissing her cheek. Was that a friendly kiss or just a cautious peck in front of Abigail? “Plenty of room as you can see, if you’re wanting to be alone, but you’re welcome to join us.” His eyes encouraged her to say yes and soon she was lying back on the blanket he had spread out, holding herself up by her elbows as she watched Abigail jump into the hole Clint dug out for her. He glanced at his daughter as he sat down next to Aimee. “You continue to play while I chat with Aimee some, okay?”

“Okay,” she said, and sand went flying toward the waves as she tossed handfuls into the air. Seagulls hovered nearby in case the sand magically turned into breadcrumbs.

Turning back to Aimee, Clint’s smile was even bigger. He sat with his legs crisscrossed in front of him, hands on his knees. “I’m glad you came down. I would have invited you to join us, but I didn’t want to seem too pushy.”

She smiled back at him. “I wouldn’t have thought it pushy at all.”

“Well, then, how about dinner tonight? I was going to use the grill at the pool and grill up some steaks, and a hot dog, of course. Abigail hasn’t found the delight in a medium rare ribeye, yet.”

“Sounds like fun,” she said. “Can I bring anything?”

“Just yourself. I got it covered. I was going to reach out and ask you later, but you being here saved me a call. I also bought everything hoping you would say yes.” He stretched his legs out and laid himself out beside her. “I was going to call you last night, invite you to come over and watch another movie, but again, I was afraid of being too pushy.”

The knot in her stomach returned. She suddenly felt as if telling Clint about going out with Mitch would be a unbelievably bad idea. She wasn’t sure why, but it just seemed wrong all of a sudden. “It never hurts to ask, right?”

“I’ll remember that.” He rolled on his side and stared at her, his eyes sparkling in the morning sun.

He didn’t want to be pushy and Mitch would not go away. How did she come across two men totally different from each other and draw the attention of both of them? Abigail called for her father to play in the water with her and he pushed himself off and jogged down to the waterline. The muscles in his back rippled as he did, his feet kicking up the sand. Working construction added muscles to him in places most men didn’t even know needed muscles. Aimee’s eyes watched as his ass bounced a little as he ran. He dropped down into the water and splashed around with his daughter, both laughing and Abigail squealing in delight as a wave would come near and knock her down.

Aimee watched them play, a smile pushing her cheeks up, as she took some more pictures. She couldn’t get the way he looked at her just a moment ago out of her mind. His expressions had changed. When he smiled at her, Aimee saw something more than just the friendship that was there the past few months. She saw something deeper, something more intense. Clint looked upon her as if he actually cared for her, looked upon her as if she was more than the lady in his condo who watched his daughter once in a while. She knew then that if she told him about Mitch, it would hurt him, and then he wouldn’t look at her that way anymore. She didn’t want to lose that look. It had been too long since she was looked at like that by a man, too long since she fantasized about that look from Clint.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“I start next Monday. I can’t believe it.” Henry hung up the phone and stared at her with a stunned expression. He was getting his dream job at Bryson’s Security in Washington D.C. with their cyber unit.

Aimee smiled as she put the saucepan in the sink and ran hot water over it. She had been dating Henry Warren since their senior year in Gainesville. They even moved in together, not that her parents knew about it. She did not want to deal with Karla or her mother when they found out that they were living together. She was also afraid of hurting her father. “We have a lot to do before then, like pack,” she said. She was proud of him and everything he had accomplished since they graduated the year before and he started his search for the right spot to use his talents.

“We have to tell our folks.”

“We will. They’ll be so proud of you.”

“How are we going to tell your dad? I mean, are we going to let him know we’re living together, yet?”

She dried her hands on the towel hanging by her side and then walked over to him and draped her arms around his shoulders. She gazed into his eyes, her face glowing at the pride she suddenly felt for him. “Yes. I think it’s time. With this move, we’ll make it all official.”

He waggled his eyebrows at her. “I love official.” He squeezed her to him and then kissed her, his excitement hard against her thigh. His tongue parted her lips as the celebration turned to passion and they found themselves groping each other with hungry hands and heavy breaths. When he broke the kiss, he smiled up at her. “We need wine. I’ll open a bottle and you call and tell your parents. Maybe they can meet us in D.C. for a weekend.”

She ran her fingers over his forehead, dragging his bangs out of his eyes, eyes that had gazed upon her with an intense desire for the past few months. “I’ll call them.”

He patted her hips before he practically bounced to the wine rack and snatched up a bottle of Merlot.

“Honey, I’m glad you called. I was about to call you.” Her mother sounded stressed and Aimee found herself wondering what Karla did now. “We’ve been meaning to tell you, but really haven’t wanted to worry you. We, well, we didn’t think it had progressed as far as it had.”

“What’s progressed? What are you talking about?”

“Your father has lung cancer. We’ve been doing the chemo treatments, but the doctor doesn’t think they’re working. The cancer has spread too far.”

She stood there, staring at the wall, the phone barely in her hand. Her mother explained their plans for the next few weeks in how they take care of her father. Marty Harper even got on the phone and tried to sound upbeat and positive. “It’s all part of life, baby girl.”

No! It was a part of other people’s lives. Not hers. Not her father’s.

Once she hung up, Henry sat on the bed beside her, his arm around her waist as glasses of Merlot sat untouched on the dresser. “I have to go back. They’ll need my help.”

“Okay. I’ll go get us set up in D.C. and then I can come down and help you.”

She shook her head. “You just got the job. They won’t let you leave to babysit me. Besides, we don’t know what’s going to happen. The doctors could be wrong. He could make a full recovery. No, you stay in D.C. and work. I’ll go down and help Mom and Karla, and then, when I know more, I’ll call and we can make plans then.”

She felt his fingers on her cheek, turning her head so he could look into her eyes. They pierced her and she fought back more tears. “We’ll make it through this.” She fell into his dark eyes, and then collapsed into his arms, sobbing away the cruelty of fate. He cradled her, rocking her back and forth, making sweet calming sounds as he stroked her hair and did his best to comfort her. Yet, all she saw was how she was losing the men in her life and that she had no way of stopping it.

She pulled back and gazed into his eyes again. It was his eyes that first drew her to him, the way they could see through her shyness and pull her out of her solitude. His eyes pierced through her and allowed her to open herself up to him. “I love you,” she whispered, still gazing into his eyes.

He kissed her nose. “I love you, too.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

They never saw each other again after that. He lost himself in the cyber world of security and made a quick name for himself with his innovations to Bryson’s systems. He missed her father’s funeral a month after Aimee returned home, and that convinced her they were over. He had his dream career, and she just couldn’t bring herself to leave her mother. She cried herself to sleep every night for the loss of both men. She would fall asleep feeling her father’s arms around her and gazing into Henry’s eyes, eyes that always seemed to know her. She searched for someone else with the same intensity in his eyes since then. Someone who could look into her soul and know her, really know her. Clint seemed to look at her that way. Yet, what had Mitch’s look been? And that kiss. She ran her tongue over her lips thinking about Mitch’ lips on hers.

Clint turned around and saw what she was doing. He arched his eyebrows at her and gave her a mischievous grin. She blushed and glanced down at her feet, embarrassed that he saw her and even more so that it hadn’t been about him. Oh god, I am so screwed up.

“You are one busy girl.” Karla dropped a bag beside her sister and then spread a striped beach towel out as her protection against the sand.

Aimee turned and watched her sister as she settled herself in for her own time in the sun. “I’m surprised you’re even awake after what I saw last night and the aftermath this morning. Did Mom stay the night or go home?”

Karla wore her skimpiest bathing suit, half her ass hanging out and her breasts pouring over the top. She wanted more than just sun that morning. “She passed out around midnight. I put her in bed with me. I think she woke up about five and headed home.” She shrugged. “She’s probably still sleeping it off. Thank God for Sundays.”

Aimee turned her gaze back to where Clint and Abigail played in the water. “I saw the new clothes. Looks like you’re all set to wiggle your t**s at drunks.”

“Please, spare me your judgment.” Karla wiggled herself into the sand.

“Why don’t you just move in with Mom, save yourself the grief of having to listen to me judge you?” Aimee gave her sister a snotty grin as she opened her book. She took a deep breath, trying to let go of the anger that boiled up inside of her.

Karla let out a gust of laughter. “Can you see me bringing home men at Mom’s place? It’s bad enough they have to see you in the morning.”

“Actually, I could see you doing it. I haven’t exactly seen you having lines you wouldn’t cross.” She ignored the glare her sister gave her.

Karla laid back on the blanket, her body on display for those who would pass by and gaze. “Did you tell this boyfriend about your date last night?”

It was Aimee’s turn to glare.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The sun caressed her flesh as she laid on the sand, the sound of the waves below her mixed with Clint’s daughter’s squeals. Karla loved the beach. She just didn’t love the people who came to the beach. Unless it was men gawking at her body, she much preferred a lonely beach. She could go topless then without worrying about being turned in for indecency.

She could feel Aimee’s eyes glaring at her, but she didn’t care. She was over her sister and her pious attitude. Who was she to judge Karla when she was playing around with two men? Miss Morality finally had men paying her attention and suddenly everything she had preached before was out the window. It was fun to watch.

“Hey, Karla. How are you doing today?” Clint reached down and grabbed a towel, dripping cold water all over Aimee who screamed as she tried to jerk out of the way.

“Living life to the fullest. How is Mr. Mom doing?”

He just laughed as he stood and finished toweling himself off. “Covered in sand and salt water on a Sunday. I must be doing good.”

“A day at the beach beats a day anywhere else,” Karla said, as she smiled up at him.

“You know,” Clint began, “we’re going to be grilling steaks later. You should join us. We’re just doing it by the pool.”

Karla allowed the obvious joke of doing it by the pool pass without comment. “All day in the sun and all evening, too. You must like the outdoors.”

He sat down beside Aimee as Abigail came up and started playing in the sand at their feet again. “Not really. I just care for the indoors even less. That little girl’s laughter is magnified in close quarters.” He picked up a bottle of suntan lotion and squirted some into his hands, rubbing it into his arms and shoulders. “How about you?” he asked, holding the bottle out to Aimee. “Need some protection?”

“By all means.” Aimee rolled over and offered her back to his massage.

Karla glanced over as his hands rubbed the lotion into her sister’s skin. “If you’re offering, I’d be more than happy to have some of what you’re giving her.” She batted her eyelashes at him sweetly as her sister’s eyes popped open and she glared at Karla. “We Harper girls get sunburned so easy.”

“Well, I, uh, sure. I’d be happy to.”

“Thank you.” She rolled over onto her stomach, her head facing her sister as she watched Clint lean over her and rub the lotion deep into her skin. “Looks like you know what you’re doing. How is he at back massages, Aimee?”

Aimee wanted to hurt her and Karla knew it. “He’s doing a great job.”

Karla propped herself up on her elbows as she leaned over as if examining his handy work. “He does look like he’s good with his hands.”

He chuckled. “Thanks. I tend to think I know my way around a lady’s back.”

“Oh, do tell. Are there other parts you’re good with, as well?” She gave him her sweetest smile.

Aimee sat up a little bit. “There is a little girl right over there, you know.”

“I was just asking.”

Clint left Aimee’s side and moved over to where Karla was sprawled out on her towel. He knelt in the sand as he squeezed some of the lotion into his hands. It was cool against her sun-warmed skin, giving her a little jolt that was soothed by the warmth of his hands. “I can see why Aimee likes hanging out with you. What are some of your other talents?”

“Oh, you know, cooking, cleaning, pounding nails into wood.”

“Pounding, huh? Is that true, Aimee?”

“Karla!”

“What? I just thought you would know.”

“Are you two always like this?” He chuckled as he moved back to be beside Aimee.

“No, sometimes Aimee can be fun.”

Aimee rolled her eyes at her and turned her head back the other way, ignoring her. Karla just smiled at Clint. “Thanks for the lotion.”

“My pleasure.” He laid back down beside Aimee, his arms stretched above his head. Abigail played quietly at their feet, lost in her own little world, ignoring the antics of the adults. Karla stared at her sister a little longer before closing her eyes to rest the headache she was denying even existed. She wasn’t sure how many drinks she practiced on with her mother, but they drank every one of them. Her mother spent over a hundred bucks on booze and Karla didn’t think they had much left to show for it. She laughed a little as she remembered how silly her mother became once she had her third drink. Betty Harper would probably be a lot of fun at a bar. She’d have to work on that. But not Sand Dune. She didn’t need her mother invading her stomping ground, witnessing her daughter’s normal bar behavior.

The sun climbed higher in the afternoon sky as more people arrived to take advantage of the day of rest or, as Karla preferred to call it, the day of recovery. Couples walked the beach and surfers tried their best to catch the four-foot swells that rolled into shore. Birds cried out to one another overhead as they glided by, looking for leftover crumbs of whatever they could swallow. Karla felt a little guilty over picking on her sister in front of Clint. To be honest, she understood the difficulty Aimee found herself in at the moment. It was hard juggling two men at once and Aimee had barely juggled even one. She was in over her head. For all of her preaching to Karla about being loyal, she was now having to eat her own words, and Karla was glad to be a witness.