Chapter 12
Charlotte and Cole left the kitchen. Rose breathed out. She'd almost slipped. She almost called him Mr. Fuller again, and she just knew he would have teased her about it. To the point of no return.
"You okay there, sweetheart?" her mother asked as Rose finished mixing the kitten formula.
Rose planted a smile on her face. "Yes."
Hannah bent over the kittens. "They are so cute! Babies are sweet, no matter what the species. Oh, I wish you had called me that night. I wanted to be there for you."
"Mr. Fuller—I mean, Cole helped me, Momma," Rose said. "I should have called you, I guess, but..."
"But you didn't need me," her mother finished with a comforting smile. "You and Mr. Fuller have become friends?"
Rose shrugged. "Yes...I didn't really have much choice. He said we were friends, and I haven't been able to change his mind."
"Sounds familiar," her mother said with a laugh. "Josie did the same thing to me when I first met her. Look at me now...been married to her father for twenty-nine years."
"I don't think I will marry Cole's father, Momma," Rose replied, laughing softly.
"Well, no...but that wasn't really what I meant."
"I don't think I will marry Cole, either," Rose said. "I barely know him."
"I barely knew your father when I met him," her mother pointed out as she followed Rose's model for feeding the kittens.
"Please, Momma, don't," Rose pleaded quietly. "The guys will be bad enough. Please don't put the wrong thoughts into their heads. Cole and I are just friends. I really don't want to be teased all night."
Hannah grinned at her daughter. "I'll keep my mouth shut and my opinions to myself, but..."
"But?" Rose pressed with some hesitation.
"But I'm so giddy to see you friends with a man...my hands are shaking." Both women looked down at Hannah's trembling fingers and the kitten in her palm. "Oh...maybe I shouldn't try to feed them while I'm this happy."
"Momma..."
Rose paused as a familiar, yet unearthly sensation entered her, and she frowned. A pulling in her chest...a shiver up her spine. It happened sometimes...strongest during family gatherings, especially when Violet was home.
"Rose? Are you alright, honey?" her mother asked.
Violet.
Glancing toward the front of the house, clearly able to see out of the living room windows from her seat, Rose saw a dusty truck turn into the drive, parking next to her father's. Her heart thundered. Her skin pricked. As though a warm blanket wrapped around her shoulders, Rose felt serene and sheltered, yet skittish and unsure at the same time.
A door slammed. Rose's own fingers trembled as she set the meowing kitten back in the basket. Half a minute later, she heard her sister's voice, her distinct way of commanding an audience. Haughty, confident, boisterous...everything Rose wasn't, but Rose loved that about Violet, loved that she wasn't afraid of being herself, of doing what she pleased, of not caring what others thought of her, of her actions and decisions. Rose had always been Violet's complete opposite, but Rose admired her sister for who she was.
Hannah smiled happily, recognizing Violet's voice, too. "Violet is home—"
Rose scurried to her feet. Violet... Violet... She hit the back door and shoved it open. There she was... "Violet!" Her pulse hammering in her ears, joy singing in her heart, Rose felt a rush of girlish energy. Violet...she's here...
Mindless of everyone staring, she jumped from the back porch and threw her arms around her sister. Completion, pure and whole, filled her soul. It had been too long.
Then it was all gone with Violet's pat on the arm and vague dismissal. Violet, being herself, doing what she pleased, not caring what others thought of her. How such wonderful qualities could sour a mood so quickly.
An earthquake should open beneath Rose's feet, swallowing her...it would be the kindest reprieve from Violet's continued lack of interest. Her gaze followed her sister, strutting over to kiss their father's cheek and gather more hugs, returning them with vigor. Everyone was so happy to see Violet again. Not as joyed as Rose, but no one seemed to notice Rose. She blinked back hot, hurtful tears as she scanned the backyard. They crowded around Violet, the kids, the adults, and Violet soaked it all in, laughing, grinning, squealing at the baby and Josie's littlest.
Everyone, except Cole.
Cole's eyes snapped her out of her near-cry. He watched her, the way he usually watched her, assessing, distantly studying her, not giving Violet, or anyone else, the slightest attention. Only her. Sympathy matched the assessment, but Rose didn't want to see it. She couldn't allow him to feel that for her. There was no need, and it rarely helped any situation. Rose gathered herself, reminded herself that this was normal, took in a calming breath and went back inside to feed the kittens...alone.
Violet was here, after all...Rose wouldn't be missed.
Cole clenched his fist and took a step toward the house, toward Rose, who had slithered back inside as soon as her sister snubbed her and garnered everyone's attention. But he didn't get far. That bob-haired twin whipped around as soon as he moved and narrowed her eyes at him.
"I don't know you," she said boldly.
Cole hesitated. "I'm Cole...I'm with Rose—"
Every pair of male eyes shot toward him, malignant and speculative, and Cole raised his eyebrows. Maybe not the best way to explain his presence, made him sound like he was "with" Rose. "I mean, Rose invited me," he amended quickly, remembering how Rose begged him not to embarrass her. "I'm Mr. Shaw's great-nephew."
"Who?" Violet asked, swinging over to him, standing closer that he wished, and scanning him from head to toe.
"Mr. Shaw?" Cole said. "Rose worked for him—"
"Oh, right, that old man," Violet said, waving the topic away. Cole really didn't like her, but she was Rose's favorite sister, so he kept himself in check. "So, you and Rose are dating? Figures, the way she followed that old man around like a lovesick puppy, and with you being his nephew and younger. Cuter, too."
Cole cleared his throat, acutely aware that all of Rose's male relatives still stared at him. He said, "We're not dating. We inherited the store together after my uncle died."
Violet raised her gaze back to his. It was still eerie how much she looked like Rose. Identical twins, yes, he got that, but...
Relief entered his blood when he saw a large freckle on Violet's left ear lobe. Rose didn't have a freckle there. He could probably map out all of Rose's freckles—above the neck, anyway—from memory, and he knew for a fact, Rose did not have any on her ears. Violet wasn't like Rose. Rose wasn't like Violet. They weren't identical. Not entirely, at least. Cole had never been more thankful for a freckle in his life.
"You're staring at me," Violet said, smiling wickedly. "Wondering if Rose and I are the same all over?"
Cole heard Mr. Kirkland suck in a harsh breath at his daughter's brazen behavior, and Violet grinned wider, never taking her gaze from his eyes.
"Well?" she whispered, leaning so close, he could see the tiny scar on the side of her nose where an old piercing healed. Not entirely identical to Rose, at all.
A cold water bottle slapped into his palm, and Cole looked at Zack, who had come up beside them. "Here...drink. It's not whiskey, but it'll help wash away that bad taste in your mouth. Trust me." Zack turned to Violet. "Go bug someone else."
"You go bug someone else," Violet retorted, glaring at Zack. "Why are you always here?"
"The free food," Zack answered.
Violet rolled her eyes. "Please! When are you going to take the hint? Rose doesn't like you. Find some other woman to stalk, why don't you?"
Zack's face grew stormy. "Wow...home for five minutes, and you're already opening up old cans of worms."
The twin sister stuck her hands on her hips, her attention solely on Zack—"How about you go suck on a can of worms?" she said, and Zack said, "After you, sweetheart."—and Cole began to inch away as the two continued bickering. He caught Mrs. Kirkland's eye, who nudged her head toward the house, and mouthed, Go.
Yeah, go now, while he still had a chance.
Rose's father walked over, in hopes of controlling Zack and Violet's increasingly loud argument, and Cole beelined it to the back porch. He inhaled a deep breath when he entered the kitchen, the screen door not silencing the drama outside, but he was away. And closer to Rose again.
No wonder she was so quiet and calm all the time. He'd been around crazy families before. They always made him a little nervous, but he never felt that way with Rose. Never felt she was part of a crazy family...at least, not until he was near the family.
Rose was not in the kitchen. Neither were the kittens. He set the water bottle on the table and carefully picked his way through the unfamiliar house, looked into all the downstairs rooms, but he didn't find her. He wasn't sure about going up to the second floor. Thankfully, he saw her silhouette through the glass of the front door, sitting on the porch steps. He went outside to her, noticing that her spine stiffened as he closed the door behind him.
"Hey," he said softly. She peeked over her shoulder.
"I'll be done in a few minutes," she said. "Just one more to go." She was talking about the kittens, of course. Slumped over, knees drawn up, she sat on the wood stairs with one of the females in her hands and the basket between her feet. Cole eased down beside her, conscious of not sitting too close. She didn't like that. And after feeling crowded by her sister only moments ago, he empathized with her usual discomfort.
She blinked at him, joining her. "Mr. Fuller— Sorry, Cole, surely you don't wish to...to..." She looked at him harder. "Oh, no...did my brother say something to you? Was he being a butthead again?"
"I swear, your brother said nothing to upset me," he told her with a gentle smile.
Her green eyes darkened. "Zack? Daddy? Max and Travis can be obnoxious, too."
Cole reached up and tucked a flyaway strand of hair behind her ear. Not a single freckle anywhere near that delicate shell. "Your family is wonderful...they miss you out back."
She snorted softly. "Cole, there is no need for that. You may edit stories with proficiency, but you do not tell them so well." Exchanging the kitten in her palm for the last to be fed, Rose bent forward, her profile catching the lowering rays of the afternoon sun. Utterly perfect.
"Then I miss you," he said calmly, ignoring her snide comment. She looked at him again from the cover of her lowered eyelashes.
"Your confidence in your own charm is bewildering, Cole Fuller," she coolly quipped, cradling the one un-sated kitten against her chest.
"I only need to convince you of my charm, Rose Kirkland," he said, leaning backward to rest against the porch balustrade. He knew soon enough, he and she would return to the backyard—it was a party for her father, after all, and Rose loved her father too dearly to ignore his honor for very long—but for now, he was happy to indulge in his newest diversion...watching her.
Focusing her gaze on the tiny animal in her arms, Rose merely shook her head in reply. Cole was content to let the silence surround them for the next few minutes. After all the times spent with her, the peace was a comfort for him, at least. However, Rose always seemed to grow uneasy whenever they were together for any length of time, and she needed to fill the silence.
"Did you meet Violet?" she asked. The question would have, normally, implied good manners on her part, simply a reassurance that he had been able to exchange greetings with her sister.
To Cole, the question sounded tense.
There was some bad history between Rose and Violet. He assumed that Rose would not tell him what that was, and what little her mother explained did not really explain anything. Still...
"Yes, I met your sister," he said. Rose peeked at him again.
"And?"
"And what?"
"What is your impression of her?"
That little curl would not stay tucked behind her ear. Cole reached to smooth it back again, and surprisingly Rose neither shied away nor frowned. "I think the two of you could be twins," he said with a smile.
Another surprise—she smiled back. "Amusing, Cole. Very amusing." She hid it well, the disappointment and heartbreak caused by Violet. Her eyes guarded her emotions, but there was a small crack there, he knew where to look for it.
When the last kitten had been nourished, they worked together to complete the remaining care routine. A thunder of running feet sounded from the side of the house, and the two smallest kids flew around the corner, followed by the oldest...Cole recalled his name was Tristan, a tall teenager with dark hair and dark eyes, and a permanent smile.
"Aunt Rose! Aunt Rose!" the little girl shouted. "Grandma said you have kittens!"
Rose's face lit up at the sight of her niece and nephews. She stepped around the basket at her feet and caught both the younger ones in her arms. "Oh, no, you don't," she told them. "Hugs first!"
The squeals were deafening.
Authentic love shone in Rose's smile, giving Cole warm, scary sensations. He was already aware of his growing affection for her, his wavering nonchalance to her magic over him. It would be too easy to lose himself, too simple to dive right in, and he was much too willing to do both. Yet, he reminded himself that his living situation, here in this town, was temporary.
"Cole," Rose said with a giggling child under each arm. "Have you met the midgets yet?"
Cole rose up from the porch steps. "I believe your sister, Josie, pointed toward them. Livie and Trevor, correct?"
The blonde-haired girl wriggled from Rose's grasp. "I am Olivia Annabelle Fischer. I am ten."
Rose laughed. "Our apologies, Olivia," she told her niece. "I forgot you prefer your full name." Rose looked at Cole. "She also repeats everything you say."
Ten-year-old Olivia grinned broadly. "Yup."
Cole held out his hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Olivia Annabelle Fischer."
The girl shook his hand and pulled him over to her brother. "This is Trevor Ronald Fischer. He is six. He is my whole brother."
Cole arched an eyebrow as he smiled. "Your whole brother? Gracious, my lady Olivia, what does part of a brother look like?"
Olivia pointed her finger at the tall teenager. Cole frowned slightly, but Rose, the kids and Tristan laughed. "I don't understand the joke," Cole said.
Tristan stepped forward. "I am their half-brother," the young man claimed without any negativity in his tone. "I have three more sisters back home in Memphis, just as mouthy as Livie—"
"Olivia!"
Tristan smiled down at his sister. "Sorry, Olivia."
Cole turned to Trevor. "And a pleasure to meet you, young sir."
"You talk funny," the boy said. Then his attention diverted to the basket.
Rose allowed the younger ones to admire the kittens for a moment. "We'll take them around back, okay? Tristan, would you find an old towel for us?"
"Yes, ma'am," Tristan said and offered his hand to Cole. "Mr. Fuller."
Cole shook that hand with as much dignity as his amusement allowed. "Mr.... Fischer? Am I remembering that correctly?"
"Yes, sir."
Tristan headed into the house at his aunt's request, and Cole leaned closer to Rose, whispering, "I thought polite, attentive teenagers were a myth."
That made Rose laugh again. "You'll soon discover that Tristan is the exception of many assumptions. You should meet his mother, Arielle."
"You mean there's more to this family?"
She laughed again. Cole could hear that sound all day, everyday. "Let's go, midgets."
"Aunt Violet called Mr. Zack a bad name," Olivia gleefully announced as she followed Rose.
"Did she?" Rose asked.
"Yup. And he told her to go to—"
"Olivia," Rose interrupted sternly.
"—the moon," the girl finished without pausing. Cole saw Rose sigh heavily and heard her mutter, "Thank goodness."
Laughing inside, Cole trailed after Rose and the kids. Everything seemed to be calm and normal when they rounded the corner of the house. All the adults had returned to their respective groups. Violet was now sitting beside the oldest woman, holding hands and chatting easily. Yet, Rose's cheerful demeanor gradually altered as she stepped further into the backyard. Cole remarked the change with a frown.
Why?
Why, when she was alone with him, though nervous, she seemed more lively, more affable, not so overly tense? It was the same when she sat at her piano...or even around kids. But, walking through this crowd of folks—they were her family!—or standing in her store, the life in her eyes faded. Why did those things give her such pain, so much stress?
He took his eyes off her and looked around, studying the faces of her loved ones as if he studied the structure of an extensively composed story plot. Searching for the gaps in exposition, a leaky characterization, depressions in the timeline that do not fit with the rest of the action...the rhythm of the voice.
He saw Rose's oldest sister, Josie smile fondly at her children. He saw her father flick a glance at both Cole and Rose returning together, and then glanced at his wife, who returned the look with compassion and a gentle rub of Mr. Kirkland's shoulder. Cole also noticed that Jak attempted to intimidate him with a glare, and that Zack sat off by himself in a lawn chair with a beer bottle dangling from his fingers. The other person who noticed Rose's return was Violet.
But with Violet, it wasn't so much the attention to Rose that Cole regarded, as it was the blatant attempt to not heed her sister's presence. The smile and body posture was the same. The sudden tilt of the chin and raised parlor in the cheeks gave her away. She was still angry...angry at something. From the past? From recent events? But angry at whom? Rose? Or because of Rose?
Cole trailed behind Rose and the kids to the lawn, where the basket was set down and Tristan arrived with the towel. Soon enough, the kittens gained all the attention. Rose gave the kids strict instructions about handling the kittens too much and stepped back...fading into the background. The adults did their oohing and aahing along with the children. Jak, on the other hand, grimaced in disgust.
Cole heard him whisper to Rose, "What the hell are those things?"
Rose elbowed her brother. "They're kittens, Jak. Be nice."
"You mean, like, tiny cats?"
Rose gave Jak an annoyed look. "Who doesn't like kittens? They're adorable."
"They're tiny cats, Rose," he returned.
"You are so weird," Rose sighed.
Violet walked up behind them. "That's the understatement of the year. Nice touch, Rose, bringing kittens."
Rose's body tensed. "I can't leave them alone," she explained quietly. "They have to be fed every couple of hours."
Violet moved closer to the little ones on the ground and peeked over Olivia's shoulder. "Always the paradigm of goodness...aren't you, Rose?"
Zack, sitting nearby in his chair, suddenly bolted up. "Maybe, Violet, all our choices would have been different if we were all a little more kind-hearted." He gave Violet a pointed look and walked away.
Cole noticed the dark flush rise in Violet's cheeks, Rose's nervous downcast eyes and Zak's averted gaze. What was that about? The conflict in this story simmered just under the surface, and it had all the elements of a jilted, jealous love triangle. Was this a glimpse of the troubles between the sisters? Violet wanted Zack; Zack preferred Rose; and Rose was caught between them?
When Violet regained her composure, she turned around, angry eyes set on her sister, but she abruptly smiled at Cole. "How long, did you say, you've known Rose?"
Taken slightly aback, Cole glanced at Rose, who now eyed Violet with wary curiosity. He answered, "About a week. We met at my uncle's funeral."
"A week?" Violet exclaimed. "And she's bringing you home to meet the family already? Wow, if I'd done that, Daddy would ask me if I was pregnant." She smiled coyly, but there was a malicious undertone.
Her blunt, yet strategic, words had different effects on those around her. Jak frowned with censure, Rose gasped with offense, and Cole stared at her, wondering if there were rules to this game of hers. So, he calmly replied, "How would you know if you're pregnant after only one week?"
That caused the short-haired twin to blink. Her smile faltered, but then it was back, wider than ever. "You're quick," she said, and this time no bitterness entered her tone. "What do you do for a living?"
"I'm an editor."
A hint of actual intelligence came across her expression. Huh. Maybe Violet Kirkland wasn't as ditsy as that first impression suggested. Obnoxious, yes, but not insipid. Cole saw it and wondered if her vociferous behavior could be an act.
"An editor? I would have never guessed. Do you write, too?" she asked, with no mockery, at all now.
"Not really," Cole answered, scratching his chin. "I started out as a copyeditor for a magazine...grammar, formatting, the mechanics. Now, I'm independent and offer a variety of pre-publishing services, but mostly editing."
Violet nodded. Usually, he received vacant stares when he talked about his work, but Violet's eyes studied him diligently. "Where did you go to school?"
"University of Houston."
"And are you from Houston, or did you just attend school there?"
Cole answered, "Born and raised there," as he wondered about this change in Violet. It was so visible and audible that anybody could see it. Rose certainly did—she looked hopeful—but Jak watched his sister with even more suspicion.
Violet went on, "I haven't been to Houston in years. Rose, remember that trip? Daddy had that consultation job at NASA? When was that? Ninth grade?"
Rose stepped forward, a delighted look in her green eyes. "Yes. The summer after ninth grade. We went to the space center, the aquarium, that amusement park—"
"It was so hot, I remember that," Violet said to Cole. Rose closed her mouth and backed up, clasping her hands in front of her.
Cole decided that Rose had been ignored long enough. He smiled at her. "My mother loved the aquarium. She would take me there all the time when I was a kid. Her favorite was the sunken temple exhibit. Did you see that one?"
Rose's fingers tightened as she glanced at her sister. "I...I don't remember," she said quietly. "Would you excuse me? I should help Momma set the table." She pivoted on her toes and headed back into the house.
Violet sighed loudly. "I wonder if she knows."
"Knows what?" he asked, still staring after Rose.
"That you're in love with her."
He turned around. "I'm sorry?"
Violet shrugged. "The boys always liked Rose. Men fall in love with her at a glance. I've seen it happen a thousand times. I've had to watch her seduce them for years, and she doesn't even know that she's doing it." Those Kirkland green eyes sparked with ancient asperity. "Tell me, Cole...what snagged you? Was it that sweet, little innocence? The demure smile? The sad, lonely cat-lady persona? What? What was it? What got you?"
For the first time that afternoon, Cole saw resemblance between the twins. It was not simply the exterior. Deep inside of Violet, there was a stranded, scared little girl. Just as Rose was envious of Violet, Violet was jealous of Rose. The emotions were not entirely synonymous, just as the twins were not entirely identical.
That gave Cole the courage to admit, "It was—is everything."
"But you haven't told her."
"She doesn't want to hear it," he said, as much to himself as to Violet. "And I've only known her for a week, remember?"
Violet sighed again, but this time, it had the inflection of sympathy. "Well, just remember what I said, they all fall in love with her, and one of these days, she'll notice. It might not be you she choses."
Cole digested those words as she left him and returned to visit more with her family. When Zack came back with another beer, handing it to Cole this time —"These Kirkland women are all beautiful, but they drive a man crazy, just the same," Zack said.—Cole silently agreed and drank that one.