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Sisters Ever After

By Erin Stevenson

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PROLOGUE

Brock Hennessey signed the note, wrapped it over some folded bills, and stuffed it in an envelope. He turned it over and scrawled a name on the front. Carmen. A pang of remorse squeezed his heart. He shoved another couple of bills in and laid it on the kitchen counter, next to the front door key.
The moment his eyes landed on the digital clock on the stove, the readout turned from 11:59 to midnight. He took one more look around the small, furnished duplex to make sure he’d gotten everything. It hadn’t been much, but it had been a home. Their home.
Brock walked over to the couch and gazed down at his sleeping daughter. A wave of fierce protection rolled through his veins. He prayed to God he was doing the right thing.
As quietly as possible, Brock scooped her into his arms, flipped off the feeble overhead light, and closed the door on this chapter of their life.
He was anxious to get on the road, but there was one last thing he had to do.
Twenty minutes later, he knelt beside a small headstone, tears running down his face. His daughter slept in the idling car just feet away.
He kissed his fingers and touched them to the name on the cold, engraved marble. TJ. Dark hair and dancing eyes swam before him.
Brock returned to the car without looking back, put it in gear, and drove away. They needed to be as far away from San Diego as possible before morning.





 
CHAPTER 1
Gianna Harper skimmed her feet along as carefully as possible, imagining herself on a tightrope. Her laptop and purse were slung over one shoulder, umbrella and keys clutched in her fist. Two plastic bags dangled from her other arm, the hand of which cradled a bakery box, on top of which balanced a foam cup, a curl of steam rising from the opening in the lid.
She probably should have split it into two trips, but there was that unwritten rule about getting everything in one trip. Gianna was certain if she didn’t, she would be letting the universal sisterhood down. And you didn’t tempt Fate by letting the sisterhood down.
It was Monday, it was pouring, and now she had to make a decision in order to get the back door to her hair salon unlocked and open, and her valued cargo safely inside. Something had to give.
Gianna had washed her long, dark hair that morning, but planned to dry and style it at the shop before her first customer arrived, so the decision was easy enough. The umbrella hit the pavement and bounced away, carried by a gust of wind. She’d retrieve it later.
Her hand shook as she inserted the key into the lock, but her focus wasn’t on that task. It was completely on the foam cup. Gianna couldn’t wait to take the first long, hot swallow, to feel the ambrosia flushing through her body. That was the only way she could face Monday.
Door open, light on, twelve steps to the counter. Almost there.
Her phone blasted a ring tone, and Gianna flinched. “For the love of…!” As she grabbed for the cup, everything else tumbled out of her arms onto the floor, and she scrambled in her pocket for the phone.
“Hello?”
“Mrs. Harper?”
Was she even a Mrs. anymore? Gianna ignored the shaft of pain that pierced her heart and pushed a piece of dark, dripping hair off her forehead. “Yes?”
“Hi, this is Ms. Fleming calling from the school. Paisley says she forgot her lunch.”
Not again. Gianna rubbed a hand over her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I put it next to her backpack, but then didn’t check to see if she had put it inside.” Gianna closed her eyes and lifted the cup to her lips. She took a long drink and nearly sighed out loud. Her daughter was almost ten. Shouldn’t she be more responsible? No doubt Paisley’s nose was buried in a book. Gianna had been rushing around trying to pull her own things together and didn’t follow up.
Gianna swallowed. “Can she just buy a hot lunch today?”
There was a pause. “For today. But no more until her account is paid off. That will put it over eighty-five dollars.” The woman’s voice had gone softer and was laced with pity.
She took another deep drink and rubbed her temple. She had no idea it had gotten that high, but there was that zoo field trip last week. “I—I’ll take care of that today.” Gianna’s resources were drying up. Last week she’d written a check from hers and Greg’s joint account that bounced and had no idea why. There was always plenty of money in there. She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Thank you, Ms. Fleming. I really appreciate it.”
There was a beat of uncomfortable silence. “I know it’s been hard for you, Mrs. Harper. If you want, you can apply for assistance—”
“No,” Gianna cut in sharply. She straightened her spine and winced. “I mean, that won’t be necessary. I appreciate your—” She fumbled for her next words. “—concern.” The words sounded hollow in her ears.
The truth was, Gianna didn’t appreciate much of anything from anyone in Canadian Meadows right now. She’d always considered the town of almost seven thousand to be just right, not too small, but not too big. The close-knit sense of community and neighborly concern that she’d grown to love over the past eight years now mocked her. Greg Harper hadn’t been well-liked, but his widow would survive and carry on, without any charity or pity. Gianna would make sure of it.
She ended the call and tossed her phone on the counter, then gathered her items from the floor. She lifted the lid of the box and breathed a sigh of relief that the two muffins nestled there were still intact.
The light caught the large diamond on her wedding ring, and Gianna’s heart gave a painful squeeze. A wave of grief descended upon her, and she sank onto the stool at the counter and covered her mouth in a futile effort to hold in a sob.
She wasn’t even thirty yet and was a widow. It was surreal. Gianna still couldn’t believe it. She closed her eyes and let her mind go to a place that she’d desperately tried to keep it from for the past thirty-four days, filled with thoughts of Greg. She still couldn’t accept that she would never see, hear, or touch him again. Never see the appreciative light in his eyes when he arrived home after a trip. Never go on another date night or romantic moonlit walk. Never hear his terrible singing in the shower.
And never know what he’d been hiding from her for the last few months.
Gianna reached across the counter for a wad of tissues and mopped her tears. She had no idea what she was going to do.
The back door flew open, and she looked up as her co-worker and best friend, Vanessa, blew in. “Is this your umbrella?”
“Ah, yeah. Just throw it in the corner.” Gianna coughed and turned away to hide her blotchy face.
Vanessa was one of the most intuitive people Gianna had ever known. She walked over and opened her arms. “Oh, sweets.” Gianna loved Van’s pet name for her.
No words were needed. She let the tears fall as Van held her. When she was spent, she straightened and reached for more tissues. “I brought muffins.”
Vanessa closed her eyes and moaned. “Lemon blueberry or chocolate cheesecake?”
Gianna walked back to the counter and flipped a smile over her shoulder. “One of each. You choose.”
Van shot her a sly smile. “You know me too well, girlfriend.” She hung up her jacket and took a knife from the drawer. “We’ll split both of them.”
Gianna reached out and gave her a quick hug. “Probably the last ones for a while.” She lifted her cup. “And my budget definitely can’t handle many more of these.”
Vanessa’s green eyes went wide as she stepped to the small coffee maker and put a filter in the basket. “You mean you’re going to force yourself to drink this swill the rest of us live with?”
Gianna grimaced. “I may not have a choice.” She shook her head and sighed.
Vanessa finished preparing the coffee and flipped the switch on. “I’m so sorry, sweets.” She spread her hands out. “If I had any extra money at all—”
Gianna waved her off. “You know I wouldn’t take it.” She tilted her head. “Your hair turned out great.”
Van ran her fingers through the long waves that fell to her shoulder blades. “Not too much blond?” They’d shot her natural brunette locks through with heavy golden streaks.
Gianna shook her head. “It’s perfect. There’s so much depth to it.” They’d experimented with two different sparkling shades of gold.
Van shimmied her shoulders. “I hope Reid likes it. That’s all that matters.”
There was something in her best friend’s eyes that Gianna hadn’t seen before. “Is this getting serious?”
Van put her hands together as if in prayer. “I sure hope so.”
Gianna smiled. “I’m so happy for you. He seems like a great guy.” Van’s love life was just beginning, and Gianna’s was over. Unbidden tears gathered in her eyes.
Vanessa stepped to her side and squeezed her shoulder. “Are you getting any answers at all?”
Gianna wiped her eyes and took a bite of muffin. “Greg’s business dealings are so much more complicated than I ever realized.”
Van nibbled on her lower lip. “I’m sure,” she murmured.
That was all Gianna was willing to share, for now. She washed down the muffin with a sip of coffee. “I have an appointment with his accountant in Kalispell on Thursday.” Surely by then the man would have discovered why the check bounced. Gianna was sure Greg had just moved their money into one of his other accounts. He’d done that before with some of it, just not all. She shook off a feeling of unease.
“Maybe you can straighten things out enough to get at least part of the insurance money released,” Vanessa mused.
Gianna’s stomach sank like a stone. Not until she got answers from the detective in charge of the investigation into Greg’s accident. Fortunately, details about the single-vehicle crash had been withheld from the press, and Gianna had kept things completely to herself.
“I hope,” she said vaguely. Gianna finished the last of her breakfast and dusted the crumbs off her hands. “Okay, what’s on the schedule for today?” She opened the window on her computer screen. “Two perms this morning, five wash and cuts, and a full color.”
“Is that Sher Graham?” Vanessa asked around her last bite of muffin.
Gianna nodded, and the two friends exchanged an eye roll. “Maybe we can convince her to tone it down this time,” Gianna said with a laugh. Why sixty-five-year-old Sher thought flame orange complemented her pale skin was beyond them.
Vanessa peered over her shoulder. “Afternoon’s full, too. And that’s when we get a lot of walk-ins.”
Gianna let out a breath. “I’m okay with that. We need the business.” She slapped a high-five on her friend’s outstretched hand. Then her optimism turned to dread as she scrolled through her email. “Oh no.”
Vanessa’s brow wrinkled with concern. “What?”
“The rental on Lake Helena Road. The tenant’s father had a heart attack back in Minnesota and isn’t expected to survive. He’s leaving this morning.” The guy was a contract worker and Gianna hadn’t expected him to stay long term, but she was counting on the income from the rentals to keep food on the table and the lights on while she waited for Greg’s estate to untangle itself.
Vanessa squeezed her arm. “So, you’ll find another renter.”
Gianna’s heart filled with dread. “Not with the way things have been going over the last year.” She had never been involved in the day-to-day dealings of Greg’s property management business, but had a high-level understanding of it. A couple of the properties had sat empty for months, one after they’d had to go through the eviction process and put out several thousand dollars to repair the damage. Greg had just gotten that one rented a week before the accident.
Van’s expression brightened. “Why don’t you sell off a couple of the properties? Fewer hassles, and it would tide you over until the insurance money comes through.”
Gianna winced. “My name isn’t on any of them. I can’t do anything until the estate settles.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
A wave of helplessness washed over her. “What am I going to do with these properties, Van? I can’t handle all this along with the salon. I don’t even know how many there are, and no one at Greg’s office seems to know who’s doing the maintenance on them.” No one equated to the woman who answered the phone and shuffled papers. There were a few others who had worked with him, but Gianna didn’t really know them.
The words came pouring out. “In the last week, there was an electrical problem at one house, and I had to pay overtime wages to a plumber to fix a bad leak at another. The front steps on the house over on Sycamore are crumbling and I’m trying to get bids to replace the concrete before someone falls down and sues me for negligence. One of the trees in the backyard of the Apple Valley house is almost dead, and those tenants have been calling nonstop. A strong wind could send it toppling onto the house, but I have no idea what to do about that.”
Vanessa rubbed her arm. “I’m sorry, sweets. I wish I knew someone who could help.”
Hot tears licked at Gianna’s eyes and she blew out a breath. “It’ll be okay. I’ll figure it out. Have I told you lately how much I appreciate you? I couldn’t—” The lump in her throat cut her words off.
“Hey, girl.” Vanessa’s arms surrounded her with the comfort only one’s best friend could give. “You’re going to be fine. I’m not going anywhere. We’ll get through it together.” She patted Gianna’s damp hair. “Come on, let’s get you dried and combed out.”
Gianna stepped back and wiped her eyes. She squeezed Vanessa’s hands. “I’m so thankful for you.”

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