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The more she thought about it, the heavier her heart grew. Even though her sister swore for years that she hated Forrest, Norma Rose was sure to choose him over Ty. Any woman with a lick of sense would, and Norma Rose was far from senseless. Twyla couldn’t help but think of Ty. She understood the pain of loving someone who hadn’t loved her back in return. Her gaze settled briefly on Forrest as she told herself that would never happen again.
Forrest pulled the roadster into the resort parking lot and hadn’t even turned the car off before the front door of the resort flew open.
Norma Rose, looking as furious as a caged dog being poked with a stick, flew toward them shouting, “Who do you think you are?”
Chapter Seven
It took Twyla all of ten seconds to figure out Norma Rose was shouting at Forrest and that lit a fire in her belly.
“Don’t yell at him,” she shouted back, wrenching open the car door.
“I certainly will yell at him,” Norma Rose bellowed. “And I’ll yell at you. What were you thinking, going up in an airplane with him?”
“I was thinking it would be fun,” Twyla responded just as loud, meeting her sister toe-to-toe in the parking lot. “And it was.”
“Get inside,” Norma Rose barked. “I’ll deal with you in a minute.”
“No,” Twyla argued. “You can’t tell me what to do.”
“Oh, yes, I can, and I will, as soon as I send Forrest home.” Norma Rose flayed a finger toward Forrest, who’d also climbed out of the car. “Get back in your car and get out of here.”
“You can’t tell him what to do, either,” Twyla shouted.
Forrest, arriving at her side, told them both to be quiet. Ty, who’d arrived at Norma Rose’s side, did the same, but Twyla couldn’t care less who said what. She wasn’t exactly sure what Norma Rose had replied with, but just the movement of her sister’s lips increased the fury in her belly. Twyla shouted back whatever came to mind, and struggled against a powerful force that held her from stomping forward.
Norma Rose responded in turn. Their shouting continued loud and unbroken, and the grip on Twyla’s arms grew so tight she could barely move. Nothing was clear until an ear-splitting whistle sliced the air with a shattering effect.
As the silence settled, Twyla noted how Ty had a hold of Norma Rose’s arms from behind, as if keeping her from storming forward. A tingling sensation had Twyla looking over her shoulder. Sure enough, Forrest held her in pretty much the same manner that Ty held her sister. Their father was there, too, standing between them, and Josie, who still had her index finger and thumb in her mouth, was nearby. Twyla should have known that. Josie was the only one who’d ever mastered whistling. Other than Forrest, of course, whose hold Twyla attempted to twist out of, with no luck.
“You,” her father said, pointing at her. “Inside. I’ll talk with you in a few minutes.”
The smirk on Norma Rose’s face almost forced Twyla to respond. Forrest’s hold tightened a bit, but it was her father’s voice sounding out again that kept her mouth shut.
“Norma Rose,” he said, more sternly than Twyla had heard him speak in years. “Inside with your sister. And no more bickering.” Her father then shifted his stance to point at Forrest and Ty at the same time. “You two, I want in my office, now.”
Her father spun around then, gesturing toward the house.
Norma Rose and Ty moved first, and Josie scooted ahead to hold open the door.
“Good grief,” Twyla grumbled. “You’d think we were all ten.”
“What do you expect?” Forrest asked. “When you act like you are ten, you’re treated like you’re ten.”
“She started it,” Twyla insisted.
“Twyla,” he half groaned, half scolded.
“Go ahead, stick up for her.”
“I’m not sticking up for her,” Forrest said.
Twyla refrained from voicing her doubt. He’d always taken Norma Rose’s side. Huffing out a breath, she warned, “You’re in as much trouble as the rest of us.”
“No, I’m not,” he said. “I came here to meet with your father, and I’m going to do that.”
“Well, you’d best be prepared for a good talking-to.”
As they entered the resort, he pulled her to the side of the entranceway, near the long and narrow room where people hung their coats on winter nights. Before she could protest, Forrest spun her about and backed her into the tiny room.
“If you don’t want to be treated like a child,” he said, “don’t act like one.”
