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A nauseous feeling churned in her stomach. Cal. Cal had struck again.
She’d dropped Finn off at his house earlier that morning and then had spent the rest of the day ironing out some last-minute details for a wedding scheduled for next weekend. But in reality she had just been killing time. She hadn’t wanted to return home yet. Had tried to keep alive the memory of her weekend with Finn. Had pretended, for just a little longer, her brothers weren’t waiting for her, expecting her home.
But maybe she should have spent another night in Niagara. Maybe then her house would have been restored without her even knowing it had been trashed.
She got out of her car just as Mark walked out onto the porch landing.
She sidestepped her way to the front door doing her best to avoid a brown, chunky splotch on the interlocking brick path.
“What happened to the house?” she demanded as Cal came out to join them.
Mark shot Cal a raging glare. “That little asshole decided to have a party. I got a call in the middle of the night from Mrs. Green down the street telling me if I didn’t come and break it up she’d call the cops.”
Veronica’s jaw tightened. “You were supposed to be here last night. Where were you?”
Mark shrugged. “I had a few things to take care of.”
And here she’d thought with Mark back in the picture she’d be able to enjoy a weekend away without guilt, without having to worry about Cal and his poor decisions. She couldn’t have been more wrong.
“No one said I couldn’t have a party.”
She turned to glare at Cal. He was being a real asshole.
“What happened here last night was not a party, it was a disaster,” Mark cut in before she could explode. “How could you do this to your sister’s house? To your home?”
“This is your home, too,” Veronica reminded Mark sharply.
A pang of regret flittered across Cal’s eyes but only for a second. “Who cares anyway? It’s just a matter of time before V makes me leave. She’s too preoccupied with work and—”
He didn’t finish his sentence. Judging by his expression, he had dearly wanted to announce her relationship with Finn. But even in the heat of the moment the kid knew where to draw the line, and she was grateful for small favors.
But what the hell did he mean, she’d make him leave?
“No one has ever said you have to leave. And I am not preoccupied. In case you’ve forgotten, for the last eight years I’ve taken care of you, made sure you have a roof over your head, an education, a future. And this is the thanks I get?”
“Well, I’m so sorry I’ve gotten in the way of you having a life of your own. I guess that’s why Mom gave us all away. She was too busy focusing on her own life, too, to give a crap about any of us.”
“That is so not fair.” Tears welled in Veronica’s eyes and a sharp pain stabbed at her chest. “I’ve done everything I possibly could for you and Ali.”
When Cal and Ali had shown up on her doorstep, her heart had broken. She’d known every worry line on their faces, every thought and fear that ran through their minds, because she had felt and thought the same things. She had vowed on that day she’d never let another worry or fear take over their lives. And today, she realized she had done a shitty job of it when it came to Cal.
He remained quiet. Just as he always was. Never giving away one scrap of true emotion. He was just like Mark in that regard. Except Cal masked it with bitterness rather than the casual shrug of a shoulder.
“Are you going to tell us what’s going on?” Mark asked Cal.
“What do you care?” Cal lips pressed tight together. “I’m out of here.” He pushed past Mark and in a final move of defiance walked across the littered lawn rather than the stone path, kicking at an empty beer can but not bothering to pick it up.
“Aren’t you going to apologize to your sister? Or clean up this mess?” Mark yelled, but Cal had already disappeared behind the tall hedges of her neighbors’ front yard.
Veronica wanted to let her stinging tears fall. She couldn’t take much more of his attitude. Or his insolence. But she was at a loss as to what to do about it.
A car drove down the quiet street. It was the only sound heard above the birds that chirped from the treetops. She looked over at Mark, who stared silently at the spot where Cal had walked away. He looked just as upset as she felt.
Her phone buzzed in her purse. She pulled it out and read a text message from Sterling. Food tasting at carmel @ 5 p.m. See you there.
One aggravation was quickly replaced by another. Who the hell had scheduled a food tasting without her? She was the wedding planner, for crying out loud! She glanced at her watch. It was almost half past three.
Less than five minutes ago she had pulled up to her home with stars in her eyes. Despite knowing she had to break off her affair with Finn, and soon, it hadn’t stopped her from floating on a euphoric cloud. Their weekend had been spectacular. World-shattering. But now, anger bubbled under the surface and she was one more annoyance away from exploding.
