“I bought a Swiffer to use instead. I cleared out the pantry; it’s hanging in there on its own hook. ”
Sorrow clomped the rest of the way up the stairs. “What do you mean, you cleared out the pantry?”
She didn’t have the energy to get into it with her little sister. Cleaning was therapeutic, and she’d just as soon continue in peace. “There was stuff in there that didn’t belong,” she said dismissively.
“Like what kind of stuff?”
“Like…duct tape. And envelopes. Stuff that belongs in the garage. Or the office. ” She slammed the trunk lid down. “Look, I’m not up for this right now, okay?”
“Easy, Laura. ” Sorrow put up a quelling hand that, at the moment, felt patronizing.
“Don’t tell me to take it easy. Who do you think will get the blame if we go out of business? Me, that’s who. ” She smooshed the lid all the way closed and clicked the hasps shut.
“We’re not going to go out of business because there’s duct tape in the pantry. ”
Laura felt the emotion clawing at her throat again. Controlling her environment helped her feel in control of her destiny—why was that so hard to understand? “I need to get this place in better order. ”
“Hey,” Sorrow said, “don’t forget I’m here, too. Just because you’re the manager doesn’t mean you’re in this alone. ”
Her sister had obviously sensed her distress, but instead of comforting her, the sympathy only made her feel teary again. “Thanks,” she said tightly. “But I like chores like this. ” And she did. Dealing with practicalities kept the demons at bay.
Sorrow knelt to her eye level. “I want you to be able to focus on business stuff, remember?”
“Do I remember? I was up all night with business stuff. ” She leaned an elbow on the trunk, suddenly heavy with exhaustion. She’d spent hours pulling together a hard-core, bulleted presentation outlining the next steps for confronting the Jessups’ treachery. There was so much to consider: budget, publicity, outreach, growth estimates. She was approaching the management of her family business no less seriously than she had in her job as interim vice president. Though look how that had turned out.
“Just…don’t forget I’m here to help. I can totally deal with stupid stuff like cleaning out the pantry. ”
“You don’t always know where everything goes. ”
She realized how bratty that’d sounded and waited for Sorrow to take the bait, but her sister just sighed, telling her gently, “You can’t control everything. ”
Couldn’t she?
But she didn’t say that. Her sister would never understand. Sweet, loving Sorrow had always been everyone’s favorite. Lately, Dad was always going on about his talented chef daughter, or his brave Marine son. But when it came to Laura, the only praise she ever got was how on top of things she was. On it.
Our Laura’s on it.
And now that the welfare of the entire family business rested on her shoulders, she dared not consider what would happen if, for once, she wasn’t on it.
But she wasn’t about to go there with Sorrow, so instead she told her, “Look, I think I put the dustpan in a charity box in the garage. ” She turned away, scooting in front of the next trunk, effectively ending the conversation.
She heard her sister sigh, pause, then head back down the stairs.
Laura didn’t have a shrink, but at the moment, this kind of therapy would have to be enough. After two more trunks, it was.
Until Helen tracked her down later, shattering her hard-won calm.
Laura had gone into the tavern kitchen to hide out—anyone who knew her knew she didn’t hang in the kitchen if she could help it, but she was craving some of Sorrow’s homemade hummus, so she’d given herself a moment to sit on the counter, crunch on carrots and dip, and scan the seventy e-mail messages visible on her cell.
Sorrow had sensed her state of mind and given her a wide berth for the rest of the afternoon, but Billy had no such clue. “How’s the new phone?” he asked. He was spending his lunch break as usual, stealing some time with her sister as she did her advance dinner prep.
Laura frowned at the thing. “Jury’s still out. ” She’d splurged on a new smart phone, but so far it just showed her all the work she had to do, and yet the tiny screen made it barely possible to do anything about it. “Can you believe…thirty-two new e-mails in just the past three hours?”
“Thirty-two?” Sorrow stowed a platter of chicken breasts in the fridge to marinate. “Who’s sending all the e-mail?”
Laura shrugged. “Reservations. Lodge inquiries. Spam. Plus I’m working on some other stuff. I’m in touch with the California Office of Historic Preservation. ” She caught the look that shot between Billy and her sister and quickly added, “If there’s some error in Eddie’s building plans, any technicality at all, it’ll void the whole permit and they’ll need to start over. ”
She’d learned that trick from Ruby and Pearl when she’d gone down to the Town Hall to investigate the historic registry. She still needed to stop by with some flowers to thank them.