Sisters by Choice (Blackberry Island #4)(17)

She drove to the real estate office, showed ID and picked up her key. The house was in one of the central neighborhoods, about as far from the ocean as you could get and still be on the island. Not that Sophie cared about the view—when was she going to be home?

She parked in front of a one-story ranch-style house. The yard was small but in decent shape. Inside, the place was clean but plain. The kitchen was about twenty years old, as were the bathrooms. One of the three bedrooms had an attached three-quarter bath, making it a master of sorts. The rooms were all sparsely furnished.

She went out to the garage and saw that her personal belongings had indeed been delivered. Twenty boxes were neatly stacked. She shifted them until she found one labeled “Linens” and opened it. The sight of her familiar sheets and blankets comforted her.

She made her bed, hung up towels and then forced herself to head to the grocery store. After that she would go to bed early so she could be back at work by six the following morning. The sooner she got CK Industries up and running, the better she would feel. Maybe then the gnawing sense of nothing being right would finally go away.



Chapter Five


Heather knew that one day she wanted to meet someone special, get married and have a couple of kids. But for her, “one day” was years in the future. She felt too young by half and with no clear plan for her future, taking on responsibility for another life—beyond her mother, of course—seemed daunting. But her friend Gina had done exactly that without a second thought. She’d gotten married out of high school to the only guy she’d ever dated. She and Quincy had wanted kids right away so a year after their wedding, Noah had been born. Now the happy guy was fourteen months old and quickly morphing from baby to toddler.

Daphne, Heather’s other close friend, had taken the college route. She was wrapping up her sophomore year at the University of Washington. She made it home a few weekends a quarter and spent summers on the island.

Both of them had done something with their lives, Heather thought as she sat across from Gina at her friend’s kitchen table. Both of them knew what they wanted and had made it happen. Heather, on the other hand, had little to show for the past two-plus years of her life. She was working harder than ever, but going nowhere. The only thing that was looking up was her new job with Sophie.

“You have to be really upset about school,” Gina said sympathetically. “I know you wanted to take two more classes spring quarter.”

Heather didn’t talk about her mother with very many people, but Gina and Daphne knew the truth.

“I’m so angry,” Heather admitted. “She always does that. Just when I get a little bit ahead, she swoops in and takes the money.”

“She doesn’t take it,” Gina murmured before shrugging. “I’m just saying, Heather. You have to take responsibility for your part in it.”

“You think I should tell her no.”

“Everyone thinks you should tell her no.” Gina’s expression turned sympathetic. “I get that’s easy for me to say. She’s your mom and you’ve been taking care of her all your life. Walking away from that, from who you are, would be really hard. I just hate to see you trapped.”

“Me, too,” Heather said, wishing there was a bright side to her situation. “Once I get my degree, things will be different. I’ll have options.” She managed a smile. “Plus, with you taking a class with me in the fall, I have to go back to school or you’ll kick my ass.”

Gina grinned. “I don’t see myself as the ass-kicking type, but I’ll make an exception for you.” Her humor faded. “I wish you could move out. You need to get away from her.”

“I know but it’s not that easy to do.”

“I just don’t understand her and how she treats you. It’s not right. I’d never ask Noah to give up something for me. I want to make his life better.”

Heather knew that Gina was trying to be supportive, but the words weren’t helping. For as long as she could remember, she’d been the reason Amber wasn’t happy. Her mother always talked about everything she could have done and been, if only she hadn’t gotten pregnant.

For a long time Heather had believed every word her mother said. She’d grown up feeling guilty for being alive. Over time her views had shifted and now there were days when she knew that whatever happened, her mother would find a way to be unhappy and blame someone else. It was simply who Amber was. But those days didn’t come often enough. There were times when Heather wondered if she was ignoring the obvious—that in some ways she was just like her mother, blaming someone else for her circumstances. Leaving at sixteen or even eighteen had been impossible, but what about now? She was twenty. She had a car. She could get a job somewhere else. So why not just drive across Getaway Bridge and keep going?

Part of the reason was she no longer had a nest egg. With the six thousand dollars gone, she was left with whatever she got on her next paycheck. There was also the nagging suspicion that her mom couldn’t make it without her. Amber didn’t pay any of the bills, didn’t buy food. If Heather left, how would she survive? And while she could tell herself that wasn’t her problem, she couldn’t make herself believe it. Which meant Gina was right—she was trapped, and she couldn’t seem to find a way out.

  CK Industries was bustling. Sophie enjoyed the activity, knowing it meant her company was getting back on its feet. Today she was hosting a local job fair and the employment agency was sending her candidates for a bookkeeping position and an office manager.