Sisters by Choice (Blackberry Island #4)(76)

“I want to go with you to the meeting,” Sophie said.

Elliot and Maggie exchanged yet another glance. What was up with that? Did they have some kind of telepathic connection?

Elliot spoke first. “That might not be the best idea.”

“I don’t care.” Sophie smiled at them both. “My company, my rules.” She held up a hand. “I won’t get in the way. I just want to be in the room.”

Maggie sighed. “Why do I know you aren’t to be trusted?”

Sophie smiled. “I have no idea. It will be great. You’ll see.”

  Heather hadn’t seen her mother in nearly a week. She wasn’t sure who was avoiding whom, but the distance had been a break she’d needed—right up until she started to feel guilty about it.

She arrived home after her shift at the winery to find the front yard looking better than it had in years. The beds had been weeded and there were new plants all around. The walkway and front porch had been pressure-washed.

She opened the garage and put her bike inside, then started for the house. Her mother was waiting in the kitchen.

Heather froze, not sure if she should acknowledge her or just keep walking. Before she could decide, her mother looked up and smiled at her.

“Oh, good. You’re home. I spent the morning cleaning out the craft room. We’re going to have to sort through all that and decide what we want to keep and what we’re going to give away. I’m sure I’m never going to finish any of those rug kits. What was I thinking?”

Her voice was light, her tone pleasant. The contrast between happy, smiling Amber and the woman Heather usually lived with was startling.

“I’ve gone online and looked at apartments for rent,” Amber continued. “There are a few possibilities. I thought we’d go look at them. We’re going to need first and last month’s rent, plus a security deposit. I have a thousand dollars in my savings account, plus whatever you’ve saved.”

Her good humor faded. “I’m going to tell your grandmother she has to pay something to help us move. After all, she’s the one kicking us out onto the streets. You’d think she would be ashamed to be the cause of her own daughter and granddaughter being homeless, but she’s always been selfish.”

Heather’s tension eased. This sounded more like the Amber she knew.

“Where are the apartments?” she asked, hoping to distract her mother with the question.

“One’s only a couple of blocks behind the stores. That could be convenient. We’d be close to everything. And there’s one out by the crane habitat. It sounds really nice, with a view of the Sound.”

“Can we afford that?”

Amber smiled. “We’ll just have to go find out.”

Heather quickly dumped her backpack in her room and joined her mother in her car.

“Thanks for doing this, Mom,” she said as they drove to the first apartment building. “I’d thought Grandma had changed her mind, but when the real estate agent showed up, I knew she was moving forward with selling the house.”

“It’s ridiculous she’s doing that. Maybe she’s losing her mind. I wonder if I should fly down to Arizona and take her to a doctor to find out. If she’s senile then I could have her committed and take control of the estate.”

Her mother sounded far too excited about the idea, Heather thought, horrified at the line of reasoning.

“Grandma sounds perfectly sane to me.”

Amber rolled her eyes. “What would you know about it? Oh, is that the building? I don’t like the outside at all.”

Heather looked at the address of the three-story complex. There were several well-maintained apartments, a bit of lawn and plenty of parking. The paint was fresh and the roof looked new.

“I think it’s nice,” Heather said. “Let’s go inside.”

Amber sighed heavily as she parked. “We’re too close to a busy street. Plus, all the businesses in town are only a couple of blocks away.”

“You said it would be fun to be close to everything.”

“Not this close.”

They went to the manager’s office. A woman there showed them a map of the property and pointed out where they would find the vacancy.

“It’s a lovely corner unit, so extra windows.”

She explained about the amenities including communal barbecues, a gym and a community room.

“Extras we have to pay for that we don’t really need,” Amber grumbled as they walked through the property.

The manager showed them the apartment. The front door opened into a surprisingly large living room. There was an eating nook and a decent-size kitchen. The walls were freshly painted a pale cream and the carpet was a light beige. There was a little half bath by the kitchen, and a stacked washer and dryer.

Each of the bedrooms had an en-suite bathroom, along with a big window. Heather’s room was about the size she had now and the bathroom was much newer. Amber’s room was smaller than her current bedroom, a fact she pointed out right away.

“This is tiny,” she complained. “There’s barely any closet space.”

The manager smiled tightly. “Why don’t I wait outside while you two talk about the unit?”

She quickly walked away, leaving Heather and Amber in the bedroom.