Jealousy Junction, Cathryn Grant [free novel reading sites .TXT] 📗

and with that gorgeous house, my sister and I inherited equal value.

Even with all of that, I still wanted to be close to Tanya. She wanted nothing to do with me. She was that jealous. I guess that’s what I would call it. What is it when a father does his best to give his daughters what he thinks they will cherish—seed money for the business I’d already written a business plan for, and the house to Tanya and her fiancé, starting their new life, already dreaming of the four kids they wanted?

Her first message was brief.

Tanya: Jake and I called it off.

This was followed by about fifteen sobbing emojis, then three gifs of sobbing women.

I texted back that I was sorry to hear that. I wasn’t sure what else to say. I was genuinely shocked. I’d been living on Liars Island for nearly a year. I hadn’t even received a Christmas card from her, despite having sent mine extra early to be sure she had my address. She’d tossed my housewarming invitation without an RSVP, and I had no doubt she’d never bothered to enter my address into her phone.

Tanya: I’m on my way. Departure indefinite.

Alexis: What?

Tanya: To visit you, sis! To reconnect. I can’t wait to see your new digs. I want to cry on your shoulder. Not sure how long I’ll stay.

Apparently, she hadn’t tossed my address. I stared at the words on the screen. They started to jitter slightly. Part of me—the foolish, family-hungry, too-quick-to-forgive-and-hope-for-the-best part of me felt a thrill I couldn’t describe.

The wiser and close-to-falling-in-love part of me didn’t want to share my home with anyone but Jerry. What if he and I didn’t have any alone time while Tanya made herself welcome? What if I reconnected with my sister and Jerry felt neglected? And most important of all, what if Tanya and Jerry didn’t get along?

Chapter 2

Tanya showed up in an Uber just before dinner. I’d made spaghetti, which would be perfect for leftovers if she didn’t show up, a distinct possibility with her. She hadn’t given me an arrival time, and when I texted her back, the message didn’t go through. I guessed she was on the plane, but I didn’t know for sure.

Jerry had stopped by the Kitchen Bakery and picked up a luscious chocolate thing for dessert. Kitchen Bakery is right around the corner and up the street from Fresh Barons, but I didn’t think about dessert until I was home, elbow-deep in pasta and tomato sauce.

Jerry and I were sitting in the living room, sipping a very smooth Zinfandel. Jerry was commenting on the wine, which hadn’t been his thing until he met me.

Through the picture window that faced the water, the street, and a narrow green belt running between the house and the water, we saw a black compact car pull to the curb. The back door opened, and my sister climbed out. The driver popped the trunk, and we stood at the window watching as she unloaded three small bags, followed by two enormous suitcases.

“It looks like she’s moving in,” Jerry said. He leaned his head against mine. His tone was mild, only stating the facts, not revealing an opinion about what that might mean.

I moved away from him, put my glass on the table, and went into the kitchen. I turned down the heat under the spaghetti sauce and took a deep breath. As I exhaled, the doorbell chimed.

The minute the door opened and she saw us standing there, Tanya smiled. Her hair was down and loose, unlike my French braid, my preferred style for work, but I could see that our hair was still almost the same length.

Jerry glanced at me, then turned his attention back to Tanya. “You two look a lot alike.”

Tanya laughed. “Except I’m younger and—“

I had to give her that. She cut herself off before she said what she’d said for years when people met both of us at the same time—Except I’m younger and prettier.

“And who are you?” She smiled at Jerry. “Alexis said absolutely nothing about a gorgeous man being here to welcome me.”

Jerry laughed. “I’m with Alexis.”

“With, as in you live here?”

“He stays here most nights,” I said.

We ushered Tanya upstairs to the main floor and into the living room. I poured her a glass of wine while Jerry went back downstairs to the ground floor where my home office was located. He lugged her bags up the stairs and left them in the guest room.

Things went a bit more smoothly after that. Tanya managed to put a lid on her default mode around men—flirt first, find out who they are later. We talked easily. Tanya told us about her dramatic break-up with Jake, which had involved lots of tears and shouts and hugging, followed by sex for the last time or several last times. He told her she could keep the ring, but she’d pawned it because she was a little low on cash. I didn’t ask why. I definitely did not want to discuss money with my sister.

I told her about Fresh Barons and how excited I was about its popularity. Jerry told her stories of the two years he’d spent driving and camping around the country, meeting all kinds of strange and interesting characters, smoking weed with some, drinking beer with others, discussing the mysteries of the universe, and more with all of them.

Tanya laughed. “What mysteries, specifically?”

Jerry shrugged. “You know, trippy stuff your brain thinks of.”

“Whatever that means.” Tanya asked what he did for a living and when he said he managed a campground, she smiled in a way that looked slightly condescending, but she didn’t make any comments. Maybe I’d misread her expression.

We ate spaghetti and salad and garlic bread. We polished off the whole bottle of wine. I made coffee, and we ate the chocolatey thing, greedily licking our fingers when we were finished.

“So, are you going to be a campground manager forever?” Tanya asked. She winked at me. I