Page 52 of Cabin Fever

I came over to the table and stood beside Olivia. The blue flannel shirt Olivia wore may not be her sister's idea of fashion, but I thought she was stunning in my worn top.

She lightly swatted my shoulder and my heart warmed as she turned her smile toward me. "I did a good job and you know it. I'm doing a good job helping with the sheep, too."

"Hold up. Thesheep? Ollie, who are you and what have you done with my baby sister?"

"Baby? But I thought you said you and your sister were twins?"

I folded my arms and stared at Olivia. She nodded as if it was perfectly logical what both Bea and I said were true.

"She's two minutes older than me. Technically, I'm the youngest of the siblings."

"You had mentioned brothers at some point."

Both women nodded.

"I'm the youngest of eight. There's me, Bea, and our brother, Allistor. Then our half-brothers Konrad, Declan, Dane, and Cyrus. And our half-sister, Whitney."

My mouth fell open, and I stared in shock. That family could build a small village with those numbers.

"Wow. Keeping track of birthdays must be complicated."

"My assistant handles that," both women said at the same time, then laughed and pointed at each other. "Twinsies!"

"I said it first, Bea. Didn't I, Carter?"

"No, I did. I clearly said it first and won."

My head turned back and forth between the two women. "Won what?"

"A gold ring," Bea said and shrugged.

"If we both say the same thing at the same time, each of us has to yell twinsies. Whoever yells it first wins. The loser has to buy the winner a gold ring."

That was a tremendous waste of money. What lives did these women live that a silly bet about nothing warranted buying expensive jewelry as if it was a piece of candy?

Bea sat at the table admiring her nails waiting for me to reach a verdict while Olivia's cheeks flushed. Her eyes fell to the floor.

"You know what, Bea? I think we're too old for that game. How about instead of a gold ring, the winner gets a hot chocolate?"

Without taking her eyes off her fingers, Beatrice nodded. "I have too many gold rings anyway. I think you're right, Ollie. Except I'm not addicted to hot chocolate like you are. I much prefer coffee. Where can a lady get a good cup of coffee around here?"

Both Olivia and I stared at the mug sitting right in front of Beatrice.

"That's good coffee. I made it right before you arrived," I said.

She looked at the mug as if seeing it for the first time. "Oh, right. I forgot about this. I'm sure it's delicious."

Then the smile appeared. It was familiar and insulting. Bea didn't want to drink the coffee I made and her sister brought to her. She purposely ignored it, hoping we wouldn't notice. But that grin gave it all away.

He lips pursed and curved at the corners as her shoulders raised as if protecting her mouth from something horrible coming her way. I had seen that expression before . . . on her sister the day after she arrived.

It was snooty and bile crept up my throat as I watched her. I had forgotten how irritating the rich could be.

Bea brought the mug to her lips and after the first taste, her eyes widened. That guarded pose relaxed. "My God, this is incredible. Where did you get this coffee, and can you take me there so I can buy out the store?"

I chuckled under my breath as I watched Olivia raise her chin and puff out her chest as if she roasted the beans herself. "I'll take you there for lunch. It's the diner where you left me the envelope. They sell the coffee."

After another gulp, Beatrice stood and waved her hand. "Then we must go. I'm sure you two will be fine dressed in your denim at a diner. There isn't a dress code, is there?"

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