Page 55 of Cabin Fever

She's my sister and even she was willing to leave me behind.

"I thought you had grabbed some cash and took a cab. I had no idea you actually ran across the mountain with nothing. I'm the reckless one, not you. It honestly never occurred to me that you were in danger. I was concerned that maybe you ran off with some guy and might change your mind after a few days. That's why I left the envelope—in case you needed something for a plane ticket."

Bea was right. I was the responsible one. I thought people would like me more for being good and doing what I was told. Instead, I got used by men, and everyone else assumed I was fine when I could have died cold and alone on a mountain.

"What did you tell everyone?"

Her mischievous smile appeared. "I told everyone you ran off with a man. Because I honestly thought you had." She blushed and her gaze fell to the coffee cup in front of her. "Then I said you and your lover ran off to some exotic locale, but I wouldn't tell them where. Mom was surprised, but I caught her getting her dreamy-eyed stare. I knew I'd tugged at her romantic side with the part about running away with a lover."

I sighed. Leave it to Bea to make my life sound like a Hollywood movie.

There was one question I shouldn't ask but craved to know. "What about Derrick?"

Not that I cared what he thought, but I wondered if he was relieved.

"He played the devastated fiancé part to aT. Father even called him son."

I gasped. That wasn't good.

"Did Dad ask about me?"

Bea shook her head and took another sip before placing the mug back down. "No, of course not. You know him. But when he hears you've landed Carter Fitzwilliam, he will forget all about Derrick."

That made Bea's smile turn into something clownish.

"Carter's just a farmer."

I turned my head and stared out the window. It was foolish of me not to realize that Bea would easily put the puzzle pieces together about Carter.

My sister's eyes widened and she leaned forward. "I thought you knew . . . Why else would you be helping around the farm? I never took you for a woman to play a rich man, but if I had been in your shoes, Ollie, I probably would have done the same thing. I mean, he's a Fitzwilliam after all. The only better catch would be a prince, and they seem to all be taken."

She's still angry that Prince Harry got married. Not that Bea ever met the man, but that was on her life to-do list.

"But he's not related to the Attorney General Dashiell Fitzwilliam. That last name is common. I'm sure there's lots of Fitzwilliams all over the country."

Was I saying that for her sake or mine?

"Would you two ladies like more than just coffee?" Debbie appeared, startling me.

"Can I have the salad and a side of pancakes?" I handed off the menu.

"Do you have bacon?"

I couldn't help but grin at my sister's question. My mother didn't just torture me growing up by depriving me of fatty foods like bacon, but she also refused to let any of her children eat like a "commoner" as she called it.

My mother always felt she was meant for royalty, but she settled on my father and his money. Maybe that's where Bea's obsession with Prince Harry came from.

"Of course."

"A large plate of bacon."

Debbie nodded and grabbed the other menu before leaving.

"I'm starting to see the appeal of this place. Amazing coffee and all the bacon you want. Not to mention a rich guy posing as a farmer."

I was getting irritated by Bea's talk about Carter. He was a private man, and if it was true what Bea was implying about his past, then that's where it needed to stay.

"I think you're wrong about Carter."

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