Page 68 of Just For Her

“Quaint. You know what I mean. Because in the Fredriksson family, we’re quite proud of our Swedish heritage. It’s because of the strong Swedes that emigrated here that this state ishalfof what it is today. Hans Fredriksson is a legend in Central Oregon. Regardless of what others might tell you, Tove knows that of her ancestry.”

The Swedes also did lots of terrible stuff around here, but I guess we’re not gonna talk about that?Kayla wondered what some of the Native Oregonian tribes might say about the influx of Scandinavian immigrants in the 19thcentury. Or was Kiersten pretending that Kayla hadn’t learned enough about her home state to know that “intermingling” was a common form of conquering the local population? Kayla was but one of the millions of girls who grew up assuming she had Native American blood in her, although the family never talked about it to the point any details were forgotten.

“It’s my duty to ensure the family continues as usual long after I’m sick and gone,” Kiersten continued. “I need to know that Tove will be around to help the passing of the torch from me to Gretchen. I can only do so much to prepare her for her upcoming duties. While I’m healthy now, one simply never knows what could happen in the immediate future.”

“Is this a very roundabout way of asking me to leave?”

Kiersten’s knowing smile did not placate Kayla’s nerves. “Just because you and Tove cannot have children doesn’t mean I don’t look out for her future. You’re a sponge, Ms. Smith. From the moment you stepped into my town, you’ve been sucking up every bit of attention from my family that you can. Tell me, if Polly hadn’t suddenly shown up to reclaim my unfortunate nephew, would you have gone after him first?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. It was an accident, and I met Tove by chance.”

“Ms. Smith…” That soft voice soon transformed into the sinister tone of a woman who was used to getting her way, like a headmistress gazing into the impending fate of the unruliest girl in school.I have a feeling we’re not in the middle of a YA story, though.Kayla was trapped. She knew nothing good lurked before her. “Nothing is truly an accident. If it wasn’t that day, it would have been that weekend or that month. My family members are like the spider’s web stretching from one corner of the room to the other. Except it’s the whole town we control. Even here in Hood River, we have eyes and ears everywhere. I’m the first person to know when someone like you has moved into town. Unfortunately, the menfolk in my family are notorious for leaving the nest in favor of the black widow’s web. I have to pick my battles carefully. What would I rather deal with? A known quantity who has already done her part to humiliate herself with my nephew? Or a new child from Portland, who has no other goal beyond sucking every dollar she can out of my family?”

Kayla squared her shoulders, but she could not contain the pressure choking her heart. She knew better than to speak.

“Don’t fool yourself, Ms. Smith. It’s no accident that Polly came back to town the moment I was aware of your existence. My only mistake was overestimating Tove’s ability to resist the siren song you sang across my family. Tell me, do you really desire women, or is Tove a lover of convenience? Do you even know what she’s worth?”

Like a few million, at least.That was assuming Tove got a minimum from inheritance. Was that what this was about? Tove’s inheritance?

“I don’t care about her financial worth,” Kayla said with mustered dignity. “I love her. We’re taking things slowly, you’ll be happy to know, but I love her in ways I haven’t experienced with anyone else.”

“Including all of the older men you dated before moving here?”

Kayla gritted her teeth.

“Yes, I know about them as well. I had you looked into shortly after we first met at the country club. Quite the impressive list of older men interested in you for nothing besides your youth and looks. Yet what do I expect from a young woman who has made her living as a server while being too poor to afford her own place to live? There is humility to be found among the poor, but you, Ms. Smith, do not exhibit it.”

“So, what is this?” Kayla whispered, loud enough for Kiersten to hear with a slight turn of her head. “Are you trying to evict me? Because I don’t have the pedigree and financial background you expect? Do you expect an Isabella Frank for someone as old and outcasted as Tove?”

“Funny you should call her an outcast. We have done nothing but be kind and open our hearts to our dear Tove. It’s because of her some of my nieces and nephews have achieved as much as they have today. Perhaps my nephew Elias would have never met sweet Isabella. Mm. Don’t you think she’ll make a fine addition to this family? Her cheekbones are perfect.”

Kayla shuddered.Call yourself a fetishist and get it over with.

“She seems nice. I’ve only spoken with her for a few seconds. She recognized my dress.”

“How kind of her to speak with you. Then you know what kind of refined woman we wish to add to this family.”

“Ms. Fredriksson…” If Kayla were to be humiliated, then it would be on her terms. She would not lie in wait for Kiersten to attack. “Please get to the point. All of this passive-aggressive dancing is only making me think of the worst stereotypes regarding those of us from these parts.” She didn’t say that it coincided with Kiersten’s obsession with her Swedish heritage, but it crossed Kayla’s mind.

She almost feared that she had offended the woman who could make her life harder at any moment. Yet Kiersten smiled as if relieved to get on with it. “How much does it take to get you out of my town, Ms. Smith? What do I have to do to keep you away from our Tove? She’s had her fun, but you are not the kind of woman she needs. If there is such a woman. We may live in a new generation, but some of our contacts are more conservative than others. Not everyone is as understanding as we Fredrikssons when it comes to love out-of-the-norm.”

“So, it’s fine for the men to date and marry women half their age, but not for a woman to date another woman?”

“I did not say that. It’s never been truly acceptable for the men of this family to marry ‘half their age,’ but there is only so much to do about that. The women, however… I have quite the sway over them if you haven’t noticed. You should have seen my relationship with my dear cousin Lianne. We were two peas in a pod, although my own mother did not care for me associating with her in our youth. It’s such a shame what happened to her when she was barely twenty. She was set to go to college, the first woman in her direct line. Then she popped up pregnant shortly after dating some vagabond from another town. I did my best for her and Tove, you know. Whatever they needed, whenever, I procured. I’m the one footing her housing bill in Eugene right now. Did you know that? I don’t suppose Tove has mentioned much about it.”

“I am not shocked.” Kayla knew that this woman’s help came with conditions. She could only imagine what those were for Tove.

“So tell me what it would take to get you to leave my darling family alone. Do you want money, Ms. Smith? I can arrange it. Perhaps Tove will discover it later on, as she has such a keen eye for our finances, but she knows how it works. You’ll be long gone by the time she finds out. I dare say I could spare…” Kiersten pretended to mull it over as if she had not come up with a number long before this conversation. “A hundred thousand.”

Kayla’s mouth slightly dropped. “Dollars?”

“That’s what that implies, yes. Think of what you could do with so much money, tax-free. Pay off some debts. Join your brother in putting down a down payment on a much better, bigger house. Invest it, if you’re wise, and prepare for your future. I’d be happy to put you in personal contact with my investment firm. They would take good care of you.”

“That is a lot of money, yes.’ Already, Kayla wondered how much that was in interest from a savings account, although she had been around Tove long enough to know that was one of the worst things to do with so much money. “I could go back to school…” She instantly regretted saying that out loud, but the thought haunted her. She could forge an identity that Kayla Smith did not often afford.

“I’m not interested,” she said before reason got the best of her. “I’m happy with Tove, and regardless of what you might think of me, I am not only with her for her money.”

Kiersten sucked in a puckered breath. “No, but it’s a big reason, isn’t it? The promise of so much money must be nice. The fact that she owns her house must be an irresistible song of its own.”

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