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lawyer, the possible funding of an acquisition, and
the statement about plans with you going well. Oh,
and Jackson might get rich again. To me, this is not
adding up to an evil plot.
But, but, don t you see? Lena exploded. He
took me to bed, so he could cozy up to my
business. He wants to buy SweetKakes, run
everything, and get rich. And Elyse gave us the car
to further soften us up. Why can t you see that,
Annie? Whose side are you on? Angry tears
sprouted as she recalled the phone message, feeling
the pain anew. Ripping off her plastic gloves, she
limped out the back door, screen slamming behind
her.
She sat down hard on the back steps,
awakening twinges from last night s spanking. Hell,
she d had such a good time. Why did he have to be
a jerk, like all the others? And why was her sister
blind to her problem? Why on earth was she
defending Jackson?
She d never been more furious with Annie in her
life.
The screen door s creak stiffened her shoulders.
Forgiveness was not on the menu. Feeling a tug on
her ponytail, she growled, Leave me alone, you
worthless traitor.
Oh, Lena, Annie said, her voice catching. How
can you call me that? Me, of all people. Don t you
know I always have your best interests at heart?
Don t you know I d do anything for you? You re my
sister, my flesh and blood and bone, the heart of
my heart.
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Her sister s wounded voice flooded Lena with
shame. Annie had done nothing to deserve her fury.
Jackson was the one she should be angry with.
The screen door creaked again, but it did little to
hide the sounds of weeping. Lena dropped her head
in her hands. She had made her sister cry. Her
sister, the one she had taken beatings for, the one
she had sacrificed for, the one she loved more than
herself. She was an insensitive, disgusting piece of
crap to force her sister into tears, when all Annie
was trying to do was help her.
God, but her life was a mess.
Putting aside her anger with Jackson, she went
in search of Annie, finding her on the second floor
behind a tightly-shut bedroom door.
Annie, please, let me in. I m sorry. She turned
the handle, but the door wouldn t give way. C mon,
Annie, I was awful to you, and I want to make up.
Please, let me in, please. Verbally abusing her
sister was almost unforgivable, she thought, while
hammering on the door. Her older-sister skills stunk
out loud. Oh, no. Suppose Annie was doing
something to hurt herself? Could that be why the
door was locked? Panic drove her to pound with her
fists, shrieking, Let me in! Let me in! Annie,
please!
Abruptly, the door flew open. She fell on Annie,
chanting, I m sorry, I m sorry, I m sorry, over and
over, clutching her sister as if Lena had just
snatched her from the jaws of death. I love you,
Sis. What I said was horrible. Please forgive me.
Of course, I forgive you. You re human just like
the rest of us, even though you don t admit it,
Annie cried. I love you, too. But I worry so much
about you.
Worry about me? The thought brought Lena up
short.
Yeah, sis, you. You re so angry and bitter and
ready to jump to the wrong conclusions, and you do
it all the time. You re going to end up a shriveled,
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nasty old woman, no pleasure in your life except
what you can experience vicariously through me.
Still hugging, the women walked to Annie s bed
to sit, wiping their eyes and blowing their noses.
I m not sure I understand, Lena mumbled. I
didn t know I worried you. I never want to do that.
Well, you do. I really hoped you d let Jackson
into your life. He s clearly taken with you, and you
with him, even though you can t seem to admit it to
yourself. I was thrilled when I realized that you d
spent the night with him. But as soon as you let
your guard down, you searched for the flimsiest
damned excuse I ever heard and used it to decide
that he s a black-hearted bastard like all the rest.
It s stressful to live with someone who has such an
unrelentingly bleak outlook. Get a grip, girl, and a
life, too, while you re at it.
Lena shook her head. You worry about me?
Boy, that s rich. I m the one at home safe and
sound. You re the one out dancing and prancing till
all hours.
Avoiding life can be just as dangerous as
embracing it with full force.
The sisters sat quietly for a moment. I m not
sure I understand that, Lena said.
Avoiding life for all the wrong reasons can be
unhealthy. Embracing it, too, can be risky. All
choices in life entail risk. Even not taking a risk
involves risk.
Lena mulled over her sister s words. I can see
that. I can also see I ve been a pretty angry person
to be around. I m sorry.
S alright, Annie said, hugging her tighter.
So, you think I m way off base with the
message on Jackson s answering machine?
Yes. Here s why. Suppose, for argument s sake,
he truly is plotting to take over SweetKakes. He
can t do it against our will when I heard you say,
hostile takeover, I knew you were wrong about it.
We don t issue stock, so no one can force a
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takeover bid. There s no way he can force us to sell
SweetKakes to him. And, no matter what you think,
he s not Svengali. He can t hypnotize us into giving
him SweetKakes.
Why didn t you tell me this before? Lena
asked.
Annie shrugged. I guess I was too ready to
believe the worst about Jackson, too. Something
about the man pushes my buttons. Maybe I m just
feeling a little overprotective of you because I know
how much you like this guy.
Lena wanted to deny her feelings about Jackson,
but knew she couldn t, so she didn t try. How do
you know so much about this takeover stuff?
The Econ course I took last semester, Annie
said.
Okay, Lena murmured.
Now, maybe he did take you to bed to make
you more amenable to merging the two businesses.
It seems far-fetched to me, but I admit it s possible.
However, you do have to admit the four of us work
together like a well-oiled machine. Would merging
Yankee Elegance and SweetKakes be so horrible?
Lena pushed her arms out stiffly, as if keeping
someone away from her. Don t go there. I refuse
to consider it. I m never giving up control of my
business to any man.
It s not your business alone, Lena. It s ours.
No, she snapped. End of discussion.
I ll let it go for now. But I think you re wrong
about Jackson. Annie shook her head in
amusement. Listen to me. Here I am defending
him, and I don t even like him much. Think about
that, Sis. Maybe you should talk to him some more
before you write him off as the world s biggest
creep.
___________________
Leaning against the counter in his storefront,
Jackson opened a beer and drank, going over the
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argument in his mind for the fiftieth time. Perhaps
he d missed some clue that explained Lena s bizarre
behavior. He still wondered if he d actually done
something wrong.
You didn t miss anything, an inner voice jeered.
And the only thing you did wrong was fall for her.
She s flighty, unreliable, and either afraid of, or
angry towards, men. Her moods change like New
England springs. What else do you need to know?
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