Causing Havoc (12 page)

couldn't wait to see her lazy and sexual y satisfied—thanks to him.

He cleared his throat, put his hand over hers to flatten her palm to his thigh, and said, "She's a

mother hen." It hadn't taken him long to see the signs in his sister's behavior. Cam was maternal in

ways Lorna could never be. "She probably feels responsible for Jacki."

"True enough," Eve agreed. She pul ed her hand away from him, but rested her head back against

his shoulder. "Cam was never young, ya know? I mean, for as long as I can remember, she's worried

about things. The house, bil s, Jacki, and even Lorna."

Dean didn't like to think of Cam with the weight of the world on her narrow shoulders. "Why Lorna?"

At first, no one answered. Then Eve shrugged. "She grew up with the realization that she and Jacki

had been forced on Lorna, that her aunt had never planned to have children of her own."

"That's a tough pil for a young girl to swal ow." Ted sounded as disgusted as Dean felt. "It left her guarded. Probably because she never quite trusted that Lorna would be around for the long haul."

Dean's muscles tensed. Lorna had a lot to answer for— more than these people, or his sisters,

realized.

"But Jacki's just the opposite," Mark said. "Not a care in the world, always the center of attention, no matter what's going on. She teases and flirts, and wherever she goes, there's a crowd around her.

People gravitate to her."

"And that's scary?"

Mark shrugged. "No. not usual y. Intimidating maybe, but. . . lately she's been real y outrageous."

"Meaning?"

Mark started to speak, and Eve said, "Give it a rest. Mark." She turned those big blue eyes on Dean again. "Jacki's fine. Cam's always made sure of it. Right now, she's just going through growing pains or something."

Dean frowned. "She's twenty-one and nearly six feet tal ."

"She's five-ten," Eve corrected. "And it's just a figure of speech."

"Either way, she's done growing. And that's not what your brother was talking about anyway."

When Eve started to speak, Dean hushed her. "No. I want to hear it from Mark."

Everyone turned to look at Mark, and his face went red in discomfort. "Wel , that is..." He cast a quick guilty look at his sister. "Eve's right. I, uh, didn't mean anything by it."

"Now look what you did." Eve turned on Dean, playful y punching him in the shoulder. "You've got him shaking in his boots."

Dean's brows shot up. "I didn't do anything."

"Ha!" Her expression chal enged and teased him. "You used that tone."

"What tone?"

"A tone that says you're feeling protective."

How many times did he have to tel people that he wasn't that type of brother? Her assumption

irritated him, so he leaned closer to say, "I was
not
being protective. That's not it at al ."

Ted quickly interrupted. "Hey, no big deal. Eve, quit fussing at the man."

"Yeah, Eve." Mark looked back and forth between the two of them. "Knock it off."

"Oh for crying out loud." Rol ing her eyes, Eve deliberately popped Dean again before saying to her father, "He's got shoulders like boulders, Dad. There's no way I hurt him."

Hurt him? Did she mean physical y? Ready to laugh, Dean glanced up and saw that Ted actual y

looked concerned. "How the hel could you hurt me?"

Now she looked disgruntled. "By punching you. Heaven only knows what a big bad SBC fighter like

you wil do when riled."

Of al the idiotic ... Dean knew what he wanted to do to her, and it had nothing to do with anger.

"You punched me?" he teased, pretending he hadn't noticed. "When was this?"

"Why you ..." Feigning outrage, Eve swung again. But Dean automatical y caught her wrist and pul ed her off balance. She landed facedown over his lap and almost tipped off onto the floor.

Dean tried to catch her, but he held his beer in one hand and Eve was flailing, trying to find her

balance. The skirt of her dress somehow ended up twisted to her hips.

For only a scant second, Dean got a glimpse of lacy, lavender panties.

With a yelp, Eve shoved herself away and tumbled onto the floor. Her face was beet red as she

slapped down her skirt to cover herself.

Mark roared with hilarity. Ted snickered.

In walked Crystal. She took one look at her daughter and threw up her hands. "Eve, for crying out

loud. What are you doing on the floor?"

Eve scampered back to her feet, threatened Dean with a shaking fist, and plopped back down next

to him.

"Are you okay?"

She made a face at him. "With you smiling like that, your concern doesn't seem at al sincere."

"Sorry." Dean smoothed her tousled hair. "Want me to teach you a few moves so that it doesn't happen again?"

To his surprise, she nodded. "Yes, I do." And then to her brother, "But you can wipe that look off your face right now. Mark. You're obnoxious enough already. You don't need special moves to make

you more so."

Knowing Mark would press the issue, Dean asked him, "So what has Jacki done?"

He drew back. "Nothing." Face blank. Mark added, "Real y."

Dean turned to Eve. "Give it up."

"Fine." Stil flushed. Eve said, "If you must know, the police were cal ed on her last weekend."

The police?
"For what?"

"Unruly behavior, that's al . Some ... stuff had happened, and I guess it bothered Jacki. She went out with a group of col ege friends, had too much to drink, and ended up dancing on the tables."

That didn't sound so bad to Dean. "The police came over that?"

"There were people sitting at the tables, trying to finish their drinks."

Oh. Dean did his best not to grin.

"The police only gave her a warning and cal ed Cam to pick her up. Lorna swears the entire town is

talking about it."

"It's mostly just the col ege set that knows," Mark added in an effort to contribute. "And real y, no one was al that shocked about it. Not with Jacki."

Dean let that go. "So what upset her?"

Now Eve looked worried. "That's real y something you should discuss with Cam."

His curiosity doubled in an instant. "I'm discussing it with you."

Crystal made a sound of impatience. "It's not like it's a secret, Eve." Then to Dean: "Jacki doesn't want to sel the house. Especial y since there's no equity in it. They're only getting rid of it because the upkeep is too much, which is absurd. If the three of them had jobs, instead of just Cam working, they

could easily make ends meet."

So Lorna didn't work, either? Why, that manipulative . ..

"It's the only home Jacki has ever known." Crystal seemed intent on gaining Dean's sympathy for

Jacki. "Everyone knows that they're taking a big step down, from one of the nicer houses in the

community to an apartment. Of course Jacki's unhappy about it."

"Mom, I don't think—"

"Why does Jacki care what the town thinks?"

Both women blinked at him, but it was Eve who spoke. "Wel of course she cares what others think.

Doesn't everyone?"

"I don't."

"You don't?"

Dean shook his head. Hel , he'd spent most of his life moving, so he'd never real y known anyone

long enough to be concerned with what they thought. Spoiled, that's what Jacki was. "She's fal ing

apart because she has to move?" He grunted. "That's it?"

"She's not fal ing apart," Eve corrected. "She's just unhappy about leaving behind ..." She hesitated, probably remembering Dean's circumstances.

"The familiar?" he finished for her.

She nodded, and slipped her hand into his. Trying to comfort him? Dean stiffened. He wanted

several things from Eve, but sympathy wasn't one of them.

"If you ask me—" Crystal said.

"He
didn't
ask you," Eve quickly pointed out, but it left her mother undaunted.

"Lorna squandered a lot of the money left to those girls."

Dean figured as much. It was the only thing to make sense. But then, Grover had always assumed

that would be the case.

She nodded to punctuate her statement. "Don't get me wrong. Lorna is a nice enough person. But

Lord above, the woman doesn't have an ounce of sense when it comes to finances. And with that

one, what she wanted or needed always came first."

Eve groaned and dropped her head into her hands. "I don't believe this."

Dean rubbed Eve's back, letting her know that Crystal's enlightening account of details didn't bother

him,

"I stil remember when Cam needed tap shoes for the sixth-grade school recital. The way Lorna

carried on, you'd have thought they cost the moon. But did she stop getting her nails done? Did she

skip a new spring wardrobe? No, she did not. Cam sure stopped participating in school events,

though. T don't think she went to another party or dance until she got old enough to get a job and pay

for things herself."

Dean didn't like the sound of that. From what Grover had told him, there should have been plenty of

money for what Cam and Jacki needed, including new dresses and shoes for parties. His parents

hadn't been without resources, and not only did an insurance policy pay off the house after their

death, it also provided a nice chunk of change. Add that to the assets and bank accounts they

already had, and they should have been set financial y.

"I'm sorry." Eve peeked at Dean. "My mother is a world-class gossip. It's what she lives for."

Crystal swatted at her daughter. "He's their brother, so he has a right to know al about them. How

else can he help?"

Dean locked his teeth. "I'm not here to help."

Crystal waved away his protests. "It's al right. Eve explained to me why we hadn't met you before

now."

"Is that right?" So that's why the women were so long in the kitchen. And Eve cal ed her mother a gossip?

"She asked," Eve said, in her own defense.

Not in the least self-conscious about snooping, Crystal shrugged. "Natural y I was curious about

you. Both Cam and Jacki spent plenty of time with us while growing up. Our house was a second

home to them. It seemed odd that they'd have a brother I'd never heard of."

"During the summer," Mark said, "it was like having three sisters. They outnumbered me in a big way. They were here more than they were at their own home."

"Not that we minded." Crystal smiled in fond memory.

"Both Cam and Jacki were just precious, and it broke my heart to think of them growing up without a

mother."

Hadn't that been Lorna's role to fil ? From what Crystal said, Lorna had been wel compensated to

do just that. "How old were they when you met them?"

"We moved here when Eve was eight. She's a year and a half older than Cam."

Which meant Cam would have been around six, already under Lorna's care for four years—more

time than she'd spent with their birth mother.

Cam hadn't remembered him, so maybe she didn't remember their parents, either. What had Lorna

told her about them, about their lives, and about their deaths?

Probably not the truth.

Dean thought about it, and realized both girls cal ed her Aunt Lorna. Nothing more affectionate.

Nothing more personal. Had Lorna insisted on the distinction?

For Dean, Grover had been his father, his uncle, his ... entire family, al rol ed into one. Grover was

a gruff old bird, but never had Dean felt like an inconvenience. Never had he felt like an intruder in

Grover's life.

Moving to stand by his wife, Ted put a hand on her shoulder. Though he hadn't witnessed it before,

Dean automatical y recognized the show of support. Grover had never settled with a single woman.

He hadn't even dated, not in the conventional sense. Plain and simple, his uncle had brought women

around for sexual purposes only. He hadn't been blatant about it, but he wasn't ashamed about it,

either. It hadn't taken Dean long to catch on.

Grover liked the ladies, but he'd never shown an emotional intimacy or domestic companionship with

any particular woman. The silent connection between Ted and Crystal had been missing in Grover's

relationships.

"We're real fond of your sisters." Ted smiled at Crystal. "Both of them, but especial y Cam because of the closeness she and Eve shared."

"Cam confided in me," Crystal said. "She came to me when she needed someone to talk to,

someone she could trust. She asked me al those things a young girl, usual y asks her mother."

Dean wondered what those things might entail. Whatever they were, it bothered him that Cam had to

go to a friend's mother. Lorna should have been there for her, in al things.

"You see, Lorna wasn't that approachable. She didn't understand your sisters. She expected them

to be perfect at al times, to cause her the least amount of trouble. She didn't give them much room or

opportunity to learn things on their own. And that made it tough for them, but especial y for Cam."

As much to himself as to Crystal, Dean said, "Because Cam felt responsible for Jacki."

Crystal nodded. "She wasn't much more than a child herself when she started mothering Jacki,

stepping up for her, protecting her and guiding her."

"Lorna suffocated them with rules and more rules," Eve said with feeling. "So when Cam got into trouble or got curious about guys or just plain needed to vent, she came home with me, and mom

would advise her."

"And in turn," Crystal said with pride, "Cam learned to be there for Jacki."

Dean brooded. He'd spent many years in foreign countries, on uncomfortable beds, without friends,

dragging through one day after another. At night, he'd thought of his sisters, and he always assumed

they lived the cushy life. After al , they'd kept everything—the house, the toys, the pool, the friends ...