Home with My Sisters (4 page)

Hope cocked her head until she realized that she'd probably picked that up from dogs, then casually tried to straighten it before he made the same connection. “Yes, well. Thank you. I'll just grab the dog.”

“Wait.” He held out his hand and for a second she thought about taking it. “What dog?”

Gorgeous but not very bright. That is too bad.
“The dog that was just abandoned,” Hope said slowly.

Austin put his hands up again. “Sorry. I'm not here for a dog.”

“Then why are you here? Who's Yvette?”

“What dog?” They spoke at the same time.

“Do you like dogs?” Hope asked. Even if he wasn't sent by Yvette, maybe he was sent by Santa to take the dog.

“I love dogs.”

Was that big smile genuine? Maybe he was a con artist or a criminal. She couldn't hand the poor dog over to a criminal. God, she hoped he wasn't a criminal. He was way too good-looking to be an outlaw. Although that would make him a gorgeous bad boy, and what woman didn't like that? Between his looks and that adorable bloodhound, who knew how many innocent victims he could lure into a van? Hope put her hands on her hips. “Do you have a van?”

He wrinkled his brows in confusion. “No, a truck.”

“What kind of a truck?”

“A pickup.”

Well, that was a relief. Kind of hard to hide a victim in the back of a pickup. Unless . . . “Open back or an enclosed cab?”

“Pardon?”

“Is the back of your truck open or enclosed?”

Austin folded his arms across his chest. “Open.”

Hope breathed a sigh of relief. “Do you want to meet him?”

“I really should stay focused. Are you almost finished? Can we go somewhere and talk?”

Was he some kind of creep? He might have an open pickup truck, but that didn't mean she would just take off with him, right? She couldn't. Could she? She glanced outside. As much as she hated to admit it, she wished Michael wasn't here. She liked the idea of being kidnapped by this cowboy. She'd better get a grip. Plenty of psychopaths had been attractive. “Talk about what?”

“I'd rather tell you in private.” He looked solemn.

“Tell me what?”

The door burst open and Michael barreled in. “Is he taking the dog? Can we finally get out of here?”

“He's not taking the dog,” Hope said. “Yet.”

“I'm not taking the dog,” Austin said.

“You've got to be kidding me,” Michael said. He began to pace the tiny reception area. “He has to take the dog.”

“He's not Olivia's friend. It's a misunderstanding,” Hope said. Although she still had no idea who he was or what he was doing here.

“Then why are you here?” Michael took in Austin, and squared his shoulders. Was he jealous?

“Michael,” Hope said. In case Austin wasn't a criminal or a creep, she didn't want Michael to make him feel bad.

Michael turned to her. “We have plane tickets to Hawaii.”

“What?”

“We leave for Maui tomorrow morning and we'll be there through the new year.”

“Through Christmas?” Hope said.

Austin held his hand up. “You might want to hear me out first.”

“Surprise,” Michael said.

“But what about my sisters?”

“Exactly,” Austin said. “Think of them.”

Hope glared at him, then turned to Michael. “You booked tickets to Maui without asking me?” Hope said. She couldn't believe he did that. She'd told him she wanted to see her sisters for Christmas, that she was going to make a real effort this year. Hadn't he been listening to her?

“I think the words you're looking for are—
Thank you,
” Michael said.

“I wanted to spend Christmas with my sisters,” Hope said. “Remember?” Sure they'd flat out rejected her again, but that didn't mean she had given up. She still believed in Christmas miracles. Sort of.

“Good,” Austin said. “That's very, very good.”

Hope swung her gaze to him. Who was he to tell her what was good let alone very, very good? “Who are you?”

“I live next door to your grandmother,” he said.

“You live next door to a cemetery in Florida?” Hope put her hands on her hips and arched her eyebrow.

This time Austin cocked his head. “No,” he said. “I live in Leavenworth, Washington.”

Leavenworth, Washington. Hope had heard of the little Bavarian town, but she'd never made it there. Every year she tried to get her sisters to go somewhere with her. There were so many great little trips in this area of the country. Victoria, B.C., Vancouver, Alaska even. But her sisters never wanted to go anywhere. “My grandmother is buried in a cemetery in Miami,” Hope said.

“Yvette Garland,” Austin said.

“No,” Hope said. “Wait. Who?” Garland? He couldn't possibly be talking about her father's mother, could he? Goose bumps suddenly raised on her arms, and her stomach clenched as one word flew through her head:
Daddy.

“So you're not taking the dog?” Michael said.

“You know what?” Austin turned to Michael. “I would take the dog for her. But I sure as heck wouldn't do it for you.” He turned back to Hope. “And I sure wouldn't want you to miss out on Hawaii with Mr. Wonderful here—”

“Hey—” Michael said.

“—but I'm here because your grandmother is dying and her last wish is to spend Christmas with you, and Joy, and Faith.”

“What?” Hope said. Oh God, he knew her sisters' names. He was talking about her paternal grandmother. Why wasn't he mentioning her father? Could this really be the year they found him? Now that would be a Christmas miracle. No. He wasn't alive. He couldn't be. He never would have abandoned them. Never. Hope's heart gave a painful little squeeze.

“Who are you and what are you trying to pull?” Michael said.

“My paternal grandmother,” Hope said, testing out the words.
Daddy.
She'd almost cried it out. No matter how old she got, part of her was stuck at the age where he'd left her. Left
them
. Did Austin Rhodes know her father? She held her breath, biding her time before she asked, terrified of the answer.

“That's right,” Austin said. “Yvette Garland. She's my neighbor.”

“You said that,” Hope said, not unkindly.

“How do you know he's telling the truth?” Michael said.

“Here,” Austin said. He handed Hope a picture.

She took it and stared at it in disbelief. It was of her and Faith and Joy. Joy was just an infant, Hope was holding her. She must have been at least four in the picture, but she had no memory of it. Where were they? Who took the picture? She peered closer. There was a Christmas tree in the background. Rage swelled in her. “This isn't real,” she said, thrusting it back. But Austin refused to take it. His eyes remained steady on hers. “Joy never spent a Christmas with Dad. She was born in the summer. He didn't come for us. Not ever. She never spent Christmas with him.”

Austin held up his hands. “Your grandmother said your father loved Christmas. He put up an artificial tree when she came home from the hospital because he wanted it to be your Christmas card the next year. It was the only time he put up an artificial tree because he preferred the real ones. Me too. I like 'em natural.”

“Are we still talking about trees?” Michael asked.

Austin shook his head as if trying to shake Michael off. He held the picture up. “You're right. It was summer. She said so.”

“She?”

“Yvette. Your grandmother.”

Hope didn't know what to believe or what to say. “How did you find me?”

“I Googled you,” Austin said. “You've done a lot of good work with the shelter. I was really impressed. Your Whine and Cheese event sounded brilliant.”

Hope was stunned for a moment. “Thank you.”

“Your what?” Michael said.

“Never mind,” Hope said.

“Anybody can Google,” Michael said.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Hope said to Michael. He crossed his arms across his chest and shrugged. She looked at Austin. “What about my father?” She could barely get the question out and her voice cracked.

“You can call your grandmother if you'd like,” Austin said. “Or just about anybody in Leavenworth. They'll tell you I am who I say I am.”

“What about my father?” Hope asked again. “Is he with her?”

Michael stepped in front of her as if trying to block out the sight of Austin. “Don't get worked up. This guy could be lying.”

“I don't know anything about your father,” Austin said. “But Yvette does. She won't share the details with me, so you'll have to ask her yourself.”

“Have you talked to Joy or Faith yet?”

“No, you're the first.”

“Why?”

“Yvette thought as the middle child you'd be most likely to persuade the other two.”

“She was wrong,” Hope said. “They never listen to me.” They'd flat out rejected her again. But would they reject an invitation from their estranged grandmother? Could Hope be getting her Christmas wish after all? From the back room came a very long and very loud howl.

Hope looked at Austin. He held eye contact. The dog continued to howl. “Is my grandmother allergic to dogs?” she asked.

“No,” Austin said. “I don't think so.”

The dog howled again. Hope smiled. “Good. Put me down for a plus one.”

A smile crept over Austin's face, the kind of smile that made a girl almost swoon. “You got it,” he said.

“But we have tickets to Hawaii,” Michael said.

“You have tickets to Hawaii,” Hope said.

Michael stared at her. Then pointed at her. Then shifted his weight. Then shook his head as if shaking her off. “We're done,” he said. “Completely over.”

Oh, thank God.
“Peace on earth,” Hope said, and flashed him a smile. He narrowed his eyes, then turned and walked out the door, out of her life. She wished him well and mentally tossed him a fishing pole.

CHAPTER 6

“You can't seriously tell me you're getting into a truck with a total stranger and that slobbery beast and taking off for Leavenworth instead of coming to Hawaii with me?” So much for getting rid of him that easy. Michael cut her off just as she was about to climb into the passenger side of Austin's red pickup. The beast was already in the truck along with Austin.

“I've taken precautions,” Hope said. She'd taken a picture of his driver's license and had posted it on all her social media sites in case he was a serial killer. Austin didn't put up an argument. Most serial killers probably would. She'd also called Yvette Garland and confirmed Austin was her neighbor and she had sent him. It was probably the shortest conversation of her life, and Hope now had more questions than ever. She had to meet this woman, she had to find out what happened to her father.

“If you do this, we're over,” Michael said.

“You already ended it ten minutes ago,” Hope pointed out.

“I was hurt. I'm giving you a second chance.”

“No thank you,” Hope said.

“I mean it. We're done.”

“I understand.” She wasn't smiling, was she? She would have to be careful not to show her relief.

Michael shifted, thoroughly flummoxed. “I'm just trying to get through to you.”

“She's my grandmother.”

“Who abandoned you.”

“My father abandoned me. I can't blame that on her.”

“You're being manipulated.”

“I'm going to Leavenworth to meet my grandmother.”

“If you make it there alive,” Michael said.

“If he says or does anything weird, I'll ditch him.”

“I can't believe you're doing this to us.”

“We've only been seeing each other six months.”

“So?”

It looked like Hope wasn't going to completely get out of the breakup portion of the relationship. “The six-month gift is perfume or a nice necklace—not a trip to Hawaii.”

“You can pay me back.”

“I don't want to pay you back. I don't want to go.”

“You don't want to go to Hawaii, or you don't want to go to Hawaii with me?” There was hurt stamped in his eyes. She bet he had an extreme fishing adventure planned in Hawaii and that kept her from feeling too sorry for him.

“I don't think we're a match.”

“Obviously,” he said.

“Pardon?” She didn't know why she was letting him goad her. She should just let him say whatever he wanted as long as she ended up free.

“How could you turn down a trip to Hawaii? That's insane. I even have a deep-sea fishing excursion booked!”

She knew it. “I hate fish.”

“What?”

“I. Hate. Fish.”

“You're just trying to upset me.”

“No, it's true. I loathe them. Scaly, slimy, foul-smelling, hideous things. I have nightmares about them.”

“I can't believe you.”

Hope threw her arms open à la
What are you going to do?
“Well, I'm glad you found out now. Better than slogging through another six months, right?”
Or six days
. She was never going to fall in love again. It was torture being trapped with the wrong person, pure torture.

“You're unbelievable.”

“I don't know what else to say. Bon voyage.
Mele kilikimaka.
”

“What?” Michael said, mouth open.

“That's the island greeting that they send to you from the land where palm trees stray.”

Michael just stood and stared. Austin laughed quietly in the background. Hope hopped into Austin's truck. His laughter grew louder.

“What?” Hope demanded.

“It's
sway
.”

She had no idea what he was talking about. “What is?”

“From the land where palm trees
sway.
”

“What did I say?”

“Stray.”

“I did not.”

“You most certainly did.”

Hope opened her mouth to protest again and then laughed. “Guess I still have work on my mind.” This time they shared the laugh. Hope exhaled.

“You okay?” Austin said.

“Let's go,” Hope said.

“Is he writing down my license plate?” Austin was staring through the rearview mirror.

“And posting it to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Insta-gram,” Hope said.

Austin laughed. “I didn't understand half of what you just said, but I'm okay with it.”

So he was a mountain man who was also out of touch with the popular world. It made her like him even more. Joy was completely obnoxious on social media and so was her mother. Austin stared at her. She didn't know what he was waiting for. She felt a flash of heat on her face as they looked at each other. “Where to?” he said at last.

Oh, duh.
“My place so I can pack. Then, as long as you're fit to drive this late, Joy is in Seattle,” Hope said.

“Fit as a fiddle,” he said with a grin.

Hope purposefully avoided raking her eyes over his strong jawline and muscular arms. “But we're probably going to have to take her by force.”

“As soon as I get coffee I'll be fit to keep driving, but I'll leave the force to you,” Austin said.

“May the force be with me,” Hope said. “Got it.”

Austin laughed. “You're funny,” he said. A warm flush worked its way through Hope. Michael had never laughed at her jokes. Austin massaged the top of the dog's gigantic head. “And there's not much room. We'll have to throw this guy in the back.”

“Save that decision until after you meet Joy,” Hope said.

* * *

An hour later, after stopping for Hope to throw some clothes in a bag and get coffee and gas, Austin's truck rattled along the highway with Christmas carols playing on the radio. When he got to the station playing them, Hope started to hum along with it. His hand was halfway to the knob as if he'd been about to change it, when he stopped. It wasn't lost on Hope that he'd left it on for her. Michael wouldn't have even noticed that she'd been humming along. Not that it meant anything.

She tried calling Joy and Faith. Neither of them picked up their phone. Were they screening? The thought that they would see her name flash across their screen and not pick up was beyond painful. She'd never done anything to them. She wasn't bossy like Faith and she didn't badger anyone for money like Joy. Yet still they ignored her. Well, not this time. This was a family emergency of sorts, wasn't it? She'd keep trying on the drive. She was going on to Leavenworth whether they came or not. Maybe her grandmother would tell her where she could find her father. Joy and Faith claimed to have no interest in confronting him, but there were some days it was all Hope thought about. She at least wanted to look him in the eyes and say,
How could you? Do you know how much we missed and loved you? Are you even sorry? Even a little bit?
But most of all she wanted to know that he was still alive, and doing okay. As okay as a man who abandoned his three daughters could be. Would he have left them if they were boys?

The dog was lying half on the seat and half on Hope. God, he was just a big sweetie. She loved running her fingers along his soft, floppy ears. With the heater going in the truck, and the music gently playing, and her close proximity to Austin, it struck her as ironic that here they were, perfect strangers, in a uniquely intimate setting. She thought she could even smell a touch of wood smoke on him. He glanced at her and she quickly averted her gaze, feeling her face heat up yet again. Thank goodness it was dark. She always liked riding in a car at night. The gentle hum of the road, the glow of streetlights, a dog's body heavy and comforting across her lap, the feel of him breathing in and out, and a gorgeous man at the wheel. Total strangers, yet they felt so familiar, and truth be told she was loving every second of it. That was the really weird part. She tried calling Joy again and once more it went to voice mail.

“Are you and your sisters close?” Austin asked. From the soft tone of his voice she knew he had picked up on the fact that they were anything but.

“We used to be,” she said.
When we were children. When we had nothing but one another.
She didn't say any more at first, and Austin didn't pry. He just nodded. It wasn't a distracted nod either. She could tell he was really listening to her. It prompted her to say more. “But I keep trying.”

“That's good,” Austin said.

“Is it?” Hope mused.

“It is. You should never give up on family. Never.”

He sounded passionate about it. She liked that about him. If only her sisters felt the same way. “Do you have brothers or sisters?”

He shook his head. She thought she caught a look of grief pass across his face, but she was only looking at him in profile and in the dim cab it was hard to tell. She decided not to ask any follow-up questions; she was here for her grandmother and answers, not because the neighbor was wildly attractive.

“Are you hungry?” Austin asked. “We could stop for a bite.”

“Starving,” Hope said. “I was supposed to be going out to dinner tonight.”

“And Maui tomorrow,” Austin said.

Hope glanced at him. “I broke up with him,” she said.

“I'm sorry,” he said.

“Are you?” She got the feeling he hadn't liked Michael, so why let him get away with lying.

“Am I what?”

“Sorry that we broke up?”

Austin's eyes didn't leave the road. “Why wouldn't I be?” His voice took on a deeper tone. Husky was the word that came to mind. He didn't answer the question, and he wouldn't look at her. Did that mean anything?

“I didn't think you liked Michael. That's all.”

Austin smiled. “Still have to work on my poker face.”

“So I was right.”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes, it kind of does.”

“Why?” Austin asked.

“Why?” The nerve of him. To ask why. Because she wanted to find out if he liked her, that's why. “Forget it.”

“If you're upset, then I'm sorry.” This time Austin did glance at her.

God, he is gorgeous
. He knew that, right? There was a definite jolt whenever they locked eyes. She looked away. “I'm not upset. At all. In fact I was just waiting until after the holidays to break up with him. Does that make me a bad person?”

“No, it makes you human.”

“He was a nice guy. Just not the guy for me.”

“Glad I could help.”

“I never said you helped.” Austin flashed his green eyes and smile on her. It wasn't fair, giving a man eyes like that. She turned her attention to the dog.

“What are you going to name him?” Austin asked.

“Our grandmother can name him,” Hope said. She closed her eyes, just for a second, it had been such a long day. When she opened them again, her head was against some kind of soft material wadded up near the window. There was a little drool on it. She jerked up and a sweatshirt fell into her lap. It was his. Somehow Austin had made a makeshift pillow for her using one of his sweatshirts and placed it under her head. While driving or did he pull over to the side of the road? She didn't want to know. And she wasn't going to swoon over the fact that he wanted her head to have a soft place to land. Darn him.

“Good nap?”

Hope looked out the window and gasped. They were nearing Seattle; the Space Needle glowed ahead, with the skyline spreading out on either side of it. She glanced at her phone; it was nearly ten at night.

“I can't believe I slept the whole way.”

“You must have needed it.”

“It's so late.”

“Do you want to stay at a hotel and then roll up on her in the morning?” Austin asked. “We can pick up some takeaway as well.” Hope glanced at her purse she'd thrown down by her feet. She made enough money to barely pay her bills. That was the new American dream. “Your grandmother factored it into the budget,” Austin added when she didn't answer.

“She did?”

Austin nodded. “She insisted that this trip couldn't set any of you back financially.”

“Don't tell Joy that,” Hope said. Then regretted it. Even if it was true that Joy was always scheming for money, Hope didn't like complaining about her sisters with a total stranger. But Austin just laughed, a deep sound that filled the small cab with extra warmth. Even the dog looked up and seemed to be smiling.

“Yes, let's do that,” Hope said. “Food and a good night's sleep is just what I need.”

“Tell me where you want to pick up food, and where you want to stay, and your wish is my command.” Hope was silent for a while, hoping he'd never know that she was replaying the sound of him saying that to her over and over again.
Your wish is my command.
She'd never had a man say that to her before and might never again, and so she wanted to savor it.