Chloe returned her attention to the web site, then groaned. She was turning into a witch.
With a couple of clicks, she logged off the Internet and returned to her word-processing program. After saving her work in progress, she rose to her feet and headed down the hall. Cassie’s bedroom door was open. Her sister was curled up on the bed reading a book.
Chloe watched her. She didn’t know exactly what to say. At this point, she wasn’t willing to risk the truth. She didn’t want to admit that part of her problem was that she had dreamed about Arizona, and it was making her insane.
“I’m sorry,” she said at last. “I had no reason to snap at you. I have a lot on my mind and I’m just not myself.”
Cassie looked up. “I know. This article is very important to you. It’s your ticket out.”
Chloe entered the large room with pale pink walls and a lacy bedspread on the full-size mattress. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
Cassie patted the bed, indicating that her sister should have a seat. “It’s true. Come on, Chloe, it’s time for you to leave. It’s what you’ve always wanted. Sometimes I think you’ve stayed because of me, but I’m practically your age and I’ve been all grown-up for a long time. Aunt Charity and I will be fine without you. Of course we’ll miss you, but it’s time for you to move on. We can take care of the house until you’re ready to come back.”
Chloe reached out and squeezed her sister’s hand. “You’re way too nice a person. Why do you put up with me?”
“Beats me.”
Chloe smiled. Then her humor faded as the familiar guilt took its place. She knew that Cassie would take care of the house for her. Cassie wouldn’t think twice about it, but she, Chloe, was annoyed that it was an issue. Their parents had been wrong, she thought, as she had dozens of times in the past. They should have left everything to the girls equally. Instead Chloe had inherited the house and a small trust fund. Cassie had inherited a large trust fund—equal in value to Chloe’s inheritance—but not equal in spirit. The message had been clear. Their only blood heir had received the family home.
Chloe knew that Cassie put on a brave face; she never said anything. But Cassie was the real traditional one in the family. She was the one who believed in the legend—she was the one who loved the house. It should have been hers. She also knew that on some level Cassie had been hurt by the will. But Chloe didn’t know how to talk to her about it.
There was a knock on the open door.
“Chloe, there’s a call for you,” Charity told her. “It’s Arizona.”
Cassie made kissing noises again. Chloe rose to her feet. “I’m ignoring you,” she said as she crossed to her sister’s desk and picked up the extension. “Hello?”
“Chloe, it’s Arizona. I hope I’m not interrupting.”
“Not at all.” If the nerves soft-shoeing inside her stomach were anything to go by, she was very happy to hear from him.
“Something’s come up. I’ve been doing some research about a lost tribe up in the Pacific Northwest. I just got a call from some friends of mine working up there. They’ve found something I need to take a look at. The lecture series doesn’t start for a few days and I don’t have much holding me here, so I thought I would go and see what they’ve found.”
“I see.”
He was leaving. She’d always known that he would—it was the nature of the man. But she hadn’t expected it to be so soon. The nerves in her stomach fizzled into a cold knot of disappointment.
“I’ll work on the article while you’re gone and save any questions I have until you get back,” she told him, hoping she sounded calmly professional.
“That’s one scenario,” he agreed. “However, I thought it might be interesting for you to come along. You could observe what I do firsthand.”
She wanted to jump up and down shrieking “Yes, yes, oh yes!” at the top of her lungs. Instead she drew in a deep breath. “An interesting idea.”
He was probably coming on to her, a voice in her head said. As lines went, it was a good one, but still a line.
“I hope you don’t think I’ve made this up simply to get you alone in the wilderness. Actually I’m just not that creative, otherwise I would have. But the artifact is legitimate. I can give you a number to call to check it out.”
He could read her mind. Why was she not surprised?
Of course she wanted to go. Desperately. She wanted to spend as much time with Arizona as possible and she refused to question her motives. “I’ll need to run this past my editor,” she said. “Can I call you first thing in the morning?”