Chapter 10
1138 Words
CHAPTER 10
They had finished up breakfast and were playing a game of go fish with Sara’s new cards when the doorbell rang. Sara raced to open it.
“I bet it’s Auntie Shannon!” Clearly Isaac’s sister was a favourite with the little girl. But when Sara opened the front door, there was a man she didn’t know standing at the door. “Who are you?”
Jenna tried to shift Sara out of the way without being too obvious. “That’s Eli, my brother.”
“Are you here for Christmas dinner?” Sara asked.
“No,” said Jenna, at the same time as Eli said, “Yes.” Jenna glared at Eli. “You can’t stay here. You weren’t invited, and you need to leave now.” She was about to close the door in his face when he said, “Actually, I was invited. Your boyfriend said I was welcome to join you.”
“What are you talking about? I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Nice try, Jenna. I’m pretty sure he said his name was Isaac.”
Jenna got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. That’s how he had found her. But when had Eli had a chance to talk to Isaac? And why on earth would Isaac invite him here?
At that moment, Isaac walked around the corner, and Eli said, “If you don’t believe me, just ask him.”
“Sara, why don’t you go and finish colouring your Christmas card for Auntie Shannon.” He didn’t know what was going on, but Isaac could tell from the tense set of Jenna’s shoulders that her brother showing up was not the welcome surprise he had thought it would be. “You must be Eli.” Isaac stuck out a hand and shook hands with Jenna’s brother, while trying to ignore the dagger-like stare he could feel coming from Jenna.
He’d clearly stepped in it somehow. When he had answered Jenna’s phone, the brother had assured him that he was planning to surprise his sister with a visit for Christmas but had showed up at her place to find her gone. He’d made it sound like they were close, and that she’d be thrilled to see him. Isaac was getting the idea that things were perhaps not as rosy between the siblings as Eli had claimed.
“Isaac, could you please give me minute to talk to Eli? Alone.”
Jenna waited until Isaac had left to check on Sara before she lit into her brother.
“Seriously, what do you want? I already told you I’m not giving you any money.”
Eli’s face hardened. “I’m not leaving until you give me what I want.”
“Or what, Eli? What exactly are you going to do if I don’t give you the money?”
Eli shrugged. “These seem like nice people. I’d hate for anything to happen to them. Especially that cute little girl.”
“You wouldn’t hurt them.” Jenna tried to inject some confidence into her voice, but in truth, she had no idea what this stranger who used to be her brother might do.
“Don’t test me, Jenna. I’m out of options. And you are going to help me.”
Jenna had no intention of giving him what he wanted. But she did need to get him as far away from Isaac and Sara as she possibly could. Ideally before their family arrived.
They had given her the perfect Christmas morning. The least she could do was return the favour and make sure that her brother was long gone before he had a chance to upset everyone and wreck their Christmas dinner.
Jenna was pacing her room as best she could, only vaguely aware of her crutches digging into her armpits.
What was she thinking? She needed to just get in the car and go. There was no way her life could blend with Isaac and Sara’s. Her brother was always going to be a liability, and there was no way she would let him into their life. As long as she stuck around, they would be at risk. She needed to get out of here, as soon as possible. If she did, her brother would leave too.
As much as she hated the idea, she pretended to give in, and convinced her brother that they would have to go back to the city before she could get her hands on the cash he needed. The doctor had instructed her not to drive for at least another week or two while her knee healed, but Eli had taken the greyhound to Rivers End and hitched a ride to the lodge from town. He was taking her bags out to the trunk, and then he was going to drive both of them back to the city in her car.
Jenna hadn’t figured out what she was going to do about him once she got there, but her first priority was to get them both out of Isaac’s house. They had a few hours of travelling after that; she’d figure something out along the way.
She felt terrible about disappearing like this, but she really didn’t know what her brother was capable of. Especially if she continued to refuse him money. He had a temper, and she didn’t want that anywhere near Sara and Isaac.
Jenna glanced at the note she’d left for Isaac on the desk in her room. It wasn’t an ideal goodbye, but it was the best she could do in a hurry. His family would be arriving any minute. She didn’t want to make a scene, and she didn’t think that she was strong enough to say goodbye in person. She wasn’t sure what would be worse: if he asked her to stay and she had to go, or if he didn’t ask her to stay at all.
Jenna looped her purse over her shoulder and grabbed her crutches to head down to the cabin where her car was parked.
It was time to go, before she changed her mind.
Isaac paced back and forth in the living room. He had a bad feeling about Jenna’s brother. Something was definitely off. Jenna was upset, but she wasn’t talking to him. When he’d asked her if there was anything he could do she had brushed him off. Clearly she was mad about him inviting her brother here. But it’s not like he could have known they weren’t getting along.
Frustrated, and worried about Jenna, he checked in on Sara. She was colouring away happily in the living room. Then, because he hadn’t heard anything from Jenna’s room for a little while, he headed down the hallway. When he got there, all he found was an empty room. No Jenna. No stuff.
Seriously? He wasn’t at all prepared for her to just walk away. He had convinced himself that she would have a great Christmas dinner with his family, and then once everything calmed down they’d have a few more days together, and maybe he could even convince her to stick around for New Year’s Eve.
If she thought she could just leave, then she had another thing coming.
- Writer
