Double Trouble: Twenty Five; the spider's web.
by Cariad
 
 
 

Double Trouble
~Twenty Five~
Julia heard Rebecca’s shriek just as she was getting back in the house. Running up the stairs, she found her sister and Jonathan feigning shock, Gwen on the verge of hysterical laughter, and Rebecca entangled in the mess of sticky ropes just inside her door.

“Of all the…” Rebecca was huffing. “I can’t believe that… It’s all their fault! POOKIE!” she shrieked. “JULIAN CRANE GET IN HERE NOW!”

“What happened here?” Julia asked in an innocent voice.

“Look what someone did to Mother’s room!” Gwen said, gesturing to the door, then immediately smothering a laugh in her hand.

“THIS IS NOT FUNNY GWENEVERE!” Rebecca screeched.

“I’m sorry, Mother,” Gwen replied contritely, fighting back another laugh.

“I’ll call Daddy on his cell phone,” Julia declared, “and then we’ll get a hold of Crane Security, and get you cut out, Rebecca.”

“YOU AND YOUR SISTER WILL PAY FOR THIS!”

Julia turned, her eyes wide with astonishment. “I just got in, Rebecca!” she said with absolute honesty. “See, my hands are not even warm yet.” Julia pressed her cold fingers to the back of Rebecca’s arm causing the older woman to jump and squirm some more. Rebecca’s struggles earned her more entanglement in the web.

Gwen choked on another laugh.
 

* * * * *

Two hours later, after security disentangled Rebecca and themselves from the web and removed the ropes from the walls, only incurring damage to the bedspread and a spot on a dresser which would have to be refinished, the head of Crane Security chuckled to himself as he wrote up his incident report. The crew was going to have a good laugh about it for a very long time. Whoever pulled the prank certainly knew how to hang things securely, and he recognized seaman’s knots on many of the ropes. It was nothing more than the bitch deserved.
He handed his report to Julian Crane at the head of the dinner table and promptly left the chilly atmosphere.

Out of the corner of her eye, Holly watched the head of security leave. She kept her eyes downcast, well aware that she and her sister were on trial at the dinner table. Jonathan Hotchkiss had wheedled a dinner invitation and sat on her left. Across the table sat Aidan and Jules. Gwen was on the other side of Jonathan, and Rebecca rounded out the dinner party at the foot.

Her father calmly sipped his soup and read the final report. Julian had arrived at his daughter’s frantic call, and he too fought down mirth at Rebecca’s entanglement in a web of her own spinning. A half smile played at his mouth as he perused the sheets of paper.

“I don’t know what is so humorous, Pookie,” Rebecca pouted. “That was a very serious situation.”

“It was a harmless prank,” Julian countered.

“It was your daughters, and you very well know it. They have hated me since the moment they arrived here!”

“Before,” Julia mumbled.

“WHAT?” Rebecca shouted. “See, that Julian! They do not respect me!”

“I didn’t say anything!” Julia protested. “And maybe you’d get a better reception if you were not threatening to kick us out at a moment’s notice!”

“Enough Julia!” Julian roared.

“Yes, Daddy,” Julia said meekly. “I’m sorry, Daddy, I was out of line.”

Julian smiled paternally. “Quite all right, dearest,” he said. Looking up at Rebecca, he added, “This report seems to indicate that the person or persons responsible were quite professional about the whole thing—childish prank and all. Security will be looking into it.”

“Security does not need to be looking into it. I know it was those two brats of Ivy’s sitting here at the same table as me!”

“MOTHER!” Gwen shouted.

“Don’t you ‘mother’ me, Gwenevere!” Rebecca screamed.

Holly and Julia shared a glance. Aidan had an amused grin on his face.

“SILENCE!” Julian bellowed, slamming his spoon down to the table. “We will keep a civil discussion at this table or we will not discuss anything at all. I have a headache as it is without all this noise being heaped on top of it.” He reached for his glass of wine and took a calming breath. “So Jonathan,” Julian said amicably, “I see that you are spending time with my daughter.”

“Yes, sir,” Jonathan replied with a straight face, “I am very attached to your daughter.”

Holly nearly spit her soup out over the table. Instead she choked it down with a cough.

“Are you all right, dear?” Julian asked politely.

Holly turned red. “I just swallowed wrong,” she mumbled.

“I am looking forward to escorting her to the New Year’s Eve Ball,” Jonathan said politely.

“Grand!” Julian said. “It is so good to know that with all the mess that went on, what with Ethan not being my son and all, that Hotchkiss Enterprises and Crane Industries are still good business partners.”

“Yes,” Jonathan drawled, “despite everything that has gone on,” he said, directing a pointed look towards his mother, “the two companies have compatible interests, though it appears as though the dynamic has changed now, with Ethan being out of the picture.”

“We’ll discuss that later!” Julian laughed. Holly fought the urge to take her salad fork and gouge out both her father’s eyes and Jonathan’s. She seriously considered pushing Julia towards Noah Bennett, since he seemed to be quite pleasant—unlike Jonathan. She imagined the scandal that would happen if they got up all the way to the wedding she knew was in the cards, and she said ‘no’ and ran off with someone with no prospects in the Crane point of view. Like Reese, she thought happily. Oh the look on high and mighty Jonathan Hotchkiss’s face when she turned him down for Reese, and then if Julia snubbed him for Noah. She shook herself back to reality. If anything Julia was, she was stubborn, and since she had her mind on her Johnny Hotchkiss, Holly would help her any way she could—even if it meant wearing that nearly indecent red dress to the Ball.

“Julia,” her father was saying as Holly ended her daydream, “It has come to my attention that Gwen may not be able to chaperone you at the Ball.” At his daughter’s nod, Julian continued, “I have a list of patrons I would like you to be seen with.”

Julia fought a groan. Jonathan shot her a sympathetic glance, remembering their conversation when she pretended to be Holly and he took her out to the Seascape. “Yes, Daddy,” she mumbled.

Holly caught Rebecca’s triumphant smile as Julia sunk into her chair. Holly wished Rebecca’s hair would fall out and her collagen-injected lips ripped off. Not to mention how she hoped Rebecca’s implants would shift. Holly smiled to herself. Maybe her lips would not fall off and her implants would stay in place, but there was Nair in her conditioner.

“What sparks the cat-eating-the-canary smile, dear sister?” Aidan asked.

Julia dug the heel of her shoe into Aidan's foot.

“I’m looking forward to the Ball,” Holly answered sweetly.

“Really, I was under the impression you had no desire to…”

“Disobey Grandfather Crane’s wishes,” Julia interrupted.

“Exactly!” Holly jumped on her sister’s opening. “Besides, Mr. Hotchkiss picked out a lovely dress which I am looking forward to wearing.”

Holly could not miss Aidan’s calculating expression. He assumed they were up to something—which they were—but they would have to be extra-careful with their trouble-making brother sniffing on their trail. The rest of dinner passed in silence.
 

* * * * *

Julia thought she heard something hit her newly-repaired window. Rolled over in the pre-dawn silence and glanced at her clock. Not even four a.m. She groaned, flopping back to return to blissful sleep. The sound came again. Dragging her blanket around her, she rose and looked out her window. A rock headed straight for her face! She jumped back despite the fact that the window was closed. Instead of breaking through, the rock gently tapped the pane and fell harmlessly to the ground.
She opened the window and stuck her head out into the cold.

“Holly?” a voice yelled in a hoarse whisper.

Julia recognized the ancient coat and hat and the bespectacled face. “No, wrong room!” she called down.

“Which one is hers then?” Reese called up.

“Don’t mind that, I’ll get her!” Julia disappeared inside her window and dashed into her sister’s room. “Wake up, Hollis!” she whispered, bouncing on the bed next to her sister.

Holly rolled over and opened her eyes. “What,” she demanded.

“You’ve got a lover-boy at my window.”

“If it’s Jonathan, I’ll kill him.”

“No, It’s Nerdley-boy.”

“Reese?” Holly asked, sitting straight up in bed. She had forgotten their nightly stargazing session. She hopped out and fumbled in the dark for some clothing. She ran into her sister’s room and leaned out the window.

“Holly?” Reese called from below.

“Reese, I am so sorry!” she said. “Things got really hectic here and it completely slipped my mind!”

“That’s ok!” he smiled. “I wanted to show you some things around dawn anyway.”

“Wonderful!” Holly pulled her head back inside the window and gave Julia a huge hug. Apparently, Julia thought, her anger towards Jonathan had been forgotten at a word from Reese.

Julia put her head back out the window.

“Holly?” Reese called.

“She’ll be right down!” Julia told him, and waited for Holly’s blond head to appear around the corner. Holly waved up at Julia, so Julia waved back.

“Thanks!” Reese said, waving, before he pulled Holly out of sight.

Julia sighed and shut the window. What a perfect life it would be if Johnny realized that Holly had no interest in him, that way, after Julia sacrificed herself for the Crane-Hotchkiss merger, she and Johnny could give Holly and Reese a little house on their property, and Holly could live in the quaint little house she always wanted. And Julia could live like she always had—in the lap of luxury. And Rebecca would be washing her floors. With Theresa.

Julia fell asleep with the mental image of Rebecca and Theresa fighting over a scrub-brush.
 

* * * * *

Holly warmed her hands in front of the heating vent in Reese’s beat up ’88 Ford Bronco II. Reese handed her a festively wrapped package. “Here,” he said. “I won’t be able to give it to you tonight or tomorrow—we’ve got family stuff.”
Holly took the heavy package. “I feel so bad now,” she confessed. “I haven’t really had time to get you anything. I wasn’t expecting anything.”

“Open it,” Reese said. “I didn’t really have much time to get anything either, but I had an extra copy hanging around.”

Holly ripped open the package to reveal a book on stars.

“Now you can study up,” Reese said.

Holly blushed. “Thanks, it was very thoughtful.”

“Do you like it?” Reese asked tentatively.

“Most definitely!” Holly said immediately. “No one, well, no one other than Jules and sometimes Aunt Sher, has ever given me a thoughtful gift. It’s wonderful!” She leaned over and gave Reese a kiss on the cheek. He turned pink. Remembering her conversation with Kay, Holly quelled her excitement. “I shouldn’t have done that,” she said.

“No!” Reese jumped. “Well, I guess. I mean, Kay is my girlfriend. But I didn’t mind. Oh I made a mess of that, didn’t I?”

Kay Bennett, you are a fool, Holly thought, hugging the book to her chest. “No, that’s all right. Kay said that she didn’t mind that we studied astronomy together.”

“That’s good. I hope you and Kay can get to be friends.”

Holly glanced out the window. Come on, Hollis, she told herself, you knew going into this he had a girlfriend. Don’t get so upset! She swallowed past the lump in her throat and gave a smile for Reese. “I hope so too,” she managed to say.
 
 
 
 

Chapter 26
Chapter 24
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