Double Trouble: Nine; Keeping Ethan off guard
by Cariad
 
 
 
 

Double Trouble
~Nine~
Not surprised that Holly had absented herself from Ethan’s office by the time she arrived, Julia parked the car, locked it, and sauntered in. She whirled around the wall, unmindful if Ethan was with a client. She assumed not, for she could barely think of her half-brother as a lawyer, therefore she did not understand how anyone else could. She caught Ethan with his nose buried in a tome of some law book or another.

“How’s my favorite brother-to-be-married?” Julia called into the office, bounding towards Ethan’s chair.

He looked up, obviously startled, but recovered quickly. “Julie?” he asked, “or Holly?” He gave a wide smile. “I can never tell you two apart!”

Enough with that stupid joke already! Julia thought, but returned Ethan’s grin. “You should get bells or something for your door so you know when someone comes in,” she suggested.

“I guess,” Ethan replied, wary of his other little sister after the first had unsettled him and set him on edge.

“Please,” Julia continued, breezing around the small office, examining the bookshelves and their contents. “What could be more exciting than hearing the chime of the bells and suddenly, your blushing bride-to-be, or beloved younger sister, comes around the corner, wraps you in her arms, and plants a huge kiss on your cheek!” And Julia demonstrated. “Wouldn’t they sound so happy?”

“In that context,” Ethan said, melting under Julia’s charm, “I suppose they would be.” He looked at Julia’s sleeve as her arms were still loosely wrapped around his neck. “What happened to your shirt?” he asked, noticing dark stains.

Thank you, Providence, Julia thought. “Oh,” she said casually, “I visited Theresa this morning.”

“They look like tear stains,” he commented. “You didn’t hurt Theresa in any way, did you?” he demanded, growing unsettled and angry once more.

Julia glanced down at her shirt, and as if noticing the stains for the first time, said, “Goodness! Those are tears and mascara. Makeup runs terribly when you cry.”

“Why was she crying,” Ethan growled through clenched teeth.

“Papa bear,” Julia said with a laugh, “calm down! We were talking about girl things. She had a couple of secrets she wanted me to know, and you have to know by now how hormonal women can get at certain times. She is pregnant, you know,” Julia added in a conspiratorial whisper.

“What did she tell you?” Ethan demanded, starting to pace.

So Hollis did plant doubts, Julia thought, this is too perfect. “Nothing that I should be discussing with you,” Julia said coyly.

“Tell me,” he insisted.

Julia looked at the ceiling innocently. “She swore me to secrecy,” she said solemnly. “I can’t tell a soul, and especially not you.”

“Is she throwing me a surprise?” he asked, hope invading his voice.

More of a surprise than you know, Julia thought. “I can’t tell,” she said, raising her arms in helplessness. But I would so love to tell you, or even better, to be a fly on the wall when SHE tells you!

“Does it concern me?”

“Yes,” she answered immediately, and with such simplicity, Ethan just stared at her. Then he snapped.

“Does it have anything to do with our baby?” he asked, but continued, “Don’t answer that. Did you know Holly was in here earlier? She told me Julian Crane is paying for her prenatal care. She said she saw the bills! I told her to bring me them, but I’m hoping she doesn’t. Do you understand? It can’t be true!” he shouted. “It can’t be true! Theresa loves me. She would never go near Julian! It can’t be true!”

Go Hollis, Julia thought with admiration. You made a grown man weep! “I’m sure it’s not true,” Julia lied. “I’m sure Holly just saw some papers concerning Pilar’s recent release from working for the Cranes. She is incredibly loyal to Mother, but I don’t have to tell you that. And Theresa used to work for Mother as well, so I’m sure it was something that happened and it was drawn up so Daddy WOULDN’T pay for Theresa’s bills.” That ought to confuse him. “I’ve gotten rather close to Theresa since we’ve met, and she’s become quite attached to me…” Literally. “…But I know,” Julia continued with a soothing voice, “Theresa would never mislead you, and Holly is only looking out for your best interests. She saw something that she thought concerned you and let you know right away. If only Theresa hadn’t sworn me to secrecy.” Julia sighed heavily, then smiled. “When she’s ready to let the surprise out,” Julia said with glee, “it will be beyond all expression!” She immediately looked contrite and brought a hand up to cover her mouth. “But I’ve said to much already!” She slipped off Ethan’s desk. “Theresa invited me by tomorrow to check out some fabric samples,” she called. “This is going to be the best event ever!”

Laughing as she looked over her shoulder at her half-brother and his bewildered expression, she blew him a kiss. Playing with his mind was so much fun. The last time she remembered being able to mess with his mind, they were eight, and he was just graduating from High School. They had made him so upset, constantly switching clothing, and even wearing the same outfits, catching him off guard, telling him one thing and blaming it on the other, that even Pilar had lost her temper with them and gave them each a good spanking. That had been a great day on his graduation party where they convinced most of his friends that Ethan only had one sister, and they had more fun after too much champagne had flowed. Those were the days, Julia thought as she hopped in her car. If only Grandfather Crane wasn’t so much of a sexist, she mused, the two of them could have Crane Industries eating out of the palms of their hands. But of course, when the twins should have had advanced courses or tutors who cared, they were left to their own devices and fed off each other’s ideas and used their considerable intellect for devious purposes instead of it being channeled to helping the family. Who paid attention to a pair of little girls anyway? Especially a pair thought for a long time to be unable to speak properly—regardless if they had created their own private language. "No person is an island," their mantra went, "but if you and I stick together, we can survive the storm." She turned on the headlights and pointed the car towards home. Holly would call when she needed a ride.

Reese held out a hand in warning. “Careful on the rocks!” he called. “They’re slippery.”

Holly turned and caught her balance. “Thank you for your concern, Reese, but I have no intention of hurling myself off and plummeting into the ocean.”

“That’s very good to know,” he said as he caught up with her. “Hypothermia would set in quickly. Did I tell you when my friend Miguel and his girlfriend Charity fell into the skating pond and almost died? Hypothermia is a very serious thing.”

“I quite agree, and I have no intentions of trying it!” she laughed, which covered her shiver. Once again, she regretted not putting on something warmer than her coat over her mother’s old summer dress. It was getting chilly out now that the sun had set, but she wanted to remain with the very kind and solicitous young man who was a font of trivial information. She liked trivial information. Besides, now that it was dark, he had promised to show her how to find the North Star. They finished climbing to the top of the rock pile and sat down on the pinnacle. Holly could not hide her shiver as she felt the cold rock beneath her.

Reese immediately unzipped his parka. “You’re cold. Frostbite is also serious,” he said as he quickly removed his coat and a flannel shirt beneath it. Holly laughed as Reese hopped around to keep warm as he got his coat back on and zipped again. “It isn’t much, but I hope it helps some,” he said offering the flannel shirt.

“Thank you,” Holly said as she performed the cold-dance while getting the body-warmed flannel on underneath her winter coat. The shirt hung low enough that when she sat back down, she had an extra layer of protection between her and the rocks.

“Kay gets cold quickly too,” he explained. “But she never asks me for help. And if I offer, she refuses. But she asks Miguel. I think he’s more her size so his stuff fits better.”

“Kay’s your girlfriend, right?” Holly asked.

Reese nodded enthusiastically. “She’s the greatest,” he said.

“From what you’ve told me about her, it seems to me she’s after your friend Miguel,” she ventured quietly.

“She told me she loved me,” He said with pride. “That she wanted me for a long time. It was the greatest day of my life,” he said with such conviction Holly could not bear the thought of shattering his dreams. Besides, she told herself, your life is already arranged and you have to spend time doting on Jonathan Hotchkiss, making sure the Hotchkiss family still remains interested in Crane Industries despite what Ethan did to Gwen—back when they still thought Ethan was a Crane, she amended. Why Grandfather Crane couldn’t make it easy and let Jules chase Jonathan, Holly could not fathom. She sighed deeply.

“Feeling warmer?” Reese asked.
She smiled at the warmth and sincerity of his question. “Much better,” she said.

“Ok,” Reese said, and pointed at the sky. “Do you see the seven stars that make up the Big Dipper? Also part of Ursa Major,” he added.

“No,” Holly replied, trying to figure out where he was seeing the constellation.

“All right,” he said, unfazed by her lack of astronomical knowledge. “Follow where I point. One, Two, Three make up the handle,” he said moving his arm in a slight arc. “Four, Five, Six, and Seven make up the bowl,” he explained, also pointing to the stars, outlining the constellation.

“I think I see it!” Holly gasped, getting excited as the stars formed a cohesive pattern and her imagination filled in the rest.

“Do you see the last two stars? The ones that form the far side of the bowl?”

“Yes,” she answered.

“Those are the pointer stars. They point right at the North Star in the Little Dipper, also part of Ursa Minor”

She grasped his arm. “That bright one?”

“Yup,” he said. “And the Little Dipper pours into the Big Dipper.”

“Amazing!” she exulted, and planted a spontaneous kiss on Reese’s Cheek. In the dark, she did not see him blush.

“N-now let’s see if I can find Orion,” he stammered. “It’s easiest to find the three stars of his belt.”

Holly laughed again. Finding pictures in the sky was exhilarating. She never thought she would meet someone around her own age who had something on his mind other than getting her (or her sister) into some dark corner where they could be pawed. There is intelligent life in this universe, she thought, leaned a bit closer to Reese, and sighed happily.
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