Strangely Normal (7 page)

Cole looked down at me. “Really? What makes you thinks so?”

“I can just tell he doesn’t care for me.” I definitely didn’t want to bring up the conversation in the theater.

Cole looked over at Finley. “Isn’t that interesting?”

Finley nodded. “Why, yes it is.”

“If you two are going to continue talking in secret sibling code, I’m going to take a swim over to the deep end. I’ll send up a flare if I get lost out there.” I pushed off and swam toward the far end of the pool, which was a good distance away. Two laps in this pool would be a full workout. I was halfway across when I heard Finley call out for Some Pig. The sudden urgency in her voice made me turn back quickly.

“Where is he?” Finley cried. “Cole, find him, find him, please.” Cole pulled himself out of the pool just as I reached the small island. Finley was sucking in short gasps of air, and her face was white with worry. “I knew something would happen,” she cried. “Some Pig is gone and it’s all my fault.” I climbed up on the island and sat next to Finley. Her shoulders tensed up around her ears as she struggled to get a solid breath.

“I’m sure Some Pig is fine,” I said, but she didn’t hear a word. I felt completely helpless. I took hold of her hand, but she didn’t react to my touch. She was fading into her own panic-filled world. Water splashed over the island, and Jude’s head popped up from the water. Fully clothed, he pulled himself up onto the island and knelt behind his sister.

Gently he kneaded her shoulders and lowered his face near hers. “Breathe, Finley, breathe.” He looked at me. “I’ve got her. Go help find the pig. He likes the shade tree by the rose garden.”

I jumped into the water and swam quickly to the side. I hoisted myself up and ran toward the path. Cole joined me.

“He’s not under the tree. I already checked.” He motioned toward the house. “See if he went back to the house, and I’ll check out by the tennis courts.”

I raced back to the house and noticed immediately that the screen door was pushed open. Some Pig glanced up lazily from the rug in front of the television, completely unaware of the chaos he’d created. I turned to race back to the pool with the news. Some Pig got up and trotted after me. We jogged down the path side by side as if we were out running the track together. “You sure caused a stink, S.P. Let’s hurry back.” As soon as my foot hit the path leading to the pool area, I called out. “I’ve got him!”

I rounded the corner just as Jude was carrying Finley out of the pool. She looked sickly pale and her thin shoulders shook.

“I found him!” I called again.

Jude and Finley looked up. “Some Pig,” Finley cried as she spotted us. “Where were you?” Her voice was weak and shaky as if she’d just gone through something traumatic. And, I guess to her, it had been.

Jude lowered Finley’s feet to the ground, and Some Pig ran over to greet her as if in apology.

I pressed my hand to my chest to catch my breath. “He was curled up by the television.”

Cole came around the back of the pool house. “Oh good, you found him.”

“Cole, take Finley back to the house. She needs to get out of the sun,” Jude said.

Cole placed an arm around her shoulder and led Finley back toward the house. Her pig followed.

I collected our towels and shoes. Jude’s shadow loomed over me, and I sped up my movements to get away from him quickly. I had this sinking feeling he was going to lecture me or give me the big I told you so look. Arms full, I spun around and nearly smacked into him. Obviously, my clean get away was not going to happen.

The wet white t-shirt clung to every curve of his muscular chest and arms as he assessed me coolly with his disconcerting gaze. “You did all right out there,” he said quietly. “You kept your head.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but I’d been so ready to defend myself, his compliment caught me off guard. I tucked my hair behind my ears with trembling fingers. The entire incident had left me more shaken that I’d realized. Having Jude stand so close was definitely not helping matters. His gaze lingered on my face and lips and then floated slowly down my body to my feet. I cursed myself for not taking time to cover up with the towel. “I know— my suit is embarrassingly ugly. You don’t have to tell me.”

His long black lashes lifted, and he stared at my face again. “What suit?” He turned and strolled back to the pool house without further comment, and I race-walked back to the house.

I headed upstairs to change into dry clothes.

Cole was just coming out of Finley’s room. “She’s all right now. I’m sure you can go in.”

“I’m just going to change,” I said. The tremble in my hands had subsided, but my nerves were still on edge. The adept way in which both of Finley’s brothers had sprung into action made it obvious that these episodes happened frequently, and I had the sinking feeling that this had been only a minor incident. We’d resolved the problem quickly by producing her source for the panic attack. Jude had gotten to her so fast, I hadn’t even seen him race over from the pool house. I wasn’t completely sure that I would have been able to help her at all. Finley seemed to only respond to Jude at the time. That made the prospect of him leaving somewhat daunting. In fact, once he left and Cole returned to work, it would be completely up to me to take care of Finley. I hated to admit it, but that thought terrified me some.

Chapter 8

I pulled my hair up into a ponytail, changed into some shorts, and walked over to Finley’s room. My knuckles tapped the door lightly. “It’s me.”

“Come on in, Eden.”

Finley was sitting on the floor sliding off Some Pig’s Hawaiian print shirt. “I think we’ve both had enough of the pool scene today. He wants to spend the rest of the day in the raw.”

I sat down across from them and glanced around. Every wall was covered with a mosaic of old movie posters, pictures, and paintings. There was a long shelf filled with tennis trophies.

“Did you win all those trophies?”

“Yeah, I was a pretty good tennis player at one time. But my anxiety issues got in the way, and I lost my edge in competition.” There was sadness in her chuckle. “Now I can’t even walk out to the tennis courts my dad had built for me. It’s like there’s an invisible perimeter around this house, around my world, and I can’t cross it because I will freak out. My
issues
control every aspect of my life.” She lifted her round blue eyes and looked at me. “I hope you don’t leave, Eden. I really like having you here.”

“I’m not planning to leave, if that’s all right with you.”

She reached over and hugged me. “It’s definitely all right with me.” I got up and walked over to the paintings. One was a portrait of Finley sitting next to one of the dogs. Another was a portrait of her father from his younger days in the band. I leaned closer but could not make out the signature. “These are amazing. Who painted them?”

“Jude. He’s pretty good.”

“Your brother, Jude?”

“I know. He’s such an ass, it’s hard to believe.”

I smiled to myself. “He’s actually really good. That would explain the chemical smell. Does he work with paint thinner a lot?”

Finley walked over to a closet and opened the door. “Yeah. Sometimes it smells like he bathes in the stuff.” She walked inside the closet, which was bigger than my parent’s bedroom, and reappeared with a large box. She dropped it on her bed, and I plopped down next to it. “I promised to show you my collection of voodoo dolls. I made them myself, and I have to say they’re pretty cool.” She opened the box, reached inside, and plucked out a tiny hand-sewn doll with yarn hair and small blue t-shirt with the words
bad pet owner
embroidered in black thread. She held it up and reached inside the box. This time she pulled out what appeared to be a fake piece of dog poop, like a prank you’d get from the joke shop.

“I’m not following,” I admitted.

“A couple years ago, Dr. Houston, one of the many silly shrinks my dad hired to listen to my problems, advised me to find an outlet for my frustrations.” She crinkled her nose. “The man always smelled like peppermint, and he was constantly smoothing down the ends of his moustache. Anyhow, he told me to sketch things that angered me, so I could deal with all my problems. I wasn’t really into drawing but I loved to sew. I got out my sewing machine and started making voodoo dolls. But instead of the dolls representing one person, they represented certain human traits that I really despised. Like this one.” She held up the doll again. “This doll represents all those awful people who don’t take decent care of their pets, people who leave their dogs out in the rain, or people who forget to feed their hamsters. It represents all the people who are selfish enough to have a pet but not decent enough to care for them.” She lifted the piece of plastic poop. “Instead of pins in the doll, I decided to be more creative with my hexes. All bad pet owners are cursed so that unless they change their ways, everything they eat smells like dog poop.”

“Okay, that is clever but also very twisted.”

She tossed the doll back into the box. “They deserve it. And strangely enough it made me feel better after I’d created the doll. Of course, when I showed it to Dr. Houston, he told my dad that he wasn’t sure how to proceed with my treatment.” She laughed. “I guess he thought I was too nuts to be saved.”

“Obviously the man had no imagination. Or maybe he was a bad pet owner.” I reached into the box and pulled out another doll. This one wore a t-shirt that read
ignoramus
. I held it up. “Let me guess. Ignorant people?”

“Yep. Can’t stand close-minded, stupid people, like Dr. Houston,” she added. “Anyhow, I’ve cursed them all to a never-ending ride on a roller coaster.”

I reached in and plucked out another doll. “You really are great at sewing. The stitching on these dolls looks professional.” I rubbed my thumb over the embroidered letters that spelled out the word
virus
. “I see your anger moved on from humans and on to microscopic organisms.”

She nodded but didn’t elaborate at first. I sensed a mood change and wondered what had triggered it. I was definitely going to have to learn which subjects to avoid. She’d brought out the voodoo dolls, so I’d assumed they were harmless. She scooped up the dolls and took the one I was holding from my hand and dropped them in the box.

“It was a silly exercise, and in the end, it was worthless, just like Dr. Houston and all the other psychiatrists.”

Her expression grew grim as she carried the box back to the closet. “Your sister died of a virus, didn’t she?” I asked the question knowing full well it might be a grave mistake. But at the same time, I sensed that she wanted to talk about it.

Finley shut the closet door and stared at it for a moment. She still faced the door as she spoke. “I came home with the flu one day. It was a bad one, but I got over it in a few days. Chloe had been born prematurely like me. My mom’s doctor had told her she cooked babies too fast.” She turned around and faced me. “Chloe caught the flu from me, but she just couldn’t seem to kick it. She ended up in the hospital. Dad took me to see her, but she didn’t even look like my sister. There were all kinds of tubes coming out of her.” Finley sat on the bed, and Some Pig trotted over as if he sensed her distress. She played absently with the pig’s ear as she continued. “She didn’t make it. I brought the flu home, and my sister died from it.”

I reached down to touch the pig. “And that’s what all this is about. Your anxiety all has to do with the fact that you think you caused your sister’s death.”

She scooted back and flopped against her pillows. I joined her.

“Yep. Nothing too deep or complex in my psyche. Just major guilt. And by the way, it took Dr. Houston eight two-hour sessions to figure out that little
plain as day
mystery.”

“I suppose he was the inspiration for the ignoramus doll?”

“You got it.”

Some Pig snorted mildly as he rooted around in Finley’s shoes. I stared at the long shelf of trophies for a moment. “Have you ever tried walking past it?” I asked.

“Past what?”

“The invisible perimeter.”

“Not for a long time.”

“Well, then that will be our first goal.” I propped up on my elbow and looked down at her. “After lunch today, we’re going to take three steps past the perimeter.”

“I don’t know, Eden. It’s already been a crummy day.”

“Today, when Cole was talking about his party, he mentioned his friend Max. You like this guy don’t you?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Well, how are you ever going to go on a date with Max if you can’t get past the barrier?”

“It’s hopeless. I’m nuts.”

I sat up. “Finley Tate King, you are not nuts. Fucking eccentric, yes, but you’re not nuts. And if I can walk out to that pool area in the ugliest bathing suit ever sewn, then you can take three friggin’ steps out of your comfort zone.”

She seemed to be mulling over my pep talk. Then she laughed. “Oh my god, that suit really is hideous.”

“Yes, thank you. I know.”

She sat up. “Three steps and no more.”

“Just three.”

A knock on her door was followed by Jude’s voice. A slight tremble returned to my hands upon hearing it, and I wondered what the hell that was about.

Jude opened the door and poked his dark head inside. “I need to borrow Eden for a second. William is here.”

I looked questioningly at Finley, but she avoided direct eye contact with me. She slid off the bed, walked over to her computer, and sat down. “Don’t keep her long. We’re going to shop online for a bathing suit.”

Hesitantly, I slid off the bed and walked to the door. I had no idea what was going on or who William was, but I followed Jude down the stairs. We ended up in the kitchen where a middle-aged man in an expensive suit sat at the counter sipping a soda. His briefcase leaned up against the legs of the stool he sat on. He stood as I stepped into the kitchen behind Jude.

“Hello, Miss Saxon. I’m William Shuster, lawyer for Nicky King.”

“Lawyer?” A pile of legal looking papers sat on the counter next to a pen.

“Yes, Mr. King has all of his employees sign a contract.”

He motioned for me to sit on the stool next to him. Jude did not join us, but he stood nearby to watch. I wondered if this was all his doing. Obviously, he still didn’t trust me, and that thought tightened a knot in my stomach.

The lawyer flipped the pages through his fingers once as if I could magically read them.

“I’m an excellent reader, Mr. Shuster, but I’m afraid my reading skills don’t allow me read at the speed of light.”

A small laugh came from Jude’s direction, but I was too angry to even look his way.

“It’s all basic legal terms releasing my client from liability if you’re injured or killed on his premises. There is also a clause that prohibits you from relaying anything of a personal nature that occurs here at the King residence. As you can understand, Miss Saxon, my client is very well-known, and the tabloids are constantly looking for stories to exploit.”

I pulled the papers from him and skimmed through them, but the legal language was foreign and difficult to understand.

“Everyone employed in this household signs this exact agreement.” He cleared his throat. “Different names and positions, of course, but the same clauses are listed.”

My eyes drifted to the line below my name. The words
companion to Miss Finley King
were typed on the line. I thought back to Finley’s reaction when Jude had asked to see me. She knew about this whole thing. I was hurt that she hadn’t clued me into it first. A warning would have been nice. I had to trust that Mrs. Vickers would not have sent me into a shady situation.

I picked up the pen and signed my name. “Is that all you need?”

The lawyer checked the signature and nodded. “That’s all. Thank you.”

I hopped off the stool and brushed past Jude without looking at him. I heard the man say something, and Jude followed with the words, “excuse me for a minute, Will.”

Heavy footsteps pounded behind me. “Eden.”

I ignored Jude and picked up my pace down the long hallway.

“Eden.” His calloused, paint-stained fingers wrapped around my arm, and he spun me around to face him. I still hadn’t learned to steel myself against the impact of his gaze. “This is something my dad has everyone sign. He has to protect himself from lawsuits and slander. This had nothing to do with me.”

An angry laugh escaped me. “That’s funny. All of a sudden, you’re concerned about my opinion of you.” I tried to pull from his grasp, but his grip was too strong. “Can I go back upstairs?” My traitorous confidence had vanished and my voice wavered.

“Eden, I do want you to stay. Finley likes you. She doesn’t put trust in many people.” His grasp on my arm loosened, and he dropped his hand. Strangely enough, the heat from his fingers lingered on my skin as if he still touched me.

“You’re as changeable as your sister.”

“I know. You were right last night—” He smiled down at the floor and then lifted his face. “—when you basically laid me flat for my ignorance.”

I looked at him. “You know, Finley has a voodoo doll for people like you.”

“Yeah. I guess I’m destined to spend eternity on a roller coaster.”

I continued to the staircase but was acutely aware of the fact that he watched me walk away. I got to Finley’s door and knocked but didn’t wait to be invited inside.

She was staring at the monitor. “Come see this one, Eden. I think the color would be great on your olive skin.”

“I have no money for a suit and you’re a coward.”

She didn’t respond at first but then swiveled her chair around. “I’m sorry. I wanted to warn you, but I was afraid you’d pack up and leave.”

“I’m not fickle like that. And it would have been a lot easier to swallow coming from you.”

“I really am sorry, Eden. I won’t betray your trust again. Now, let me make it up to you by buying you a swimsuit.”

“You don’t need to do that.”

“Yeah,” she laughed, “I really do. Of course, it’ll probably be a big mistake. After seeing both my brothers react to you in that unflattering suit, I’m not completely sure what will happen if you walk out in a stunning suit. Should be entertaining. Check out this pink bikini.”

I looked over her shoulder. “It’s cute.”

She looked back at me. “Hmm, size six, I think.” She tapped the keyboard a few times. “Done. It’s coming overnight. Now let’s go down and eat. I’m starved and I want to attempt our first goal. I’ve been thinking about it, and I think with you by my side, I can do this.”