“Alexa? Where are you?” If it was possible, her voice got higher, and I cringed. She peeked in the doorway. “Oh, there you are. Why didn’t you answer me? I had to yell. You know how that stresses my vocal cords. Chazz doesn’t like when my vocal cords are stressed.”
Oh yes, the vocal cords. Raquel had a beautiful singing voice. It was odd, considering her speaking voice nearly drove me up the wall. But she sang like an angel. Mom, of course, loved the attention Raquel garnered and generally sided with her. They had hoped one day Raquel would make it big. Mom always said that someday, word of Raquel’s voice would travel and bring an agent to Skagway to sign her. They were delusional. “Mom, Alexa is stressing me out. It’ll affect my vocal cords.” That was the most commonly heard phrase in our house when we were growing up. Dad, on the other hand, would ignore the complaints and take me fishing. Anything so we could escape the house.
Raquel wore her dark hair in a tight chignon and some over-the-top designer suit. In Skagway, she stuck out like a sore thumb. As she walked in, her strong perfume filled the room. I wanted to gag from the overly flowery taste in my mouth.
Maybe things will be different now. Hopefully.
“Hey, Raquel. It’s good to see you.”
I stepped forward, my arms outstretched. Raquel’s reaction was almost comical. She patted my shoulders like I was diseased. If we’d been in public, she would have greeted me with excessive affection.
Nope, she hasn’t changed.
Without a word, Drake stepped beside me and rested his hand on my hip. Raquel’s eyes focused in on the motion, her mouth flat. She’d never approved of Drake. The thought of being connected to someone who owned a bar was unimaginable to her. Time and time again, she’d begged Dad to make me break up with him. Needless to say, Drake barely tolerated her.
What am I supposed to say?
The situation grew awkward as I waited and Raquel peered around the room. Disapproval rolled off her in
waves. There was no question that the clinic was definitely beneath her.
Well, truth be told, anyone who didn’t believe money and status were everything was beneath her.
My parents had been financially comfortable from Dad’s logging and Mom running the B&B during the tourist months. But there wasn’t much excess. Which was why I’d had to scrimp and save for college.
After Dad died, Raquel and Chazz started dating—they got married two months later. The moment he came to town Raquel had schemed to get Chazz’s attention. I had overheard a conversation between her and Mom after the funeral in a back room. The poor guy never stood a chance.
I hadn’t been invited to the wedding, which hurt. But it had always been that way—Raquel intentionally did things to spite and hurt me. She’d known that I would have wanted to be there. Family was important to me.
I’d found out about Raquel’s engagement through the Twiner sisters’ newsletter. Yeah, it had stung. Sooner or later, I’d grow completely numb to anything my sister did.
Once she’d completed her survey of the room, Raquel twisted her expression and waved her perfectly manicured hand in front of her nose. “The dust is beginning to upset my allergies. I’ll need to make this quick. Chazz hates when I’m stuffy and sound nasal. We need to talk about welcoming Dr. Fritz to Skagway. Chazz agrees.”
Chazz Hennington. I’d never met the guy, but hearing his name was like fingernails on a chalkboard. No one knew much about his family other than the fact that his parents were dead and he had a brother in California. From what I understood from the Twiners, they’d made their millions from a grocery store chain in California.
I wanted to wipe the smug look right off Raquel’s face. “I think we’re going to do the meet and greet at the Red Onion. Hopefully, Chazz will understand.” I kept my face neutral, but my voice dripped sarcasm. There was only so much I could take from my sister before my temper flared. And I hated when my temper got the best of me. It normally resulted in me doing something I regretted.
One time in high school, I dumped an entire tray of food on my sister in front of the whole school. Yeah, I’d gotten in trouble for that one. She’d dropped her backpack on my school project, ruining it. It had pissed me off and I reacted. Poorly.
“Pardon me?”
“You heard me, Raquel. We’ll do a welcome party at the Red Onion.” Well, I hadn’t really cleared it with Drake, but he wouldn’t care.
She gasped, her hand to her chest, and I felt Drake’s frame shake as he tried to contain his laughter. “I don’t know if a bar is the right place to welcome the town’s doctor.”
Cocking his head, Drake stared at Raquel. “I promise to make sure the floors are mopped and the tables have been wiped down. Chazz can stop by to check it out if he’d like.”
I mashed my lips together at Drake’s overemphasis of Chazz. At one point when we were dating, Raquel had gone off on how she doubted the floors and tables in Drake’s bar were ever cleaned. Apparently, Drake remembered.
Raquel’s green eyes narrowed, and her lips thinned to nonexistent. If looks could kill, Drake would have vaporized. She walked around the room a few times, circling her prey… probably me. Maybe Drake. The clicking of her heals echoed through the room. Raquel pinned her eyes on me trying to intimidate me into submission. It wouldn’t work. I refused to turn around and follow her movement. Drake remained relaxed beside me. It always amazed me how composed he could remain.
Finally, she asked, “Is the fodder in Twiner Tellings true?” before sighing dramatically.
Fodder? Who talked like that?
Before either of us had a chance to respond, she continued. “Alexa, things have changed since you left. I do not need a member of our family gossiped about in that horrid newsletter. It’s upsetting to me. And Chazz hates when I’m upset. He plans to run for mayor in the next election. You understand, right?”
Mayor Richards would not like that news. He’d been elected seven years ago and served the people of Skagway well. If Chazz were to win, I imagined my sister would want Skagway to be renamed Raquelville.