But how could Casey possibly know her twin would come back for the reunion, when Amelia hadn’t even RSVPed? Since Casey was on the reunion decoration committee even though she wasn’t planning to attend, she’d heard all about how her sister hadn’t responded yet. “The reunion’s not for another three weeks.”
Amelia shrugged and said, in an airy tone, “I had some vacation time I needed to use or lose, so I thought I’d come early.”
“Okay.” That sounded reasonable. Or did it?
If it were anyone other than Amelia, Casey would believe the explanation. But this was Amelia talking—the girl who had left two days after they’d graduated from high school, loudly proclaiming she couldn’t wait to get as far away as she could from Treasure Creek. She’d ended up in San Francisco. Back to the place where they were born.
Over the last decade, though she called every few weeks, she’d come back only twice. Each time staying no more than a couple of days before declaring she couldn’t take another minute in this small town. So why the sudden need to return? And from the sound of it, for an extended stay.
Casey knew she should be glad to see her sister, but for some reason, Amelia’s presence only stirred up annoyance. How awful was that? Guilt curled in Casey’s belly, making her breakfast churn.
A chiming noise emanated from Amelia’s purse. She stuck her hand inside and silenced the cell phone.
“You’re not going to answer that?” Casey asked, curious as to why she wouldn’t.
“No.” Amelia turned her red, glossy smile on Jake. “Jake Rodgers, right?” She held out her soft-looking, manicured hand. “I remember you. You were ahead of us by a couple of years.” Her gaze slid speculatively to Casey and then back to Jake. “I didn’t know you two were friends.”
The insinuation in her voice grated across Casey’s nerves. “He’s my client,” she said, trying to keep impatience out of her tone.
Jake briefly shook her offered hand. “Nice to meet you, Amelia. I take it you don’t live in Treasure Creek anymore.”
“Oh, please. No, I flew the coop after graduation. Just like you. I ended up in San Francisco. I manage a department store now,” she said, with obvious pride in her voice. “Where did you end up?”
“The windy city of Chicago.”
“Ah. And now you’re back.” Her dark eyes took on a predatory gleam. “For how long?”
Casey clenched her jaw at her sister’s obvious ploy. Amelia liked her men rich, which Jake Rodgers definitely was.
“Permanently,” Jake stated, firmly. “I’m taking over the family business.
“How interesting.” She glanced at Casey. “So you’re hiring my sis to take you on a wilderness tour? Very exciting.”
Jake flashed a grin at Casey. “Yes, I am. We were discussing the details.”
Amelia bumped Casey with her shoulder. “I’ve always wanted to take one of sis’s tours, but have never had the time. Until now.”
Right. Like Casey believed that. Her prissy sister wouldn’t last ten minutes out in the Alaskan wilderness. Needing to get her sister out of her hair so she could finish up with Jake, Casey dug her house keys from the side pocket of her hiking pants and held them out. “Why don’t you take my keys and head to the house? You can unpack and unwind. I’ll be home later.”
Ignoring the dangling keys hanging from Casey’s finger, Amelia pinned her with a challenging look. “I’d really like to hear about this tour. When are you going?” She slanted a coy glance at Jake. “Is there room for one more?”
“We haven’t firmed up the particulars. We were talking about leaving this coming Monday.” Jake tilted his head and shifted his gaze to Casey. “I’m open to having a group tour.”
Dread sluiced through Casey like a dam bursting. Gritting her teeth in a semblance of what she hoped was a smile, Casey said to Jake, “That’s very generous of you.” To her sister, she said, “Amelia, it’s a backpacking trip. You know? Hiking through the woods, climbing over rough terrain, camping out, carrying your own equipment.”
“Oh, how rugged that sounds.” Amelia grinned, flashing her even, blindingly white teeth. “I love it. Count me in.”
“Great.” Just great…not.
Well, so much for finding out if she had a shot with Jake. With Amelia around, Casey didn’t stand a chance. For as long as Casey could remember, people gravitated to Amelia, leaving Casey to follow in her shadow. Why would Jake be any different?
It was just as well, Casey reasoned. She had experienced too much loss to ever want to risk her heart to love again.
Not even for the handsome, charming Jake Rodgers.
“No way. That sounds horrible.”
Jake stared at his daughter slouched on the navy leather couch of his parents’ home. She hadn’t even looked up from the fashion magazine in her lap when he’d told her of the plans. She just kept cutting away with the scissors. Strewn all over the couch were cutouts from the various magazines stacked on the floor. Veronica dreamed of being a fashion model or designer or some such. She pasted the cutouts onto a big piece of poster board in her room.
His jaw tightened and he tried to keep impatience from edging his tone. “This isn’t up for debate, Veronica. We are going on this backpacking trip next week.”
She snapped the magazine closed and rose to her feet. Tall for her age, she was willowy, with porcelain features like her mother. Her straight, strawberry-blond hair fell past her shoulders. “Fine. Whatever. Like I have any choice.”
“You have a choice—to enjoy this trip. Or you can choose to be miserable. You are in control of your attitude.”
The tight-leg designer jeans and frilly blouse she wore had been purchased back in Chicago, where they were the norm. Here in Treasure Creek, she looked out of place. The other kids Jake had seen around town wore more rugged clothing, better suited to life in Alaska. “Why don’t we go shopping for more appropriate attire for the trip? You’ll need some sweatshirts, T-shirts and jeans you can actually move in.”
“Dad!” She rolled her hazel eyes, gathered her clippings, and stomped out of the living room and down the hall to her bedroom, which used to be Jake’s when he was a teen. He now slept in the guest room. He cringed when Veronica slammed the door shut. Should he discipline her for the rude behavior?
He wished kids came with a manual. Being a single parent wasn’t exactly how he’d planned his life. But Natalie was gone, so he was doing the best he could.
Was he making a mistake to insist on the trip? It had seemed like such a good idea when Reed suggested it. After talking with Casey, whose friendly demeanor and down-to-earth attitude had been a refreshing change from the city women he’d become accustomed to, he’d been convinced he was making the right decision. Especially after Casey’s sister had shown up wanting to be a part of the tour.
Here were two very different women, yet each seemed so confident and successful. Surely the influence of these two contrasting females would be a good thing for Veronica.
And Jake had to admit, from the moment he’d seen Casey Donner in the reflection of the window in the reception room, looking so adorable in cargo pants, a form-fitting zip-up jacket and with her dark hair pulled back from her unadorned face, he’d been intrigued.
Most females looked at him with dollar signs in their eyes, just as Amelia Donner had the second she’d walked into the tour company office. But not Casey.
There had been such