Artfully Yours Read Online Free Page B

lot?”
    Jenny scowled, taking the library books out of her tote and stacking them on the table. “No. He’d have to have been around for us to shout at each other a lot. And the rat bastard scuttled off to God knows where about the same time he came clean about his debts.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    “I’m telling you now.”
    “Because I caught Lila Baxter trying to sell your house!”
    Jenny gritted her teeth. “Would you still have come if you’d known?”
    “What the hell do you think?”
    “Well, I wasn’t sure. I mean, it’s not a small thing to ask, is it? ‘Please use up all your vacation time for the entire year to come back to your hometown, where you’ll spend that vacation as your sister’s butler-chauffeur-maid, and did I mention, you’ll be homeless.’”
    “I don’t understand why you wouldn’t tell me any of this.”
    “Listen. I have a plan, all right? It’s not a great plan—I’m aware of that—but I have a plan. We stay here until the house sells, we rent somewhere together, short-term, and as soon as I’m back on my feet and can find another job, I’ll be able to pay you back.”
    Elle sat back in her chair and stared. “You lost your job at the garden center?”
    Jenny dipped her chin. “Prick fired me.”
    “Did you do something, Jenny? To the Universe? Disturb a grave, steal a relic, spit on a little old lady with a broom and a tall black hat?”
    Jenny smiled. “No. Feels like it.”
    “I’m not kidding.”
    The smile vanished. “I’ll make it right. It might take a while, but I’ll keep a record and pay you back every last cent. With interest.”
    “I can’t believe you.”
    “I’ll do it!”
    “I can’t believe you’d think you had to do it in the first place! You don’t have to give me any money, Jenny. In fact, don’t you dare. You need me? I’m here. You need a roof? Share mine. You need food?” She pushed the plate with her half-eaten sandwich toward Jenny. “Share mine!”
    “Actually, the roof and the sandwich are already mine.”
    “You get my point. I can’t believe you’d let things get this bad, and then come up with some stupid plan to pay me back. With interest!”
    “It isn’t a stupid plan.”
    “You’re my baby sister. It’s my job to take care of you.”
    “Not since I turned eighteen, it isn’t. And shit, not even before then. We had parents, Elle.”
    “And they sucked.” Their father had been a drunk, which had pissed their mom off so much, she’d walked away and left them. “I’ve always taken care of you, Jenny. Why did you think I’d ever stop?”
    “I wanted you to stop, damn it. I don’t want you to take care of me.”
    Elle threw out her hands as if to say, So why am I here?
    “I don’t want you to have to take care of me. It’s not your job. I’m not your goddamn job.”
    “You’re my sister.”
    “This is why I didn’t tell you. Do you have any idea how humbling it is? I have to beg for help.”
    “Oh, did you beg? I must have missed that bit. Mostly you just snarled at me.”
    “My marriage is over. I have a kid depending on me. I don’t even have a place to live anymore. And I have to get down on my knees and beg my perfect sister for help. This isn’t exactly how I saw my life going. In fact, it’s exactly the opposite direction I saw my life going. Forgive me for snarling.”
    “I wish you’d said something earlier. I could have helped before you got this far down the road.”
    “Have you listened to a word I said? I never wanted to have to ask for help. I’m a grown-ass woman. I’ve been trying to fix it.”
    “Jenny—”
    “When was I supposed to come crying to you? When my marriage started falling apart? In other words, about six months after I married the jerk? When I realized Dean had taken out three credit cards and a loan and re-mortgaged the house?”
    “I don’t know, Jenny, but maybe any time before the pastor’s son starts repossessing your television. Any time