Without a Past by Debra Salonen Page B

to be the same pair he had on yesterday,but his shirt was different. A much-washed chambray that clung to his nicely contoured shoulders.
    Jenny coughed with exaggerated effort.
    Andi gave her a look any sister would understand.
    Laughing, Jenny grabbed Andi’s arm and led her off in the opposite direction—toward the bordello’s front porch.
    â€œWait. I want—”
    â€œHe’s not going anywhere. You’ve got the car, remember?” Jenny said softly. “I just need a minute.”
    Andi relaxed. Her original timetable was shot to hell anyway, so what would a few minutes more matter? “Okay.”
    â€œIda called me on my cell phone a few minutes ago.”
    Andi almost tripped over the curb. “You’re kidding.”
    Jenny frowned. “She was upset. She said you were trying to drive her to bankruptcy.”
    A flutter of panic ruffled through Andi’s chest. “She was in the kitchen when Bart stopped to sign the contract to replace the roof. We’d agreed on a price. This was just a formality. But Ida freaked out. She said the roof was fine.”
    Jenny looked upward. “It looks pretty bad to me.”
    Andi nodded. “Believe me, I don’t want to do it. It’s coming out of my—” She stopped. She hadn’t been completely honest with her sisters about Ida Jane’s financial woes. Partly because by the time Andi arrived home, Josh had been so sick, she hadn’t wanted to add to Jenny’s burden. And Kristin was seldom around and seemed to have some problems of her own. Plus, their personal history hadn’t included sharing each other’s troubles for many years.
    â€œI’ve got it covered,” Andi said. “But I don’t seem to handle Ida Jane well. At all. In fact, I can’t say anything without her acting like I’m trying to undermine everything she’s worked so hard to accomplish. Maybe there’s a gene missing in my makeup or something.”
    Jenny, who’d pulled her long hair into a stylish twist, wrapped one arm around Andi’s shoulders. They were nearly the same height, but built differently. Jenny was long-bodied, willowy, Andi more compact and solid. “Honey, don’t say that. I used to envy your relationship with Ida. You both liked to do the same things. You loved puttering in the workshop and sprucing up the antiques.” She made a face. “I hated the dust, and the smell of tung oil made me retch.”
    Andi relaxed slightly. That was true, but it didn’t explain why she and Ida had been at odds almost since the day Andi returned from Virginia.
    As if hearing her unasked question, Jenny said, “You’re the new regime, Andi. She recognizes that, and it’s hard to let go. Give her time to adjust. Whenever Ida and I talk about what’s going on at the bordello, she always seems fine with your decisions.”
    â€œWith you, maybe. Not with me.”
    â€œWhoo-hoo,” a thin voice called. “Girls, I’m ready.”
    The sisters looked toward the rear porch. Ida was standing at Harley’s side, looking as perky as a young woman on a date. And festive enough for a luau. She’d changed from her robe and slippers into a Hawaiian-print muumuu that probably hadn’t been out of the closet in thirty years.
    â€œOh, my Lord,” Jenny murmured.
    Andi bit down on a smile. “Suddenly, I don’t feel so sorry for myself. I’m going for a stroll in the mountains, and you get to go shopping with Mrs. Don Ho.”
    She flinched when her sister pinched her on the back of the arm, but even the pain didn’t dampen her good mood.
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    â€œW E’D BETTER PICK UP the pace,” Andi said two hours later. The sun felt hotter than she’d expected—a fact that could be attributed to the elevation and the lack of shade.Andi knew the dangers of both. She’d helped rescue her share of ill-prepared day hikers