Falling for his Step-Sister by Alie Garnett

Chapter Thirty

It had been almosttwenty-four hours since she had talked to Jonas, and so far, he hadn’t reached out to her, in person or through his lawyer—his new lawyer.

Harrison had said they couldn’t do much until they heard what Jonas was going to do. No matter what, they were going to fight it.

Or so Harrison thought, but they weren’t. If Jonas wanted to be a part of the baby’s life, she would let him. A child needed to know both her parents. Buzz had been raised without that and wanted better for her own child.

Until then, she would wait, and if waiting meant helping Harper prepare for a wedding she was catering the next day, then she would. Even if she was going to do it from the living room with a movie on.

“Okay, we’re having a meeting about this situation,” Harper stated as she walked down the stairs. Buzz was sure she had been checking on her bedroom, but Buzz wasn’t sure why.

“What situation?” Lucy asked as she walked in from the kitchen, already eating ice cream from the container she was holding. Despite being in the same house, the two weren’t speaking, and Lucy wasn’t helping Harper any more than Buzz was.

“The baby situation,” Harper replied and joined her on the couch.

Lucy squeaked something and dropped the ice cream container onto the floor just as Sera burst into the house. Tears were already in her eyes as she rushed to Buzz’s side. It seemed Harrison had told his wife; so much for lawyer-client confidentiality.

“Buzzy, are you okay? You look okay, but are you really? Harrison didn’t tell me anything had happened yet, but don’t worry. We will fight him about this until we bring him to his knees,” Sera said as she hugged Buzz to her chest, a little too close to the woman’s breasts for Buzz’s comfort. Actually, none of it was comfortable for Buzz, so she shook the woman off.

“I am fine; we are not fighting it. If he wants to be in the baby’s life, I can’t stop him.” Who was she to deny a child their father?

“No, he gets nothing. This baby is our baby, and I will do everything in my power to keep it away from him,” Sera announced.

“Sera, he’s the dad. I can’t change that. He has rights.” Buzz shook her head.

“What is this meeting about? Are we now getting texts about them?” Maby said while walking into the house, which was easy since Sera had left the door open as she’d rushed inside.

“Buzz’s baby,” Sera stated, tapping Buzz’s still flat stomach.

“Buzz’s baby,” Lucy said on a semi-hysterical laugh and then shoved ice cream into her mouth.

“What about this baby? Are we happy, or are we concerned? I need some direction on this.” Maby took off her jacket and hung it up.

“The father wants his rights,” Sera replied in disgust as Buzz’s phone rang in her pocket.

Checking the screen, she saw it was Louisa. The girl hadn't called often, which meant Buzz always picked up when she did. Putting up her hand, she answered and went into the living room to talk to her. The drama of Buzz’s life would have to be on hold for a moment.

“Buzz, are you there?” the younger woman’s voice came over the phone.

“I’m sorry, I had to get away from the sisters. What’s happening?”

“It’s just that I need you. Can you please come and get me?”

“Where are you? In Chicago?”

“No, I came back a few days ago. Mom and Dad are staying together, but they’re leaving us behind. Can you come? I need someone to talk to,” she said, a bit calmer than Buzz felt.

George was back with Judith? After she had cheated on him? After she had said what she had to Louisa? What was wrong with him?

What did Judith have over that man that made him weak enough to take her back? It was probably the same thing she’d had over Bradford for years. It seemed Judith had some kind of magic over men. Buzz wished for a second that she had a little of that, then dismissed the thought. It was what probably made the woman evil.

“Yeah, text me the address, and I’ll be there in a few,” Buzz promised. Her sister needed her way more than Buzz needed “talk” she was about to get.

Back out in the living room, everyone was arguing about what Buzz should be doing. And some of it involved moving out of state.

“Louisa is in town, and I have to go talk to her. Her parents are back together,” Buzz announced to the group, which made all the planning stop completely.

“Her parents, like Judith and her dad?” Maby asked in disgust.

“I guess. I have to go talk to her. I don’t know how long it will take, so meeting dismissed, I guess,” she said. The meeting thing was new since they used to all just live together. Now half of them were gone, and there were meetings—mostly spur-of-the-moment meetings at that.

Deciding she wasn’t going to change for this, Buzz grabbed her coat and walked out of the house in pink sweats and a matching “Buzzzz” T-shirt. Or she would have believed they matched if Agatha hadn’t pointed out earlier in the day that they didn’t.

Across town, she checked the address again to make sure that the big house in front of her was the one she was looking for. Not that she had wondered where she was meeting the girl when she had left the house. Getting out of the Jeep, she walked up to the front door and rang the bell, hoping that she had the right place.

“Buzz, you came!” Louisa said and opened the door. Buzz was surprised at how much she liked the modern aesthetics of the house.

“You asked, so sisters come,” Buzz said and shrugged off her jacket. “How are you doing?”

“Okay, it seems just weird that Dad would do this. I wasn’t surprised with Mom since she’d walked away from you five. So why not me too? But Dad? I always thought Dad would be there for me.”

“I understand. I never thought George would do something like that,” Buzz said. “What are you going to do now? Where’s Frankie?” Buzz looking around but didn’t see the other woman.

“I’m looking at going to school in the fall, but I don’t know where. Frankie isn’t sticking around Chicago, and she’s graduating. So, I have to start planning something,” Louisa sighed.

“There is always room at the Lovely house if you need a place to stay. Frankie too. The more, the merrier, and you’ll each get your own room,” Buzz added, but she was in no way living with more people than beds again. Couch surfing got old fast.

“We’ll talk about it. I just don’t know what I want to do at this point. I feel lost,” Louisa said, and she seemed like it.

“I know the feeling. I’m lost as well,” Buzz admitted, even if she hated to. She was completely lost.

“But you have Jonas, so you’ll be okay.” Louisa patted her back.

“Uhm, that’s over now. Didn’t he tell you? We’ve been over since I last saw you,” Buzz said, not mentioning the baby, though Louisa would find out sooner or later since she was related to both of them.

“He didn’t,” Louisa answered. “He said something completely different, in fact.”

With that, Louisa got up and stomped into the kitchen and started talking low to someone. Buzz had no idea whose house they were in, but it must be some sort of friend of Louisa’s. It was probably the homeowner; this was no rental. Or at least not a rental a nineteen-year-old could afford.

Following the younger woman into the kitchen, her steps faltered when she saw Jonas talking to his sister. He was in jeans and a T-shirt that made his muscles pop. Damn him and his muscly good looks. Even after everything that had happened, they were mouthwatering.

Buzz immediately took a step back, sensing a trap. Louisa had been in on it, but she hadn’t known the real reason Jonas had asked her to help him. Hell, Buzz didn’t know the reason.

She made it to her Jeep without him catching her. She had been willing to fight her way out, and she was very skilled at fighting after being raised in the Lovely house.

As she drove home, she let the tears fall. He had no right to do that, to use his sister to get to her. Louisa didn’t deserve that.

No matter the reason he wanted her there.