Page 41 of The Pacifist
I jerked my head back. “I’m not going to beat her up.”
“Shame. I should have known you’d be too non-violent to do it, but we could ask Raven to come and have a talk with Miss Troubled Sister. I’ll bet Raven could make her take back her accusations in no time.”
“Geez, Hunter, I wasn’t talking about us torturing her. I just wanted to talk to her and understand why she’s doing this.”
“Who cares what’s wrong with her? We just need to fix the mess she made.”
“I care! This isn’t normal behavior and I want to know what happened to her to feel this angry.”
Hunter craned his head and looked out the window as a large yellow drone landed out front. “Alright, while you come up with a plan to talk to the crazy sister, I’m going to do my part.”
“What part?”
“I have an interview to give.”
While the family members were still debating back and forth, Hunter put on his jacket and boots.
“Where are you going, babe?” Emanuela leaned back to look at him.
“I’m taking the dogs out. Hopefully, one of them will take a piss on the journalist fromEvening News and Goodies.”
“Loraine is here?” Emanuela’s outburst made the others turn to the window as well.
Cole sighed. “We knew it was just a matter of time before the press would show up here. Hunter, wait, I’ll go with you.”
“I’m coming too.” Emanuela, who had been sitting on a bar stool, jumped down, but Hunter held up an outstretched hand and spoke in a firm voice. “No. I’m taking the blame, and you’re staying here!”
At first, Emanuela looked like she was about to argue, but then her eyes softened and she walked over and kissed him. “You are amazing. I hope you know that.”
The corners of his mouth curved and he kissed her back. “I’m happy you think so, but admitting that I like beer in front of the world isn’t that big a deal.”
We were quiet as Cole and Hunter went outside.
“I feel bad about letting them take the blame,” Jonah muttered with his head hanging over his cup of coffee.
“You know the press is going to want to talk to you and me.” Emanuela sat down on her chair again, her eyes on Jonah. They had the same bright amber eye color as their mother, who was sitting with her shoulders slumping forward and red-rimmed eyes.
I walked over to give Lilly a hug and as I held her in my arms, she cried into my hair. “I don’t understand why Anne would do this to us. She was always temperamental and dramatic, but this…”
I couldn’t offer her any explanation. All I could do was hug her again and whisper how sorry I was.
“We’ve worked so hard to make this place a success.” More tears formed in Lilly’s eyes. “Anne used to be part of that and when her mom left, we were all here for her.”
“So, you’re not her biological mom?”
“No, I had Cole, Emanuela, and Jonah. Anne’s mom was young and I think she joined our family unit for the thrill of the park. But even a theme park becomes work when you do it every day, and by the time Anne was seven, Nina’s sense of adventure made her pack up and leave.”
“Without Anne?”
Lilly nodded. “She said she would be back, but a year turned to ten and by the time Anne was seventeen the contact with Nina was down to a few calls a year.”
“Hunter said that Anne is my age.”
“She’ll be twenty-two soon, the youngest of our kids. I don’t understand why she would destroy something she knows brings great joy to people. What about all the children who come here each summer?”
Gunnar sat next to Lilly. Taking her hand, he nodded to the wall. “Can someone turn on the sound? I think they’re talking about us again.”
Two anchorwomen with serious expressions on their faces were discussing the allegations made by Anne. “It’s a lot to wrap your head around, and I have to say that after all we’ve heard this morning, a lot of things are beginning to make sense. Think about the perplexing behavior that we’ve seen from Emanuela over the years with her constant struggle to communicate in a proper manner. No doubt growing up in a crime syndicate will traumatize a person.”
