Move Over, Sister!

by SJ

This is a 1013 contest entry. The author stepped forward and claimed it. Great story, SJ! 

Chapter 1

Tonight was the night. Justin was bringing his “friend” Lucy to dinner to meet the family. Mother had told me I had to wear my Sunday dress for the occasion. I wasn’t so excited to seeing her, after my little ‘encounter’ with her at Justin’s office when Clyde had escaped. I was a little hesitant seeing her again. But Mother had told me to be on my best behavior. If not for Lucy (which wasn’t gonna happen) then at least for Justin's sake.

After changing into my Sunday dress, I went downstairs to see if Justin had come home yet. I looked out the window and didn’t see any sign of him. I walked into the dining room. Sitting on the table was a basket full of fresh, beautiful, red apples. They looked delicious. I just had to give Taffy one. I snatched up one of the apples and ran outside.

I had to be careful. It had been raining and I had to make sure I didn’t step into any puddles. As I was feeding Taffy I heard the buggy pull up. I stepped towards the barn doors and peeked out. I didn’t see anything.  

You’re just hearing things, Andi, I told myself. I walked back to Taffy and finished giving her the apple. I was walking back towards the house when I tripped on a rock and fell face forward into a big mud puddle.

I stood up and looked down at my dress, Oh no! Mother is going to kill me. 

****

I sneaked into the dining room when I heard Chad coming in from the kitchen. You have to make a run for it. I thought. I bolted from the dining room and started for the stairs. I looked back to see if Chad had come out yet when I ran into something.

“Ouch!” I rubbed my head and looked up. Justin stared down at me. Uh-oh, I thought. I looked around and saw Mother shake her head.

“Andrea! What happened to your dress?”

“I . . . I . . .“ I stuttered.

“Go upstairs and change right away. We will talk about this later.” 

I hung my head and walked up to my room to change.

Dinner went all right. Everything was centered around Lucy. Personally, I didn't like her much. Everyone seemed to think she’s “the one” for Justin and blah blah blah.

The next few days passed. Justin kept spending more and more time with Lucy. Every free moment he had, he was with Lucy. When he was with us, it was "Lucy this and Lucy that." I got so sick of hearing about Lucy. 

Then it happened. The worst thing I could imagine. 

“Justin, it’s Saturday. You’re not going to the office. Wanna go fishing with me?”         

 Justin looked up from his breakfast and the paper he was reading. “I’m sorry, honey, I promised Lucy I would show her around Fresno for the day. Another time, maybe?”

Fat chance. 

I couldn’t believe it. Justin was choosing this girl over me. Since Father died, Justin and I have been really close. He is my favorite brother and he seems to always understand me when no one else does. Now . . . this strange girl had worked her way up to my spot in Justin’s heart. How dare she! I had to do something about it. And fast . . .

Chapter 2

I tacked up Taffy and went to my special spot. It was the perfect day for fishing. The fish were jumping all around in the creek. But my mind wasn’t on the fish. It was on that horrible Lucy character. I had to come up with a plan to get rid of her.  Hmm. I could make up a story about Justin and tell Lucy what a horrible person he was. No, that won't work. I had to think of something. 

Then I got a brilliant idea. I mounted Taffy and hurried to town.

As I came up to the hotel, I slowed down and tied Taffy to the hitching post. I walked inside and asked if Clara Williams was in. The clerk shook his head and said I could wait for her in the lobby. As I waited, I pondered. Clara Williams was the new banker’s daughter. They had just moved here from Sacramento and were staying in the hotel until Mr. Williams could find a place to live. 

The Williams used to live in Fresno when Clara was little. She grew up here, but when her mother died, they moved to Sacramento. I wasn’t born at that time, but I remember Mitch telling me that Clara and Justin had liked each other when they were fifteen and sixteen. 

My plans churned around in my head. The clerk called my name. I looked up at a beautiful young woman walking in.

“Clara Williams?” I stood. 

The beautiful young woman had long flowing brown hair. “Yes.”

“My name is Andi Carter. You went to school with my brother Justin.”

Clara’s face lit up. She sat down on the little couch. I joined her. “Yes! How is Justin? I haven’t been in town long and haven’t had a chance to see him yet.”

“He’s doing well. I wanted to ask a favor of you.” I spilled the story of Justin and told her my plan on getting rid of Lucy. “Will you help me?” I asked after I finished.

“Andi, I’m sorry. I can’t do that. It wouldn’t be right to deceive Lucy like that. Plus, I'm engaged and I don’t think Robert would take kindly if he learned I was saying I was in love with Justin.”

“But you don’t understand—“

“Andi, I appreciate you coming here to see me, but I must go. I must get ready for dinner plans.” Clara hurried up the stairs to the upstairs hotel rooms.

That didn’t go as planned. I walked outside and mounted Taffy. I was about to head home when Mr. Hyrum, the post office clerk, came running up to me. “Andi, this telegram came for Chad. Can you give it to him?”

An idea hit me. A telegram. That’s perfect!  "Sure, Mr. Hyrum." I grabbed the message. "And thank you so much, Mr. Hyrum. You’re brilliant.” I squeezed Taffy’s sides and galloped out of town. As soon as I was finished grooming Taffy down and she was settled in her stall, I walked inside and into my room. 

I sat down at my desk, got out a piece of paper, and started writing.

Chapter 3

“Justin, I was in town today and a letter came for you.” Justin was in the study reading after dinner when I handed him the envelope.

“Thank you. What were you doing in town?” Just took the letter from me and opened it.

Uh-oh. “Uh, I was seeing a friend.”

“By yourself?” Justin looked at me.

I’m in trouble now. I nodded.

“Andi, you know you’re not allowed in town alone.”

“I know, but it—“

“Andi, who gave this to you?” Justin stood up, reading the letter.

“No one. I picked it up.” I cringed. It wasn't really a lie. After all, I did pick it up. Off my desk. Guilt pricked me anyway. But I was desperate. “What does it say?” I asked.

Justin cleared his throat and read:

“Justin,

I have no words for the way I feel about you. When you walk into the room, my heart skips a beat, and breathing becomes difficult. A smile spreads across my face so wide.  Someone once told me that loving someone doesn't need a reason. If you can explain why you love someone, it's not called 'love,' it's called 'like.' People ask why I haven't given up by now, why I never moved on. I can never give them an answer. They think it's because I don't know how I feel, but the truth is, I know, I just can't explain it.”

Justin cracked a smile. 

“Who’s it from?”I asked.

“It doesn’t say. It’s just says, “I will always love you.” 

 *****

The next day was Sunday. Church was good; I couldn’t wait to get home though. I had a lot to do before Justin brought Lucy over for dinner. As soon as Chad pulled the wagon into the yard, I jumped out and ran into the house. Justin arrived a little later that afternoon with Lucy.

After dinner Justin, Chad, and Mitch went to the barn to look at some stock that Chad had brought home earlier that week. Melinda and Mother went to the parlor to work on their sewing; Lucy was on her way to the parlor when I saw her stop just before the doorway of the parlor. She kneeled to pick up a piece of paper on the floor then looked up.

After looking it over, her expression turned hard. She ran out the front door. 

I followed.

Chapter 4

“Justin! Justin!” Lucy yelled as she crossed the yard to the barn. Justin, Chad, and Mitch came jogging out of the barn.

“Lucy, what’s wrong, honey?”   

Lucy held up the note.

Justin took the note, glanced at it, and let out a chuckle.

“You think this is funny? You’re going behind my back with another girl and you’re laughing?”

“Lucy, I’m not—“

“I thought you had more character than that, Justin Carter. Being a respectable lawyer and being so involved with the town. But I guess I was wrong.” Lucy spun around and headed down the road back to town. Justin looked at Chad. Chad nodded and went to get the buggy to drive Lucy home.

I ran back into the house and watched from the kitchen window as Justin walked up the steps into the house.

“Justin, what was that all about?” Mother asked.

“Did Lucy leave?” Melinda added.

Justin looked at the two women in the parlor and didn’t say anything. He walked up the staircase into his room. Mitch came into the house.

“Mitchell, what’s wrong with your brother?” Mother asked.

“I’m pretty sure Lucy just broke up with him.”

“Whatever for?” Melinda gasped.

“She found a note that was written to Justin by a woman saying she loved him. Lucy thought he was seeing another woman behind her back.”

“Who wrote it?” Mother asked as she sat down on the settee.

“It didn’t say. Chad took her home. I’m going to feed the stock.” Mitch walked back outside, leaving Mother and Melinda.

Chapter 5

The next few days we didn’t see much of Justin. He buried himself in work. I couldn’t stand seeing him like that. He was depressed and didn’t want to talk or see anyone. Not even me. I had done this to him. Boy, did that put a guilt trip on me. I had to make things right. I had to tell him.

Man, was he going to be mad. But I didn’t care. The truth would be out and everything would be better. One late evening, when he got home from the office, I decided to tell him. I was out in the barn grooming Taffy when I heard him ride up.

“Hi, Justin.”

“Hi.” He led his horse into the stall and started untacking him. “What are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be doing homework?”

“Yeah, I guess, but I had to talk to you.”

Justin came out of the tack room with a brush and comb.

“Justin, I . . ." I swallowed. "I wrote that letter.”

Justin stopped grooming the horse and looked over at me. “What?”

I swallowed. “I wrote that letter and gave it to you. I wanted to make you think that someone else was in love with you.”

Anger flashed in Justin’s eyes.

“I dropped it purposefully on the floor in the house so that Lucy would find it. I wanted to make her go away.” I sat down on a hay bale and hung my head as tears threatened to spill over.

“Andi, why would you do something like that? Do you know what she said about me? She’s told everyone in town, and they all think I have a horrible reputation. I’m losing business because of this.” Justin sounded worse than Andi thought he would.

“She . . ." I gulped again. "She moved into my spot in your heart. You loved her more and did more with her. You didn’t care about me anymore.”

Justin’s anger quickly melted. He sat down beside me and gathered me into a hug. “Sweetheart, I’m so sorry. I didn’t stop long enough to realize I was hurting you. I love you more than anything. Don’t ever forget that. I’m sorry I made you feel unloved and as if I didn’t care.”

I pulled out of his hug and looked up at him. “Justin, I’m so sorry I wrote that note and made you have a bad reputation in town. I’ll make it all better. I promise.”

Justin reached in his pocket and handed me his handkerchief. “We’ll work through this. I’ll ride into town and see Lucy tomorrow. Are we okay now?” 

I nodded.

Justin kissed the top of her head. “I love you. Don’t ever forget that.”

“I love you too, Justin. I’m really sorry I caused all this. I had no idea it would go like this for you. I . . . I was being pretty selfish and didn't think about you. May I come with you and apologize to Lucy tomorrow?”

“Absolutely!" 

Chapter 6

Justin and I walked up to the little white house just on the edge of town. Justin knocked on the door. Lucy opened it and looked stunned at who she saw. She opened her mouth to talk, but Justin held up his hand.

“Andi has something to say to you.”

I flushed and stammered, but I got the words out. “I was the one who wrote the letter. I purposefully dropped it for you to find. All those horrible things you said about Justin aren’t true. It’s my fault. I’m sorry. Can you ever forgive me?” 

Lucy looked at Justin. 

“Lucy, I’m sorry too. I should have told you as soon as I got the telegram that I didn’t know a thing about it.”

Lucy looked at me. “I forgive you, Andi." She nodded at the buggy. "How about you give your wonderful brother and me a minute.” 

I looked up at Justin, and he nodded. As I walked off, I could hear Lucy saying something to Justin. When I looked back, I saw them kiss. I’m glad I made things right.

Justin walked back to the buggy and climbed in. We were getting ready to pull out when Lucy came running toward us.

“Justin, how about lunch tomorrow at the hotel?”

Justin looked from me to Lucy. “I’m sorry, honey. I promised Andi I would go fishing with her. Sunday after service, we’ll have a picnic. Deal?”

Lucy smiled. “You sure know how to make a girl say yes.”

Justin waved and flicked the reins as we drove out of the yard.

“What color do you think she’ll pick for the bridesmaid dresses?” I asked.

“Who?” Justin could be so clueless at times.

“Lucy, you goose! What color do you think she’ll pick for Melinda and me to wear?”

Justin chuckled. “Coming from the girl who wrote phony love letters to get her to leave, aren’t you moving a little too fast?”

“I do believe I like her, after all. I know y’all will get married. She’s perfect for you.” 

Justin put his arm around me and gave me a squeeze. I was glad to have my brother back and a new soon-to-be sister in-law.