Controlling Vulnerable

Chapter 19

When she got back, Joe was sitting talking to Linda in the kitchen, and Lara ran to join him, waving enthusiastically. Linda laughed and said, "Lara honey, your house looks beautiful, but will you guys hurry home. We miss you." Lara blew a kiss, "I miss you all too. Only a few more days, but I'll have to go because my sister is due any minute and she doesn't know Joe is here." Linda nodded and said, "You guys go. Call me and fill me in. I love you." Joe put the phone down and kissed Lara, "How was the worrier?" Lara laughed, "Fine. He was so sweet. He's really happy for us." The doorbell rang, and she inhaled, "Brace yourself, Caroline is way more of a challenge." Joe followed her through to the hallway and looked in interest as Lara opened the door. Caroline was darker than Lara, slightly taller and had a much heavier build. Joe could see she'd been an attractive rather than pretty woman, but significantly older than Lara life had etched her face with lines and he could see even in youth she'd probably never had the lightness and soft femininity her younger sister carried. Charlotte and Grace had stopped dead walking from the small car, with Charlotte recovering first and running shrieking, "Joe!" Grace joined in, and he laughed as they barrelled past their mother, and he lifted one in each arm and let them throw their arms around his neck.

Caroline stared in shock, "Has he been here this whole time?" Joe still had the girls wrapped around his neck, and Lara laughed, "No! Joe came yesterday after you left." She turned as he put the girls on the hall floor and added, "Best Christmas present ever." Joe stepped forward and offered his hand, "Hi, it's good to meet you." Faced with this tall, handsome American who carried an air of power, Caroline looked floored. She eventually muttered, "Nice to meet you." Lara bit her lip and said, "Come in properly Caroline and have a coffee." She protested she didn't really have time, but came in anyway, closing the front door behind her. Lara refilled the kettle and made them all drinks as the children ran off to their bedrooms. Caroline watched carefully and looked critically as Joe slipped an arm around Lara's waist to pull her to him. For her part, Lara drew strength from his physical proximity, and her sister's mood turned sour as she detected a radiant glow on Lara's face.

Taking the cup from her, Caroline said, "So who's running your business while you're over here?" Joe shrugged with a smile, "I've got plenty of staff. It's in good hands, so I got spontaneous and took off." She looked sceptical and said, "Well Lara here has responsibilities, and when you have those responsibilities, being spontaneous is a luxury you cannot afford to have." Lara started to feel uncomfortable, but Joe pulled her closer and dropped a kiss on her head. Upstairs, a yell from Charlotte followed by Grace shouting, "Mummy, Lottie has my new bear and won't give it back!" caused her to break away. "Sorry, won't be a minute. I'll just go break up the fight."

Left alone with Joe in the kitchen, Caroline sighed, "The girls would benefit from some more discipline." Joe didn't comment, and she didn't look at him directly as she said, "I won't pretend I'm happy about Lara moving to America, and I'm even less happy about you having some sort of relationship with her." Joe leaned forward, "I can understand your concern, but I want you to know I'll take good care of Lara and the girls." Caroline snorted, "I'm sorry, but a man like you will soon get tired of someone like Lara." She paused, pointing at the ceiling where Grace and Charlotte were yelling and added, "With two difficult children to raise." Joe's face clouded, and he drank his coffee, "You're wrong about me, which is okay because you don't know me. But you're also wrong about your sister, and you know what, I think deep down it's because it's easier to treat her as the kid sister who's life's a mess than acknowledge the truth." Caroline rolled her eyes and shook her head, "You have absolutely no idea. You don't know me, and you hardly know Lara." Joe nodded mildly, "You're right, I don't know you, but I've spent pretty much every day of the last six months with Lara, and I reckon I know her pretty well. I also know people, and what I see is that you don't want to admit that Lara is beautiful, brave, and successful. If I had to guess, I'd say that's because if you did, it might make you question your own life." The shouting upstairs had subsided, and Joe put his cup in the sink. Caroline spat out, "Well, when the novelty wears off and you get rid of her, I'll be the one left having to deal with the consequences, again." Joe forced eye contact by leaning on the counter, "Here's the thing. You can either get on board with your sister's life choices or not, but I'm serious about her and the kids. I'm not going anywhere, I love her and I'm going to take care of her."