The Begonia Bribe by Alyse Carlson Page A

until he picked her up and whispered sweet things nobody else could hear. Finally, he set her down again.
    “Just tell her, Pet. She’s your sister.”
    “Tell me what?” Cam asked.
    Petunia scowled at Cam, turned back, and scowled at Nick, then scowled at Cam one more time. It was crabby, even for Petunia. Finally though, she squinted and spoke.
    “I’m pregnant.”
    Cam shrieked, joy flooding out all her other emotions. Tears flowed as she rushed over and hugged her sister, then she stood back, only to have Annie rush in for a hug.
    Cam looked at her sister carefully. “Why aren’t you happier?”
    “You try nausea every waking minute. See how happy you are. Then . . . last night . . . I hope that’s just a one-time thing!”
    The pieces fell into place for Cam about the retching the night before. “Oh. Sorry about that. But Tunia, I’m thrilled for you! A baby!” Cam said.
    “They came to help so you could go rest, Pet. Why don’t you head home, have a bath, and get some sleep,” Nick said.
    Cam knew she hadn’t agreed to cleaning everything, just the van, but she also recognized Nick getting the irritable Petunia out of the way for the moment would save time. Besides, with the four of them, cleanup would go quickly. And, she was going to be an aunt!
    * * *
    J ust over an hour later, they were headed for Blue Mountain Events to pick up the tissue flowers. The salesperson, probably the owner, had agreed to meet Cam there because of their broken van, but he still seemed grouchy about the hour.
    Their shipment was a dozen huge boxes, but each was no heavier than a box of shoes.
    “So what’s in here?” Rob asked again. He was lifting two boxes at once into the air and acting like it proved great strength.
    “Weren’t you listening? Paper dogwood flowers,” Annie grumbled.
    “Seriously?” he said. “I hoped she was kidding.”
    Before Cam could stop Annie, she had pulled out a box cutter and sliced one open to prove it. She tucked a flower behind each of her ears and then did the same for Rob.
    “Toilet paper flowers?” Rob said, examining the flower Annie had put behind his left ear.
    “It’s tissue. It’s the most like real flowers for the television cameras,” Cam said.
    “It better have come cheap,” Annie scolded.
    They weren’t, but Cam wasn’t going to fuel Annie’s fires. It was none of her business.
    “Just load the boxes, would you?”
    Rob headed out with the two he’d been lifting. Cam followed, and soon Annie was the only one not helping, which pushed her into motion, too. She liked to ask questions, but she didn’t like to look lazy.
    Three trips moved all the boxes to the van.
    “We’re going where?” Annie shouted when she heard Cam’s directions.
    “Neil Patrick rented offices at the Patrick Henry, but is letting Evangeline use them for pageant administration before he moves in.”
    “But it’s haunted,” Annie complained.
    “Oh, will you stop? You’re the one who used to scare
me
, remember?”
    It was true. Annie had always gotten a kick out of raising a response from people by any means necessary.
    “Yeah, but that was all fake stuff. This isn’t.”
    “Well, it’s the closest place to where we need the flowers to be for the setup crew, so that’s where we’re taking them.”
    “And then beer?” Annie asked. “Jake said he could meet us by midnight.”
    Cam raised an eyebrow. Annie obviously wasn’t
that
concerned about the haunting nonsense if in the next sentence she could change topics to beer.
    “I wish he could make it sooner,” Rob said. “
Tribune
has a staff meeting in the morning.”
    They began lugging the boxes to the Patrick Henry from their spot in the loading zone.
    “I can stay here so we don’t get towed,” Annie offered.
    “We don’t need you to. This is what a loading zone is
for
: loading!” Cam said.
    Annie stuck her tongue out and then launched into ever-sillier faces until she was again the last to grab a