Kenley came back in the office. Her sisters noticed she had one small box.

"All these personal items that Father has, and you bring back a tiny box," Milandra said.

"The woman who spoke to you, Milandra, is getting the custodians to bring us big boxes," Kenley said. "I think she's kissing up to us."

"The woman could happen to be nice," Noelle defended her.

"She wants to be nosey," Milandra said. "No one comes in here. Kenley, you guard the door."

"You're treating me like help. I'm a Houston; have you forgotten?" Kenley asked, making her way to the door.

The woman came to the door. Kenley stepped out of the office.

"Please leave the boxes here. We'll come out and get what we need."

The woman helped one of the custodians place the boxes outside the door. She tried every angle to peek into the office, but Kenley kept a close watch on the door opening.

Once the woman left, Kenley carried in the few mid-sized boxes.

"Let's dump everything we think is personally important in the boxes. We can sort things later," Milandra supervised.

Kenley stacked the photos from the desk and around the room in one of the boxes. Noelle went through the file cabinet and gathered up personal financial files. Kenley cleared out her father's desk.

They left one portrait of their father on the wall.

Once they had searched the entire office, the boxes were ready to be carried out by the custodians.

"What are we going to do with the boxes now?" Noelle wanted to know.

"Take them to the Houston Villa," Milandra said.

"I know we're not going there right now. I'm hungry," Kenley said.

"No food. We have to get this done," Milandra shouted.

"Can you and Noelle do it without me?" Kenley asked.

Milandra gave her a "don't mess with me look." She picked up the phone on the desk and called in the movers to move the boxes.

The movers followed their limo to the Houston Villa.

The sisters pulled up to see a home approximately four thousand square feet. They got out of the limo and stood looking at the brick house surrounded by trees. Pine straw scattered on the gra.s.s.

"This is unacceptable. Father knew I have allergies." Milandra sniffled.

"He always told you not to run away from any problems. Deal with it," Noelle said. "I guess this is one of the things he meant."

"Be quiet," Milandra said.

They walked up to the house. Milandra pulled the screen door open. She unlocked the steel white door. Inside, the home was heated with the outside warmth.

They fanned as they walked throughout the house. The kitchen was half the size of the one in the Houston Estate.

Rupert had furnished the house with cherrywood furniture. There were photos of his daughters in the family room. They went upstairs to the bedrooms. There was no east or west wing; only a small hallway to the three bedrooms. Each bedroom had a small-scaled bathroom. The queen-sized beds were covered with quilted spreads, not like the lavish comforter sets at the Houston Estate.

Noelle came to tears. "This is nothing compared to our real home."

"I changed my mind. I'm staying with the crazy half-sister," Kenley said.

Milandra rolled her eyes at Kenley. "Father is testing us. He wants to see if we can be strong."

"This isn't a test, Milandra. Father is gone. It's for real," Noelle argued.

Back downstairs, Kenley and Noelle got lost checking out the backyard. They left Milandra to inspect the rest of the interior and oversee the movers.

One of the movers came in carrying two boxes stacked on top of each other. His muscular arms were exposed from his sleeveless shirt. "Where would you like these boxes placed?" he asked in a deep voice.

It was something about the way he looked at Milandra that caused her to blush. It was unusual for her to smile. "You can take them to the family room." She pointed in the direction of the room.

The mover placed the boxes down on the floor in a corner. "It's warm in here." He wiped sweat from his forehead as he looked at Milandra, thinking of how efficient she was. It turned him on.

Milandra fanned. "It is hot in here."

She wanted to turn on the air conditioner but had no idea where to begin looking for the thermostat controls. The mover knew by her manicured nails, flawless skin, and her upright posture that she was raised letting others do for her. He found her to be s.e.xy in her straight black skirt and tailored white blouse.

He volunteered, "I'll get some cool air stirring in here."

Relieved, Milandra said, "Thank you."

The mover went down the hall to find the thermostat on the wall. Milandra followed him for future reference. Her first task for the place would be to hire help.

The mover adjusted the temperature. She studied him, noticing how clean-shaven he was. His arms shined as if they had been polished with Vaseline. The cologne he wore overpowered the staleness of a closed house.

"By any chance, would you be interested in changing jobs?"

The mover smiled. "I'll have to shut down my business. I'm the owner of Rice Moving Company."

Milandra felt embarra.s.sed. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. . . ."

"Call me Nolan." He grinned. "Everyone calls you and your sisters the Houstons, but what's your first name?"

"I'm Milandra." She reached out her hand.

Nolan extended his hand to shake hers. "Nice meeting you, Milandra. Pretty name."

"My baby sister is Kenley and my middle sister is Noelle. I truly apologize for being out of place. I a.s.sumed the wrong thing."

"I'm not a big time moving company, but I hold my own. Listen, you and your sisters have suffered a great loss. It takes time to get things in order."

Nolan handed her a business card. "Call me. I'll help you out in whatever way I can."

"That's kind of you, but I don't want to take you from your work."

"I wouldn't miss the moment to catch your pretty smile," he flirted.

Kenley and Noelle came back into the family room. They witnessed their sister blushing.

"These are my sisters. Kenley and Noelle, this is Nolan."

"Hi." Kenley stared. "Man, you're cute."

"Kenley," Milandra said. "You have to excuse my baby sister."

"She thinks you're cute, too. But she'll never admit it." Kenley giggled.

Noelle placed her hand over Kenley's mouth. "Enough."

"I'll go and get the rest of the boxes." He smiled.

"We have some things we're going to need moved from our other house to here. My sister would love to have you move it for us," Kenley instigated. "Wouldn't you, Milandra?"

Milandra rolled her eyes at Kenley. "Yes, I completely forgot. You have the job if you'd like, Nolan. I'll give you a call when we're ready."

"Thanks," Nolan said and left the room.

Kenley and Noelle teased their sister.

"I can't believe you, Milandra, smiling up in a man's face. I've never seen your eyes pop open so wide," Kenley said.

"They were not," Milandra said. "You are silly."

"He's hot. And it's about time you have a man. You have to pick your own; Father isn't here to do the picking for you," Noelle said, wanting to spill her guts about her feelings for Baron.

"I don't understand how come you two never had boyfriends," Kenley said.

"Father said he would find the right men for us," Noelle said.

"I plan to have one as soon as I find one," Kenley said.

"Oh no you won't, young lady," Milandra said. "You'll wait until you're as old as us."

"Never!" Kenley yelled.

Nolan made his way back in the room with more boxes. The sisters waited until he finished. They locked up the house. Their next stop was the Houston Estate.

"We will have lunch by the lake and then pack up our things," Milandra said.

The girls sat out on the patio overlooking the lake. Dining on tuna sandwiches, potato chips, and a melody of fruits, they watched the neighbors out and about on their sailboats. The sailors reminded them of their father, as he too used to love to take his boat out on the lake.

"I can't sit here and pretend like everything is fabulous when it's not." Milandra sounded annoyed as she finished crunching on a chip. She took a sip out of a gla.s.s of cold iced tea. "This can't be happening to us. This kind of thing only happens in the theater. Leave this house to that thing of a wh.o.r.e. Father, give us some kind of sign that she's a liar."

"Milandra, calm down. The help might hear you," Noelle warned.

Milandra took another sip of the cold iced tea to cool her anger. She broke down in a cascade of tears. For the first time, her sisters witnessed her emotional outpouring.

"We'll get through this, Milandra. We have each other," Noelle consoled her sister.

"If it makes you happy, I'll live at the Houston Villa. But no bossing me around or I'm out," Kenley said.

"You don't have to live with us if you don't want to. At least one of us gets to stay here," Noelle said.

Milandra blew her nose. "Oh, yes, she has to come right along with us. We've lost Mother and Father. I'm not about to lose my baby sister, too."

"How sweet of you, Milandra. I didn't know I meant that much to you," Kenley said as she got up out of her seat and ran over to give her sister a hug. "I'll tell you what I'll do," she said and took her seat to continue eating. "I'll visit the estate often to make sure Miss Half doesn't turn it into a wh.o.r.ehouse."

"Miss Half?" Noelle giggled. "Kenley, that's not nice."

"I happen to think the name complements her," Milandra said. "Hurry up, let's finish. We have work to do."

The girls left their mess for the servants to clean. They went to their rooms and packed loads and loads of clothes with care. Their next stop was their parents' master suite.

Noelle led the way. "What will we do with Father's and Mother's belongings?"

"We'll give it to one of Mother's favorite charities," Milandra said.

"How about we give it to the help?" Kenley said.

"No!" Milandra yelled, as she went into their mother's walk-in closet. She began removing clothes from the rack.

"I think that's great," Noelle said. "They've been good to our parents. They've worked hard, especially Elsa. Come on, Milandra, it's the right thing to do."

Milandra stirred in the closet. She pulled out three white linen summer dress suits. "Okay, but I want some to go to her favorite charities."

"That's fair," Noelle said. "I'll call Elsa."

Noelle went over to the intercom. She called Elsa, who was busy in the kitchen.

Elsa came into the room a few minutes later. "Yes, Miss Houston," she said, not knowing which sister would answer, but noticed the clothes on the bed.

"Elsa, I rang you because we want to share some of our parents' clothes," Noelle said.

"Oh my, I sure do appreciate it. Your mother wore the prettiest things."

"Yes, she did," Noelle said. "Now everything that's left on this bed will be for you and the other help to browse through. Take all you want."