Chapter 11

"The flapper is the most precious piece of femininity in the world. And I know. For I have seen the Paris flappers, the London floppers and the German fluppers, to say nothing of the Berlin type...She has self-assurance, though. That is the product of the times." -Miss Lucy Fox, of the cast of "Sonny"

I pulled my legs up to my chest and buried my face against my knees. Casper scampered over and nudged me with his nose before curling up by my side.

I don't know how long I sat there crying but eventually the sounds of a waking house disturbed the quiet and I slowly stood up on shaky feet.

I grabbed Casper and walked out of the kitchen heading towards the stairs. I was halfway up when I suddenly collided with somebody and I looked up into a pair of gray eyes.

"Good morning, Callista," He said.

"Good morning, Mr. Kinsley," I said bowing my head slightly.

Jaxon frowned as he looked down at me but said nothing. Instead, he reached over and ruffled Casper's fur slightly with a small smile, then he looked at me again and the smile fell off his face.

"Are you alright Callista? Did something happen?" He asked, concern filling his gray eyes.

I stared at him blankly until I realized that he was genuinely asking me a question and not giving me an order.

"Yes, I am well, sir. Nothing is wrong," I replied.

"Good, good," He said though he did not look very convinced.

"And how do you feel about Hunter and his family moving in?"

"Umm...well, it was a surprise to say the least. I did not know that they owned half of the estate?" I asked.

Jaxon chuckled lightly under his breath and ran a hand through Casper's fur again.

"Yes, interesting story that. Would you like to hear it?" He asked, his eyes lighting up suddenly.

I nodded mutely and he grinned at me.

"Follow me," He said as he unconsciously reached out and grabbed my hand pulling me along with him to the library.

Jaxon walked up to a tall bookshelf and pulled out a thick, old, musty book. He led me to a dark mahogany reading table in the corner of the library and opened the book, setting it down with a soft thunk.

Jaxon thumbed through the pages of the book, which by now I recognized to be a scrapbook, and I took the time to re-examine the space we were standing in.

The library was large and every wall had a built in bookcase from top to bottom. A long line of movable shelves lined the middle of the room. There were four reading tables for every corner of the room and two big chairs in the back and front. A fireplace was placed in the back.

But it was this corner, the east corner of the library, that completely had me on edge. It was the corner that served as my hiding spot from Kierra's flaming temper as a child.

I would always hide in this corner with a blanket, a fluffy brown stuffed bunny, a flashlight, and a book when Kierra and Jaxon were arguing-usually about me, when she was taking out her pissy mood on me, or when I couldn't sleep.

"Ah! Here we go," Jaxon exclaimed, jarring me from my thoughts.

He pointed to a picture of two women dressed as flappers from the 1920's.

"It all started during the roaring 20's..."

                                                          ~*~*~*~*~

"My great-grandmother, Elina, was a twenty one year old flapper with a flare for fashion and rebellion back then; lived in the rich part of New York. She was the one who actually started Hart Inc. as a fashion and marketing company. Her father was a lawyer and her mother a housewife.

Her best friend was actually Hunter's great-grandmother, Dianne. Now, her mother was also a housewife and her father was business partners with my great-grandmother's father.

At the age of twenty three they decided to start a business together. Elina gathered all her resources and managed to find a few investors who were willing to try out their products. She signed Dianne on as her business partner a few months after the proposal was made and approved. There were a few bumps in the road but after that it was smooth sailing.

They started off with just shoes but they decided to branch out and try other things. Clothes, jewelry, makeup. They named their lines all different kinds of things. Including one of my favorites, Purple Hart jewelry. A few years later, while they were both still unmarried, they bought this very house together. Used to be a boarding school, smaller too. They turned it into a home away from home and the rest is history...

                                                          ~*~*~*~*~*~

"The house is passed down through both our families now," Jaxon said finishing the story with a glint in his eye.

I smiled slightly at him as I watched him. Jaxon was handsome when he smiled, which was rare.

"It wasn't always called Hart Inc., you know," He said looking down at me.

"Oh?" I asked deciding to humor him.

"No, it used to be called Weed Inc," He replied.

"It was? Why?" I asked, taken aback and wondering if I really even wanted to know why.

"A Weed back then was a Flapper who liked to take risks. That was what Elina and Dianne were known for-taking risks. Everybody thought they were crazy starting a business, especially since they were women, but they succeeded and well, here we are," He said waving his hands around the room.

I looked at the picture again, studying the two women intently. They were the beginning of Jaxon's success and what a beginning they had. I shook my head smiling.

"Here, why don't you keep this for me. Somewhere safe where nobody can find it," Jaxon suddenly said, eyes intently boring into mine and his tone serious.

He placed the book into my hands as we held each others stare. There was something in his eyes, a sort of anxious hope that I did not understand. I wrapped my fingers around the book and nodded once before bowing to him.

With my head down low, hair covering my face, I decided to excuse myself.

"Please excuse me, I must get ready to prepare breakfast," I said as formally as possible and waited for him to excuse me.

"Tell me one thing before you go. If there was anything, anything at all that you felt you needed to tell me or ask me, would you?" He asked.

"Of course, sir," I replied automatically.

He placed his fingers under my chin, forcing me to look at him.

"Would you?" He asked again.

"Yes..."

"Are you just saying that because it's what you think I want to hear or do you actually mean it?" He asked sternly.

Not sure why he was asking me this or how I should answer without offending him, I chose to keep my mouth shut.

"You may go," Jaxon said, sighing in disappointment and dropping his hand from my chin.

I curtsied to him once and then made my way out of the library and up the stairs.

I got to my room without meeting anybody else. Once inside my room, I dropped Casper onto the floor, placed the book in my desk drawer, and picked an outfit out of my closet, not a uniform this time thankfully, and shut myself up in the bathroom.

I got ready quickly and let Casper out to roam around as I slowly made my way to the blasted kitchen.

Another day in the war zone...