Always There (Always Series: Book Two)

by Lindsay Becs

  “Then why do you seem mad that I’m here?”

  “A phone call or text would have been nice.” I reach for a take-out menu to order some dinner for us.

  “Sorry,” she says, but she sounds so deflated and not like my fierce, ass-kicking sister.

  “What’d he say?” I ask as I lean back against the counter to look at her again.

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” she says, wiping a stray tear from her cheek, telling me it was bad, before straightening her back to look put together. I know better than to push her right now, but I also know my father, and there’s no question he said some nasty things that will stick for a while.

  “Let me order dinner, and then I’ll get you some blankets and pillows for the couch.”

  “Ollie?” I stop and turn to look where she’s sitting at the counter. “Thank you.”

  “No sweat.” I wink at her. “It’ll be fine, Tates. Don’t worry about it, alright? Go shower and relax.”

  While she takes a shower, I order food, then I call Travis to let him know what happened. He calls her a little later and offers her a job answering phones at his garage until she leaves and again once she’s back. By her squeal, I’m guessing she’s excited about it. He also offered for her to stay in her old room for the time being. Between the two of us, we’ll take care of her.

  We eat and watch a movie until I notice she’s asleep. I turn off of the TV and cover her up before walking to my bed. I let out a long breath and close my eyes. I hope I’m not throwing my sister into the lion’s den by letting her do this job, but I have to trust her. She’s tough. She can do anything she wants to and do it sticking to her guns. It’ll be OK.

  “You ever going to name this place for real?” Tatum asks Travis when I drop her off at the garage, which has been aptly named for as long as I can remember.

  “Never really thought about it,” he answers when he rounds the corner to show her where everything is in the tiny office.

  “Business seems good.” I observe, looking at his books.

  “Yeah,” he answers as he rubs the back of his neck. “I actually need to talk to you two about something.”

  We both turn to him to listen to what he has to say. He tells us that although business is good, he’s struggling financially to keep up with the house with all the medical bills from my mom still needing to be paid. I immediately feel like a dick. I don’t know why I never thought about that part of things after my mom passed away.

  “Let me help,” I offer.

  He takes a deep breath before continuing. “I want to move. The house is too big for just Pen and me. I don’t want to go far; I have this place and I don’t want her to have to move schools. But it’s just too much. Are you guys alright with that?”

  “Trav, why wouldn’t we be? It was your house with Mom. You need to do what’s best for you and Penny,” Tatum says, and I love her for her answer.

  “I spoke with Candace the other day, and she said the value of the house hasn’t dropped much. It should be an easy sell. I’m looking at a house this weekend. I just wanted to be sure you guys would be alright with it before I did anything permanent.”

  “I appreciate that, Trav, but Tate is right. It’s up to you, not us. We’ll help with whatever you need. And my other offer still stands. Let me help with some of the medical bills,” I say, hoping he’ll put his pride aside. I know this house stuff has to be hitting hard enough.

  “Thanks, man.” He slaps my back with a head nod.

  “Alright, I’m out of here. I need to get some work done since this twerp has been taking up all my time,” I say, ruffling my sister’s hair, earning me a hit to the stomach and a low chuckle from Travis.

  Once I get to the hospital, I walk straight to the finance offices. I knock on the door of billing and insurance hell at the hospital. “Come in,” is yelled to me. I push inside, and when the woman sees me, she pauses and stares for a beat. “Can I help you, Dr. Duncan?” I’m surprised she knows me since I’ve never been here before, but I don’t question it.

  “I have a question for you. Do you have a minute?”

  “Sure. Have a seat.”

  I sit and cross my ankle over my knee. “We get discounts and freebies for family care, right?” I ask, jumping straight to the point.

  “Well, it depends on the case and what insurance won’t cover.”

  “What about with our sister hospitals?”

  “Depends even more. Can you tell me more specifically what you’re concerned about?”

  No one in the hospital knows about my mom, well, except for Bex now. I like it that way. No looks of sadness and pity or questions about why I specialize in what I do.

  “My mom was treated at our sister clinic.” I pause thinking about if I really want to continue, but it’s for Travis, so I do. “Glorianna.” That’s the name of the oncology clinic my mom went to.

  This woman’s eyes widen for a moment before she composes herself for the second time since I walked in. “How long ago?”

  “A few years back. Breast cancer and then lung cancer.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Dr. Duncan,” she says with a soft smile.

  “Thank you.” I clear my throat for how uncomfortable I feel. “My…” I pause and smile a little bit before saying, “stepdad is having a rough time with all the remaining bills. Is there anything that can be waived?”

  “Do you know your mom’s social?” I shake my head no. “That’s OK. What was her full name?”

  “Josie,” I whisper. It hurts saying her name out loud like that. Damn, I miss my mom. I still feel the hurt in my gut every time I talk about her. “I don’t know if it’ll be under Duncan or Gellar.”

  “I’ll look up both and see.” She types a bunch and then stops. “Here it is. Looks like both names, different times.”

  “That’s probably right.” I nod.

  “There’s an overall outstanding balance of… $37,524.56.”

  This time, my eyes bug out. Being a doctor, you get your paycheck, but you never think about how the hospital bills out for your services. “Holy shit!”

  “I can put in a request to waive… what looks like about $10,000. Would you like me to do that?”

  “Yes, please.” I sigh, pulling on my hair in frustration. Why didn’t I ever think to look into this before? How much has Travis already spent? What the hell did insurance even pay?!

  “They may deny it since it’s been a little while and you work here. Just a heads-up.”

  “Can you let me know either way? And, uh, keep this between us?”

  She gives me a sympathetic smile. “Of course.”

  “Thank you.” I knock my fist on her desk with a nod and leave with my head swirling with what I just learned. I pause then at the doorway. “Any way to autopay it from my paycheck? Can you link to their billing system like that?”

  “I’ll look into it for you, Dr. Duncan.”

  I give her another tight smile and nod.

  A week later, I was told that they denied the waiver to pay part of it and I couldn’t autopay, either. It’s so nice of them to work with the families. No wonder everyone hates them. As much as I wish I could just pay it all, I have my own student loans I’m paying on, and although I make decent money, it’s not enough to pay off both at once. I send in as much as I can to make a little dent and plan to pay more each month. I wish Travis would have told me before that he needed help.

  For now, I’m going to help with what I can.

  “Tatum! Give me a hand with this!” I yell to my sister when I arrive at the garage.

  “I can’t carry that!”

  “This is just the small one. They’re delivering the big one in a couple days.”

  “Ugh! Fine.”

  “You are such a brat! This was your idea.”

  “My brilliant idea.”

  “Then help me carry your brilliant idea inside,” I say with an eyeroll. “Don’t you own a pair of tennis shoes? Why are you wearing heels?
”

  “Ew! Gross. No,” she says with so much disgust, you would have thought I told her to rub shit all over her face.

  “You are no help! We’ll just show him here, and then he can help me carry it in. You are so fucking annoying!” I tell her, but really it was an awesome idea.

  Tatum runs inside to get Travis, and when he comes out looking confused, I get giddy like a kid on Christmas.

  “We did a little something for you. I hope you like it, bro.” I pull off the blanket with a ta-da!

  Travis looks inside the truck bed and stops in his tracks. I watch his jaw tighten, and I hope that doesn’t mean he’s mad. The red tin sign reads “Pretty Girl Garage” in an awesome looking script font in bright white after the nickname he had for my mom.

  “I wanted to add ‘No one will make your girls purr like we do’ on the bottom, but Tate vetoed me,” I tell him as I hip-check my sister.

  He huffs a laugh as he stares at the sign. “It’s perfect.”

  “And now you have an actual pretty girl working here, too,” Tate adds.

  “Really,” I deadpan.

  “What? Just an observation.”

  I shake my head. “The big one will be delivered in a couple days,” I tell him. “As long as you’re sure you like it.”

  He turns, giving me a hug. “It’s perfect. Thank you. Both of you.”

  “You’re welcome, man.”

  “Welcome!” Tatum adds and blows him a kiss. “I can order updated business cards and things with the new name and logo any time you want. Just say the word.”

  “Word.” He smiles. “It’s awesome. I want it everywhere. I can’t wait to show Pen. She’ll love it.”

  “I’m glad you like it. I was a little nervous you’d hate it.”

  “Nah. I love it. Really.” He looks down at it again. “She would, too,” he adds, rubbing his chest where his heart is.

  “Now help me carry this heavy thing in.” I slap him on the back. “Princess here couldn’t manage in her practical heels.”

  Chapter 12

  Bexley

  I’m becoming that girl. And I hate that I’m becoming that girl. I haven’t heard from or seen Ollie in four days. I get it, he has days off too, but what the hell? On the other hand, it’s not like we’re super serious or that he has to tell me where he is every hour of the day, but I really want to know!

  I slap my hand on my forehead. “Get over yourself, Bexley, and call him,” I grumble to myself. Reaching for my phone, my finger hovers over his name. We’ve never called each other. Hell, we haven’t even really texted each other. We pass Post-it notes like we’re seven. “This is stupid,” I huff and tap the call button. It rings three times, and each time I think I might pee my pants.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey…” I close my eyes and hit myself again. I really am that girl now.

  “Bex? Everything alright?” he asks, sounding concerned thanks to my weird greeting or for calling him at all.

  “Yeah… I’m sorry. It’s dumb. I just hadn’t heard from you and wanted to make sure everything was OK.” I scrunch up my face at the fact that I sound ridiculously needy.

  “You miss me, huh?”

  “I do not,” I protest.

  “You miss my sweet, sweet lovin’. Just admit it.” I can hear his cocky smile through the phone.

  “Maybe a little,” I finally admit and hear his deep chuckle on the other end in response.

  “Want me to come over? I can help fix the burning desire you have.”

  “Shut up,” I laugh.

  “Do you need me to scratch that itch… with my dick?”

  “Holy hell, stop talking or I’m hanging up.”

  “Don’t get testy just because you’re horny, Bex. Just admit it. This was a booty call.”

  “No, it wasn’t! I was really just checking in, but now you’re making me wish I hadn’t.”

  “Fine. You want to play Dungeons and Dragons?” he asks, confusing me.

  “What? No.”

  “You sure? Because I’d love to use my sword to rescue you, filling that dungeon of yours with—”

  “Stop!” I yell, hardly able to hold back my laughter. “Do not finish that sentence.”

  “OK, OK. I’ll stop.” He surrenders through a low chuckle.

  I pause when I hear a knock on my door. “Hang on. Someone just knocked,” I tell him. I open the door, but no one is there. I look side to side but don’t see anyone. “That’s weird. No one’s there,” I say, taking a step back to close the door, but a hand stops it and pulls it open.

  I scream bloody murder and turn to run into my apartment, but I’m grabbed around my middle and a hand clamps over my still-screaming mouth. I stomp on my attacker’s foot and bite his hand. It’s enough for him to let go with a curse. I take off at full speed toward my bedroom to lock myself in and call 911.

  “Bex!” I hear yelled behind me, but I keep going. “Bexley, stop! It’s me!” It still hasn’t fully registered who ‘me’ is, so I keep going and slam my door shut and lock it. I’m heaving and terrified, and then I realize I dropped my phone out by the front door. Shit.

  A knock hits the other side of my door, making me jump with a yelp. “Bex, it’s me, Ollie. Can you open the door?”

  “Ollie?” I cry as I pull the door open and jump into his arms. “How did you get here so fast? Is he gone?” I cry into his chest. “Oh shit, did he hurt you?!” I pull back to check that he’s alright. I’m thankful he’s here.

  “Well, uh, it was me. I was trying to be funny. I’m so sorry, Bex. I didn’t think you’d get that scared.”

  “It was you?!” I ask, confused and a little bit angry.

  “Yeah. I wasn’t far from here when you called. I just drove straight over while we talked, and then I thought it’d be funny to trick you. Obviously, I was terribly wrong. I’m so, so sorry. Are you alright?” he asks, cupping my cheeks and searching my face.

  “You asshole!” I yell and slug his shoulder. But really, I feel so embarrassed for my reaction. I turn away from him and wipe the tears from my eyes.

  “Hey,” he says, grabbing my hand and pulling me back against him, wrapping me in a hug. He kisses the top of my head and tells me again how sorry he is. “I’ll let you tickle my pickle if it will help make you feel better.”

  I laugh then. How can I not? “Or. You can let me sit on your face until I’ve either smothered you or had an orgasm worthy of my forgiveness.”

  He lets go of me, pulling his shirt off as he lies down on my bed. “Ready when you are, sweetness. I have a lot of forgiveness to seek,” he says without a trace of humor because he is dead serious. I burst out in a fit of giggles, unable to stop myself. I have tears falling down my face, but this time from laughter instead of fear. “Stop laughing and get over here and sit on my face!” Ollie yells a little too sternly, making me laugh even harder.

  “I’m sorry. I can’t…” I wave a hand in the air, still trying to get myself together and catch my breath.

  “Bexley…” Ollie whines, actually whines, at me for not smothering his face with my vagina. Boys are so weird.

  I crawl on the bed and straddle his middle, with my clothes still on, as my giggles continue to even out. I bend to kiss him sweetly on the lips, and when I pull back, he has the sexiest grin on his face. How can I stay mad at that?

  “You still have clothes on, and you are not on my face,” he says, lacing our fingers together and resting them on my thighs. “Does this mean I’m forgiven?”

  “Yes.” I smile down at him, and he pulls my hands, making me fall forward until our lips connect again. It’s soft and gentle and so different from how he usually kisses me. “Want to watch a movie or something?” I ask after a few minutes, laying my head on his chest.

  “Whatever you want, sweetness,” he answers as he kisses the top of my head.

  “Ollie?” I turn my head to look up at him. “I really like you. It felt wrong not talking to you. That’s why I called,” I ad
mit.

  “I missed you, too.”

  For the first time since we started, whatever this is, we didn’t have sex or fool around. Instead, we cuddled on the couch watching movies. We ordered a pizza and drank root beer and it felt so good. I don’t know what time it was when I fell asleep, but I woke up when I felt Ollie pick me up and carry me to my bed.

  “Will you stay?” I sleepily ask as I remove my jeans and pull the blankets up.

  “No place I’d rather be,” he says, kissing me. He undresses and climbs in bed, pulling me against him. We fit together, and I never want this feeling to go away. I want him to always be here with me like this.

  The next few weeks go by fast but are some of the best weeks of my life. When I’m not at work, I’m with Ollie. We hit a new level of comfort in our relationship, and if I’m being honest, I think it freaks both of us out a little bit. We are letting all pretenses go and letting things evolve organically. Don’t get me wrong; we’re still screwing every chance we get, but between our hump fests we are getting to know each other. We go on dates, we eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner together depending on our schedules, and unless I am at work, we share a bed each night.

  Ollie surprises me with lots of things, but what amazes me the most is how much he looks after his family. His dad’s around, but it’s clear that he doesn’t do much as an actual dad for him or his sister, Tatum. Ollie is always there for every one when they need him.

  I was shocked when he first told me that he encouraged Tatum to take her GED and chase her dreams. However, the more I’m around Tatum, I realize she is just that kind of girl—woman—who could easily reach for the moon and actually grab it. I wish I had half her gumption to go after the things I want in life the way she does. And you’d have to be blind not to see how much she and Ollie are each other’s biggest supporters. They may give each other shit but that’s just their own love language.

  Tatum is leaving tomorrow for her dream job and will be gone for a while. I think it’s going to be harder on Travis not to have her there for the next few months after she reinvented the office of Pretty Girl Garage, according to both Travis and Ollie. What started as a means to give her income and a leg-up ended up helping everyone.