Abby stood. “Sorry, guys. My friend Megan is calling for the second time in thirty seconds. I better see what she needs.”
Marissa reached for the remote and paused the movie while Abby answered her phone, moving into the kitchen for the illusion of privacy.
“Hey, Megan. What’s up? Is everything okay?” Abby held her breath while she waited. Did something happen to her mom? Did something happen to Megan?
“Hey, Abs. Sorry to bug you. I’m sure you’re busy having fun, but …”
She trailed off, and Abby waited for her to continue, but she didn’t. “But? What’s going on?”
Megan sighed through the phone. “Have you heard from your mom?”
Abby’s brows came together, and she shook her head, even though Megan couldn’t see her. “No. Should I have? Did something happen to her?”
“No, no. Nothing like that. She’s fine. It’s just … um …”
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Abby switched her phone from one hand to the other. “It’s just what, Megan? Spit it out. Is anyone in the hospital?”
“No. God, no. Everyone’s healthy. Well, Chris has a little cold, but he’ll be fine. I made him some chicken noodle soup. He’s whiny, because he’s a boy, but it’s just a runny nose and a little cough.”
“Megan! I’m sorry Chris has a cold, but what’s going on with my mom?”
“Oh, well. It’s just, I called her yesterday, and she seemed weird on the phone. Weirder than normal, I mean. And today she didn’t answer, so Chris and I went over to make sure she was okay. And, uh, your brother was there.”
“What?” She couldn’t possibly have heard Megan correctly. Maybe she said her mother was there. That would make sense for her mother to be at her own house. But why would Megan call to tell her that?
“Yeah. I know. Have you heard from him recently?”
Abby shook her head, too stunned to speak. Him. Yup, she’d heard Megan right the first time. Him. Her brother was at their mom’s house. Wha—?
“Abby? Are you there?”
She had to clear her throat a couple of times to get her voice to work. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m here. Sorry. No. I haven’t heard from my brother in … I don’t even know how long. Like almost two years. He’s at my mom’s house? Is he staying there? When did he get there? How long is he staying? What does he want? Why is he back?” The questions all came tumbling out in a rush, one after the other as they occurred to Abby.
“I don’t know, Abs. He answered the door when Chris and I knocked and basically told us to fuck off. He wouldn’t answer any questions, just said he and your mom were fine, and Chris and I didn’t need to bother checking on her anymore. He didn’t answer when I asked if you knew he was there, so I assumed that meant no. We just got home a few minutes ago. I would’ve called sooner, but you know the signal’s crap at your mom’s house. And I didn’t know what to tell you.”
Abby shook her head again. “No, yeah. Thank you. I mean, thanks for calling me and letting me know. I had no idea. He’s been gone for so long, and I haven’t heard from him in forever. I didn’t think Mom had either, but now I don’t know. I don’t know.” She paused, her fingers over her lips. “Okay. I’m going to call Mom. Thanks for checking on her, and thanks for calling.”
“Sure. Anytime. Let me know if you need anything, okay?”
“Okay. Yeah. I will. I gotta go.”
Abby ended the call, her fingers trembling as she pulled up her Mom’s contact info.
“Is everything okay?” Marissa stood in the doorway to the kitchen, a concerned look on her face.
Abby looked up. “Um, yeah. No. I don’t really know. I’ve gotta call my mom. Give me a few minutes, okay?”
Marissa nodded, backing out to go to the living room, leaving Abby to her phone call. She managed to push the button to call her mom, taking deep breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth, trying to stay outwardly calm, while her mind raced through all the reasons her brother might have for turning up now out of nowhere. What could he possibly want? Money? Mom didn’t have any to spare. A place to crash? Was he on the run from the cops? Or someone worse?
Her mom’s phone rang. And rang. And went to voicemail. Abby called again. This time, just when she thought it would go to voicemail again, a man’s voice answered.
“Aaron?”
“Abby.”
“What are you doing there? Where’s mom?”
“I’m visiting. Where are you?”
“I’m in Texas with my boyfriend’s family. Why are you really there?”
“Texas, huh? You just left Mom on Christmas?” he drawled, a vaguely accusing note in his voice putting Abby immediately on the defensive.
“Please, Aaron. You have no room to criticize. You’ve been gone for years with barely a phone call.” She tried her best to keep her voice calm, but some of her anger leaked through.
“But Mom had you here to look out for her,” he pointed out in an eminently reasonable tone. “You weren’t supposed to up and leave her. Where in Texas are you?”
“Denton.” Why did that matter? “And I didn’t up and leave Mom. I’ll be back in a few days. Megan and Chris were checking on Mom while I was gone.” More defensiveness. She sucked in another deep breath, trying to regain control of herself and the conversation.
“You know she doesn’t like strangers.”
“Megan’s not a stranger. She’s been my friend since high school, and she’s been there for Mom more than you have in the last few years.” Now Abby didn’t bother to try to keep the irritation out of her voice. Especially not with the way her brother accused her of abandoning their mother. Like he had any room to talk. He’d abandoned them years ago.
“Well, I’m here now. Tell your friend and her boy to stay away. They upset Mom when they came by earlier.”
Like he actually cared about their mom. “Megan was concerned,” she said through gritted teeth. “She said Mom acted weird on the phone yesterday and wouldn’t answer today. She was being a good friend by coming by. And she brought Chris in case there was something seriously wrong.”
“Whatever. Just tell them they don’t need to anymore. I’m here. I’ll be here until you get back.”
That sent alarms going off in her head. “How long are you there for?”
But he ignored her question. “When are you going to be home?”
“We’re supposed to get back on Friday night.”
“After Christmas.” He tutted.
Abby knew he was trying to get an emotional reaction out of her. It would give him something to use against her. She didn’t rise to the bait. “Aaron, how long are you staying?”
He paused for a long time, but finally answered. “I’m not sure yet. A while.”
“Why are you back? Where have you been?”
“Look, Abby, it’s been fun catching up, but I’m gonna go now.”
“Let me talk to Mom.” Aaron being there didn’t sit right. She needed to make sure her mom was really okay with him staying in her house.
“Nah,” he said like he was turning down a glass of water. “She doesn’t feel like talking on the phone today. You know how it goes. I’ll tell her you said hi.”
“No, Aaron. No. Let me talk to her. Put me on speakerphone at least.” She made her voice as commanding as possible. It didn’t make any difference. It never had before, either.
“Bye, Abby. See you when you get back.”
“Aaron. Aaron!”
Silence. She pulled the phone away from her ear, and the call had ended. “Motherfucker.”
“Abby?” Marissa stood in the kitchen again. “What’s going on?”
Abby shook her head. “Um, I don’t really know. My brother’s back home.”
“Is that bad?” Marissa’s brows were raised, her face open and curious, clearly unsure about the family dynamics at play.
Abby sighed. “Yeah, probably. I don’t know. He left after I graduated from high school. I don’t know where he’s been. I
haven’t heard from him since my nineteenth birthday. He called me to say happy birthday. He didn’t call last year, though. And I didn’t figure he’d call for my next one in February, either. I didn’t think my mom had heard from him either. She never said anything, and I didn’t bring him up, because why? Why talk about another person who abandoned us?” Abby clamped her lips together and shook her head, trying to stop herself from rambling. “Sorry. I don’t—” She shook her head again. “I don’t know what’s going on. I think … I think I need to go home. I don’t trust him. He wouldn’t let me talk to my mom. I don’t know what’s going on. I need to call Lance. I’ve gotta get home as soon as possible.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Lance sat on the couch in the family room watching ESPN with his dad, bored and irritated with listening to his dad’s intermittent commentary.
How much longer would Abby be gone?
While he was glad his sisters were intent on getting to know her, and he knew they’d have the best chance to get to know her without him there, he still missed her. His dad’s ongoing silence on anything other than cars and football made it hard to be in the same room with him. If not for those two subjects, they wouldn’t have anything to talk about. And both of those were rife with subtle and not-so-subtle digs.
How he’d left to go play football, but maybe he’d have been able to go pro if he’d stayed in Texas.
Rolling his eyes, Lance didn’t even acknowledge that one. He hadn’t wanted to go pro. He liked football, he enjoyed being on a team and had fun playing. And he really liked how it paid for most of his education. But pro? No, thanks.
How he probably didn’t know his way around an engine anymore.
He bit his tongue, unwilling to engage. Could he disassemble and reassemble an engine in his sleep anymore? No. But he didn’t need to. He knew enough to keep his and Abby’s cars in good working order. That was enough.
How he’d abandoned his family for some girl.
He sat up straight at that one, ready to tell his dad to shove it. But Abby’s name popping up on the screen of his phone stopped him. Instead of arguing with his dad, he swiped his thumb across the screen, stood up, and left the room.
“Hey, sweetheart. I was just thinking about you.”
“Hey.” Her voice sounded off. Strained. “Can you come get me?”
The blood froze in Lance’s veins. Why would she want him to come pick her up early? Had his sisters done something to upset her? They’d seemed to get along okay last night. “What happened?”
“I just got off the phone with my brother,” she said in a rush. “He’s at the house, and I need to go. I need to go home.”
Relief swept through him that the problem wasn’t his sisters, but new worry followed close on its heels. Did she say her brother? “Wait, what? Your brother? He called you?”
“No.” He knew she was probably shaking her head, even though he couldn’t see her. That brought a smile to his face, a rush of affection blooming in his chest. “No, he’s at my mom’s. Megan and Chris went over there today because Mom wouldn’t answer her phone and found him there. Megan called a few minutes ago to let me know. When I called Mom, he answered and wouldn’t let me talk to her. I’m worried.” She paused. He could tell she wanted to say more, but didn’t know what.
Grabbing his mom’s keys and a light jacket, he found his mom in the office. “Hang on a sec, Abby.” He pulled the phone away from his face. “Hey, I need to go get Abby from Marissa’s. I’m taking your car, okay?”
His mom turned, her dark brows scrunched together, concern on her face. “What’s wrong? Isn’t she having a nice time with the girls?”
Lance shook his head. “Her brother’s home, and they’re having a family crisis of some kind. She just called and asked me to come get her.”
“Oh. Abby mentioned her brother at lunch. I thought he was out of the picture.”
Lance didn’t have time to acknowledge the spurt of surprise that Abby would talk about her brother with his mom. It had taken him ages to get those details out of her, but it was just a testament to how awesome his mom was that Abby would open up to her so easily. “Yeah. That’s kind of the crisis. He just showed up out of nowhere today. I don’t know more than that. I’ll be back soon. I’ll fill you in when I can.”
As soon as she nodded, Lance was in motion, jogging out to the garage and hitting the garage door opener as he went out the door. “Alright, I’m back. I’m on my way. What are you thinking?”
“I hate to do this, Lance,” her voice was laced with regret that immediately had his hair standing on end, “but I’m really worried. I need to go home. Like tonight. Or tomorrow. As soon as I can.”
Lance swallowed, not answering for a minute. She wanted to leave? Shit. Okay, they could still have a nice Christmas at home, right? It wouldn’t be the same, but they’d be together.
“Lance?”
“Yeah, sorry. Just backing out of the driveway. I’ll be there in a few, and we’ll figure out rearranging our tickets.”
“Just mine. I don’t want you to miss out on Christmas with your family. I know you’ve been looking forward to it for a long time.”
He’d been looking forward to spending Christmas with her and his family. And his planned proposal on Christmas morning. And how everyone would react when they saw her ring. And how loved and part of the family she’d feel with all the women in his family squealing and fussing over her. He’d been envisioning it for weeks. The way Gabby would clap and squeal, his mom hugging them both one after the other, Marissa pulling up ideas on Pinterest for wedding dresses and decorating ideas. That’s what he’d been looking forward to. Now it wouldn’t happen. Even if he went home with her, that vision was dead before it even had a chance.
He cleared his throat. “We’ll talk about it when I get you. See you soon.”
“Okay. I’m sorry, Lance. I really am. I know—”
“Don’t apologize, Abby,” he cut her off before she could continue, not wanting her to focus on his feelings right now. Not when she was so obviously worried about her mom. And even if he was disappointed his plans would work out, he was worried about her mom too. “I’m not mad at you. I get it. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Lance ended the call, his hands clenching the steering wheel as he drove to pick Abby up from his sister’s apartment, the roads familiar even though it had been a year since he’d been here for a visit. He parked as close to Marissa’s stairs as he could, taking them two at a time to get to her apartment.
Marissa answered his knock, Abby right behind her. “You didn’t have to come up. I would’ve come down if you’d texted me.”
He wrapped Abby in a hug and kissed her forehead. “I know. I wanted to come up. You ready?”
She nodded against his chest. “Let me grab my bag.”
Before she could detach herself, Gabby brought Abby her new purse. Abby managed a small smile. “Thanks.”
Gabby gave her a hug. “I hope everything’s okay.”
“Me too.”
Marissa hugged her too. “It was fun while it lasted. We’ll do it again sometime, okay?”
Abby nodded. “I’d like that. I’m sorry for ruining our girls’ night. I had fun. At least until the phone calls. Thanks for having me over.”
“Anytime.”
Abby reached for Lance’s hand, and he led her out to where he was parked. “Was Gabby not ready to leave yet?”
Shrugging, Abby worried her lower lip with her free hand. “She offered to take me back to your parents’. But I’d already called you. And I figured they could finish the movie without me if they wanted. That way girls’ night isn’t a complete bust.”
“I bet Gabby’ll be home before too much longer. They get together and watch movies all the time. Tonight was about hanging out with you.”
“Don’t say that,” she groaned. “It’ll only make me feel worse.”
> Lance opened her car door for her, kissing her before she got in the car. “You don’t need to feel bad. It’s not your fault that your brother showed up out of nowhere.”
Her blue eyes searched his face. “You don’t think I’m overreacting? I mean, it’s weird, right? Him coming back like this?”
Lance nodded. “Yeah, it’s weird. I’m worried too. I don’t think you’re overreacting. And the way he won’t let anyone see or talk to your mom really bothers me.”
She let out a breath in relief. “Yeah, me too. I tried calling again after I got off the phone with you, but no one answered. When I called again it went straight to voicemail like her phone is off. I need to get home. I need to check on her.”
With a hand on her back, Lance turned her to face the car. “Get in, sweetheart. We’ll change our flights once we get back to my parents’ house.”
She nodded, climbing in, and he closed her door for her while she buckled her seatbelt. When he got in the car, she vibrated with nervous energy, one leg jiggling, her right hand clutching the handle on the door, the fingers of her other hand tugging and rolling her lower lip. He started the car and reached for her hand, pulling it away from her mouth, intertwining their fingers. “It’ll be okay, Abby. We’ll figure it out, okay?”
“Okay.” He barely heard her, but saw her lips move. They rode the whole way in silence, her staring out the window, occasionally messing with her lip with her free hand, him darting glances at her every so often. Once inside, he led the way up to their room where he got out his iPad and pulled up the airline’s website to change their tickets. Abby started packing her things while he looked.
“We can get on a flight tomorrow afternoon. It won’t get in until almost ten tomorrow night, but there aren’t any available seats earlier than that. We can see if they’ll let us try to fly standby on an earlier flight, though.”
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