PMU Boxset 2

by MacMillan, Jerica

  “Come to slum it with me again, huh?”

  Lance shook his head, walking past his dad into the garage. “Got anything for me to do?”

  His dad gave him a pointed look. “There’s always something to do around here, you know that.”

  Lance didn’t say anything, just waited for his dad to delegate something to him. Instead, his dad just stared at him for a minute. “She’s gone, then?”

  “Yeah. She’s at the airport, anyway.” He checked his phone. “She didn’t get the earlier flight that she was on standby for, so she’ll be leaving in a couple hours.”

  His dad snorted and shook his head, walking past Lance to the key box on the wall. He pulled down a set of keys, tossing them to Lance. “And you didn’t bother to go with her?”

  Lance ground his teeth, but kept his voice even. “She wanted me to stay and spend Christmas with my family. She thought you and mom would be mad at her if I left with her.” Clenching his jaw, he left off the fact that she preferred to keep her family issues private and didn’t want him along for her first meeting with her brother in several years. He didn’t think his dad would understand that part. Hell, he didn’t understand it very well himself. He was ready to marry her, but she barely let him help her with anything. He loved her, couldn’t imagine life without her, but it still seemed like she kept him at arm’s length. Not with everything, but definitely where her family was concerned. And with anything money related. He hoped that if they got engaged, that might change. That she’d see that he was in this for the long haul. He wouldn’t abandon her. He was committed to her, to them.

  “Think you can handle running a diagnostic on the transmission over there?”

  “Of course.” Lance hooked his finger through the key ring.

  “You know,” his dad scratched his chin, keeping his voice casual, “it seems to me that a man ought to go with the woman he loves if she’s having family problems.”

  Lance stiffened. “Oh, yeah? Even if the woman asks him not to?”

  Shrugging, his dad turned back to the car he’d been working on. “If she loves him as much as he loves her, why would she do that?”

  With a deep breath and a supreme effort of will, Lance didn’t yell at his father or punch him in the face like he wanted to. “What are you getting at, Dad? Just say it and be done.”

  “Nothin’. Just that it seems strange to me that you’d move back for her, go back on your word to me and turn your back on your family—”

  “Turn my back on my family? Are you kidding me?”

  Hard blue eyes met his. “No, son. I’m not kidding. Everything was all planned out. You were home—hell, we threw you a welcome home party. And you end up hiding out in the office for hours, and when you come down your mom announces the party’s over and tells me you’re moving back to Spokane. For some girl. And then you shack up with her. What am I supposed to think about all that? That my son cares more for some girl who’ll run off at the first sign of trouble, but lets him pay for her house. And you’re working for someone else instead of taking over your own business like I raised you to do.” He scoffed, shaking his head and turning back to the car.

  “You’ve only ever heard what you wanted to hear. Otherwise, you’d know that I never wanted to come back here and take over the shop. I like my job. And I love Abby. She didn’t run off at the first sign of trouble. She went home to look after her mother, like she’s been doing for years. Since family’s so important to you, wouldn’t that be a good quality in her? Not something to pick at? And I’ll be joining her tomorrow. I changed my flight to tomorrow afternoon. I’ll get in late, but I’ll still get to see her on Christmas.”

  “I never heard you object when you worked here all through high school.”

  Lance’s mouth dropped open. Leave it to his dad to only focus on the shop and ignore everything else. “I wasn’t exactly given a choice. You informed me that I would be working here after football season ended my freshman year. And it’s not like it was a big change from before that. All three of us were here as much as at home since we were old enough to know to stay out of the way. Gabby could probably do the diagnostic on the transmission here, and God knows that Marissa would happily take over running the shop when you’re ready to retire. Not that that’s likely to happen any time soon. You’ll probably work until you drop dead in the middle of the garage.”

  His dad shook his head. “Of course I teach all my kids their way around a car. Even the girls need to know the basics like how to change a flat, jump a car, or change their oil. That’s not rocket science. It doesn’t mean Marissa should take over the shop.”

  “What? Why not? She knows more about cars than me. And she’s the one who always wanted to be here. Why do you think she works in the office? Doesn’t she help when you guys are short-handed?”

  His dad looked affronted. “Marissa doesn’t need to get her hands dirty that often.”

  “Does she ever complain?”

  His dad eyed him in silence for a moment. “Sometimes she gets irritated about the paperwork, but I remind her that paperwork keeps a business going.”

  “Yeah. Which makes her think that you trust her with your business, that maybe someday you’ll hand it over to her now that I’m not going to take it over.”

  “Now hold on—”

  “Dad. I’m not going to come back and take over the shop. Even if I were to move back here—which is a big if, because Abby’s not going to leave her mom behind—even if I did come back, I’d work at a marketing firm. My own or someone else’s. I’m not interested in fixing cars for ten hours a day for the rest of my life. I don’t want the shop. Marissa does.”

  “I always planned to work with my son,” he said quietly. “That’s been my plan since you were a baby.”

  Lance let out a sigh. “So because Marissa’s a girl, she can’t hack it? Are you serious?” He shook his head. “Plans change, Dad. You need to learn to adapt and quit taking out your anger at me on everyone else. Marissa deserves to run the shop, and if she wants to work on cars more, you need to let her. She helps Peter after you go home more often than not.” His dad opened his mouth, but Lance held up a hand to hold him off. “Not because Peter needs the help, but because Marissa wants to. She loves cars like you do. Why can’t you see that?”

  His dad was silent, working on the car. Lance waited, almost turning away to get to work, but his dad’s quiet words stopped him. “I do see it. It’s just hard. For me. She’s always been my princess, and she loves to get her hair and nails done and wear fashionable clothes. I’m glad she knows her way around a car, but I never wanted her to be a grease monkey.”

  “It’s not always up to you.”

  He nodded, looking up. “If anyone’s proved that, it’s you. You’ve always been headstrong, doing what you want, what you think is right.” He straightened up, wiping off his hands with a rag. “So you’re leaving tomorrow?”

  “Yeah.” Lance stuck his hands in his pockets. “I can’t let her do this all by herself. Even if she thinks she wants to. She’s strong and independent, but I know she’ll feel better if I’m there.”

  His dad cocked an eyebrow. “Pretty sure of yourself, huh?”

  Lance flashed a grin. “Yup. With her? Definitely. She always pushes everyone away when she’s stressed. It’s reflexive for her after being abandoned by her dad and brother and having to take care of her mom. I get it. But she also needs to know that I’m there for her. Otherwise I’m just as bad as everyone else.”

  His dad scratched his head, his blue eyes analyzing. “That’s quite a mess she has for a family. You sure you’re up for that?”

  Lance shrugged and swallowed, trying to seem dismissive. “I don’t have much choice. I love her. And that’s the baggage she carries.” Truth was, sometimes he didn’t know if he was enough to overcome everything. But he had to try. He wasn’t willing to give up, and she hadn’t told him she was done. He hoped that over time she’d see he wouldn’t leave and stop trying t
o push him away when things got hard.

  “You’ve said a few times that you love her.”

  “I do. I’m going to marry her.”

  Both steel gray eyebrows winged up at that. “Are you now? When’s the big day? Do I get an invite, or are you too mad at me?”

  Lance chuckled and shook his head. “I haven’t proposed yet. I was going to do it tomorrow morning. Now,” he looked away, inhaling a deep breath, “now I don’t know when I’m going to do it.” He ran a hand through his hair, scratching the nape of his neck and shaking his head. “It depends on what’s going on with her brother, I think. I’ll have to get back and figure it out.”

  His dad nodded. “Yeah. Let me know how it goes. And you better tell your mother you’re planning to propose. She’ll skin you alive if you pop the question and she doesn’t know ahead of time.”

  “Okay. I’d planned on surprising everyone Christmas morning, but since that can’t happen now, I’ll be sure to tell mom before I leave.”

  “Good.” His dad tossed him a rag. “Now get to work on that transmission. We’ve wasted enough time.”

  Lance smiled to himself as he walked to the car, pulling it into the open bay. Some of the tension in his shoulders released, glad to have cleared the air with his dad. Now, he just needed to get through until he got back to Abby tomorrow. It had only been a couple hours, and he missed her already. He just hoped that things with her brother weren’t as much of a clusterfuck as he feared.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Abby trudged out of the terminal to see Megan bouncing and waving. Abby couldn’t help smiling at her friend, happy to see her after a long, stressful day of travel.

  Megan squeezed her in a suffocating hug as soon as Abby got clear of the crowd. “I’ve missed you!”

  Abby laughed. “You saw me last week!”

  Megan just shrugged, releasing Abby from the hug and hooking their arms together. They walked to the baggage claim to wait for Abby’s suitcase. Abby looked around. “No Chris?”

  Megan shook her head, her dark curls swinging around her shoulders. “Not tonight. I told him he had to stay home. He grumbled and whined, but I thought you might need some girl time in case you wanted to talk about your brother or Lance or whatever. I know you well enough to realize you wouldn’t say anything about any of that if he came.” She shrugged one shoulder. “So it’s just you and me, baby.”

  Abby laughed, and Megan grinned, winking at her, her dark eyes twinkling. “Thanks, Megs. I appreciate the thought. I like Chris, but, yeah. It’s nice to be able to talk about whatever without worrying about him.” Abby’s gaze sharpened on Megan as a thought occurred to her. “How much do you tell him?” She waved a hand around. “About me and all my crap?”

  Megan sighed, the twinkle in her eyes dying away. “You know me better than that, Abs.” She shook her head. “I don’t tell him much of anything. I mean, he knows your mom has issues, but you told him more about that than I ever have, and that was because you decided he needed to know. I told him about your brother leaving after we graduated and him not contacting you for the last year, because he needed to understand what was going on. But I don’t tell him things that you’ve told me in confidence.” Now Megan narrowed her eyes. “Why? Do you tell Lance about my shit?”

  Abby laughed, shaking her head. “No. I don’t need to. You tell everyone everything anyway.”

  “Not quite everything, but yeah, I know what you mean.” She squeezed Abby’s arm and changed the subject. “Anyway, tell me about meeting Lance’s family? How did it go?”

  “Good. Mostly.” She told Megan about Lance’s dad trying to put her in a different room the first night.

  “What? That’s crazy! Does he think you sleep in different rooms in your one-bedroom apartment?” Megan laughed and shook her head.

  Abby shrugged. “I don’t know. Lance was pissed, though, and told his dad that I’d be staying in his room or we’d go to a hotel. So that was a fun way to start the visit.”

  “Oh, man.” Megan made a sympathetic noise. “How was his mom?”

  “She’s great. Welcoming, and she hugs everyone all the time. It was weird, but in a nice way. You know how my mom is, so I’m not used to that. The only other mom I’ve had much experience with is yours, and …” She trailed off meaningfully.

  “Ha. Yeah.” Megan shook her head. “Not much of a hugger either.”

  Abby nodded, falling silent as the baggage claim beeped loudly several times and suitcases started falling down the chute. Hers was the fourth or fifth to appear. “Oh! There’s my suitcase.” She grabbed her luggage off the conveyor belt, and they headed out toward Megan’s car. They stopped for burgers on the way back to Abby’s apartment and ate at the coffee table, catching up on the last few days.

  “Alright, Abs. Chris has been texting me for the last hour begging me to come home. I better go. You want me to go with you to your mom’s tomorrow?”

  Abby stood up with Megan, hugging her again before she left. “No. I’ll be fine. I don’t want to ruin your Christmas.”

  Megan pulled back, her eyes serious. “It’s not a big deal, Abby. I can come with you if you need the moral support.”

  “No, no. It’s fine. It’ll be better if it’s just me. I don’t know why Aaron’s back or what he wants. If there are other people around, who knows how things’ll go.”

  Megan stared at her, her eyes examining Abby’s face. “Okay. But if you change your mind, just let me know. Or if things are crazy and you need backup, we’ll get there as fast as we can. Don’t hesitate to call.”

  Abby walked Megan to the door. Megan stopped, facing Abby again. “You know, I’m surprised Lance let you come back by yourself.”

  Abby bristled. “Let me? He’s not my boss.”

  Pursing her lips, Megan shook her head. “I know. That’s not what I meant. But he and Chris are a lot alike, and I can’t imagine Chris letting me fly home by myself to deal with my crazy family, no matter what I said about it.”

  “Lance wasn’t happy about it, but he respects my need to deal with this on my own,” Abby insisted. Honestly, she was a little surprised he relented too. And grateful. And sad. Her feelings were a big mess, and she hoped having time to herself would let her sort them out.

  Megan eyed her. “If you say so. Good luck tomorrow. And seriously, call me if you need me. For anything.”

  “I will. Thanks, Megan. You’re the best.”

  She flashed a cheeky grin. “I know. That’s why you love me.”

  Abby laughed. “It is.”

  With a final goodbye, Megan left and Abby got ready for bed. While she’d hoped that being alone would give her the time and space she usually needed to unpack what was going on in her head, right now she just felt lonely. She missed Lance, and regret at making him stay behind slipped over her, especially after what Megan had said. Was he upset that she’d made him stay? She knew he didn’t like it, but he’d seemed to understand. And when she’d talked to him on the phone after getting back to the apartment, he hadn’t sounded upset. She wished she could call him now, but it was after midnight in Texas, and they’d been up early this morning.

  Tired but restless, she unpacked her suitcase before crawling into the cold, empty bed and curling up with Lance’s pillow. She dreaded confronting her brother tomorrow, and she was starting to wish Lance was here to come with her. Maybe she should take Megan up on her offer to come along. The thought of moral support, someone having her back, seemed more appealing than it had when Megan had suggested it. She’d always dealt with everything on her own, but the last few months she hadn’t had to, and she’d gotten used to it.

  Maybe that was more reason than anything to deal with this on her own, though. Just so she didn’t get too accustomed to having someone help her.

  People left. People left her. She needed to be able to deal on her own and not rely on anyone. Even if that thought left a cold, empty ache in her chest.

  Abby woke up with gritty, gunky eyes,
the product of terrible sleep and loneliness. She forced herself to get up and take a shower, the hot water soothing her to some extent. During breakfast she texted with Lance while she ate a bowl of cold cereal. Not quite the family-filled Christmas morning she’d been planning on for the last couple of months.

  Her stupid brother. Why couldn’t he just stay gone? She knew he wouldn’t stick around. If he planned on staying, why wouldn’t he say so on the phone? What did he want, anyway?

  She sighed, rinsing her bowl. Only one way to find out.

  Her phone dinged with a text alert as she gathered her coat and purse to head to her mom’s.

  Megan: When are you going to your mom’s?

  Abby: Now.

  Megan: Hang on. Don’t go yet.

  Abby: Why not?

  Megan: Chris and I are coming over. We want to bring your Christmas present. Be there in 10.

  Abby flopped down on the couch. She didn’t want to wait, but she didn’t feel like arguing. She flipped through the channels, landing on a cheesy Christmas movie while she waited for Chris and Megan.

  Megan barged her way in when Abby answered the door, calling “Merry Christmas!” over her shoulder. Chris trailed behind her, his sandy blond hair in its usual casual, messy style.

  “Merry Christmas to you, too,” Abby said, closing the door behind her friends.

  Chris bent and gave Abby a quick hug. “Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry Christmas, Chris.”

  His hazel eyes were serious as they examined her. “How are you doing?”

  Abby tugged at her lower lip, then forced her hand to her side. “I’m fine. Just worried about my mom. Anyway,” she turned to Megan, “you said you wanted to give me a Christmas present. But we exchanged presents before Lance and I left, remember?”

  An impish smile coming to her lips, Megan shrugged. “We’re coming with you to your mom’s. Merry Christmas.”

  Abby shook her head, taking a step back. “No. That wasn’t—”