by Mandy Baggot
‘Hey, everyone, come on, she is beautiful, isn’t she?’ Mickey interjected, trying to change the mood.
‘Want to help me weld her up?’ Robyn asked him.
‘Sure, if Sarah lets me out. She’s taken to dragging me past bridal boutiques on weekends lately,’ Mickey informed her with a sigh.
‘Oh man, have you not given in yet? Give the poor girl a ring,’ Wade said with a laugh.
‘She want to get married?’ Henrik queried.
‘I think so, Henrik. She talks about nothing else. Like, did I know that American Woman magazine states that any woman not married before thirty is considered one of life’s rejects? Or did I know that all wedding gowns at Pollards are sixty per cent off and, if she bought one now, did I think it would go out of fashion before we set a date?’
‘I am not listening,’ Robyn announced, clamping her hands down over her ears.
‘Women aren’t worth the bother man; no woman is worth the bother,’ Brad said, staring at Robyn and throwing his bag over his shoulder.
‘Well… maybe that’s why Michelle left you for the ugliest kid in school,’ Robyn blurted out before she could stop herself.
She bit down hard on her lips, instantly regretting the statement, but it was too late. She stood on the outside edge of her tennis shoes and tried not to meet his eyes.
She didn’t need to look up to imagine Brad’s expression. He would look wounded and she had caused that by not keeping her mouth in check. Pam had told her he was still working through his troubles, and she’d said something stupid to hurt him just because she didn’t want to go on a date with him.
She raised her head and met his eyes. It was like a light had gone out somewhere inside him.
‘I’m out of here,’ he said, turning his back on the group and heading off across the parking lot.
Eleven
‘Listen, I’m sorry if the car thing has caused a problem. I didn’t mean anything by it. I just saw it, and I thought of your whole no car issue and…’ Cole began.
Robyn was at the wheel of Leonora, driving Cole back to his house. She was enjoying every moment of the classic car’s ride but was trying not to show too much delight in case he thought she was weird. She loved cars—all cars. Small, large, monster trucks, anything with four wheels and an engine she could tinker with. She had been helping her dad with cars since she was old enough to balance on the toolbox and get a wrench in the engine.
‘There’s nothing wrong with the car. I love her and I’m going to pay you back for her, every cent, no matter how much she cost. How much did she cost?’ Robyn asked, glancing over at him.
‘Five hundred dollars,’ Cole informed her.
‘Wow! You officially got the deal of the century,’ Robyn squeaked.
‘I know,’ Cole replied.
‘It wasn’t you buying the car that made Brad flip out, not really. He asked me out to dinner and I said no. Well, I said something stupid like I don’t really do dinners and then ran away from him. I think that pissed him off, seeing as he bought me an expensive alarm system. What is it with guys buying me stuff today? Not that I’m complaining,’ Robyn informed him quickly.
‘I can understand it in a way. I mean, I’ve only just come onto the team, it could have looked like I was trying to buy my place,’ Cole admitted.
‘Or trying to hit on me,’ Robyn spoke without thinking.
He glanced over at her and she met his eyes. She had to turn away because her chest was tightening.
‘I wasn’t trying to hit on you,’ he said.
‘I know. You’re so not over the whole brother stealing your girlfriend thing,’ Robyn replied.
‘Believe me, I am.’
‘I don’t believe you. If you were, you’d be trying to hit on me,’ Robyn said, stealing another look at him.
‘So, why no dinner with Brad? I mean, he seemed cool, before the whole going all redneck on me,’ Cole said, changing the subject.
‘I’ve only just got here, I’ve barely had time to indulge myself in dill pickles and monster trucks, let alone think about dating. It didn’t seem right. So, do I take a right here?’ Robyn asked.
‘No, keep going. What didn’t seem right? Going on a date? Or going on a date with Brad?’ Cole inquired.
‘You never asked this many questions on the plane.’
‘I couldn’t get a word in. And you haven’t answered me.’
Robyn let out a sigh. He was making her feel vulnerable. She needed to speak, but she didn’t know what to say. If she actually thought long enough, she would do her usual nervous trick of reciting notable events from the Portage Panthers’ history books. She didn’t want to do that.
‘There’s something in my life I’m not quite over yet. I don’t do dating in the normal sense right now,’ Robyn said quickly as if forcing the words out as fast as she could would make it sound better.
She closed her eyes and took a breath.
‘In the normal sense?’ Cole asked.
‘Yeah, you know, hand-holding, going to the movies, sharing a sofa in front of re-runs of Gilmore Girls,’ Robyn told him stiffly.
‘Okay, got it,’ Cole answered with a nod.
Robyn swallowed and chanced a glance at him. His hair was still wet from the shower and he smelt of something fresh and herbal. He glanced over at her and she jerked her head back.
‘So, how did you find the team? I mean, I know they’re not exactly the Wolves but…’
‘I enjoyed tonight and Henrik’s awesome. He could play at a much higher level.’
‘Please don’t tell him that. I don’t want you both getting poached before I’ve even had one game in charge,’ Robyn said.
‘I wouldn’t do that—here it is, just on the left,’ Cole said, indicating to a house.
‘This house? You live on this street?’ Robyn said, sounding shocked as she pulled over to the side of the road.
‘You can pull into the drive, if you like,’ Cole offered.
‘You mean the drive that’s almost as big as the road,’ Robyn commented.
‘That’s the one.’
‘I can’t believe you live here. This house is huge, and you must back right up to the lake,’ Robyn exclaimed, staring up at the beautiful white wood house in front of them.
‘I’ve also got a Jacuzzi, a boat and a refrigerator that talks to me,’ Cole informed her.
‘The rent on this must be extortionate. I know how much these places cost to buy, Sarah sold one for a million once. She called me up twice to tell me.’
‘Do you want to come in? Have a conversation with my kitchen appliances?’ Cole offered.
‘No, thanks. I’d better get back; I’ve got an 8 a.m. delivery at the roadhouse. How many bedrooms?’ Robyn asked, still looking at the property in awe.
‘Four.’
‘Wow! They must think highly of you at Gen-All.’
‘I guess they must,’ Cole agreed.
‘Right, well, I’d better go. Thank you so much for Leonora. I’m gonna take the best care of her,’ Robyn said as Cole got out of the car.
‘I know you are.’
‘So, shall I see you for lunch tomorrow? About one? Theo & Stacey’s?’ Robyn suggested.
‘Yeah, sure, why not?’ he agreed with a smile.
‘Not that it’s a date or anything, because you know, I don’t do dates,’ Robyn clarified.
‘Sure.’
‘Okay then, I’ll see you… go talk to your fridge,’ Robyn called.
‘Goodnight,’ Cole said, waving a hand.
*
‘Hello!’ Robyn called as she entered the house, jingling the car keys in the air.
She was excited to tell Pam about Leonora. The car was her own piece of American automobile history, and she loved it. She couldn’t wait to buy a motor manual on her and read it cover to cover.
‘Oh, hi, honey, how was the training?’ Pam asked, fidgeting and not meeting her eyes.
Something wasn’t right. Pam looked flu
stered and she was wearing rubber gloves. She did love to clean but not usually at night.
‘Not too bad, they’re a bit rough around the edges, but I can iron them out. Is Bob back yet? I want to show you both my new car!’ Robyn said, shaking the keys even harder.
‘Yes, he’s back. Wow, that sounds great,’ Pam said unenthusiastically.
‘It’s so cool, come and see it.’
‘I will, honey, in a while. I’m just in the middle of something,’ Pam said, pausing at the sink and wringing out a cloth.
‘What are you doing?’ Robyn asked.
‘Just cleaning up.’
‘Cleaning up what? Where’s Bob?’ Robyn wanted to know.
‘He’s, er, in the garage,’ Pam said quickly.
‘No he’s not, I parked Leonora in there. Why can I hear scrubbing?’ Robyn asked her.
‘Oh, it’s nothing, honey. Why don’t you make us all a pot of coffee?’ Pam suggested.
‘It’s coming from my room,’ Robyn said, moving toward the sound.
‘Robyn, don’t go in there. Bob’s fixing it. Robyn…’ Pam began, hurrying down the hallway after her.
Robyn entered her bedroom to find Bob fiercely rubbing at the wall of the room with a hard-bristled brush. On one wall, the words ‘Jason loves Robyn’ were daubed in three-foot-high red letters.
‘Robyn, I don’t know what’s gotten into them. This isn’t like them at all. I am so sorry. Bob is gonna get this off the wall if we have to buy every cleaning product Meijer has to offer, or even redecorate. We could do with redecorating anyway and wallpaper is twenty per cent off right now,’ Pam babbled.
‘It’s okay,’ Robyn replied, swallowing a lump in her throat.
‘No, it’s not okay, Robyn. Their privileges have been taken away for a month; it’s no TV in their room, no candy and no weekend trips. And they are gonna apologize to you,’ Bob told her as he continued to scrub.
‘And we’re gonna go to the school and see the principal. We’re gonna get to the bottom of who’s been filling their head with all this stuff,’ Pam added.
‘I’m just going to go. It’s too much having me here. I should have realized that when you offered,’ Robyn said, picking up her backpack and scanning the room for her things.
‘No, honey! Don’t do that! We want you to stay,’ Pam insisted.
‘I know you do, but I’ll be fine. It can’t be easy for the twins having someone else sharing their space, especially a strange cousin from England who everyone still thinks is a witch,’ Robyn added with half a smile.
‘Robyn, this is as much your home as theirs, I hope you know that,’ Bob told her.
‘Thank you for saying that, but it isn’t, not really, not now. I’m gonna go, it’s just easier for everyone,’ Robyn replied, putting her baseball cap into her bag.
‘Robyn, please don’t. Tell her Bob, tell her she can’t go,’ Pam blubbered, tears forming in her eyes.
‘Robyn, we don’t want you to go. I’m gonna speak to those two monsters I’ve raised and…’
‘You don’t have to do that. Honestly, it’s fine,’ Robyn insisted.
The situation was just too awkward and she needed to get out of it. She was used to standing on her own two feet… well, to a certain extent. How hard could it be?
‘But where will you go?’ Pam asked, wiping at her eyes.
‘I’ll stay with Sarah,’ Robyn said confidently.
‘But her place is really small, and the last time I went, there was a motorcycle in the spare room,’ Pam informed her.
‘It’ll be fine, I’ll be fine,’ Robyn assured her, hoisting her backpack onto her back and picking up her case.
‘I don’t want you to go, this isn’t right. Bob, this isn’t right. Make her stay, at least until the morning. Stay until the morning, honey,’ Pam said, shaking her head and dabbing at her eyes.
‘I’ll give you a call tomorrow, and Bob, I’ll speak to you about arrangements for our night out on Friday,’ Robyn said, backing out of the room.
‘Er, yeah, sure, Friday,’ Bob replied, not daring to look at Pam.
‘See you!’ Robyn called as cheerily as she could as she headed out toward the garage.
She closed the door behind her, threw her luggage into Leonora and let out a heavy sigh. Who was she trying to kid? She couldn’t stay with Sarah and Mickey, not after her friend had poured her heart out over lunch and what she had heard Mickey say at training. It would be like living in a melting pot of tension the whole time and that was the last thing she needed at the moment.
She could go to her dad’s, but that would mean confronting Nancy, and she wasn’t sure the woman would welcome her with open arms after what had gone on at the roadhouse. In fact, she would probably get the door slammed in her face while being subjected to quite a few well-chosen words, most of them beginning with the letter ‘F.’
Brad’s was out of the question because of his whole asking her on a date moment and the fuss he had made about Leonora. Apart from a hotel, there was only one other place she could go.
She started the car.
*
The photo album had been on the top of his case. His mother must have slipped it in because he sure as hell wouldn’t have packed it. Everything was still too raw. But he’d taken it out, he didn’t know why, and now it was on the coffee table. He put the bottle of beer to his mouth and took a swig of the liquid inside. Why was life so difficult? Or was it? Maybe it was just his life, or maybe not his life, maybe it was just him. The hockey team had made a judgment. Like his team at Gen-All, they had all stared and looked him up and down and made a decision about him. First impressions, taking things at face value, that’s what people did. And they all had such high expectations—impossibly high expectations. Well, he had to be good enough or else what was the point? If he didn’t matter, if he couldn’t achieve what he wanted to achieve, he may as well drink himself stupid and find a wall to drive into. He opened the drawer of the sideboard and threw the album inside.
*
‘Look, I know this is really weird and you probably think I’m a crazy stalker or something, but I can’t stay at my aunt’s any more. The devil children did something really crazy and it freaked me out. And if I have to look at them across the dining table one more time, I’ll want to grab them by the pigtails and string them up from the ceiling fan. See, you can tell I’ve really thought about it. And I can’t go to Sarah’s, she and Mickey are having a silent domestic. He’s a commitment phobe and her biological clock is ticking. And if I turn up at my dad’s, I think Nancy might just punch me out. I’ve phoned the two hotels in town, the posh one that’s apparently full because of a Jehovah’s Witnesses conference and the seedy one run by Psycho Mike-o and he only has his basic room left. I’ve seen those rooms and, believe me, if he calls his last available room basic, it means it probably doesn’t have its own bathroom and I’d be sharing with a family of cockroaches. So, I’m asking—no—I’m begging you to let me stay in one of those four bedrooms. Not the one with the best view or anything, well, a lake view would be nice, but it isn’t a deal breaker. I just really need somewhere to stay. Please?’ Robyn gabbled when Cole had opened the front door.
He looked at her in amusement, a smile on his lips.
‘Why are you looking at me like that? I’ve begged, haven’t I? My next plan of action is to ask for a duvet so I can get some sleep in Leonora,’ Robyn said.
‘Come in,’ Cole invited, taking her case from her hands.
‘I can stay? You don’t think I’m a stalker?’ Robyn asked in relief.
‘I don’t think you’re a stalker, you can stay. I got you the car to drive, not to live in,’ Cole told her.
‘I’ll pay rent or do the housework or something. I have money. Vacuuming. I can vacuum at least twice a week like your mom wanted,’ Robyn suggested.
‘We’ll work something out. Do you want a coffee?’ Cole offered.
Robyn dropped her bag on the floor and pulled him towar
d her, kissing him hungrily on the mouth. She felt him kiss her back, more intently than he had at the airport. She backed him up against the wall. Her mouth didn’t leave his for a second. She didn’t want to stop. She wanted to hold on to this feeling, this indescribable urge she had to get intimate with him every time they were together.
His lips were so smooth, yet the way he used them to kiss her was firm and suggestive. His hands touched her skin at the waistband of her jeans and it was like she’d been scorched. A warm, unrecognizable sensation shot up her spine, and she shivered.
Then he ended it. He pulled his mouth away from hers to take a breath. He looked at her, his dark eyes questioning. He didn’t know what was going on between them and neither did she.
‘This isn’t a date,’ Robyn said quickly, enjoying the way his arms felt circled around her waist.
‘I know… you don’t do dates,’ he answered, still looking deep into her eyes.
‘Have you got any beer?’ she asked.
Twelve
He ran his finger over his lips as he lay in bed. She’d kissed him again last night and he’d kissed her back. He’d held her close to him and he’d felt her quake. She was holding on to something, he could tell. She put on this brave front, talked her way out of situations, but inside she was vulnerable. Just like him. The job and his project was the only thing holding him together sometimes. What was holding Robyn together?
*
He’d given her the best room. She had a panoramic view of West Lake and all its natural Michigan beauty. When she’d woken up the next morning and drawn back the curtains, the scenery had stunned her. The sun was already up and the lake was still and calm. Like a mirror, it reflected every tree standing along the banks. The sky was a cornflower-blue and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. This morning, opening her eyes to the fantastic garden, the boats moored around the edge of the water and the lake itself, everything seemed a little bit better. Today was a good weather day. The sun was shining and there was little wind, and in Portage, that meant getting intimate with the barbecue.
She was already outside on the deck, a pair of tongs in her hand, and the lid of the grill open, when Cole appeared.