Abby spun to look at her mom. “What? Did you know he was coming? Why didn’t you say something?”
Her mom shook her head. “No, I didn’t know he was coming. But yes, he’d call me every once in a while. He came home for Christmas. Why do you think?”
“I don’t know. It just seems strange.” He hadn’t been interested in coming home before, even when she’d asked him to that first year he was gone. Back when he still called occasionally. She turned back to her brother again. “Where have you been all this time? Arizona?”
One corner of his mouth turned up in a mocking smirk that made Abby want to smack him. He’d been this way before he left, too, making fun of her for being so serious, one corner of his mouth turned up in a perpetual smirk, like everything was a big joke, but his jokes were always the nasty, sarcastic variety. And once again, that was directed at her. She hadn’t missed that about him. At all.
He hadn’t always been that way. When they were kids, he’d taken care of her, made her lunches, helped her with her homework. But he’d gotten angrier as he’d gotten older, resentful of being responsible for her and their mom.
When he didn’t answer, she huffed out a breath, crossing her arms. “Fine. Don’t answer.” Turning back to her mom, she looked her over again. “Do you really have enough food? I can go get you something if you need. You look skinnier than normal.”
Her mom shook her head. “I’m fine, Abby. I just haven’t been that hungry lately.”
“Aaron, you need to make sure she eats something.”
“Abby,” her mom’s voice was sharp, “I’m not a child. I can feed myself. Aaron doesn’t need to spoon-feed me like a baby.”
Defeated, Abby shook her head. “Fine. Okay. Since I’m clearly not needed, I’ll go. I’ll come check on you again in a few days.” She went to her mom and gave her a gentle hug, which her mom returned, her stick-thin arms barely pressing into Abby’s shoulders.
With a dark look at her brother, who still stood smirking in the hallway, one shoulder leaning against the wall, Abby left, locking the door behind her. Megan and Chris stood in the yard, the mix of grass and weeds covered in frost and crunching under their feet.
It was Megan who spoke first. “Is your mom okay? Did you find out why Aaron’s here?”
“Yeah, Mom’s fine. Skinny, but that’s not unusual. She says she’s okay, though. I’m worried she’s not eating enough, but there’s nothing I can do about it.” Abby shook her head, her eyebrows wrinkling in distress, and she took the two steps down to the grass, her arms crossed over herself. “I don’t know what the deal is with Aaron. He still won’t tell me why he’s here.” She glanced back toward the house. “C’mon. Let’s go. We can talk more in the car.”
Megan nodded, and hooked her arm with Abby’s to walk to the car. Chris stared at the house a moment longer before coming up behind them. Once they were back on the main roads Abby told them about her conversation with Aaron and her mom.
She wished Lance were here. Even if he couldn’t actually help with anything, he’d at least make her feel better about it. And help her work out what to do about her brother and his sudden reappearance in everyone’s life.
Chapter Twelve
Lance decided that this was the worst Christmas on record. Not because his family was horrible or he got coal in his stocking. No, his parents were awesome, even his dad after their chat at the shop. He’d told his mom the night before that he’d be leaving after they exchanged gifts in the morning. She’d hugged him and said, “Oh good! Of course you should go. I’m surprised you didn’t go with her today. I figured they must not’ve had room for you on the flight.” He’d also let her know he planned to propose, which had made her hug him again and say, “I’m so happy for you!”
Marissa gave him a hard time, but in the teasing way they had where they always gave each other shit. She had pulled him aside at one point and told him how much she liked Abby. Gabby was just sad that they were both leaving early.
No, what made it the worst Christmas was that two thousand miles separated him from Abby, and he couldn’t do anything to help her. He felt her absence like the phantom ache of a missing limb. She’d texted that Chris and Megan were going with her to her mom’s house this morning, but he hadn’t heard back from her yet. And his plane boarded in a few minutes, so he wouldn’t be able to communicate with her for a while.
Shit. He still hadn’t told her he was coming back today, wanting it to be a surprise. But would she be upset if he didn’t answer her for a few hours? Hopefully she’d text him or call him before he had to turn off his phone.
He texted Chris for an update. Abby’s still inside. Megan and I are waiting in the yard. They’re talking, not yelling. Don’t worry, I’ll intervene if it sounds like things go bad.
While Lance was relieved that Chris had gone, he hated that he couldn’t be there. He should’ve insisted on going home with her yesterday. This was so stupid.
He took a deep breath, trying to quell his frustration before it morphed into anger. He’d be home tonight, and the next time Abby went to visit her mom he’d be there too. There was no way in hell he’d let her go by herself, no matter what she said. Not after this. Not with the way he felt right now. He couldn’t take it.
Finally, just before the gate agent called the final group to board, his phone rang in his hand. “Sweetheart? Hey. How’s it going?”
She blew out a breath over the phone. “Meh. Not great. I still don’t know what’s going on with my brother, but Mom seems to be okay.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah. I miss you, though. I wish you were here.”
“Me too.”
“Could you—“ She hesitated. He waited, and was rewarded for his patience. “Could you come home early, do you think?” Her next words came out in a rush. “I know you wanted to spend time with your family, and I’m still afraid they’ll hate me for leaving early and making you cut your trip short, but I’m worried, and I hate this, and I really want you here.”
Lance smiled, almost telling her not to worry, that he’d be home tonight. He still wanted to surprise her. But then her words from when he’d surprised her by just showing up in August came back to him. “I would’ve liked it better if you’d told me.” So he took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “Um, well, I already changed my ticket. I’m about to get on a plane in Dallas. I’ll be back tonight.”
The gate agent came over the loudspeaker with the final call for boarding. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and made his way to the gate while Abby processed his words in stunned silence.
“What? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
He mouthed a thank you to the gate agent while she scanned his boarding pass, and he started down the jetway. “I didn’t want to fight about it. I know you wanted to deal with your family on your own, but worrying about you up there alone, with God knows what going on, is torture. I can’t handle it. So I changed my flight and figured I’d surprise you.”
“I hate surprises.”
“I know. That’s why I’m telling you. You sound stressed, and as much as I love surprising you, I figured you’d rather know I’ll be there tonight.”
“I’m so glad you’re coming home.”
“Me too, sweetheart. Me too.”
He found his seat, the middle one, and since he’d waited so long to get on, the overhead bin had no room for his backpack. Resigning himself to an uncomfortable flight, he settled into his seat. “Listen, I’m on the plane now, so I’ve got to go. I’ll let you know once I’m in Seattle, and I’ll see you tonight.”
“Text me your flight information when you get to Seattle. I want to meet you at the airport.”
“You don’t have to do that. My car’s there, right? I can just drive home.”
“Yeah, it is. I know. I don’t care. I don’t want to wait any longer to see you than I have to. Megan’ll give me a ride to the airport. I’ll see you when you get here.”
Hi
s relief at her positive reaction made it so he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. “Okay. I can’t wait to see you either. I’ll text you my flight info, and I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Good. Okay.” She sniffled.
“Hey. Are you okay?”
Another sniff. “Yeah. I’m fine.” Her voice sounded wavery, and that dimmed his happiness.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m just relieved you’re going to be here tonight. Today sucked.”
“For me too. I’ll see you soon.”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
When he hung up, he turned off his phone, stashed it in the front pocket of his backpack, and pulled out his iPad to stick in the seat back pocket in front of him. Sitting up, he caught the eye of the older woman sitting next to him. “Going home, I take it?”
He smiled back politely. “Yes.”
“It’s nice you have someone waiting for you there.”
“Yes, it is.”
She went back to her knitting, and Lance buckled himself in, waiting for the flight attendants to get through their safety spiel so he could start reading in an attempt to keep himself occupied. He’d been antsy about getting home before, but now that he’d told Abby and would see her at the airport, it put him even more on edge. The only other times they’d been apart since their relationship got serious, he’d been a grumpy asshole. He was trying to rein that in. And the fact that Abby wanted him to come home early helped. He viewed it as reassurance that they were both committed to their relationship. And maybe this meant she was done pushing him away when her personal stuff came up. He hoped so.
Abby sat on the vinyl seats across from the security exit waiting for Lance. His flight had been delayed by a half hour, so she’d been here for a while, trying to distract herself with games on her phone or reading, but nothing could hold her attention. Every time people came down the ramp, she looked up, hopeful that maybe the monitor was wrong, maybe they’d landed already and Lance would appear. Each time she was disappointed.
Megan had dropped her off almost forty-five minutes ago. She’d offered to come in and wait with Abby, but Abby had said no. As much as she loved Megan, she wanted to be alone with Lance. Megan had understood, giving her a hug from the driver’s seat of her car. “Go get your man,” she’d said before Abby got out.
Abby stood up, pacing back and forth, unable to sit still any longer. She’d go crazy if Lance’s damn flight didn’t get here soon. Walking over to the monitors, she checked again, and this time his flight number was gone. A spurt of panic shot through her. What did that mean?
She turned back around, and just then a familiar figure, tall and broad with dark hair, came down the ramp. He didn’t see her at first, his head turned away from her. A giant smile took over Abby’s face, and she walked as fast as she could toward the foot of the ramp.
His head turned and his face lit up, a matching smile on his face. He reached her in three long strides, wrapped his arms around her, and picked her up, kissing her like they hadn’t seen each other in weeks instead of just over twenty-four hours.
When Abby managed to pull back from Lance’s kiss, he set her back on her feet, and she buried her face in his chest, inhaling his scent, feeling more settled than she had since she got out of his mom’s car at the airport in Dallas. “I missed you so much.”
He kissed her temple. “I missed you, too.”
They stood there for several long minutes while the remainder of the passengers walked around them, enjoying the feel of each other. Lance pulled back, lacing his fingers through hers and hitching his backpack on his shoulder again. “Come on. My suitcase should be out soon. Then we can go home.”
It took almost no time to get his suitcase. The wait for the shuttle to get to long-term parking took longer, but Lance wouldn’t let Abby go. Which she didn’t mind at all. She’d missed him so much, and the feel of him against her again was home. More than anyone or any place had ever been before.
They stood huddled together in the cold air of the December night in a pool of bluish light from the fluorescent bulbs all around the airport doorways waiting for the shuttle. Abby turned her face up to Lance. “I love you.”
His eyes met hers, warm and dark, but questioning. It wasn’t the first time she’d said those words. They’d been saying them for months. But it usually happened in the context of something else—sex, a goodbye, a shared joke. She felt the need to say it now, apropos of nothing, just to reaffirm her feelings out loud for both of them.
He kissed her, a quick press of his warm lips to hers. “I love you, too.”
The shuttle pulled up before either of them could say more, and they rode to the car in silence, hands entwined, bodies pressed against each other on the narrow seats. They got dropped off feet away from Lance’s car, covered in thick frost. While Lance loaded his bags in the trunk, Abby took the keys and started the car, cranked up the defrost as high as it would go, and sat shivering in the passenger seat, the puffs of her breath visible in the car. He reached in the back seat for the ice scraper, and Abby made faces at him through the windows as he cleared them off. He didn’t notice at first, focused on what he was doing, but her movement must’ve caught his eye as she switched expressions, puffing out her cheeks, crossing her eyes, and pulling her ears out to the side. She could hear him laughing through the closed window, and she smiled back at him. He finished scraping the windows with a smile on his face, and when he got in he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her across the bench seat and into his kiss. It was a strange juxtaposition of hot and cold—his skin chilled from being outside, his mouth hot against hers, his fingers freezing as they teased under her sweater inside her unbuttoned coat, heat pooling between her thighs.
She broke away gasping. “Let’s go home.”
Lance smiled, a devilish glint in his eye, like he knew exactly why she wanted to go home. He probably did. They knew each other so well, even though they’d only met six months ago. No one knew her better than him, not even Megan.
Instead of scooting back to her side of the bench seat, she fished the lap belt for the middle out of the crack where it met the back, wanting to stay close to Lance. He glanced down at her before putting the car in reverse and maneuvering them out of the parking lot. “I love you.”
She lay her head on his shoulder, enjoying the feel of his muscles working as he turned the steering wheel hand over hand. “I love you, too.”
They didn’t speak on the twenty minute drive home. Abby wanted to ask about his family’s reactions to her leaving yesterday and now him leaving today, but fear of what they might’ve said kept her silent. She didn’t want any negativity to ruin their reunion, even if they hadn’t been apart long. It felt like it had been ages since they’d been together. So talk of families, both families, could wait until they were home and fully reunited.
She could tell Lance had the same idea when he parked his suitcase just inside their door, dropping his backpack next to it, and immediately went to her, his hands going to her hips, his mouth melding with hers. She hadn’t even gotten her coat off yet, and his hands slid inside it, moving over her back, down to her ass and up her back again, this time under her sweater, his hands still chilly against her bare skin.
Her hands made a similar path over him, first up his chest, then down, pulling his sweatshirt up at his sides until her hands encountered bare skin. He broke away first, pushing back from her, his eyes glinting. “Bedroom. Naked. Now.”
She grinned. She always loved when he was reduced to single word sentences. Tossing her coat on the couch, she crossed the living room to their bedroom, pulling off her sweater and cami as she went. Before she could get her bra off, Lance’s hands were undoing the clasp, sliding one strap down her shoulder and brushing kisses over the newly exposed skin. He worked his way back up her neck as her bra fell away, brushing her hair out of the way. She tilted her head to the side, arching to give
him better access. His hands came around to the front, cupping her breasts, his fingers tugging at her nipples, a shiver going through her as he placed a kiss behind her ear and ran his teeth over her earlobe. She melted into him, his bare chest hard against her back, the silken touch of skin on skin washing away any remaining unease from their time apart. As long as she had him she could face them all. This—he—made everything better. Always.
He turned her in his arms, his mouth finding hers once again, his tongue sliding against hers. Her arms twined around his neck, and his hands on her hips guided her back toward the bed. Stopping just short of pushing her back onto it, his hands undid the button and zipper of her jeans, pushing them down over her hips. She helped get them far enough down that gravity did the rest of the work to get them to her ankles, then she turned her attention to his jeans, making short work of the belt buckle, button and zipper. His boxers and jeans fell to the floor more easily, a soft thud sounding from the weight of his keys and wallet hitting the floor. She sat down and kicked her pants off, laying back on the bed and propping herself on her elbows. “How do you want me?”
Lance’s gaze darkened, and her lips parted as she watched him rub himself with his fist. “Any way I can get you.”
“You know you can always have me however you want.”
“Is that so?” His voice was a low rumble as he climbed on the bed, his legs straddling her thighs. “What if I want your mouth?”
She leaned forward, grasping him with one hand and sliding her tongue over the crown before taking him in her mouth.
He groaned, one hand coming to rest on her head, and he pumped his hips in shallow thrusts. She stayed still, letting him use her mouth, knowing he wouldn’t go too far or too hard. Before she was ready for it, he pulled away, his hands going under her armpits and hoisting her up the bed like she weighed nothing, his mouth covering hers, his knees spreading her legs so he could rest between her thighs.
Unsaid Things (Players of Marycliff University #4) Page 9