Chapter 51
In the past, I never much minded the hectic holiday delivery schedule. We get the occasional pissy person, mad that their item took a few extra days to arrive than normal, but most of the time, people welcome my arrival. They see me approaching the front door with a large box and clap and dance like I’m Santa himself.
Might have the beard, but I can’t claim to have the jolly smile.
That doesn’t stop them from telling me how they found the exact right gift for their loved one and they’re so happy it arrived in time to land under the tree.
So, yeah, the long hours and heavier package load are normally worth it.
But the inability to take a day off means I had to watch Robin drive away this morning without me. Headed to visit her mom and Jeremiah, two people who I like, other than the fact that they’re tempting Robin to leave this town in her rearview.
Jeremiah is a billionaire. No way can Green Valley Aviation compare to whatever airplane setup he has.
How long will it take him to convince her?
Will Robin get back in a week with a new job?
How long before all her bags are packed?
How long before she leaves me?
“Bad day on the route?”
I jerk my stare away from the bonfire in my backyard and meet Lance’s searching gaze. He was the only coworker to accept my later-than-normal happy-hour invitation. Gwen said she needed a night in with Sebastian, and Morgan claimed her sister needed help with her newborn. Lance and I decided not to bother with instruments, too worn out to do anything other than crack open a beer and collapse in a camping chair.
The night is cool, but the fire is big. If Robin were here, I’d drag her into my lap to keep her warm.
But she’s not here. And she won’t be for much longer.
I remember Lance asked me a question and answer with a grunt and a, “Fine. You?”
“Not bad. People are starting to give out tips. And cookies.” Lance smiles and scratches his beard, the red mass full, but not near as large as mine.
I should probably trim it.
Would Robin like me more if I was clean-shaven, like Daren?
Lance sits forward, elbows on his knees. “Robin out of town?”
I grunt an affirmation.
“When she getting back?”
I shrug.
“Hopefully soon.”
My chin jerks his way, and I take in the guy.
Is that longing in his face? Does he want his shot with the little mechanic?
Not fucking happening.
Lance’s eyes meet mine, and his smile turns into a smirk. “You’re grumpy with her gone. Grumpier. Didn’t think it was possible.”
The tension that overtook my body eases, and I sigh, chin dropping to my chest as I accept his observation as truth.
“Y’all are good together,” he adds, tipping his beer my way.
I blink, studying my coworker. He and I don’t talk much, but I have a sudden urge to speak my anxieties out loud, just to say them to maybe ease the pressure in my head. Not that I expect him to have an answer or a fix.
I open my mouth, ready to tell Lance about Robin’s job offer, and how she’s going nowhere at Green Valley Aviation, and how this thing between us started out as something fake, but now, it’s so real that I’m worried I won’t survive the loss of her.
But before I can find the words to bare my soul, the sound of the back door swinging open cuts me off.
When I glance over my shoulder, all thoughts of opening up shrivel and die.
Daren strolls toward us, a six-pack in his hand, a wary expression on his face.
“Hey.” He lifts a hand in greeting. “Saw the fire. Thought I’d join.”
And because I’m too exhausted to muster up a temper, I don’t toss him out on his ass. With a wave, I gesture toward the chair I set up in case Gwen or Morgan changed their mind and showed.
He claps a hand on my shoulder before settling in, tugging a can out of the little plastic ring, and cracking the tab.
A few months ago, this would have been normal. Now, I brace myself because I don’t trust Daren’s casual act. Especially not when the last time we saw each other, he was still trying to convince Robin to give him another chance.
“Seen y’all zipping all over town. Must be getting busy.” My cousin takes a deep draw of his beer and taps his fingers on a jean-covered thigh.
“Few days out from Christmas.” Lance tosses another log on the fire. “Gonna stay this way for the rest of the month. January too. Everyone using gift cards.”
Daren bobs his head, and I think about how awkward this is. Being around him now. Even if nothing else had happened between me and Robin—if I’d just gone with her that night to confront him, then we parted ways—this tension would still exist.
Because I can’t look at my cousin the same, knowing he would hurt someone he loved like that.
As if aware my thoughts are always on a certain woman, Daren shifts my way without meeting my eyes. “Ran into Flo McClure at the Piggly Wiggly. Said she saw Robin headed out of town.”
Ah. Now, we get to it. I wonder when this run-in happened. Did he get that news and immediately buy a six-pack and head over here?
And I wonder how a man so lacking in subtlety fooled us all for however long he was stepping out on Robin.
Instead of giving my cousin a full rundown of the woman he doesn’t deserve details about, I simply nod.
“She’s not . . .” He clears his throat. “She’s coming back. Right?”
I fully turn my head, staring at Daren, taking him in.
The guy looks like a mess. He’s not so clean-shaven anymore, his clothes are wrinkled, there’re bags under his eyes, and his fingers are still doing that agitated tapping.
And I realize something groundbreaking.
I’m not jealous of Daren. No part of me worries that Robin will choose him over me. Because as much as I love him, my cousin has outed himself as a self-centered asshole. Now that Robin has a clear view of that, she’d never take him back.
He’s not a threat to our relationship. Not unless I count Robin’s worry about dating the cousin of her ex and the long-term effect it might have on our family dynamic. But I can’t change the fact of the matter, only show her that nothing between my cousins and me is broken beyond repair.
“I don’t know,” I say.
If she takes that job, she’ll probably come back for her clothes. But then she’ll be gone again, and that’s what Daren is really asking.
That’s the truth that has me feeling like my insides have been torn out and are sitting in a pile at my feet.
“That’s bullshit. She loves it here. What did you do?” Daren glares at me.
A scoff so loud that it could be heard a county over erupts from Lance.
“If you’re here to berate the man who stood by Robin when you screwed her over, you can fuck right off.” Lance points to the road. “Whether Robin stays or goes is up to her, and I doubt you continuously harassing her around town is making Green Valley appealing.”
Daren gapes at my coworker, stunned by the quiet man’s furious outburst.
I’m right there with him. I’ve always known Lance as a reserved guy.
Turns out, he’s got a touch of a temper.
And Lance isn’t done. “You’re lucky she hasn’t tossed you on your ass. Bet she could with little trouble. But Robin is a better person than you are. And if she decides to stay in town, it’ll be in spite of you. Best you admit to your fuckup, accept your relationship is over, and let her live her life. And if that life is with Arthur, then she’s damn lucky, and so is he, and it has nothing to do with you.”
By now, my coworker’s face is as red as his hair, and I wonder if Lance is about to battle my cousin to defend my honor. I have the urge to rub my chest as a sudden warmth overwhelms me.
It’s nice to have friends who have your back.
And I recall now how Lance’s dad left his mom for another woman a few years back. My guess is, he’s a man who has no sympathy for cheaters.
Daren swings his stare to me, looking lost. Maybe the words are finally getting through to him. Sad that it takes someone other than Robin or me or his family to drill past his thick skull.
“I just...I know I messed up.” Instead of sounding defensive, his voice is hollow.
Lance opens his mouth, and half of me wants to hear him tear into the guy again. But this shouldn’t rest on Lance. Daren is my cousin, and I need to handle him. So, I give a slight headshake, and Lance goes back to sipping his beer.
“You did mess up,” I tell Daren. “The first time you slept with Trinity, you ended things with Robin. Simple as that. It’s done.”
I briefly wonder what misfire in his brain had him ruining perfection. He had Robin. She loved him.
All he had to do was be a good man to her, and she’d still be with him.
If only I had it that easy. She’s not about to stay in Green Valley for me. And I wouldn’t want her to. Not when it means staying in a dead-end job and dealing with my asshole cousin harassing her.
Suddenly, my apathy burns away.
Up until this point, I’ve handled Daren with kid gloves, battling guilt over my role in Robin’s revenge scheme.
But I’m done. He doesn’t deserve my sympathy. He’s a grown man who has to take responsibility for his actions.
I heave up from my chair, grip the back of Daren’s, and dump him out of it. He lands on his knees and blinks up at me with wide eyes that morph into a glare.
“What the fuck?”
“You’ve been begging to get punched,” I tell him, striding away from the fire as I do, knowing he’ll follow me.
“Me?” he snarls. “You’re the one who stole Robin!”
I glance over my shoulder to see he’s shoved to his feet. The self-pity is gone from his face, leaving fury in its place.
Good. Makes it easy to slam my knuckles into his jaw.
But that doesn’t ring Daren’s bell for long. Krauts learn to take a punch before they hit puberty. He comes up swinging. I’m able to block most of his blows but catch one in the side and another in the mouth. The tang of iron coats my tongue, and the taste spurs me on. I plow my shoulder into Daren’s gut and pound him into the ground.
We spend the next however long rolling in the dirt, trading blows. Daren shouts curses and insults. I stay silent.
Eventually, I get him flipped onto his stomach, arm wrenched up high behind his back.
“Shit. Fine! I tap out!” My cousin slaps the ground.
We’re both breathing heavy, and as I pant, I wait for satisfaction or triumph to come.
But there’s nothing. Just exhaustion.
And still, the lingering worry that Robin will never come back.
Letting go of Daren, I rise to my feet and stare down at his bloody, ragged appearance, knowing I don’t look much better. When he’s standing, I scoop up his beer and shove the remaining five into his chest.
“Get off my property and don’t come back. If I ever hear about you harassing Robin again, we’ll have words.”
Blond brows on a dirt-streaked face dip in confusion. Normally, the end of a Kraut brawl means a handshake and forgiveness. “Arthur?—”
“You’re a shitty boyfriend and a shitty cousin,” I growl. “Work on that, and maybe we’ll talk. Next year.”
“You’re going to avoid me for a year?” he yelps, standing with his beer clutched to his chest, a crimson trail dripping from his brow.
“Not avoiding. Not running away. We’re just”—I sigh, both angry and exhausted—“nothing.”
He flinches, and the sight gives me no joy. But I can’t do this. Just because someone is family doesn’t give them the right to hurt you. And I won’t stand by while he hurts the woman I love either.
“Go,” I say again, jerking my head toward his truck.
His face crumples in a scowl. “Fine. Fuck you.” He stomps off.
My shoulders slump, and I reach up to massage the aching muscles in my neck, wishing it were a mechanic’s strong grip on me instead.
A hand slaps my shoulder. “Looks like it’s your bedtime,” Lance offers. “I’ll get out of your hair.”
“Thanks.” I hope he realizes I mean for more than just heading out now when I can’t be social anymore.
Thanks for calling out my cousin.
Thanks for being here when I finally held my ground against him.
Thanks for being my friend.
“Sure thing.” He folds up his chair as I kick dirt over the dying flames.
Just as Lance turns to head the same way Daren did, he pauses.
“I think, after everything, Robin would like the truth.” He scratches his beard, not meeting my eyes. “Whatever it is, you just gotta be honest.”
Lance nods to himself, then strolls away, hands in his pockets.
Alone, I watch the embers dwindle to nothing and worry that the truth will only send Robin packing faster.