Chapter 43
Note to self:
Put a tracking device on Mack.
The sun was setting, and the temperature was dropping with it when we checked into a hotel in Reno. We ate at a small diner, all crowded around a corner booth. At dinner, I made Mack swear he wouldn’t meet some crazy woman and follow her all over the city.
“Mimi wasn’t crazy.” He held up his phone. “She gave me her number.”
“Way to go, Gramps.” Abe held up his fist and Mack bumped it with his. “I liked her.”
“I liked her, too.” I pointed with my fork. “What I didn’t like was spending the wee hours of the morning traipsing around Vegas looking for you.”
“And trying to wrangle both of you was not fun,” Theo said. “That woman was very handsy.”
“I know,” Mack said like it was his favorite thing about her.
“Mack. Promise.”
“Alright. I promise. I’ll be a good boy tonight.” He chuckled. “Have to say, I haven’t felt that young in a long time. It felt good to get out and do something different. But all that dancing got to my knees.”
“And I’m sure all that alcohol got to your liver.”
“Daddy, what does handsy mean?” Hallie looked up from the coloring sheet the server had given her.
“Ah, it means,” he shot me a bewildered look, “someone has nice hands.”
“Oh.” Hallie held her hands out. “Am I handsy?”
“Sure.”
Hallie nodded and went back to coloring.
“So, tomorrow, we’ll make it to Portland?” Abe stared into his empty soda glass.
“Yep. Should get there in early evening.” Theo reached for the salt and pepper, leaning into me more than he needed to.
And that’s also when he put his hand on my knee.
I’d somehow managed to sit between him and Abe, which didn’t seem like a bad thing until Theo started to inch closer and closer. I wasn’t even sure he was moving until his thigh pressed against my thigh and his foot captured my foot under the table.
But never once did his facial expression give anything away. Never once did he falter in conversation. I, on the other hand, not so much.
“You okay over there, Ali-Cat?” Mack asked. “You looked flushed. Are you getting sick?”
“No.” I winced as my voice squeaked. “I’m totally fine. Just tired, I guess.”
I shot Theo a pointed look, which he ignored. But his mouth curved into one of those secret smiles and his hand moved a tiny bit higher on my leg, fingertips brushing the edge of my shorts.
“How do you think it will go tomorrow?” Abe ran the back of his hand over his mouth.
“Nervous?” I asked.
“I guess. I don’t know what to expect, you know? They really have no idea I’m coming.”
“Cal wanted to keep it a surprise. He didn’t even tell Frankie because Frankie…”
“…would tell Mom.” Abe grinned. “At least some things never change. He used to be such a tattletale when we were kids. You remember?”
I snorted. “He still is. He is on my ‘need-to-know’ list and there are a lot of things he doesn’t need to know.”
“I love that guy,” Abe said.
I wrinkled my nose. “He’s alright.”
Under the table, Theo’s thumb began to make those little soft circles. I sucked in an audible breath. I knew I’d told him too much during that confession. Damn him.
“Are you sure you aren’t getting sick?” Mack asked.
“I’m fine. I am not getting sick. Actually, I need to go to the restroom.” I shoved at Theo’s arm, urging him to stand.
When he finally took the hint, I scrambled out and hoofed it down the back hallway. Once I got a look at myself in the bathroom mirror, I understood why Mack was concerned. Two bright-red spots had taken over my cheeks. How could one man do this to me with a few small touches? And more importantly, would he do it again? Please.
With a giggle, I pulled open the door and stepped out, right into someone.
“Oh, I’m sorr—” I glanced up and smiled. “Are you stalking me?”
“Maybe.” Theo grabbed my hand and pulled me deeper into the hallway. “I just wanted to do this.”
I thought he might kiss me, which I was more than happy to go along with. Instead, his arms wrapped around me, and he pulled me close, burying his face in that sensitive spot where my neck meets my shoulder.
“Are you sniffing me?” I asked.
He nodded, still not moving.
“Are you okay?” But then I gasped when I felt the gentle scrape of teeth on my neck and goosebumps exploded on my skin. “Did you just bite me?”
He nodded again.
“Did you not get enough to eat at dinner?”
With a low laugh, he lifted his head. “I wanted to hug you, okay? Nothing wrong with that.”
I bit my bottom lip. “Just…hug?”
His smile was slow. “What else did you have in mind?”
I grabbed a handful of his t-shirt and pulled him down just enough to give him a peck on his mouth. “Something like that.”
“I don’t know. That wasn’t very exciting.”
“No?” I tapped my lip with a finger. “What would make it more exciting, you think?”
“Maybe this?” His fingers slid into my hair. He leaned down and stopped a heartbeat from my mouth. “Hey, Ali?”
“Yeah?”
“I really, really like you.” He whispered the words against my lips, his eyes watching me intently.
My stomach whooshed in the best way. “I really, really like you, too.”
Then neither of us said another word seeing as how our mouths were otherwise occupied.
When we got back to the table, Abe took one look at me and raised a very suspicious eyebrow. Nervously, I ran my fingers through my hair but there was nothing I could do about the goofy, blissed-out expression on my face. I’d gone back into the bathroom; I’d tried to get myself together. This was the best I could do.
Thankfully, Mack was in the middle of lecturing him about seeing our parents tomorrow, so he didn’t have time to comment. No, I bet he’d save that for tonight in our hotel room.
“You and your father have never been able to see eye to eye,” Mack said. “Both of you, stubborn as rocks. I know he’s made mistakes. And I know you’ve made mistakes. But it’s time to fix it, get over it, do what needs to be done. You’ve wasted eleven years of your life. Don’t waste one more.”
Abe shifted in his seat. “It’s not that easy, Mack. There’s a lot of history there and?—”
Mack slammed his glass down and all of us at the table, even Hallie, jumped. “Damn it all. When Gracie died, I wasn’t sure life would go on for me. She was my best friend. We were married for fifty-seven years. She was my other half, my better half. I miss her every day.” His eyes grew unfocused and misty.
I laid a hand on his arm. “We all miss her, Mack.”
That snapped him out of his memories. He stabbed a finger on the table. “What I mean to say is this: you don’t know how long you have with a person. It could be fifty-seven years, or it could be five months. What would happen if something happened to your father, and you never got the chance to make things right? Any time you have with someone you love is worth it. Don’t waste it being angry.”
“Daddy,” Hallie whispered, her eyes concerned. “Is Mack okay?”
Mack stood and pulled his wallet from his back pocket. He dropped a few bills on the table and then held his hand out to Hallie. “Come on, darling, let’s go see what trouble we can get into.”
Hallie frowned. “I’m not a’pposed to get in trouble though.”
“It’s alright. Stick with me. I’ve been getting into trouble my whole life and look how old I am.”
“I’m four but I’ll be five on my next birthday soon. How old are you?”
“Why don’t you guess?”
Hallie’s face scrunched in concentration. “Twenty-seven?”
Mack grinned. “You got it. Twenty-seven years young. That’s me.” While Hallie climbed out of her chair, he gave Abe a hard look. “All I’m saying is sometimes you have to be the bigger person. Life is already too damn hard; don’t make it harder on yourself if you can help it.”
“Mack, if you can say damn, can I say damn?” Hallie asked as they walked away from the table leaving the rest of us in a stunned silence.
“I’ve never seen him that upset,” I said.
“Yeah, I guess I said the wrong thing.” He huffed a laugh and moved to the other side of the table now that we had more room.
“I think we’re all a little nervous about how this will turn out. You aren’t alone, though. Remember that.”
He gave me a long, unwavering look. “I’ll remember.”
The server came by and refilled all our drinks.
“Speaking of how things turn out…” Crossing his arms, Abe sat back and gave Theo and me a speculative look. “So…you two are a thing now, huh?”
I almost spit out my water. “What?”
At the same time, Theo said, “Yes.”
“Wait, what?” I glared at Theo. “I thought we agreed not to tell anyone until after the wedding and we figured out what this,” I waved a hand between us, “is exactly.”
Theo smirked. “Oh, right. I forgot.”
I smacked him on the arm. “You forgot nothing.”
“It’s Abe. He’s not going to tell anyone.”
With a harrumph, I crossed my arms and scooted over to put a little space between us.
“I have eyeballs. There’s no way you would have been able to keep it a secret.” With a grin, he pointed at Theo. “He can’t stop staring at you like you hung the moon and,” now he pointed at me, “you look like you’re floating.”
I ducked my head, my cheeks heating. “Are we that obvious?”
Abe rolled his eyes. “Yes.”
“Whoops,” Theo said. “That’s too bad.” He slid over, put an arm around my shoulders, and tucked me into his side. “I guess we’re caught.”
“It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours.” I frowned at Theo. “You’re bad at this.”
He leaned in, and right there in front of my brother, whispered, “That’s not what you said a few minutes ago.”
“Okay, well, that wasn’t as quiet as you think it was, and gross, bro, that’s my sister.” Abe leaned forward, his expression serious. “You’re two of my favorite people in this entire world. Don’t screw this up, okay?”
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