5. Lachlan #2
“Oh. Of course not. It’s been in and out, and I guess I’m just waiting for it to fully fail before I take it to get looked at. I’m sure it’ll be soon.”
What a load of bullshit. I could see right through the lie she was trying to sell me.
“How soon?”
This time, her eyes cut into me, and I leaned on my cane to take a step back from her. I was certain she wouldn’t want me to stop her from standing up again. “You don’t need to be worrying. I’m sure it’s an easy fix, and he’ll probably take care of it this week.”
“I know it’s an easy fix.”
Her eyebrows lifted toward her hairline.
“You still have deliveries this week.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yep.” The stubborn woman crossed her arms.
“It’s supposed to be in the high nineties tomorrow. Maybe even low hundreds by Friday.”
“I’ll be fine.”
I groaned. “You’re pregnant…”
She gasped, her hands going to her belly. For a second, I thought something was wrong, until a smile spread across her face.
“I can’t…oh my God, I didn’t even know! That’s what this is? There’s a baby in there? Here I thought it was an alien all this time.” Her words dripped with the same sarcasm I found myself thinking about long after she was gone lately.
“That’s enough.”
Lainey smiled. “I like this side of you. Very chivalrous. Pie is always going to be a bonus. But my car is fine. I will be fine. You, on the other hand…”
“What about me?” My eyes narrowed.
“There’s no incentive for you to get off that porch.”
Ah, there it was. That sharp wit that always got her in trouble was about to rear its ugly head. Only this time, I’d be the target. “Excuse me?”
“You need something to look forward to when you step foot off of your porch. I mean, sure… you step down and could go to the springs. I haven’t been since sophomore year, back when Jessie didn’t hate me.
I still remember how crisp the water was, even in the dead of summer.
” Lainey closed her eyes for a second, lifting her face toward the ceiling as if she felt the water brushing against her skin from her memory alone.
Her eyes popped back open, landing on me.
“But you don’t strike me as a guy who likes swimming.
So you need something else to motivate you. ”
She was wrong. I loved spending time at the springs.
The one my family swam in was different than the one everyone got their drinking water from, hidden in a little off-road cove that only my family and a few friends knew about.
Before the accident, I’d be down there even through the first snowfall.
But not with my leg being…no. I could barely stand looking at it when I showered.
I wasn’t taking the chance that someone else would see the aftermath of my injury.
Leaning against the wall, I shook my head. “If you start leaving my food farther and farther away from the door, we’re going to have a problem.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “I don’t think food is a big enough motivator for you. I think you need a little passion back in your life.”
A humorless laugh pushed out from my chest before I could stop it. “What would you know about any passion I’ve had?”
Her eyes drifted to the front door as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. I watched as the wheels inside her head turned. “What if I didn’t have to go into Bell Ridge to have my car fixed?”
“I’m not following?”
“You offered to take a look. You could do it.”
My heart skipped a beat in my chest. “I can look at your AC. And I can fix it. But that’s all. I can’t do anything else.”
“Why not?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.
“Because you saw what happened before when I tried to take a look. I don’t work on cars any more. I haven’t in years. Because my leg is fucked up, and I’m fucked up…I can’t park a car in here, in case you haven’t noticed.”
Lainey moved toward me, her hand landing on my arm as she moved closer to me. What the fuck was she doing?
“Hey, Lach? Hey…no big deal. It was just a suggestion. To get you off the porch. But if that’s too much, I get it. Okay? Nothing says you need to help me out with it. I’ll be fine.”
I forced myself to take a breath, her worried eyes never leaving my face. She was trying to comfort me because I was starting to panic. I had six inches on her and she was holding onto me like I might collapse. Like she’d try to catch me.
“It’s not too much. I already bought the shit I’d need to fix your AC.” The words came out forced, which wasn’t surprising with how tight my jaw was clamped down.
“You did?”
“I had a feeling Greg wouldn’t take care of it. And it’s cruel of him to put you in a position where you have to figure out how to take care of it, on top of everything else you’re already doing.” My eyes drifted to her belly. God, I couldn’t believe how big of a prick this guy was to Lainey.
“Are you sure?” she asked, to which I nodded. “Okay. I can pay you back—”
I shook my head then. “I don’t need you to pay me back.
Between my split of the ranch profits and the settlement I got from the mechanical lift company for their faulty equipment, I’m doing just fine.
So, I’ll try my hardest to get a good look at things.
Your car sounds like it’s about to die every time you drive up here.
There’s probably more going on than just your AC. ”
Her entire demeanor shifted. There was worry still written all over her face, but the minute her eyes dropped to the floor—or maybe her belly, because that was directly in her line of sight—I knew that worry had shifted off of me.
“What is it?”
“I just…He just bought a new truck. It doesn’t even have an extended cab for us to be able to put the baby in it.
My car is being held together with duct tape and hopeless dreams…
” Her eyes widened, and Lainey squared her shoulders, fingers on her hips as she stretched her back.
“I should go. Thanks for the water and pie.”
“No.”
“No?”
“No. You can’t go yet, I haven’t fixed the AC. And you’re right, I need to look at the car. I’ll put in an order for whatever will get it in the best shape the fastest, and we’ll have you good to go in no time.”
I had no idea why the thought of Lainey running off without letting me make sure the car was safe was getting to me, but damn, if getting off the porch felt like the least of my worries, now that I knew that car was the only transportation she and the baby would have.
“It was a silly idea…” she protested.
“It wasn’t silly. You’re right. I need to get over myself, and I’ll be dead and in the ground before I let you get back in that death trap.”
Lainey smiled. “I mean, I have to get in to it to drive back home, but I appreciate the sentiment.”
Shit. I should be able to offer her a ride home. But I couldn’t. Because I hadn’t even been off the porch. But maybe that could change. Maybe I could…
“Yeah, well…let’s go see what we can do about your car, then.”