Chapter 26 Lincoln
LINCOLN
@theanswerisno:
I am plagued by wondering if every pancake-eating woman is you
@pancakesareelite:
Every pancake-eating woman IS me
@theanswerisno:
Well, that certainly doesn’t help
@pancakesareelite:
I am plagued by wondering if every pancake-hating man is you
@theanswerisno:
I don’t HATE pancakes. I’m not a monster. I just prefer cake
@pancakesareelite:
You don’t have to choose. You could have it all, Link
@pancakesareelite:
Ooooh, let’s bake a cake next!
Main quest: Help move furniture. Side quest: Don’t fall in love with Elizabeth.
Having Elizabeth at my mom’s house, making my mom laugh and handing me a slice of cake, was really not helping the side quest.
Elizabeth, Emily Ann, and my mother picnicked on a blanket in the center of the mostly empty living room while Daniel and I carried in the last of the furniture. There were more items than I’d bargained for, and even though my back started complaining, I didn’t want this to end.
From here, I could hear Elizabeth laughing, and now and then she’d tease the way she often did and glance in my direction. Those beautiful gray eyes knocked the air out of me.
I couldn’t have her. I knew that. She was far out of my league, not to mention my employee. But maybe I could enjoy her. Right? Like this. It wasn’t against company policy.
Mom walked over to me. “You better get going. I didn’t mean to keep you.”
“I don’t mind.” I took one last look at how comfortable Elizabeth was. Her safety boots had come off, and her feet were curled up underneath her. She and Emily Ann were taking rock, paper, scissors very seriously.
“Because you’re the most wonderful son.” Mom gave me a squeeze.
Elizabeth glanced upward and studied me as she often did.
Over the last few weeks, she’d started reading me and acting without me having to ask her to.
Right now, she knew I was ready to leave.
She stood, walked over, and stretched out her hand toward my mom.
“It was wonderful to meet you. Everything I ate was delicious. I wish I could cook like that.”
My mom swatted her hand out of the way and pulled her in for a hug. “I’ll teach you.” She released Elizabeth and winked. “Come over, anytime.”
Elizabeth squirmed.
Why? What did she and my mother talk about? I’d need to ask.
My mother edged closer, her eyes wide. “Lincoln…” Her brows hugged. “There’s one other thing. We need to hand over the keys to the new owner in just over a week.”
I knew what was coming, and yet I waited for her to finish in the hopes it would be something else.
“If you can’t finish the last of the packing…” She looked downward and fidgeted with the hem of her blouse. “I can do it.”
A violent pang slammed the inside of my chest. “I’ll do it,” I barely got out. She remained unconvinced, so I mustered up all the confidence I had before adding, “I’m busy this weekend, but I promise it’ll be all cleared out before next weekend.”
“Are you sure?”
My thoughts turned to noise. “Yes,” I said through the mess of feelings swirling inside me. Packing away my father’s things would make it hard to forget that he’d died. “It’s no problem.”
As fast as humanly possible, I left. I wasn’t interested in thinking about it any longer, but now it was the only thing I could think about. If Elizabeth hadn’t been quick, I may have driven off without her in my distracted state.
But there she was, in the passenger seat, observing me without saying a word. I should explain to her why I went from hot to cold, but I couldn’t find the right sentences.
“Your mom showed me photos of you as a kid. Apparently, you were really into pirates.”
An unexpected laugh pushed out of me, and the sweet sound of hers joined. I glanced over at her, grateful for the subject change. “I should have known she’d show you all the embarrassing things she’s kept of mine.”
The naughtiest grin crept onto Elizabeth’s face. It was the one I enjoyed most. I think. It was hard to choose.
“She told me about Bianca too.”
If I wasn’t driving, I’d have thrown myself out of the vehicle. My mouth dropped open while I searched for something to say. How am I supposed to defend the imaginary friend I’d held on to for longer than I cared to admit?
“In case you haven’t guessed,” I deadpanned, and kicked the truck into the next gear, “I was a strange kid.”
Elizabeth relaxed in my passenger seat, and I savored how different she was outside the office. “I had an imaginary friend too—Noah.” She twisted in her seat to face me, her eyes alight. “I’ll tell you about mine if you tell me about yours.”
A smile I could no longer resist spread across my face. The grief and longing were still there in my chest, but it was hard to sit with it when I could be here instead. Listening to the most beautiful woman in the world tell me wonderful things about herself.
As we reached the project location, heavy fog rolled in, accompanied by a chill. I should have brought a headlamp. I slipped on a jacket and offered Elizabeth my spare before gearing up.
Seeing her in my clothing was a level of torture I apparently enjoyed.
“Thank you.” She zipped up and folded the long sleeves, freeing her hands.
Maybe it will smell like cinnamon when she returns it?
“No problem.” I cleared my throat and focused on the task ahead.
Walking through the site, I gave her a quick rundown on what was happening and introduced her to everyone along the way.
As I imagined, even with Elizabeth’s hard hat, the reflective vest, the oversized jacket, and the ugly shoes, they all did a double take.
Because it was hard not to with those eyes and her smile that gave flight to butterflies.
“When will this pipe be placed?” I asked the construction manager while peeking into one of the deep trenches.
“First thing tomorrow morning. There’s been a bit of unexpected drizzle, hence the mud.”
I nodded. “Manhole locations?”
He gestured for me to follow him. Behind me, Elizabeth appeared completely enthralled with what someone else was showing her.
I opened a set of drawings and reminded myself of what we’d recommended here for the layerworks. That would happen next week when we were placed here and could supervise.
We. Me and Elizabeth. Elizabeth and I. Placed here. Together. At the same time.
I searched for her through the dense fog and found her about fifty yards away chatting with one of the other workers. She waved, and I gestured for her to join me.
On her left, one of the construction vehicles revved up. Elizabeth flinched. As quick as a flash, her foot slipped and her eyes widened. She screamed at the same time as I instinctively leaped toward her. But it was too late. She disappeared into the trench dividing us.
With a deafening ringing in my ears, I jumped in.
Elizabeth was on her backside in the mud. “Don’t come in here, you’ll get all muddy!”
I kneeled beside her. I didn’t care about the mess. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, but her eyes welled up.
“Are you hurt?” I gripped her shoulders and slid my palms across her arms, tempted to investigate every part of her.
She choked out, “I’m… I’m sorry. I wasn’t concentrating, and my foot slipped on the edge, and now I messed up.” She gestured at the curbs that had fallen along with her.
“Don’t apologize,” I bit out, and cupped her face. I couldn’t stop myself. I tilted her chin upward, an ache ripping through me at the sight of her tears. “That doesn’t matter. You matter. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Her mouth turned downward, and she nodded.
“I’m okay. I’m sorry for crying. I’m having a weird day.
Family stuff. Work stress. I got my period, and I’m not prepared.
I didn’t mean to cause trouble on my first day on-site, and I can’t lose this job and…
your mom is really nice and I miss my mom…
I don’t know why I’m telling you any of this.
Oh, and my ankle is kind of hurting.” She flinched as she tried pushing herself upward.
Her lip trembled, and without any input from my brain, my arms scooped her up. My left hand slid under her knees, and my right arm cradled her back.
“What are you doing?” she said, but a laugh and one of those small smiles followed.
That’s how I knew I was doing the right thing.
“Getting us out of here.” I trudged through the mud to the shallowest side of the hole before climbing out.
The construction manager was at my side. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine,” I answered for her while she composed herself.
She leaned against my chest, and I could feel her short, warm breaths. If I thought about it too hard, I may forget how to walk. Or breathe. Or exist.
My back protested with each step, but I ignored it. We were almost back at the truck.
“Follow me. I’ll show you how to get to the cabin,” the construction manager said, and pointed at his car.
Without letting Elizabeth go, I managed to open the door of my truck and place her inside, mud and all.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m getting everything dirty.”
“Stop apologizing.” I climbed into the driver’s seat.
“Sorry.” She huffed out a soft giggle. “I mean…” She swiped at her face with the back of her sleeve. But it only put mud there. “I’m a recovering people pleaser.”
I reached into my cubby, my fingers grazing her knees as I grabbed a box of tissues. “You’ve got mud”—I gestured to her face—“everywhere.”
She smiled, and for a second, I could almost ignore the crippling pain flaring through my back. Between the work at my mother’s and my valiant attempt at getting Elizabeth to the truck, I seemed to have summoned trouble.
I wasn’t planning on going to the cabin today, but I was left with little other choice.
There was no way I’d be able to drive all the way home like this.