“Really?” She cast him a look under her lashes as color flushed her cheeks. “No sunrise watching lately?”
“Not for quite some time.”
A small smile played peekaboo.
As tempted as he was to climb back in bed with her, he couldn’t ignore his family situation. “I need to talk to Wyatt and Jackson about yesterday … our mother, Ford. They need to know everything. Do you mind if I head over to the barn for a bit?”
“I’ll leave.” A slightly uncertain look was aimed in his direction.
“I want you to stay, but I understand if you have other things to take care of.”
“I really do need to change clothes and check on Megan, but I can come back later. By sunset.” She waggled her eyebrows.
“Sounds good.” His disappointment was fierce, but a laugh simmered at the easy tease between them.
He leaned in, and she met him halfway for a simple kiss but with a promise of later. He grabbed the same T-shirt she’d slept in and pulled it over his head on his way out the door. It held her scent, and he nearly turned back around, his obligation to his brothers be damned. But he didn’t.
He weaved his way around the punching bag, the aroma of fresh-brewed coffee drawing him in like a cartoon mouse to cheese. Whatever small talk the twins had been engaged in ceased when he got close. Wyatt lounged on the couch and Jackson leaned against the open door of the barn. Spring had sprung and even though the morning was cool, the breeze snaking through held a sunny warmth.
Two sets of eyes bore into him as he poured a mug of coffee and took a bracing sip. The stressful day and sleepless night was catching up to him. His brain was rusty. He took the end of the couch opposite Wyatt. “Morning, boys.”
“It’s almost eleven.” Jackson’s sly smile showcased his dimples.
“Still morning, by my reckoning. Anyway, it’s Saturday. Can’t a man sleep in?”
“According to Wyatt, you weren’t sleeping.” Jackson’s grin was infectious.
Mack tried to summon a hint of indignation, but couldn’t locate any. He hadn’t realized how dour and serious Jackson had become until Willa had turned his frown upside down. Mack had lost sleep worried about the fallout from a Jackson-Willa workplace romance, but it had turned out fine. Better than fine. His brother was happy, and that’s all Mack had ever wanted for him.
“Ella and I are together. I think.” Mack covered his discomfiture with a sip of coffee.
“That was said with resounding confidence.” Wyatt made an “I don’t know” shrugging gesture.
“It’s complicated. You two wouldn’t understand.”
Wyatt and Jackson exchanged a look and burst into laughter.
“That was dumb. You two would probably understand better than anyone, but I’m not here to talk about my feelings. Or her feelings. Or whatever.” Mack waved a hand in the air.
“You saw our mother,” Wyatt said. “What did you think?”
“She had cookies waiting on the off chance one of us showed up. And they were good, dammit. Just like I remembered.”
Jackson looked out at the trees, and Wyatt smiled a sad smile. “It’s crazy how the memories rewrite themselves, isn’t it?”
Wyatt had put into words what had been bothering him. “Yeah. All of sudden stuff came rushing back. Good stuff.”
“How did you leave things?”
“I invited her down here sometime soon. Maybe for the car show.”
Wyatt popped up to the edge of the couch, and Jackson abandoned his slouch and closed the distance to Mack.
“Are you serious?” Jackson’s voice was rougher than usual.
“It’s time to mend things, don’t you think?”
Wyatt smoothed a hand over his chin. “I think so, but I never expected you to agree.”
“Pop was a good man. A good father. But he had a blind spot when it came to our mother,” Mack said. As hard as it was to admit, it was the truth. “And I’ve had a blind spot when it came to Ford.”
Jackson cocked a knee and hooked his thumbs into his front pockets. “Did aliens abduct you?”
Wyatt held up a hand. “I don’t want to hear about any anal probes.”
Laughter skittered out of all three of them. There was nothing like having brothers—which only increased Mack’s determination not to cut Ford out of their family.
“Ford had his reasons for selling out and leaving. Like our mother did all those years ago.”
“The gambling,” Jackson said.
“The gambling was a symptom of deeper problems. Ford felt trapped, and has for years. He was depressed and battling anxiety. The gambling was a way to escape all of that, until it turned into its own problem. Mom forced him to get help.” It was the first time Mack had called her “Mom,” and although it hadn’t rolled off his tongue, the word expanded and filled the space she’d always occupied in his heart.
“Can you forgive and forget so easily?” Wyatt leaned back into the couch, but a new tension scrunched his shoulders.
“After leaving Mom’s house, Ella and I drove to Memphis. Ford and I spent some time hashing things out.”
“And?” Wyatt prompted. “No broken bones?”
“None. I’m not sure things are mended, but we’re talking again. I invited him home too. He looks better. Healthier. Happier.” Mack didn’t feel the need to go into the specifics of their talk. Wyatt and Jackson would have to find their own peace with Ford, but with Mack’s tacit approval, it would happen.
Wyatt and Jackson exchanged one of their twin looks. A clatter swung everyone’s attention to the back of the barn. Wyatt and Mack stood up and Jackson moved between them.
Landrum Abbott, their distant cousin, worked his way toward them, giving the punching bag a flurry of hits on the way by. His good nature shone through his grin.
“Morning, boys. I drove my buddy up to drop his Corvette off. He’s a go on all the restorations.” He nudged his chin back toward the garage.
“Sweet,” Wyatt said. “Let’s check it out.”
The three of them met Landrum at the punching bag and exchanged handshakes and hugs. Mack led them out and around the garage to the parking lot where the Corvette was parked in a ray of sunlight like the Second Coming. She was a beauty.
Speaking of a beauty, Ella’s car was still parked in the lot. He glanced at the house, wondering if he could manage a detour to give her another kiss. He sidestepped toward the magnolia. Landrum grabbed Mack’s arm, and Mack did his best to hide a grimace.
“You boys go on. I wanted to talk to Mack for a second,” Landrum said.
“I appreciate you recommending us to your buddy.” Mack nudged his chin toward the Corvette and her owner. “Getting steady business from Baton Rouge would be a huge boon for the garage.”
Landrum was the same age as the twins and had been a star on the Cottonbloom, Louisiana, high school football team. LSU had come calling with a scholarship offer, and Landrum had become a local legend. Although they shared a great-great-great-grandfather, Landrum’s darker skin pointed at a scandal no one liked to discuss but everyone was aware of. After LSU and a brief stint in the NFL, Landrum returned to Louisiana and opened a string of successful car dealerships in Baton Rouge.
“Happy to help. In fact, that’s what I want to talk to you about.”
Mack stifled a yawn, his one cup of Wyatt’s weak-ass coffee doing little to combat his fatigue. “What’s on your mind?”
“Let’s head inside for some privacy.”
The unusual shot of seriousness from Landrum had Mack perking up. He led the way inside the garage. The lights were off and the bay doors closed. Mack blinked and stopped in a shaft of weak light from one of the narrow windows.
“What’s up?”
“I know the fact Ford sold his quarter away has been chapping your hide. What if I put up the money to buy Ms. Boudreaux out?”
The offer stunned Mack into silence for a few beats. “Are you talking a loan or a partnership?”
&nbs
p; “I love cars, I’m in the business, and I wouldn’t mind having a piece of the garage. I think you boys are onto something. Plus, Wyatt mentioned your obsession about keeping the garage in Abbott hands.” Landrum held up his hands as if surrendering. “I’m an Abbott. Even if our great-great-great-granddaddy didn’t want to claim my ancestor.”
Mack ran a hand through his hair, trying to order his thoughts. A few weeks ago Landrum’s offer would have been heaven sent. But in the moment, he searched for reasons to turn Landrum down. Even though he’d been upfront with Ella about wanting to buy her out, he’d assumed that day would be well into the future. Far enough down the road for him to figure out how to untangle the emotional knot he’d gotten himself in where she was concerned.
“I feel like we would be taking advantage,” he finally said.
“No, I want to do this. For you and for me. I see a moneymaker in the restoration business. My contacts would benefit you. If you really want, you can buy me out when you have the cash. But this way, the garage would be in Abbott hands until then. I know that’s your ultimate goal. What do you say?”
It was his goal. Wasn’t it? He didn’t know whether it was lack of sleep or the realigning of his life and priorities after finding his mother, settling old debts with Ford, and building a relationship with Ella, but he didn’t know what he wanted anymore. “It sounds too good to be true.”
“You worried I’ll be too much of a pain in the ass?” Landrum grinned.
“That’s a given. I wouldn’t expect you to get a personality transplant.” Mack grinned back. Landrum would be a seamless addition to the garage. He was an Abbott and even better, he was a savvy businessman with contacts and ideas galore. Mack should take the offer. Yet, the words that came out of his mouth were noncommittal. “Can I get back to you after I talk to the boys?”
“Sure, but don’t wait too long. I might go spend the money on some other garage.” Landrum cocked his head and winked, taking any threat out of his words.
Mack clapped him on the back of his shoulder. “Let’s go see if the Corvette is everything I remember it being.”
Chapter Twenty
Ella didn’t move even after the garage door banged shut. She performed an inventory of her emotions. Did she even have a right to the anger and hurt sucking all the air out of her body?
Mack had never lied to her about wanting Ford’s old share of the garage back in family hands. The offer Landrum Abbott had made to Mack made logical sense. Why wouldn’t Mack take it?
Eavesdroppers were never rewarded, even if she hadn’t meant to listen in. She’d slipped into Mack’s office to grab her laptop in case she had emails to return after falling off the grid for a day and night.
She’d been ready to step out and introduce herself until Landrum Abbott’s offer hit her ears. Shock had frozen her with her laptop hugged to her chest as her hopes fizzled like a firework dud. An ache spread from her heart to every inch of her body, like she really had been hit by a Mack truck.
Now that the offer was on the table, Mack would take it to his brothers for a vote. It would be unanimous, of that she had no doubt. What he wanted from the beginning was within his grasp—the garage in Abbott hands and her out of his hair.
She didn’t need a crystal ball to foresee the future. Without the garage to bind them, they might sleep together a few more times, but his interest would wane and they would drift apart until she would be a speed bump in his memories. A story to tell at holidays. Remember that time Ford sold his share to Ella Boudreaux. Glad that whole situation is over and done.
She wouldn’t fight him. In fact, she could preempt him. Draw up the papers and drop them off signed. Cauterize the wound. A deep shuddery breath forewarned a rising tide of tears. She had to get home. A threesome in bed with Ben and Jerry was all she craved.
But she still had to escape without running into Mack or his brothers. She squeezed her eyes shut, but teleportation hadn’t suddenly been gifted to her. She tiptoed out of Mack’s office and peered through the window of the bay door, squinting at the brightness.
The Corvette’s owner, Landrum, Jackson, and Wyatt were gathered around the open hood of the car. No sign of Mack. She took a deep breath and made a break for her car. She heard Wyatt call her name, but she only waved over her head in acknowledgment. The inside of her convertible seemed minuscule compared to Mack’s truck. Her life would shrink without him in it as well. Banishing the morose thoughts, she glanced around as she started the car. Mack wasn’t there. Had he returned to the house to break the news?
She wasn’t sticking around to find out. Her tires spun on loose gravel before catching and sending her hurtling down the parish road. Only when the garage was out of sight did she relax into the seat.
Her only goal was to get home and crash in her bed. She turned onto her street, let her foot off the accelerator, and released a string of curses. Trevor’s car was parked in her spot on the driveway.
Her hurt and sense of betrayal evaporated in a blast of anger. She was over her ex shouldering his way back into her life. By the time she parked and stalked into her house, she was in a snit. Or more accurately, she was ready to burn shit down, preferably with Trevor in it.
Megan and Trevor were in the den and both stood when she appeared. Megan’s eyes were puffy and red, and Trevor’s smile was full of smug self-satisfaction. How had she ever thought he was handsome and sophisticated? He was a nasty little bug, and she wore the shoes to smush him.
“I told you not to come here again, Trevor.”
“I have business with my wife.” Although he came around the couch with his hands up in a placating gesture, the edge of a threat was in his voice. “And since you’re brainwashing her, I had little choice but to come here.”
Ella closed the distance between them and poked him in the chest with her finger. “If brainwashing consists of giving Megan the room to breathe and make her own decisions, then I’m guilty and proud of it. I only wish I’d had the courage to leave you sooner.”
“It’s best if she comes home with me.”
“Best for whom?”
“Megan and I are a family and plan to stay that way. I’m ready to have kids and Megan will be the best mother, don’t you agree?”
Ella took a sharp breath. Trevor was treading over an old battleground. He’d pressured Ella to get pregnant, but she’d gone on the pill before their marriage and as time went by, she’d been thankful nothing more than bad memories held them together. A child would have made things harder to bear.
“She will be, but not to your children.”
“That’s her decision to make.” His face made her fist itch to make contact with it.
If Mack had been there, he could have thrown him out the door without breaking a sweat, but she couldn’t physically win a fight with Trevor. Ella swallowed. She couldn’t think about Mack right now. He was her weakness.
What was Trevor’s weakness? His desperation to hold onto youth was a big one.
“Goodness, can you even father children at your age? Have you had your swimmers checked?” She raised her eyebrows and pointed at his crotch.
“I’m fine.”
“Oh, I’m sure you are.” She marinated her words in sarcasm. “No trouble getting it up yet?”
His face reddened. “That’s none of your damn business.”
She’d hit a nerve and, like any good scorned ex-wife, she exacerbated the wound. “It’s okay, Trevor, I hear it happens to all men at some time or another, especially the older they get.”
“Shut. Up.”
“I don’t have to. This is my house, and you’re trespassing.” She turned her back on him and faced Megan. “Do you want to go back with him?”
Megan shook her head and bent over, her arms wrapped around her torso, her shoulders scrunched. Ella recognized the desire to make oneself so small as to not be noticed. The fear Trevor had once instilled in Ella was alive and thriving in Megan.
“I’ll help you get on your
feet. You won’t have to do this alone,” Ella said.
Megan straightened, her expression firming. Ella’s promise hadn’t erased Megan’s fear, but hopefully it made a dent big enough to house some courage.
“You can’t support yourself.” Trevor stood next to Ella, as if the two of them were battling for Megan’s soul. “Ella is only keeping you around to spite me. She doesn’t give a damn about you.”
Megan stood. “I have a job now. I don’t need your or my parents’ money.”
Ella gave her a bracing smile before turning to Trevor. “I’m helping Megan because she’s my friend.”
Trevor ran a hand through his hair. The disarray gave him a frazzled look. “You don’t understand.”
“I think I do. You’ve squandered the business I built for you.” Ella kept all emotion out of her voice. Trevor would use any pity against her.
“Who all did you tell?” He directed the question toward Megan, but the fact he didn’t launch into a denial was telling.
“Just Ella.”
“Jesus.” Trevor paced. “I’ll bounce back. All I need is one good deal.”
His attitude belied his words. Going bankrupt meant losing status in Jackson. It would destroy Trevor.
“I told you that recreational opportunity in Texas was not a good investment. It went belly-up?”
“It was a cluster from the beginning. Poor planning, mismanagement. By the time I tried to sell, it was a sinking ship and no one wanted on.” Defeat marked Trevor one feature at a time. First his shoulders fell from bullish to defeated, then his gaze dropped, and a frown exposed age lines she hadn’t noticed until now.
“I’m sorry.” Ella did feel sorry for him in so many ways. “But you can get back on your feet with hard work.”
“Not without your advice, Ella. I didn’t realize…” He shook his head.
“How totally awesome I am?” She tried to inject some lightness into the moment. She was used to the domineering Trevor or even the obnoxiously confident Trevor, not the contrite, apologetic Trevor. It was disconcerting.
“You’re a brilliant businesswoman, and I took you for granted. Or maybe I convinced myself all those deals and great ideas were mostly mine. I don’t know.”
Set the Night on Fire Page 25
