Waiting on You

by Kristan Higgins

  "He won't," Joe said.

  "When's Bryce coming back? He wanted to do something with you this afternoon." Her eyes flickered toward Lucas. This was typical for her; any time Joe and Lucas might have a bonding moment, she was there to interrupt and remind Joe that he had a son, a wonderful son, a real son.

  And the thing was, it generally worked. Joe was a nice guy, but he was no match for Didi. There were other terms for it, meaner terms, but it was clear that Joe generally did what Didi told him to do.

  "Give me a few minutes with my uncle," Lucas said, and without waiting for an answer, got up and closed the door in her face.

  The door flew open again immediately. "Just because you breeze into town whenever you like, I'm still the one who has to take care of him. My whole life is doctor's appointments and hospital visits these days. I don't have a minute to breathe--"

  "Then breathe now," he said, and closed the door again.

  Apparently Didi couldn't find a way to argue that. After a second, her heels tapped away down the hall, though Lucas would bet she'd tiptoe back and eavesdrop.

  "What can I do for you, Uncle Joe?" he asked, taking his seat again.

  Joe sighed. "Here's the thing, Lucas. Bryce...well, he's just not really grown up yet, you know what I mean?"

  He nodded, his hand on his uncle's. Joe's arm looked odd, courtesy of the fistula he needed for dialysis.

  "I'd like to leave this world knowing he had a plan, at least. I don't want him--" Joe glanced at the closed door and dropped his voice to a whisper. "I don't want her to have her hooks in him forever. You know what I mean?"

  "I do."

  "So maybe you could hang around for...well, till the day comes. I know he's gonna take this hard." Joe's eyes filled with tears.

  Yes. Last night, Bryce had acknowledged that his dad was sick, but he also talked about how much better Joe was looking these days. Dialysis was amazing! And besides, a kidney would come along any minute.

  The fact that Joe wasn't on the organ registry--and indeed, wasn't eligible for a transplant, thanks to the tumor in his lung--was not something Bryce would admit.

  "I'll stay however long you need," Lucas said. He owed it to Joe, after all.

  "You can get off work that long?"

  "Yep. I'm leaving the company, remember?"

  "Right, right." Joe paused. "Where will you stay when you're here?"

  "I'm at the Black Swan right now," he said. "Just called the Realtor about a short-term rental."

  "You're welcome to stay here," Joe offered, but they both knew that he wasn't. Didi would hate having him here, and if Didi wasn't happy, no one was allowed to be happy.

  "That's okay."

  "So you think you could help Bryce? Maybe help him find work? He hasn't ever had a job he really loved, aside from the dog shelter stuff."

  "I'll see what I can do."

  "Just having you here is going to be great. He's always worshipped you. Always wanted to do what you did, whatever that might've been."

  Lucas nodded. That was certainly true; from baseball cards to a paper route, if Lucas had it, Bryce wanted it. And Didi made sure he got it.

  "There's another thing I need you to help me with," Joe whispered, and Lucas felt a flash of anger that the man had to whisper in his own home.

  "What's that?" he asked, adjusting Joe's blanket. It was meat-locker cold in here. Another thing he remembered too well.

  Joe glanced at the door, then picked up a notepad and pen. Wrote something down and passed it to Lucas.

  I want a divorce before I die.

  Lucas looked at his uncle. Back at the notepad. Back to his uncle. "Well, holy shit, unc," he said, then grinned. "I'll get right on that."

  "Thanks, Lucas." Joe smiled, but his eyes closed. "I'm glad you're here," Joe said, his voice fading into sleep. Then his eyes opened. "Maybe you can see some old friends while you're here." He winked, the ghost of his old self, then fell asleep, just like that.

  CHAPTER SIX

  "OH. COLLEEN. IT'S you." Carol Robinson, one of the local Realtors, gave Colleen a jaundiced stare. "Fine, come in. I'm not showing you around, though. I know you won't be buying."

  "Lovely to see you, too, Carol." Pina colada, very old-school, Carol was. "Bursitis flaring up again?"

  "No. I just don't want to waste my time. Hi, Jeanette, how are you?"

  Colleen's mother pulled her shirt away from her chest. "It's so hot in here, Carol! How do you stand it?"

  "You're having a hot flash. I still get them," Carol said. "It's ridiculous."

  "Satan's barbecue," Mom said. "Don't make that face, Colleen. You'll see."

  "I can't wait. Carol, do you have a fact sheet on the house?" Carol handed her one with a sigh. "By the way, do you have to walk in the middle of the road every morning? I almost hit you the other day."

  "Oh, that's right, I saw you speeding by. Jeanette, your daughter and that red car of hers..."

  Colleen had brought her mother to an open house, and yeah, fine, she had a bit of a reputation with the real estate people. It wasn't her fault. Yes, she wanted to buy a house, very much, in fact. She was thirty-one, for heaven's sake. She didn't want to live above her brother forever. Their house was adorable; it was just that it was their house, and she wanted a place of her own. A place where, yeah, she'd have those adorable tots and Rufus could frisk and frolic, and her husband and she would have lots and lots of great sex.

  And since Lucas Damien Campbell had walked into her bar the other night, she felt considerably more motivated to find that husband and bear those children.

  Today, she'd taken her mom with her, because (a) she was a saint, and (b) it was one of Mom's many Significant Dates, of which there were many, 99 percent of them marking some dire event relating to Dad.

  This house was a white farmhouse with a porch, a horseshoe driveway and big, beautiful yard. Not too big, not too small, not too new, not too old. Remodeled kitchen with white cabinets and glass fronts, lots of counter space, should she take up cooking (which she wouldn't but it could happen, if hell froze over). The living room had lots of windows and a really pretty fireplace.

  Colleen and her mother went upstairs as Carol went back to reading her fat spy novel.

  Coll felt a tingle of hope. If she was busy moving into a new place, painting and shopping for a new couch and plates, she'd have less time to lie in bed and think about a certain tall, dark un-stranger. "Black-haired boy, work of the devil," her grandmother used to say, and it was flippin' true. Lucas had black hair and had broken her heart. Jeremy Lyon had black hair, and he'd broken Faith's heart by coming out of the closet on their wedding day. Dad had black hair and broke Mom's heart.

  Connor, on the other hand, had brown hair, taking after Mom's side of the family, with no broken hearts in his past. Levi Cooper, police chief and decorated veteran--dark blond, making Faith very happy these days. Gerard Chartier: bald, a cheerful man-whore and very well liked. Grandma had known what she was talking about.

  The master bedroom was at the end of the hall and utterly gorgeous. Slanted ceiling, a long window seat, built-in bookshelves. Even space on the wall for a TV, if she was so inclined. Not that she approved of watching TV in bed; in her mind's eye, Tom Hardy would be waiting, naked and impatient, for her, his beloved wife. In reality, however, she and Rufus put in far too many hours watching HGTV and Game of Thrones. (Was Jon Snow too young to lust after? Probably and oops, another black-haired boy.)

  "This is lovely. What do you hate about it?" Mom asked.

  "Nothing," Colleen said.

  "You'll find something. You always do."

  "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Ma."

  Her mother wandered into the bathroom. "Oh, Collie, come in here, sweetheart."

  The master bathroom was vast--tiled floor, walled-in shower area and a huge, triangular tub, big enough for Colleen and Tom Hardy and his muscles.

  "Uh-oh," Mom said. Her face flushed bright red, she began flapping her shirt again.
"Oh, dear! Oh, man! I think I might be having another hot flash!"

  "Really? You hide it so well." Mom had always been the type to detail her physical woes. "Bleeding like a stuck pig" had been popular back in the good old period days. "Ovaries the size of grapefruits" was another. "That Chinese food went through me like a knife." One of the many ways Mom was so much fun.

  Mom continued flapping, then climbed in the bathtub. "This porcelain feels like ice. Thank God, too." She lay there, red-faced and panting, and Colleen waited, used to her mother's menopausal adventures by now. After a minute, Jeanette lifted her head, her hair damp with sweat, and surveyed the tub. "So how many jets does this thing have?" she said speculatively.

  "Icky, Mom." Quite a few, though. Handy, in case marriage to Tom Hardy didn't work out.

  "Why? Just because it feels like tumbleweeds are blowing through my--"

  "Hail Mary, full of grace," Colleen began. "The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou who can make my mother stop talking, and blessed--"

  Her mother gave her a martyred look. "You know, Colleen, just because I'm suffering through menopause, and just because your father left me for That Whore doesn't mean I don't have certain urges."

  "Mom! Come on."

  "What? Am I not a human all of a sudden? Not allowed to be lonely? Hey, did you know that John Holland got married a couple weeks ago?"

  Another maternal habit: announcing facts known by everyone as if it was big news. Of course she knew. She was the best friend of the man's daughter, and if there was a more beloved man than Faith's dad, Colleen didn't know him. She herself wouldn't have minded being the second Mrs. Holland. Well, not really. But it had always been fun to flirt with him anyway.

  "He's been widowed for twenty years," Mom said.

  "Ma, I know. I grew up with Faith, remember?"

  "Of course I remember. You girls were at our house half the time. The point is, both he and Mrs. Johnson are older than I am."

  "True. Want to see the other bedrooms now?" Colleen asked. So far, the house had given her no reason to reject it. But the tingle was fading. This bathroom was possibly too large. It always seemed to her that when she found the right house, she'd know. Instantly.

  Just as she'd known with Lucas the day he walked into her English class.

  And look where that had gotten her.

  Her phone buzzed with a text. From Bryce, no less. Think Jessica Dunn is a good match 4 me?

  Oh, crap. First of all, Jessica Dunn would never go for a guy like Bryce; Jess had a very appealing edginess to her, and Bryce was as complicated as a chocolate chip cookie. Secondly, there was Paulie!

  Not really, she typed back. Hang in there. I'm working on someone for you. She's special.

  Pretty? appeared almost immediately.

  Sigh. Paulie could not be described as pretty. Striking.

  Awesome, came the reply. C u soon!

  "I'm gonna lay here for another minute," Mom said. "But, Colleen, I was thinking. It doesn't seem like your father is going to come to his senses any time soon. I thought That Whore was a midlife crisis, just a little fling--"

  "They've been together for ten years, Mom."

  "And even after that child, I thought he'd come back to me."

  "Savannah, Mom. Say what you want about Gail the Tail, but be nice about Savannah. She's my sister."

  "Your half sister." Mom sat up, grabbed one of the attractively rolled facecloths and ran some water on it, then held it against her chest. "Anyway, John Holland has adult grandchildren, he's in his sixties, but he found someone. I'm only fifty-four, and what do I have? Nothing. No grandchildren, not even a daughter-or son-in-law, and nothing on the horizon, either. What's wrong with you and Connor?"

  A familiar refrain. "What's wrong with you, Mom? Why haven't you given me a nice stepfather? I wouldn't say no to Mariano Rivera, for example. Or George Clooney. Actually, I'd marry both of them myself, so take them off the list. Sean Connery, he'd do. Or Ed Harris. Why haven't you married Sean Connery or Ed Harris, Mom?"

  "Your father married That Whore. John Holland married Mrs. Johnson. Cathy Moore turned gay and married Louise. And here I am, sitting in a tub having a hot flash. On the tenth anniversary of your father leaving me, no less."

  "Well, you can get out of the tub, Ma."

  "Wait till you hit menopause. I'll have no sympathy for you." Mom sighed. "I'm tired of things being the same. I want a life. I want to get laid."

  Hail Mary, full of grace--

  "Barb McIntosh said you told her you could fix up anyone. Does that include me, or don't I count?"

  Colleen's head whipped around from where she was examining the showerhead.

  In all the years since the divorce, Mom had not gone out once. Not once. "Really? You really want to date?"

  "Yes. Why shouldn't I? Your father has That Whore, and if John Holland can find someone, I probably could, too. I'm not disgusting, am I?" Her mother climbed out of the tub and scooped her hair off her neck in a regal move, one that Colleen had copied as a kid.

  Danger, she heard Connor's voice say in her head. He definitely was the logical twin. And yes, fixing up Mom could be the emotional equivalent of waterboarding.

  Then again, Mom had waited years for Dad to come back to her. Denial, then bitterness as an Olympic sport. Maybe what she needed to get over Dad was another man. Certainly, Colleen had always thought so.

  "And if I meet someone, maybe your father will get jealous and finally get his head out of his ass."

  Crud. Using people to make other people jealous...that never worked very well. "Mom, if you want to date, maybe find someone, I think that'd be great. But Dad's not coming back."

  "You never know. So? Will you help me? I need to set up an online profile."

  Faith had done the same thing with her father last fall. It hadn't been a particularly good experience, though all's well that ends well. Also, Faith herself was sweet and naive.

  Colleen was not.

  If there was one thing she knew, it was men and how they thought.

  "Oh!" Mom exclaimed, grasping Colleen's arm. "And guess what else I heard? Guess! Guess!"

  "The sound of a butterfly's wings," Colleen said.

  "No. Guess again."

  "What, Mom?"

  Mom let go of her arm, fluffed her hair and gave Colleen a triumphant look. "I heard Lucas Campbell is back in town."

  "I know."

  "Surprise! Isn't it great?"

  "He's back because Joe Campbell isn't long for the world, so I'd have to say no."

  "It is! It's great because--"

  "Don't, Mom."

  "Because you never got over him." Mom fixed her with a triumphant look.

  "That's debatable." Granted, a debate she'd probably lose, but still. "Also, Mom, he's married."

  "No. He's divorced."

  Colleen blinked.

  "Aha! I knew you didn't know that!" Mom crowed.

  "Are you two done up there?" Carol called from downstairs. "I have other people here who might actually buy this place, you know."

  "We'll be right down. She doesn't love it," Mom yelled. Colleen barely heard.

  Divorced?

  No, he hadn't mentioned that the other night. Questions surged into her head. Why? For how long? Was he heartbroken? Bitter? Had he cheated? Had she? Was he seeing someone?

  Get a grip, she told herself. He broke your heart. He fell in love with someone else, and he left you. Just. Like. Dad.

  "Colleen?" Mom asked. "You're not really interested in this house, are you?"

  "It's almost perfect," she said, clearing her throat. "But there's not enough shade in the front."

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  A WEEK BACK in Manningsport, and Lucas had spoken to an attorney, who told him that a divorce for Uncle Joe was going to be just about impossible. Lucas wasn't giving up on that just yet. New York divorce law was a tangled, Puritanical web, but maybe there was a loophole somewhere. Then there were Joe's finances; he wanted whatever a
ssets he had to go to Bryce. What exactly those assets were remained to be seen, because Didi kept a tight fist around the family funds.

  In the meantime, Lucas found a short-term, furnished rental in a pretty building on the green, roughly two hundred feet from O'Rourke's front door. He'd been avoiding the pub, not wanting Colleen's panties to get into a twist (though thinking about her panties wasn't the worst way to spend time).

  Today, however, he was stopping by the Manningsport Animal Shelter to see Bryce, and hopefully get his cousin to commit to a plan of action for a future that included more than playing video games in his mom's basement. Bryce loved animals; maybe Lucas could convince him to go to school to become a veterinary assistant or the like.

  The shelter was a gray building on the outskirts of town, and Bryce's Dodge Ram pickup truck was parked outside, along with a cute little Porsche and a mountain bike with a wicker basket on the handlebars. Lucas went inside. There was no one in the waiting room, but he heard voices coming from behind a closed door. Some female murmuring, then Bryce speaking more clearly.

  "Let's use a little lubricant, don't you think, baby? Don't be scared. I'll just ease my finger in like that and squeeze, nice and gentle."

  Lucas froze.

  "Doesn't that feel good, sweetheart?" Bryce went on.

  A moaning sound came in response.

  What the hell? Was Bryce having sex in an animal shelter?

  "Bryce? It's Lucas."

  There was a scrambling sound from inside, and then the door opened, and there was Colleen, her hair tumbled, cheeks pink.

  A white-hot knife of jealousy slid between Lucas's ribs, and for a second, he couldn't see straight.

  "Hey," she said calmly, though her eyes widened a bit.

  "Colleen."

  She raised an eyebrow at his tone, then looked behind her. "Your cousin's here, Bryce," she said.

  "Hey, Lucas!" Bryce called. "I'm covered in slime. Be out in a second."

  Colleen came into the waiting room, closing the door behind her. "We meet again. How are you, Spaniard?"

  It was her old nickname for him...she had often said he looked like a Spanish pirate.

  "I'm fine," he said tightly. "What exactly were you doing in there?"

  She cocked an eyebrow, then grinned. "Sounded like sexy time, didn't it? But no. Just Bryce expressing the anal glands of a very cute little dog."