The Fix (The Carolina Connections, #1)(30)

But that was then—this was now. And she would pay—as soon as I found out what the hell she’d done this time.

“Hi Mom,” I said a bit warily, returning her hug with a tad less enthusiasm.

She released me and took my face in her hands. “So handsome.”

Oh shit. This was worse than I thought.

“Now, tell me all about her. I can’t wait to meet her! Bailey said she has a son. That’s just wonderful! I miss being around kids.”

Jesus H. Macy.

Skewering Bailey with my best “you are fucking dead” glare, I stopped her in her tracks as she attempted to slink away.

“Let’s go have a drink in the kitchen and you can tell me all about her and her little boy,” my mother cooed.

Trying desperately to get out of this conversation, I asked, “Where’s Dad? I really need him to sign some papers.”

She waved me off and ushered both Bailey and me toward the table. “He’s in the shower. He’ll be down in a bit and then you two can take care of that. Sit.”

With little other choice, I sat and mentally planned my sister’s very painful death. Do they still have the rack? No, that was too good for her.

Cups of decaf all around and the inquisition began. “Bailey said you met her at work? Is she Catholic? I’ll bet she’s Irish, isn’t she? Oh, no matter—I’m sure she’s wonderful either way.” Her eyes passed between me and my sister.

At this point Bailey jumped in and tried to save herself. “That’s just what Mark said. I don’t really know much about it except for what he told me.”

That bastard. Mark was too nosy for his own good and I should have known he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. He had seen Laney at the Old Oak Ridge site, though, so there had been no avoiding talking about her. Every guy there had been talking about her for a week, much to Gavin’s annoyance. Which only made the guys talk more shit, of course.

“Okay, slow down, Mom. I just met this girl and we haven’t even gone out on a date, so hold off on the wedding plans, please.”

“But you’ve been spending time with her, right? That sounds to me like dating. What’s she like? I’m sure she’s really pretty, isn’t she?”

“Her name is Laney. She’s beautiful.” I couldn’t help it—it just came out.

Bailey shot me a surprised glance, totally unused to me saying word one about a woman. Why did I feel like I was shooting myself in the foot?

“I knew it.” Our mother smiled. “And how old is her son?”

“He’s five, I think. His name is Rocco.”

“Awww,” came the two female voices simultaneously.

Jesus.

“I know!” My mother straightened up suddenly. “You should invite them over for Sunday dinner! Then we can all meet them. And it would be a great distraction for your father.”

Before I could protest that nothing of the sort would be happening, Bailey cut in. “Not this again, Mom. A girlfriend or a potential grandkid is not going to keep Dad from going back to work. You’ve got to stop with this hobby thing too. You saw how he reacted to the puzzles. What’s it going to be next, synchronized swimming?”

Bailey looked to me with a sudden smirk. “We’ll have to add that to the list, Nate—can you imagine?” She started to snicker before she realized that she’d just fucked us both. Have I mentioned what an utter pain in the ass my sister is?

Our mother’s good mood evaporated instantly, and the air turned thick. Her hands gripped her coffee cup so tightly her knuckles turned white. “So, you two think this is all a big joke,” she said with a quiet intensity we’d never heard before. “You just wait until you see the person you love more than anything lying on the ground afraid and in pain. Then you see how funny it is to wrack your brain trying to think of any and every thing in your power you can do to keep them with you—to not lose them. Laugh all you want, but if puzzles or grandkids or goddamned synchronized swimming will keep your father with me for one more second, you better believe I’ll pull out all the stops. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get your dad’s medicines ready for him.”

Imagine the shittiest you’ve ever felt in your life and multiply that by ten. That’s how pathetic Bailey and I felt sitting at the kitchen table after the well-deserved beat-down served by our mother.

“God, we’re such assholes,” Bailey said.

“Yup.” She’d hit the nail on the head.

“I’m going after her.” Bailey rose from her chair and left the room.

I continued to sit and drown in the guilt. I had even lost my desire to punish Bailey, it was that bad.

Ten minutes later, Bailey poked her head in to tell me she was taking off and that she had apologized and tried to smooth things over with our mom.

Looked like it was my turn. I found her folding my dad’s t-shirts in the laundry room.

“Mom, I really owe you and Dad an apology. Making fun of your efforts was cruel,” I began. “I think … I think we were joking around and being assholes because we didn’t want to acknowledge that maybe the strongest man we knew wasn’t the superhero we’d always made him out to be. And even harder to imagine is him admitting that fact too. Sure he’s human, but just because his heart wants to slow down doesn’t mean he’s not the same bad-ass ball buster and problem solver. But you’re right—he needs to tone it down. And we need to be more cooperative in helping you accomplish what’s best for you both.”