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He chuckled. What a problem to have.
It was a good sore.
After a quick shower, he pulled on an old pair of faded green cargos and padded out to the kitchen where he made a pot of coffee and then sat at the counter where he’d left his laptop. He booted up the thing and stared at the screen absently, leaning back in his chair as he gazed around the empty room. It was quiet—too quiet. Generally, he liked to listen to music while he worked, but he didn’t want to chance waking Lily.
He thought that maybe she should sleep, because he was already planning on round two later. In the meantime, he may as well get some work done. He took a sip of strong, black coffee and got to it.
***
Several hours later, he slid from his chair and rolled his shoulders. With sunlight streaming into the place, there was no way to hide what his last girlfriend would have called “dumpy chic.” Sure the decorators hadn’t been called in since 1995, but Mac kinda liked the orange and green and cedar.
The place looked lived-in and comfortable.
He’d just cracked a few eggs into the skillet and was whistling as he did so—when the hell did he ever whistle?—when he heard a knock at the door. It was just before eight in the morning, and he wasn’t expecting anyone, but Mac turned the heat down and crossed the room. He glanced out at the driveway when he passed by the large windows in the family room and paused.
It was his mother’s car. Huh.
With a quick glance back at the bedroom, he opened the door with a smile, the one he saved for all those times he got caught doing something he shouldn’t be doing—which was kind of ridiculous considering he was thirty-five.
“Hey, Ma…”
But the words died on his lips when he spied his sister standing there and, a few feet behind her, his nephew, Liam.
“I’m so sorry to bother you on a Sunday, Mac.”
He could tell that she was nervous and he knew that didn’t bode well. “It’s alright. What’s up?”
She looked past him. “Um, can we come in?”
Mac hesitated, but Becca didn’t seem to notice, or rather, she chose not to notice, because she pushed past him and beckoned the kid to follow. “Come on, Liam.”
Mac stood aside and waited for his nephew to pass before closing the door behind them. That’s when he noticed Liam’s bag, and he shot a look to his sister.
“What’s going on, Becca?”
She hesitated, her eyes sliding away from his, and that pretty much told him all he needed to know. Whatever was going on couldn’t be good.
“I need Liam to stay here for a few days.”
Liam? What? No.
Mac shook his head and only stopped himself from becoming a total asshole when he realized that his nephew’s eyes were on him. The kid had his hands buried in his front pockets as if he were digging for gold, and if he pushed them down any more, he was going to lose his pants. Something about the way his shoulders were hunched got to Mac, and he glared at his sister.
It was always the kids who got the shit end of the stick.
“I’m going to ask you one more time. What the hell is going on?”
Becca licked her lips and motioned to Liam. “Why don’t you go down and have a look at the dock? Maybe your uncle can take you fishing one afternoon, or—”
“Yeah,” Liam said. “Cuz he’s so excited to have me here.”
Liam pushed past his mother and headed outside, leaving the siblings alone. Mac studied his sister for a few moments before he headed back into the kitchen. What now?
“I could use a coffee if you don’t mind.”
Mac grimaced as he eyed the machine. He could be a total prick and tell her he had none left, or he could be the brother that he knew she needed right now and make her a damn pot of coffee. If Lily hadn’t been in his bedroom, it would have been a no-brainer, but she was and he had no desire to mix his fucked-up family business with what he had going on with Lily. No one should bear witness to the screwed-up situation that he couldn’t manage to escape no matter how hard he tried.
“Sorry, I don’t have cream.”
