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And anyway, I missed my window, because Buster comes ambling around the corner, hitching up the seat of his coveralls. “If I were you boys,” he says, “I’d avoid the bathroom for the rest of the day.”
Ugh.Please don’t ask me to clean it, Frank.
Frank scowls at Buster. “Lovely.”
“Marge and I must’ve had some bad oysters last night, so the toilet is—”
“I don’t need the details, thanks. Just finish up the oil change on the Dodge.”
“Sure thing,” Buster says, saluting us. Then he adjusts his coveralls one more time. When he turns to leave, Frank opens the top drawer of his desk and slides out a set of keys. “Here.” He tosses them to me.
“What’s this?”
“Take the baby for a spin,” he says. “Around town and out on the highway. I need someone whoisn’tme to get a feel for how she’s riding these days. Personally, I think she’s smooth, but as Alice pointed out earlier, my compass is way off.” He takes a beat, grunts again, then shakes whatever that feeling was off. “Just don’t get too attached,” he says. “Not to Alice. To the baby. This might be the only time you get behind the wheel. Unless …” He smirks. “You’ve made some progress you’d like to share?”
My jaw goes stiff. Under the circumstances, I wasn’t going to bring up the bet. But if Frank’s going to push the issue, I might not have a choice. Maybe he wants a distraction from the Alice situation anyway. That could be why he’s bringing this subject up. “Here’s the thing.” I pause for a beat. “I’m pretty much always at work these days, so I shouldn’t have agreed to … our little wager in the first place.”
“Yeah.” Frank scoffs, planting his hands on his desk. “That’s what I figured you’d say. Right on cue. My little brother. Giving up.”
“That’s not what this is about.”
“Sure it isn’t.” He drops his chin. “Go on now. Take the car.”
When he grunts and stops making eye contact, his dismissiveness ignites a spark in me. Then the spark flares into flame. I don’t want to argue so soon after his girlfriend dumped him, but I refuse to be his doormat.
Not anymore.
“Listen, Frank. I can’t drive around town, come back here, and make it to the barbecue on time.” I drop the keys, and they hit the desk with a clatter. “Tess is expecting me at camp. My third job. Which was the point I was trying to make about the bet.”
He swipes the keys up without looking at me. “Take the car to the ranch then,” he says. “I’ll swing by later with yours and trade. I can say hi to you. Grab a hamburger.”
“I won’t—”
“Alice is gone, but I still need to eat.” He hauls his chin up to meet my gaze. His eyes are dark and sad. “How awful could the food at your camp be?” He drags his mouth into a smirk and holds the keys out to me again. “Please,Spencer.”
My entire torso compresses. Frank doesn’t use my name very often, and he says please even more rarely. Sure, he’s smirking, but what else can I expect? He’s got no practice sharing his feelings. With anyone.
“I’m sorry about Alice,” I say, taking the keys back. My throat is tighter than I’d like it to be. I’ve got more to say, but now’s not the time. “I’ll see you at the barbecue.”
Frank’s nod is curt. “Drive careful, little brother.”
