AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Cassie’s too old to skate there. She claims the place is for babies and she’s ready for the lake. I never thought I’d miss having a baby or a toddler in the house. It was so much fun to play with her.
I remember the day when she learned to skate. It was on the lake. Lee held her hands while I skated backward, telling her how to slide one foot in front of the other.
Damn, the image of Lee is back but this time the baby she holds is ours—a little boy. This is so fucking bad.
I pull myself together and get out of the truck and march toward the garage.
Jared’s Car Repair Shop has belonged to my family for a couple of generations. It was my grandfather, Jared, who established it over sixty years ago. He loved cars and could spend hours tweaking an engine until it worked like new. I inherited his passion for fixing things. When I was young, I’d take apart the kitchen appliances just to see how they worked.
Mom tried her best to break that habit by grounding me and signing me up for every sport imaginable. Skiing, snowboarding, skating, ice hockey, field hockey during the summer, and even soccer. My brother Holden and I never won a medal, but if there had been some contest for who in Kentbury played the most competitive sports, we’d have won.
Needless to say, the times when I wasn’t practicing, I was with my uncle at the shop. My parents didn’t like it, but they were too busy with their own lives to stop me from visiting my uncle.
Unlike Grandpa Jared or Uncle Gerry, Dad hates the car shop, the engines, and the grease stains. According to my uncle, he couldn’t wait to get out of town and become something better. Dad, however, never left. He’s worked for the Main Street Bank for as long as I can remember. I, on the other hand, love to get under, or on top of, a car and spend hours tuning it.
My biggest passion is to take a beat-up old classic and restore it to its former glory.
Dad and I have nothing in common. My parents never understood Holden and me. The only time they were proud of me was when I got the acceptance letter to MIT and a full-ride scholarship. They hated me when I got kicked out of school.
I have work to do, and without Cassie, I can get more done. My heart stops when I enter the shop and see a message from Lee on my phone.
Lee: Thank you for offering to make me dinner, but I have plans.
Plans? I groan.
Landon: Do you need me to come by later?
Lee: No, I’m busy tonight.
That’s bullshit. She told me she was free tonight, and if I wanted, I could leave Cassie with her. Though her dad offered to take my kid for the night. They made plans for tomorrow morning. I wish my parents were more like Steve Harris. He’s always treated me like his son and loves Cassie like his granddaughter. Seeing that I was free in the evening, I thought it’d be a good idea to spend it with Lee. We could grab dinner, maybe go to the lake, and maybe a movie by the fire afterward.
But she doesn’t have time anymore.Fuck, I swear under my breath.
That’s not possible, something happened. I rehash the entire morning and our conversation after her dad left with Cassie. My stomach clenches when I figure out the answer—her brothers.
Bishop and Damian stayed behind to discuss an issue with her. That has to be it. They either pissed her off, or she has to help them with the resort or the farm. Maybe Chloe is moving out of Bishop’s and Lee has to be around. No, if that’s the case, Bishop would be calling me to help with the move.
I have a niggling feeling that she’s canceling because of them. I swear those two treat her like the oldest of the siblings instead of the baby of the family. They’d be lost without her—just like I would.
Landon: What can I do to help free up your time?
Lee: Nothing.
Nothing?
Is she blowing me off?
If she’s upset with me, she’d tell me. She always does. So then why is she suddenly saying that she’s busy? This is so unlike her. Lee’s a pretty easygoing person. She’s a fighter, one of those people who would make the impossible possible. Even if she had to put out a fire, she’d be free in the evening. She’d call me to help her with it.
Maybe that’s the problem. She’s always taking care of everyone. I try to keep an eye on her. Be the person she needs when she’s falling and there’s no one else around to catch her. With the holidays, there are a ton of emergencies that she has to handle. I try to be there for her and find ways to give her a break. I thought cooking for her would be nice. She beamed when I offered. There has to be a good reason why she suddenly canceled on me.
Landon: Busy how?
Lee: You wouldn’t understand.
Landon: Why are you canceling on me?
Lee: Like I said, I have things to do. It’s Saturday. I have a life you know.
