AllFreeNovel
Share Us
James gave her a steady look. “You ready for this?”
“Absolutely not.”
SHE WASN’T READY,but she’d endure and see it through to the end with a strength and dignity James couldn’t help but admire. The more time he spent with her, the more time hewantedto spend with her. But with a potential killer after her, it probably wasn’t the best time to express his interest in starting a romance. Assumingshewas interested.
He glanced in the rearview mirror and spotted his partner about a car length back.
Lainie’s phone buzzed, and she slid it out of her pocket, glanced at the screen, and groaned.
“What is it?”
“It’s my brother Brent.”
“You don’t want to talk to him?”
“It’s not that I don’t want—” She broke off. “Okay, I don’t want to.”
“Why not?”
“Because he wants to tell me how to deal with my parents from three hundred miles away.”
“Ah.”
The phone buzzed until it went to voice mail. “The last time he saw them was two Christmases ago, but because he calls like clockwork once or twice a month, he thinks he has a good idea of what I need to do for Mom and Dad. And honestly, I’m getting pretty sick of it.”
The rush of anger at her family caught him off guard, and he cleared his throat. “What about Grant and your sister, Ellen? I know you called him about the contracting stuff. I’m assuming he hasn’t called you back?”
“No, not yet. If he’s on a job, he might not check his messages until he gets home. I’ll be patient. With that. And, Ellen’s okay. We chat, but she flat-out tells me she’s not helping, that our parents made their bed and can sleep in it. She has real anger issues toward our mother—which is understandable because Mom has always been pretty nasty to her. Honestly, if she treated me the way she treats Ellen, I’d probably keep my distance too.”
He winced. “Ouch.”
“Exactly. Ellen talks to Dad, though. I think she feels sorry for him. She’s just mad at Mom.”
“That’s hard. I’m so sorry.”
“I keep praying she’ll see Mom’s issues for what they are, but right now, she’s not budging.” She shrugged. “I get it. I think all three of them have some anger toward me because I want to help Mom and Dad.”
“Anger because you want to help? How does that work?”
She hesitated, bit her lip, and looked down at her hands.
“Lainie?”
“They call me ‘The Enabler.’” He shot her a look just as she glanced up and caught the sheen of tears in her eyes. “And I suppose I am, but I’m their daughter. It’s my duty to do whatever I can to help them, isn’t it? I struggle with that, though. Am I an enabler? Or do I keep trying and praying with the belief—and hope—that by doing so, one day I’ll see change. That because I didn’t quit, I’ll make a difference in their lives. Because that’s all I really want. I want to love them enough to influence change in them.” She flushed and swiped a tear from her cheek. “I guess that sounds stupid, huh?”
“Never, Lainie.” Never. “I’m in awe of you.”
“Awe?” She sniffled and gave a watery laugh. “I hope that’s a good thing.”
“It’s a great thing. But while I understand the wanting to love them to influence change—I’m in the same situation myself even though it’s a different scenario—we also have to have boundaries.”
“Boundaries. Right.”
“Boundaries are a good thing, Lainie. They protect us. If we don’t have boundaries, then yeah, some people will take advantage of that and use us.” He shot her a side glance. “Boundaries can be very helpful.”
“I know you’re right. I’m just not very good at them when it comes to my family.”
He smiled. “Well, now that you’ve acknowledged that, think about what that would look like.”
