Twice in a Lifetime (Love Found) (21 page)

After his dad died Trey was devastated, like his mom. He lost his best buddy, the one who hung out with him, made him feel special. Taught him guy stuff. Like working in the yard. When he was younger Dad would cut and trim and he would sweep the clippings; and as he got older he got to use the trimmer. But Dad always mowed. The yard was his baby; and nobody touched his baby.

After his dad was gone, Jake took over their yard work. Trey didn’t think much of it at first, but several months had passed now. Maybe being the man in the family included the yard work. He was fifteen after all. Uncle Jake didn’t mind helping out, but he was there all the time. It was time to step up, to man up. So he would start with something simple… like mowing the lawn. Problem was, he didn’t know how. How hard could it be? He worked beside Dad a hundred times, probably more. So he got out the mower, filled the gas, and off he went. Once he was done with the front yard, he stood back, inspected his work.

Shit.
The swaths Dad made were always straight and true, perfectly even. Looking out at the yard that day, there was nothing resembling straight
or
even. And the pop-up sprinklers kept getting in the way. But he could fix that. Every time the mower cut one off he twisted it back into the dirt by the black plastic pipe thing. There. Then one day Mom came storming into the house looking like a wet t-shirt contestant, yelling about the sprinkler system. Yeah, he probably screwed that up too. So he ended up bugging Jake after all.

“I think I messed up a few of the sprinkler heads. Mom’s pissed.”

“A few?” Jake didn’t have to laugh at him, He was only trying to help. “I heard it was more like all of them.”

“Yeah, it’s more like all of them.” He shuffled his feet where he stood, rushed on. “I don’t want to bother you. Just get me started, I’ll take it from there.”

“Trey, you’re never a pest. Besides, I haven’t seen you in a couple of weeks. I can come after work. We’ll get everything all fixed up, good as new. Maybe we’ll throw something on the grill when we’re done.”

That evening they made a pilgrimage to what Jake called the big boy toy store and returned with supplies—replacement heads, a sack full of skinny black risers, a roll of white plastic tape. They raided the garage, dug out Dad’s tools and Jake taught him the basics of sprinkler repair. Then Jake got out the lawn mower and showed him a few tricks; before he knew it, his lawn looked as good as Dad’s.

The slamming door had him looking up, waving goodbye as his mom climbed into Jake’s pickup.

Allie skipped out of the house wearing jeans that rode a little low on her hips and a ruffled white blouse. Silver earrings played peekaboo through her long curls, and brightly painted toes peeped through her open-toed flats. Jake opened the truck door for her. His fingers strained to trace the path of freckles that danced across her chest. Damn Ben and his promises. He’d agreed to take care of Allie, not maul her in front of her son.

At last Allie saw reason. It was only logical that in order to keep their collective sanity—all
three
of them—she couldn’t continue to share a vehicle with her son. With money not an issue, all he had to do was rationally demonstrate the advantages of purchasing Trey his own truck. The difference, quite obviously, was that she was not being browbeaten by an emotional teenager. No, he was more subtle than that. All right, devious. But still, once they actually checked out the selection, Allie decided a used truck wasn’t at all what Trey needed. He would be leaving home in one more year, after all. She didn’t want to worry about him breaking down.

So she wandered the new-truck lot. Inspected stickers, peeked in doors. He rode shotgun while she test-drove a white sun-roofed model, smiled when she said it was
it.
Then she saw the black one. How could she have missed it?

“Oh, this is what he needs.” She circled the lifted chassis, four fingers trailing high-gloss ebony. “Four wheel drive. Extra cab. Big tires.”

“Huge tires, Allie. Hell on gas mileage.” So much for being mad at Trey.

She merely glanced over her shoulder at him, grinned. “You started this. Oh, a bed liner, even better.” She yanked open the driver’s door, stood on tiptoe to peer inside. “Six-CD changer, premium speakers. I can’t tell, does it have that remote start thingy?”

He’d created a monster. He could only shake his head and hold on for the ride. “I’m sure it can be arranged.”

“And we’ll need the extended warranty.” There she was—practical Allie.

He and Ben had dealt with Dave Michaelson, the salesman, many times over the years and he always gave them a fair shake. Jake sat to one side, his chest puffed out, while Allie made a deal for the truck of Trey’s dreams. As with so many things she did in the past two years—on her own—making this purchase was a rite of passage, almost a ceremony. She was doing fine, and Trey was about to be shocked.

She turned to him from time to time, but he merely smiled and nodded as Allie, in a very un-Allie moment, wrote a whopping big check and bought her son a truck.

He followed her outside. She was still riding a wave of excitement, of confidence. “It will be a couple of hours before they have it ready to go. How about lunch?”

Oh Christ, Allie wanted to celebrate. She felt empowered and probably needed that feeling to linger a while longer before divebombing back into real life. He really shouldn’t. He’d left Michelle at home, working.

But she was impossible to resist. “Sounds great!” With a light hand on the small of her back, he guided her to the parking lot.

“He’ll flip.” The echo of her gleeful crowing still echoed as she bit into her sloppy stroganoff burger. He mentally groaned as she used the tip of her tongue to lick sour cream sauce from the corner of her mouth.

“I’m sure you’re right. It’s definitely a great truck.” He grinned back at her, hoped it didn’t much resemble a grimace. He loved the truck, was happy for Trey. But mostly he tried not to squirm in his seat, captivated by the way the overhead fluorescents caught the bright highlights in her hair and how her dimple flashed when she smiled. Or talked. Or sat.
Shit.

It was mid-afternoon by the time he pulled to Allie’s, where Trey was framed in the front window. Following him, Allie pulled into her driveway in the brand spanking new black truck, remote start thingy included.

The front door slammed open and Trey hurtled out, skidded to a stop mere feet from his mom, hands clasped to his head, bug-eyed, slack-jawed. Grinning, Speechless. Allie stuck out a hand and let the key fob hang.

Trey’s eyes volleyed between Allie, him and the truck as he found his voice. “Holy shit! Mom! Really? What do I? Can I?”

Jake stood beside Allie, just grinned like a proud papa with a wad of emotion trapped in his chest while Trey whooped, hugged, bounced, opened doors to climb inside before hopping right out again, hugging yet again.

He caught Trey in his arms, pounded him on the back and handed him to Allie who laughed, the sound a reminder that while he could happily watch them both, this mother and child that meant so much to him, they were merely his to watch over, not his.

Jake turned the key in the lock and swung open the door. He could still see the look of unadulterated joy on Trey’s face, hear the sheer glee in his voice. The kid was on cloud nine. And had a right to be. Fifteen was a hard age for a boy to lose his dad, especially when they were as tight as he and Ben were. He tried to fill in for Ben, but he fell way short. As much as he wished it was different, he wasn’t Trey’s dad.

He met Michelle as he walked down the hallway and gave her a quick kiss. “Hello, get your work done?” He snaked his hand out, reached for her.

She coolly evaded him and he held in a sigh. The iciness in his house had nothing to do with the air blowing through the vents, but served in sharp contrast to the home he’d just left. “I got done what I needed to. I was beginning to wonder if you forgot the way home.”

“It took longer than I realized to buy a truck.” He kept the words casual, then kicked himself. He had no reason to feel defensive. She was snippy more and more lately for no reason he could name. “Allie did great.” A forced grin across his face. “You should have seen the look on Trey’s face—boy was he surprised.”

Michelle hummed a bored sigh and turned away, heading toward the kitchen. “We’re having chicken for dinner. It’s roasting in the oven.”

Jake followed her and leaned against the counter. “You should have waited, Michelle. I thought we’d go out.”

Her shrug dipped the collar of her blouse, exposing the milky skin she pampered. “I go out all the time. I thought it would be nice to eat in.”

She
went out all the time. Meetings and out of town trips were the very heart of her existence. While he stayed home and waited. “It sounds fine. Chicken will be fine.” He reached around her to grab a beer from the refrigerator. “Don’t forget we’ve got the lake tomorrow.”

Tomorrow?”

“We talked about it, remember? We’ll meet the regular crowd there. Allie and Trey will ride with us.”

She flashed him an impatient look. “I have a report I need to finish. I leave for Colorado on Monday to meet a prospective client.”

His free hand hung limp by his side. He wanted beyond reason to reach out to her, but sensed the gesture would be useless. “Can’t you finish it another time? Everyone’s expecting you to be there.” With a heavy heart he shot her a coaxing smile and took a stab at convincing her. “C’mon Michelle, it’s the first time this summer. You might even enjoy yourself.”

“I don’t think so.”

Yeah, probably not.

The next morning Jake stepped into the kitchen to say goodbye. Michelle was already at the table, her long blonde hair caught up in a tail, a cup of coffee beside her laptop as she keyed in figures. It was early, the dawn not yet a memory. Her eyes briefly met his as he strode in, then went back to her spreadsheet. He laid his hand gently over hers, forcing her to stop.

“I wish you’d change your mind, come with us. Everyone will wonder why you’re not there.”

She pulled her hand from beneath his and stood, facing him. “They’re your friends, Jake. Not mine.”

“No, they’re
ours
.”

Michelle rolled her eyes dramatically. “Whatever.”

Moving away, he poured himself a cup of coffee, blew across it before taking a slow sip. “Allie said she’s looking forward to seeing you again.”

“Allie!” Michelle spit the word like a piece of used gum.

His eyes went hot. He edged his words with warning, forced then through a clenched jaw. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Michelle drew her shoulders tight, let them drop. “Nothing.”

His eyebrows drew together. Her brown eyes that used to warm him, soothe him, held something new this morning. Something frightening. Something a lot like indifference. How long had that been there?

With a tentative smile he took a step toward her, wrapped a hand around her nape, leaned in for a kiss. “I’ll miss you. When I get back we’ll go out, get dinner. All right?”

She turned her face away and retreated, her hands hanging loose. “Fine.”

He left the kitchen, a knot of tension eating at his insides. The muted rat-tat of the keyboard followed him as he opened the front door.

Pulling his truck away from the curb he towed his ski boat down the slow lane of the interstate. Streaks of pink and yellow lightened the lavender sky and he kept an eye on the other early risers as they zoomed past.

Something was different with Michelle; wrong somehow. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, or when it started, but things weren’t as they should be. Too much work, probably, not enough time together. He and Michelle weren’t happy.

The revelation settled over him like a cooling mist. But he could fix this. When she returned from Colorado he’d take her away again, rekindle the romance, the heat. And once the romance was back, she wouldn’t be obsessed by her work.

Jake bobbed his head along with the music streaming from the radio. He was anticipating a clear, warm, sunny day and he had a plan. He resettled himself in his seat the way he planned to resettle his life. Pulled up to Allie’s curb as Trey and Jax lumbered down the walkway, lugging an ice chest between them.

“Hey, Jake! We’re ready to go. Mom will be right out.” They dropped the heavy cooler near the boat.

“Great! I’ll go see if she needs help.” Jake trotted across the lawn to the door.

He rapped quickly and let himself in. Rumpled sleeping bags and empty soda cans littered the floor. Smiling at the remains of a teenage sleepover, he picked up the remote, clicked off the television on his way to the kitchen, looking for Allie. She wasn’t there, but a plastic container of potato salad, a few bags of chips, towels and a beach bag were all stacked on the table. He reversed his steps, heading back into the living room. Allie turned the corner from the hall, smoothing a short sundress over her bikini. He caught a quick glimpse of smooth thighs before they were hidden beneath bright cotton fabric.

“Oh, Jake. I didn’t hear you.” One palm splayed against her chest. “I just need to get my stuff.” Allie gathered up her things from the table, glanced around the room. “Where’s Michelle?”