Page 12 of Derecho

Her eyebrows lifted toward her hairline.

“You still have deliveries this week.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yep.” The stubborn woman crossed her arms.

“It’s supposed to be in the high nineties tomorrow. Maybe even low hundreds by Friday.”

“I’ll be fine.”

I groaned. “You’re pregnant…”

She gasped, her hands going to her belly. For a second, I thought something was wrong, until a smile spread across her face.

“I can’t…oh my God, I didn’t even know! That’s what this is? There’s a baby in there? Here I thought it was an alien all this time.” Her words dripped with the same sarcasm I found myself thinking about long after she was gone lately.

“That’s enough.”

Lainey smiled. “I like this side of you. Very chivalrous. Pie is always going to be a bonus. But my car is fine. I will be fine. You, on the other hand…”

“What about me?” My eyes narrowed.

“There’s no incentive for you to get off that porch.”

Ah, there it was. That sharp wit that always got her in trouble was about to rear its ugly head. Only this time, I’d be the target. “Excuse me?”

“You need something to look forward to when you step foot off of your porch. I mean, sure… you step down and could go to the springs. I haven’t been since sophomore year, back when Jessie didn’t hate me. I still remember how crisp the water was, even in the dead of summer.” Lainey closed her eyes for a second, lifting her face toward the ceiling as if she felt the water brushing against her skin from her memory alone. Her eyes popped back open, landing on me. “But you don’t strike me as a guy who likes swimming. So you need something else to motivate you.”

She was wrong. I loved spending time at the springs. The one my family swam in was different than the one everyone got their drinking water from, hidden in a little off-road cove that only my family and a few friends knew about. Before the accident, I’d be down there even through the first snowfall. But not with my leg being…no. I could barely stand looking at it when I showered. I wasn’t taking the chance that someone else would see the aftermath of my injury.

Leaning against the wall, I shook my head. “If you start leaving my food farther and farther away from the door, we’re going to have a problem.”

She rolled her eyes at me. “I don’t think food is a big enough motivator for you. I think you need a little passion back in your life.”

A humorless laugh pushed out from my chest before I could stop it. “What would you know about any passion I’ve had?”

Her eyes drifted to the front door as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. I watched as the wheels inside her head turned. “What if I didn’t have to go into Bell Ridge to have my car fixed?”

“I’m not following?”

“You offered to take a look. You could do it.”

My heart skipped a beat in my chest. “I can look at your AC. And I can fix it. But that’s all. I can’t do anything else.”

“Why not?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.

“Because you saw what happened before when I tried to take a look. I don’t work on cars any more. I haven’t in years. Because my leg is fucked up, and I’m fucked up…I can’t park a car in here, in case you haven’t noticed.”

Lainey moved toward me, her hand landing on my arm as she moved closer to me. What the fuck was she doing?

“Hey, Lach? Hey…no big deal. It was just a suggestion. To get you off the porch. But if that’s too much, I get it. Okay? Nothing says you need to help me out with it. I’ll be fine.”

I forced myself to take a breath, her worried eyes never leaving my face. She was trying to comfort me because I was starting to panic. I had six inches on her and she was holding onto me like I might collapse. Like she’d try to catch me.

“It’s not too much. I already bought the shit I’d need to fix your AC.” The words came out forced, which wasn’t surprising with how tight my jaw was clamped down.

“You did?”

“I had a feeling Greg wouldn’t take care of it. And it’s cruel of him to put you in a position where you have to figure out how to take care of it, on top of everything else you’re already doing.” My eyes drifted to her belly. God, I couldn’t believe how big of a prick this guy was to Lainey.