Page 29 of Ransom

I throw the envelope on her desk. "Ransom Kyle, that's what. He won't fucking quit."

Maggie's penciled-in eyebrows shoot up as she pulls out the papers. "Five million dollars? Holy shit, Blair."

"I know, right? It's completely insane." I pace back and forth, my hands clenched into fists. "It's been six months since the last offer. I thought he finally got the hint. I thought he would quit. And now that!"

Maggie leans back in her chair, studying me. "Okay, devil's advocate here. What if you did accept?"

I stop in my tracks, staring at her. "What?"

"Let's play this out," she says, holding up her hands. "Five million is a lot of money. What could you do with that kind of cash?"

I open my mouth to argue, but then pause. The anger that's been driving me starts to ebb, replaced by a hesitant curiosity. "I... I don't know. I've never really thought about it."

Maggie's eyes light up. "You have a winning lottery ticket right here. You won’t

make this much money if you worked for the next fifty years. So think about it. What have you always wanted to do? What if you traveled? You, me, and Max. We could see the world, all those places we used to dream about in high school."

Despite myself, I feel a smile tugging at my lips. "Remember when we said we'd backpack through Europe?" She's right. We talked about travelling all the time. Or more specifically, she did. And I nodded, and researched, and dreamed with her because that's what friends do. Not because I was interested in staring at some dusty remains of the lives people lived a thousand years ago.

"Exactly!" Maggie grins. "We could do that now. Paris, Rome, Barcelona..."

For a moment, I let myself get caught up in the daydream. I can almost see us there—Maggie and Max exploring the Colosseum or staring up at the Eiffel Tower. But reality crashes in pretty damn quickly. Her doctors are here. Our support system, everything that matters, is here.

What the fuck do I care if I have millions in the bank if my best friend is gone? She's the one who wanted adventure, not me.

And fuck if I'll let her die somewhere across the world, in some fucking hotel room surrounded by strangers. She still gets winded walking the two blocks to town. She’s not in any shape to go anywhere.

Which of course she’ll deny. So I give her a bit of my truth.

"It sounds nice," I admit. "But Mags, I'm happy here. I love my garage. Every day, I go to work, and I'm surrounded by people who know me, who accept me for who I am. My work is important. Why is it wrong to want to stay and just be me?"

Maggie's smile fades. "It's not wrong, Blair. But your dad always wanted you to travel, to see the world beyond Badger Falls."

I shake my head, sitting down next to her. "Dad always wanted more than this town. That's why he left for Chicago when he finished high school. But I'm not him, Mags. I don't think he ever understood that. I like this town. I like that my family's been here for generations."

"No, you're not him," Maggie concedes. "But he wanted you to have opportunities."

"I have opportunities here," I insist. "My life is massive, Mags. It's filled with a whole town full of people who care about me, who understand me. Do you know how rare that is for someone like me?" Dad never liked putting labels on people, on me, but it was pretty clear I was different, right from when I was a child. But here, nobody gives a shit. I can just be me.

Maggie reaches out, squeezing my hand. "I do know. And I get it, Blair. I really do. Your garage isn't just a business; it's your home."

I nod, feeling a lump form in my throat. "It's where I feel safe, where I can be myself without worrying about... everything else."

"But what about Max?" Maggie asks softly. "Don't you want him to see the world?"

I look at her, really look at her—the lines of fatigue around her eyes, the pallor of her skin. A wave of understanding washes over me. "This isn't just about the garage or Ransom, is it? You're worried about Max's future."

Maggie's eyes fill with tears. "I just want to know he'll be okay, that he'll have opportunities and adventures."

I pull her into a hug, feeling her thin frame shake against mine. "Max will have all of that, Mags. I promise. I'm not a millionaire, but he'll have a good life. I'll make sure of it. Besides, he's too fucking nuts to have anything but an amazing life. And right now, he needs this town too."

She nods against my shoulder. "You're right. Especially when I'm gone; they'll wrap him up with love."

"I wish you'd stop talking like that. Cancer sometimes just disappears."

She pulls back, lips tight. "Don't do that. Please. The doctors were pretty clear that there wasn't much hope left. And I can't…I just can't let myself spend the time I have left wishing for something different. I can't. I have to be here with my son. I have to prepare him for when I'm… gone."

I bite the inside of my cheek so hard, I taste blood. Why wouldn't you keep trying, even if the chance was slim? I don't understand it at all, but I'm not willing to fight with her again. The last time I did that, she didn't speak to me for three days. I felt like a ghost in my own home, and my brain went to some very dark places. I can't go there again.

---