Page 4 of Lemon Crush

“Don’t worry about it. It gives me the chance to see you two off. I’ll go ahead and get this hooked up while you say your goodbyes.”

I kept my back to him, but I’d know that deep drawl anywhere. After all these years, it still had a disturbing ability to weaken my knees. It reminded me of sun-drenched melted honey, summers at swimming holes I’d never been to, and impossible Kama Sutra positions I’d always wanted to try.

“Can you give me a hand?” he asked.

I froze, thinking he was talking to me, but then one of the officers said, “Anything to keep the traffic moving.”

“She left the keys inside if you need them,” Morgan volunteered.

My hands tightened on my cup in annoyance. Don’t mind me. Why wouldIneed to be a part of the discussion? I was only the car’s owner.

Could a person be sarcastically grateful? Because I didn’twant to deal with this or him, but I still wanted to complain about not being included.

“Gene looks upset for some reason,” Morgan said, her head angling in his direction, “but there shouldn’t be any problems. I weighed those suitcases twice.”

When I couldn’t unclench my jaw long enough to reply, she swore under her breath and pried one of my hands away from my cup to hold it in hers, compelling me to meet her gaze. She had Mom’s eyes. Sophia Loren eyes, I’d called them, a nod to the Sicilian father our mother had never known. They were distinctive, deep set and wide, only Morgan’s were the color of green sea glass instead of blue skies.

“We’re all good now, August,” she reassured me. “Wade is going to drop you off at home and fix the car, so problem solved.”

If she thought that information would relax me, she was very much mistaken.

“And I’m going to FaceTime you every day I’m in Lesa before the cruise,” she continued, oblivious to my growing unease. “It’ll be like you’re there with me, and you won’t miss out on anything but the bad in-flight movie and the jet lag.”

She was trying to be kind after her brief flash of temper, but it felt like an unintentional knife sliding between my ribs. We both knew I was missing out on so much more than that. All because I hadn’t finished another book since my last release three years ago, and too much of the royalties I’d been living on since then had gone to doctor bills.

It didn’t feel like a good enough excuse to stay behind at the moment. Not for this trip. Not when we were supposed to bring Mom home together.

“Morgan, I?—”

“Damn it.” She stared at her husband, who was currently waving at her hard enough to flag down a passing jet. “Hold that thought, I’ll be right back after I sort out our luggage.”

Before I could decide whether to be annoyed or relieved by the interruption, she’d raced away from me and taken Gene’s place at the counter. Meanwhile, Gene made a beeline for the tow truck and the man I was still refusing to acknowledge.

I had to admit, my brother-in-law’s outfit did a good job of distracting me from my mood. In a painfully bright Hawaiian shirt, basketball shorts, socks and sandals—his pale bald head glowing beneath the harsh outdoor lighting—he looked more like an intimidating bull of a bouncer than an accountant.

A bouncer who always dressed like a color-blind eighty-year-old.

“Is there a problem?” Wade asked him.

I took a drink of my coffee without turning around.If they wanted me to move so I couldn’t hear their conversation, they would have to ask me nicely.

“Rick texted.” Gene sounded agitated. “Fucking Dave crashed the Mustang last night. I don’t know the extent of the damage, but we need to get it fixed before the race. Maybe the kid you’re renting out your apartment to can help out as a favor? You said you were thinking about adding him to the pit crew anyway. He may as well start now.”

My family was giving Hudson’s Garage a lot of work today.

And Wade renting out his apartment was news to me. He’d been there forever. When he was eighteen, he’d said it was his dream to live above his own shop. What changed? Had he met someone and things had gotten so serious he needed a bigger place?

Not that I cared.

“Take a breath, Bryant. I’ll find out what’s going on before you get back.”

Gene swore a mini blue streak. “We don’t have the time for this.”

“We have plenty of time, butyouhave a flight to catch. All you need to focus on now is being with your wife and enjoying yourself.”

Morgan reappeared at my side for a genuine but now slightly harried embrace. “I love you, but they won’t let you stay here much longer. I’ll be back in a few weeks. When I am, you can help with Mom’s last request, okay? Then maybe we can start talking about some next steps for you. You can’t keep going like this forever, August. She wouldn’t want that.”

“A few bumps in the road doesn’t mean you give up.”

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