Walking Away, Part 3

[fleurlb]

The weeks slipped by and soon it was late October, time for Amber's first birthday party. Mindy had planned a huge bash and Billy took the Friday before off to help her get everything ready. Al sent Tim out to the Alamo Freeze to pick up their lunch. He'd never met a girl who could eat as much as she did. As little as she was, he didn't know where she put it all.

He placed the order and was about to sit down and wait for the carry-out when he spotted Tyra sitting in the window, having lunch. He sat down across from her and stole a few of her fries. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

“You here for the party?” he asked.

“You think my sister would let me miss my niece's first birthday? The Baby Jesus didn't get such a fuss made over him on his first birthday.”

Tim grinned at her. “Don't hold back, Tyra, tell me how you really feel.”

“Ha. Ha. So you're back in Dillon for good, then?”

He shrugged. “I don't know. Billy said when they got caught up at the garage then we'd figure out my future, but I'm happy here.”

“How's living and working with my cousin?”

“Great, although I still can't figure out how you two are related.”

“Our fathers are brothers.”

“Yeah, I get that part. I'm not retarded. It's just that you're so different.”

“Oh, you mean that I'm twice as tall as her?”

“Yeah. Three times as mean, too.” He smiled to let her know that he was joking. Well, mostly joking.

Tyra's eyes took in his face in a way that reminded him of a scanning machines in a science fiction movie. She'd always been able to look at him and know what he'd done, what he was thinking, what he was going to do.

“Tim, don't even think about it.” Tyra's voice was sharp and she was pointing her finger at him. Dear god, nothing good ever happened when Tyra started pointing at him.

“What? I thought the line I couldn't cross was screwing your sister. Does this line extend to cover all your blood relatives now?”

“Are you seriously thinking of screwing Al?”

“Well,” he said, feeling weird discussing this with her. “I wouldn't put it quite like that but I do think she's a very cool gal and I wouldn't mind getting to know her better.”

“No, Tim. Don't. Just don't.”

Tim didn't understand why she was spoiling for a fight. They'd always been this way together. Like when you put metal in the microwave – the sparks were fun for a little while, but left alone for too long, it could burn the house down.

“Tyra, what's the problem?”

“Well, she's a lot older than you.”

“Like what, she's 25? 26? That's only 6 or 7 years. Age is a weak ass argument and you know it.”

“Tim, I can't make a stronger argument.”

“So then back off and mind your own business.”He folded his arms and leaned back.

She rolled her eyes. “It's not that there isn't a stronger argument to make, it's just that......you know what? You're right, it's not really my business.”

The cashier brought Tim's order to him in three white paper bags. Tim thanked him and then stood up.

Tyra put a hand on his arm. “Wait....two things. First, if you hurt her, Mindy will kick your ass into the middle of next week. Seriously. You think I can be a bitch – I learned from the best.”

Tim grinned. He'd gotten hints of Mindy's temper when he'd stayed with her and Billy. The Collette blood ran hot, there was no doubt about that.

“Second, you just need to know that Al's a great girl-”

“I know that,” said Tim softly.

“I didn't finish. Al's a great girl, but she's got more baggage than Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. For real. She doesn't need any more trouble.”

Tim sighed. “Who said I was going to be trouble?”

“Your track record ain't great, you've got to admit that.”

“Yeah, maybe it wasn't great. But I've changed. Why is it so hard for you to believe that?”

“My gramma used to say that men never change, they just get better at what they do. And I know what you did when you were with me...” Tyra glanced down and then met Tim's steady gaze.

“Tyra, I can't keep apologizing for things that happened when we were both young and stupid. You've changed so much and I really respect what you've done with your life. I just wish you could see that you're not the only one who changed.”

Tyra looked up at him. Tim wasn't as good at reading her face as he once was, but she seemed to have listened to him and taken his words to heart. “Yeah. Look, I'll see you tomorrow at Amber's party.”

“Of course.” Tim gave her a nod and walked out to his truck.

 

*** **** **** *** **** **** *** **** **** *** **** **** ***

Tim returned from the Alamo Freeze to find Al wiping her greasy hands on a rag while rushing to answer the phone. Her hair was starting to slip out of the ponytail and the humid weather made it even more curly than usual.

“Riggins Rigs, Al speaking. How may I help you?”

Tim smiled at Al's phone voice. It was flirty and smiley, yet also competent and courteous. Billy preferred she answer the phone whenever possible, which was fine by Tim.

“Oh, Buddy. Right, how's it going?” Al looked at Tim. He raised the bags and pointed to the break room. She nodded, so he headed that way.

“You need to cancel Lyla's appointment for the week of Thankgiving?”

His steps slowed when he heard Lyla's name. He hadn't realized she'd had an appointment to come into the garage. He had deleted her voicemail message without listening to it. About a week after The Incident, as he'd come to think of it, she'd sent him a single email, which he'd also deleted without opening. That was the sum total of her communication attempts.

“Well, Buddy, you know they do have mechanics in Nashville....No, I'm sure they won't rip you off.”

Tim shook his head and hurried into the break room. He didn't know how long Buddy would yammer at Al, but he didn't want to get caught eavesdropping. He grabbed a couple of plates and put them on the table. (Al liked to “eat like civilized people, not savages,” which meant no eating out of cardboard boxes or paper wrappings.) He plated their lunches and was pouring glasses of water when Al arrived.

“Jesus, Buddy could talk for Texas, now couldn't he?” She washed her hands and sat down at the table, smiling. He gave her a thin-lipped, half-hearted smile in return.

“Thanks for getting lunch. Mrs. Wilson stopped in and her car needs a right-quick oil change before four today, think you can squeeze that in?”

Tim nodded. “Yeah, I only have to finish replacing the carburetor in Diego's truck, which should only take maybe another hour.”

“You're a pal.” She grinned at him then took a bite of her burger.

“So, what was Buddy saying about Lyla?” Tim tried for casual but thought he'd missed the mark by several hundred miles.

Al sighed and took a sip of water. “Timmy, don't make yourself miserable over her.”

“I'm not. I was just wondering what was going on with the business.” The words sounded even lamer out loud than they had in his head.

“I'll tell you what's going on with the business – it's going great and I've got ideas to make it even greater.”

“Is that so?” Her enthusiasm was hard to ignore. So was the speed at which she ate. Her burger was nearly gone and while he'd barely made a start on his lunch.

“Yeah. Now, what's a problem that we have?”

“I don't know. What's a problem that we have?” He grinned at her.

“Well, our customers have to leave their cars with us and sometimes it takes a few days before we can fix them, right?”

He nodded.

“So they're without a car. And if they live too far away from here, then it isn't feasible for them to be without a car, so we lose their business to a more conveniently located, and probably far inferior, mechanic. Right?”

“Yeah, I guess.” He had no idea where she was going with this.

“What if we were able to offer our customers loaner cars, free of charge.”

He thought about that for a second. “Sounds like a good idea, but would we have to buy cars or something? That sounds expensive.”

“Ah, see, that's linear, negative thinking. I got a fantastic out-of-the-box idea.” Her eyes were sparkling and her smile was impish. This was Al at her best – excited and ready to take on the world. Tim decided to enjoy it, and not think about how he was going to sit on the back deck with her later that evening and watch her try to drown her sorrows in a bottle of Scotch.

“OK, then, so wow me with your idea.” He leaned back and folded his arms behind his head.

“We go to Buddy with a business proposition. We'll fix up his used cars for only the cost of parts, in exchange for us getting to loan those cars out for a period of two to three weeks per car.”

“Buddy Garrity?” Tim frowned.

“Is there another?”

“Not around here, no... I hate to tell you this, but the holes in your brilliant idea are big enough for Bruno to run through.”

“Such as?” She wasn't annoyed, but Tim could see her digging in for a fight. She clearly believed in this crazy plan.

“Such as Buddy Garrity's got his own mechanics. Why's he need to send any cars to us?”

“Two things on that. First, Buddy's mechanics are working on cars that Buddy's sold, usually new cars, sometimes under warranty, sometimes not. Point is, they're busy and he doesn't wanna be spending labor money on cars that ain't even sold yet.”

Tim considered this for a second. It made a certain amount of sense. “You said two things. What's the second?”

“Buddy is quite insistent that we work on Lyla's car. He doesn't want her going to a mechanic in Nashville. He doesn't want his own guys working on it. He wants us to do it. What's that tell you?”

Tim shrugged. “I don't know. Buddy hates me so I can't understand why he'd want us to work on Lyla's car.”

“Because, in the last few months, Riggins Rigs has obtained a stellar reputation for quality, reliable repairs at reasonable prices. Have you seen our ratings on RateMyMechanic-dot-com?”

Tim had a hazy recollection of Billy proudly showing him all their five star ratings. “Yeah, but I seem to remember that more than half of them said how you were the hottest female mechanic in West Texas.”

Al flushed and looked down. “Yeah, well, that's sorta like being the smartest kid on the short bus or the prettiest Denny's waitress.”

Tim threw some fries at her. “Don't put yourself down.”

“I'm being self-deprecating. There's a difference.” She threw the fries back at him.

“And you really think Buddy will do business with us?”

“I know he will. Because there's something in it for him, too. These loaners, they're like free advertising and extended test drives for people whose cars may be unreliable, people who are possibly in the market for a new or used car. I can see some of them even falling in love with the loaners, especially if we really have 'em purring.”

Tim nodded slowly. “You're an evil genius, you know that right?”

“No, I'm just a regular genius.”

“Al, seriously, the more I think about this, the more brilliant it seems. Did you go to college for business?”

She shook her head. “Biochemistry and genetics, actually.”

“For real?”

“Yep. Got a BA in Biochemistry with a minor in organic chem and a Masters in Genetics.”

“Uh, what are you doing fixing cars?”

She shrugged, stood up, and started clearing the table. “Grew up with seven older brothers and did everything they did. Even played high school football.”

“You did not.”

“I did. I was just the kicker and since it was a small school, we could barely field a team, but I could nail a field goal from 40 yards. Once, I even tackled a punt returner.”

Tim gave a low whistle of appreciation. “Not too shabby.”

Al turned to take the dishes to the sink, but Tim grabbed her arm. “Al, you really think this idea will work?”

“I know it will. We've been getting calls from as far away as Midland. It's just if we can't do fast turnaround, we lose the customers who are farther out.”

He let her arm go and looked up at her. “Good. Because Billy said we'd have to talk about my future when things slowed down and y'all didn't need me anymore. I'm not ready to think about that.”

Al brushed Tim's hair back from his face. “Tim, you know we're going to need you here, always. It's just that Billy, well, it was hard for him to see you walk away from what he thought was best for you. But he's coming around and he loves having you here. We both do.”

Before Tim could say anything, the ringing phone interrupted them. He watched Al drop the dishes in the sink and rush into the office. He smiled to himself, until he realized that she'd completely avoided his question. If he had two science degrees, he doubted he'd be fixing cars in the middle of nowhere in Texas.

 

*** **** **** *** **** **** *** **** **** *** **** **** ***

Early the next afternoon, Tim and Al got ready to head out to the Party of the Century. They had a round of Rock-Paper-Scissors to see who would have the dubious honor of being the designated driver. Tim correctly guessed that Al was a Rock sort of girl and easily smothered her with Paper. She sighed and picked up her keys.

At the door, she paused to scratch Bruno's ears.

“Sorry, Bruno, buddy, you're going to have to sit this one out here.”

“Can't we bring him?”

Al shook her head. “All those people, all that food sitting out – it's too much temptation. Last time I took him to a party, he ate two pizzas, half a chocolate birthday cake, and dozens of shrimp. Cost me almost $300 to take him to the emergency vet and get this stomach pumped.”

Bruno looked so sad, Tim hated to leave him behind. “Can't we at least bring him and he can wait in the bed of the truck? Or even the cab, if you're worried about him running away.”

“No, Tim, that's not a good idea.” Her voice was sharp and he put his hands up instinctively in a gesture of surrender.

“Okay, it's okay. It was just a suggestion.”

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I guess I'm just hungover.”

“No worries, I been there.” They walked out of the house and he waited while she locked the door.

They got in her truck and she handed him one of two brightly wrapped gifts, then revved up the truck and pulled out of the driveway.

“Yeah, thanks for picking something out for me. What is it again?”

“It's a Fisher Price Circus Train that moves and makes all kinds of animal sounds.”

“Cool. And what's yours?”

“A cute dress.”

“Bo-ring.”

“No kidding. My gift can't upstage Uncle Timmy's. That would be a major breach of etiquette.”

Tim laughed. “You have seven older brothers, you must have some experience at the nieces and nephews thing.”

“I do. Five nieces, seven nephews.”

“Wow. They all in Texas?”

“Not a single one. I'm from Minnesota, you know?”

“You're not!”

“I am.”

“For real? Then how come you don't talk like the lady in that movie where the guy ends up in the woodchipper?”

“Fargo? You know, I would slap you if I didn't need both hands on the steering wheel.”

He smirked. “Don't tease.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “It drives me crazy when everyone assumes I should sound like Marge Gunderson.”

They arrived on Billy and Mindy's street, which was jammed with cars belonging to party guests. She drove a few blocks down, looking for a spot.

“How is it, Al, that I've know you for a coupla months now and this is the first I've heard of where you're from?”

She shrugged and looked uncomfortable. “Don't like talkin' about myself, I guess.”

“That's like saying Texas is kinda big.”

“You're hardly Mr. Chatterbox yourself you know.” Al pulled up to the curb and parked the truck.

“You can ask me anything, you know, I'll answer any question. For you.” His voice was low and serious as he stared at her across the seat. The truck suddenly felt very small.

She swallowed hard and nodded. “C'mon. We're already late.”

As they walked up toward Billy and Mindy's, Tim had to smile to himself. This Riggins' party was 180 degrees different than all the parties they'd had in the recent past. It was the middle of the afternoon. You couldn't hear the party from three blocks away. And Tim was pretty sure that even Billy wouldn't have any kegs at his daughter's birthday party.

Billy greeted them at the door with a bottle of beer and T.J. He slapped Tim on the back, kissed Al on the cheek and gestured for them to put the gifts down on the table near the door. Then he handed the beer to Al and the baby to Tim before walking away.

Tim looked uncomfortable as he jostled his nephew around, trying to find a comfortable way to hold the child while still trying to support his head and watch his neck and do all the other millions of things you need to do with an infant. Al giggled.

“Tell you what, let me have half of this and then we'll switch,” she said.

Tim breathed a sigh of relief. “Deal. Drink faster. Pretend you're at a frat party or something.”

About fifteen minutes later, Al was ready for the trade and Tim was well past ready. They switched and Al expertly held the baby up to her shoulder, supporting his neck and head with one hand while the other arm held him snugly to her. Tim was impressed by her baby handling skills, but then she'd been an aunt way longer than he'd been an uncle. She gave him a wink and set off to find Mindy.

Tim wandered through the party, pausing to catch up with familiar faces. He quickly finished Al's half beer and went to get another. It was weird to open the fridge and find it full of baby food and milk, fruits and vegetables. And absolutely no beer. He caught Billy's eye from across the room and held up his empty bottle. Billy pointed to the sliding glass door.

When Tim went out back, he found several coolers near the pool. He grabbed a couple of bottles and was headed back inside when he ran into Tyra.

“Hi, Uncle Timmy.”

“Hi yourself, Aunt Tyra. You havin' fun?”

“A blast. Except that for the past hour, Landry's been talking about a stupid video game with the father of one of the kids in the baby play group. The only thing more boring than playing that game is talking about it.”

Tim grinned. “Or listening to someone else talk about it, apparently.”

Tyra returned his smile. Then her voice softened. “Hey, Tim, I'm sorry if I was bitchy yesterday.”

“It's okay, it happens.” He shrugged.

“I was pissed because Mindy had just told me that she and Billy had found a babysitter for Thanksgiving weekend and could come up to Austin for our cousin's wedding. So now I have to go and I am so not looking forward to it.”

“You never know, it could be fun.”

“It won't be. Our cousin is a total dickhead.”

“This isn't one of Al's brothers is it?”

Tyra shook her head. “Nah, it's my mom's sister's kid.”

Tim nodded, like that explained it all. He took a long drink of beer and looked out over the empty pool.

“Tim, you have changed. You are so right about that.”

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“It's just hard for me to accept, you know?” Tyra pressed her lips into a thin smile and looked down. “Because I know I had no part of it. That I wasn't good enough for you to change for or good enough to help you change or something.”

“Don't look at it like that. I don't look at your changing without me like that.”

“Then what do you look at it like?”

He shrugged. “What did you say to me once? It's all about timing. We met at a time when all we were good at was pressing each other's buttons and pissing each other off. Maybe if we'd met later, when we were both older and not so stupid, it woulda been different.”

She nodded. “Maybe....Look, if you have feelings for Al, then you should go for it. Definitely. But don't be surprised if she knocks you back.”

“But-”

“But what? You're Tim Riggins and no straight woman can resist you?” She cocked her head to the side and grinned at him.

He grinned back and shook his head. “No. It's just that I get the feeling like she's maybe sorta interested, but is holding back.”

“That sounds about right.”

“So what should I do?”

“Softly softly, catchy monkey.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Oh, it's just something Landry says. He picked it up from watching BBC America or something. I think it means you have to be patient, don't rush and in the end, you'll get what you want.”

“Great. The next time I want to catch a monkey, I'll know what to do.”

Tyra laughed. “I should really go find Landry and you should go find Al.”

He followed Tyra into the house, where he found Al hanging out with Mindy and the birthday girl.

“Uncle Timmy! The clown is going to be here in five minutes,” said Mindy.

“Awesome. Hey, Al, can I talk to you a minute?” Tim took her hand and, without waiting to hear her response, dragged her out of the house.

“What's up?” she asked when they stopped next to the pool.

“I hate clowns. Hate 'em. Clowns and hospitals are about the two worst things in the world.”

“So, a hospital staffed entirely by clowns would be your worst nightmare?”

“Absolutely.” He shuddered.

“I don't understand. What have you got against clowns?”

“They're freaky. What kind of grown man wants to dress like that?”

“OK, so what, we're just going to hang out here until the clown is gone?”

“Maybe not here exactly. But I know a place.”

He dragged one of the coolers over to the corner of the house, stood on it, and scrambled up onto the roof of the back porch. He looked down and saw Al standing on the cooler, but she was too short to reach the roof and pull herself up. He couldn't help laughing at her.

“Are you going to sit up there and laugh at me or are you going to help me?”

“I think I want to laugh just a little longer, Short Stuff.”

“That's it, Tim. I'm going to get the clown.” She stepped off the cooler.

He was back on the ground in a flash, assuring her he was only joking and was going to help her.

He dragged another cooler over and motioned for her to step back up. He turned her around so she was facing the roof and put his hands on her waist. He tried to ignore the funny, roller coaster feeling it gave him to be touching her like that. He shook his head and warned himself to focus. He didn't want to hurt her.

“Ready?”

She nodded. He easily lifted her up high enough that she was able to pull herself onto the roof. He waited for her to move over and then he scrambled up and sat next to her.

“You hang out up here a lot?”

“Well, not a lot. But whenever I wanted to be alone but didn't feel like going anywhere, this was perfect. You can't see up here, unless you go all the way to the very end of the pool.”

Al bent her knees and wrapped her arms around them, then rested her chin on her arm while she watched him.

“Can I ask you something?” He was practically whispering and she had to lean a closer to hear him.

“Yeah, but I reserve the right not to answer.”

“OK.” He took a deep breath and let it go slowly before continuing. He kept his gaze on the empty pool “I really like working and living with you. And I've been thinking...we make a good team and well, I think we should try, you know, maybe dating.”

“Where's the question?” She giggled.

He looked at her and was met by her best impish grin.

“I'm taking a chance here and you're busting my balls.” Tim put his hand on her cheek. Her giggling came to an abrupt stop.

“I think you know I'm right. And I think you feel something for me too. I'm just saying we should give it a chance.”

Al sighed and tried to look to look down, he wouldn't let her. He licked his lips and felt her lean ever so slightly toward him, which was all the invitation he needed.

Tim kissed her, half-expecting her to resist, but she melted into him. Her mouth was hot and tasted like cinnamon. She put a hand in his hair and idly rubbed his scalp with her fingertips. He felt like the breath had been knocked out of him.

He moved his hand back behind her neck and eased her down onto the roof, his other hand moving lightly over her chest and down her stomach to the hem of her shirt, which he traced like it was an important line on a map.

Suddenly, she broke off the kiss and pushed him away, sliding over to put some distance between them. She sat up and looked at the ground.

“What?” His voice was low and rough.

“I can't do this.”

“You can. We can. It'll be all right.”

She shook her head.

“Is it because we work together?”

“Well, it's probably not the best idea, but no, it's not specifically because of that.”

“That we live together?”

“Again, probably not the best, but not the reason.”

“It can't be the age difference.”

She gave him a wry half-smile. “No. I've heard it wouldn't even be a record for you.”

He grinned but refused to let her sidetrack him this time.

“So then what is it?”

She sighed and looked up at the sky. He could see that she was fighting back tears and could hear her voice crack as she answered him. “It's not you, it's me.”

“Oh please, that's the biggest line of BS in the world.”

“Can you not see that I'm a ghost? A mirage? I'm barely here.”

He narrowed his eyes and looked at her. “You look damn real and here to me.”

“But I'm not. You deserve so much more than this, so much more than me.”

“You're selling yourself short again. You know I hate when you do that.”

“I can't do this. I just can't.”

She moved to the edge of the roof, eased herself over the edge and jumped down. He held his breath, terrified that she'd hurt herself. But then he heard her footsteps on the pavement and listened to her walk away.

Tim had to get off the roof to get a beer. He didn't want to go into the house, not until he was sure the clown was gone. He considered taking a few beers up to the roof but saw the flaw in that plan immediately. In the end, he found a lawn chair and set it up next to the pool, where he and Billy had stored their copper wire haul.

 

He drank just enough to take some of the edge off, to reach the point where he could feel like he was watching life from a safe distance. But not enough to be stumbling around, slurring his words and doing stupid stuff. His drinking alone outside reminded him of Friday nights with Al, only he knew no one would carry him into the house if he passed out.

 

Although he knew Al would probably want to try. Tim grinned as he tried to imagine that. She was strong for her size, but he doubted she'd be able to lift even half of him. Tim sighed, ran a hand through his hair and then started to peel the label off his beer. The sound of the sliding glass door caused him to look up.

 

He watched Al step out into the backyard. She went around the corner of the house and stood on one of the coolers, softly calling out his name. He knew he should say something, to let her know where he was, but he couldn't bring himself to speak. He just watched, her curly hair bouncing around her shoulders as she shook her head and jumped off the cooler.

 

He thought she'd go back into the house, but instead she turned and headed toward the end of the pool. As she passed him, he spoke.

 

“I'm right here.”

 

The sound of his voice startled her and he couldn't help but grin as she jumped. She turned and looked at him, annoyance quickly giving way to amusement.

 

“The clown's gone. It's safe to come back in.”

 

He shrugged. “Maybe I like it out here.”

 

“Maybe you do, but people are going to notice if Uncle Timmy isn't around for birthday cake.”

 

“Is that so?” He noticed that she wouldn't look him in the eye and was fidgeting. He didn't regret kissing her, but he would regret if things between them became irreparably weird.

 

She walked over and took his empty bottles off the cooler he'd been using as a side table. She sat down on the cooler, facing the pool, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees.

 

“You're right, you know. Everything you said on the roof....100% true.” Her husky voice was rough around the edges and Tim could feel the weight behind her words.

 

“So then what's the problem?”

 

“The problem is that everything I said was equally 100% true.”

 

Tim moved his chair around so he was facing her. He leaned forward and brushed her hair away from her face.

 

“Not quite,” he whispered.

 

“Not quite what?”

 

“Not everything you said was true. I don't deserve more than you. And even if you have this idea that I do, you're what I want.” He traced the line of her jaw, feeling the muscles tighten under his finger. He heard her voice catch in her throat.

 

“Tim, I didn't come out here to go over the same ground.”

 

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Then what did you come out here for?”

 

“To talk to you about what happened so we can go back to how things were before. So we can still work and live together and not have it be awkward or weird.”

 

Tim smiled. “It's not going to be awkward or weird.”

 

“It's not?” She sounded confused.

 

“It's not. You know why?”

 

She shook her head.

 

“Because you know I'm right, and I know I'm right. The only thing that's changed is that I said how I felt out loud. And I'm okay with that.”

 

“You are?”

 

“Yep. The rest will work itself out eventually.”

 

She shook her head. “Tim, I don't think you really understand-”

 

He put a finger on her lips to silence her. She looked at him, eyes wide, and he could see everything he needed to know. He could take Tyra's advice. Softly, softly. He wouldn't pressure her. He wouldn't make a big deal about what happened. He'd just wait for her to work through whatever it was that made her bound and determined to make herself miserable.

 

He stood up and held out a hand to Al. “C'mon, I heard this birthday cake is supposed to be pretty good.”

 

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Epilogue