Brett doesn’t say anything else before refocusinghis flashlight beneath the hood of the truck. "Parker, don’t get yourself into any trouble," he says as we pass by.
Parker giggles. It’s the first time I’ve heard her laugh. With as well behaved as I have seen her be the few times we’ve met, I can’t imagine why she would need a reminder to behave. I place her down as soon as we step into the house. "He only tells me to behave because he knows I don’t get into much trouble. He’s joking," she says.
"I kind of figured." I help Parker unzip her black down-jacket. "Mom, Brett is outside fixing the battery to Dad’s truck, so I brought Parker inside."
Mom scurries out of the kitchen, blotting her mouth with a napkin even though I don’t think a morsel of food touched her lips since I stepped outside. "Parker Pearson," Mom addresses her. "What a lovely shade of blue you are wearing today."
Parker pinches her lips together and smiles, showing off her deep dimples. "Thank you, Mrs. Quinn," she responds.
"Have you eaten dinner, sweetheart?"
Parker nods her head. "No, Dad and I were planning to get something to eat after he fixed Mr. Quinn’s truck."
"Nonsense. Melody will go tell him you two can eat dinner here. I made plenty of food."
"Uh, Mom," I interrupt. "Before you get her all excited, Brett might have other plans."
"He doesn’t have other plans. Trust me," Parker says.
"I’m going to go check with him before you dish out food," I inform Mom.
"Parker, come into the kitchen. I’ll at least make you a cup of hot cocoa while we wait." Mom holds her hand out, and Parker takes the offer, walking into the kitchen with Mom.
Which means, I’m left with no other excuse but to speak to Brett.
I step back out into the arctic air, stomp into the foot-holes I’ve already made in the snow, and stand by the hood of the trunk as he lowers the new battery into its place. "That wasn’t fair … what you did earlier.”
"It wouldn’t be fair if I was stepping in the way of someone else’s life’s plans either," he says.
I open my hands to the side, confused by his comment. "What about my future plans?"
"It sounded like Ace would offer you what you wanted, fixing the reason you left him. I would not stand in the way of you figuring things out with him."
I take another step closer because I don’t want to raise my voice, though my aggravation is threatening to rage from my lungs. "Brett, I don’t love Ace. I haven’t loved him in a long time, and there isn’t a ring in the world, a house, or a child that would bring those feelings back. I realize you don’t know me well at this current moment, but believe me when I say, when I make a decision, it’s because I have already thought it through."
"You said you broke up with him the morning you flew home," Brett reminds me.
"I had been trying to muster the courage to leave him for over a year until the day I left. I basically wrote out my future in permanent marker the day I talked to my dad and found out what was going happening. I didn’t need the courage to run home to the people I love, and I no longer needed to find the courage to leave behind the person who couldn’t care less about the pain I was in. Maybe Ace deserved more closure from me, but it wasn’t a priority at the time."
"The guy loves you," Brett says, screwing a cap onto aparthe’s replacing.
"Well, unfortunately for him, the feeling is not mutual, nor will it ever be again. I made the point clear today."
Brett appears to complete the installation and unhooks the hood-prop, allowing the metal to fall into place. He points his flashlight toward me. "What if I’m just a rebound to fill the gap in your life?"
"To fill the gap of someone who treated me like a housemaid?" I question.
"No, that’s not what I mean," he says.
"You know, I could understand your question if we didn’t have a past, but I liked you all those years ago, crushed over you, dreamt about you, and wondered if I’d ever see you again until I didn’t. Therefore, calling this ... whatever this is or could have been ... is not a rebound, it’s more like a homecoming."
"A homecoming?" he questions.
"Brett, you know what sucks about your first kiss being the best kiss of all kisses to follow? I have always needed to live, knowing I was missing out on having something more. I figured it was something I would have to get over and somehow settle from less."
"Someone might be better than me out there, Mel. What if that’s the case?"
"There could be, but I’m not looking for better."
