His father was on the other side of the counter, sitting in an armchair his brother must have brought in for him. Jace’s father had a hard time getting around on his own, even after a year of rehab on his left side, much to his ongoing frustration. He still worked half days in the garage. Though office work had always been the bane of his existence when he was in charge, Jace was pretty sure it was often the best part of his day now. Nothing like a twist of fate to give you a new perspective.
Jace walked over to his father and gave him a squeeze on the shoulder, then grabbed a beer from Andrew’s fridge.
“Lookin’ good,” he said, giving the perfectly browned turkey another glance.
“I experimented with baking soda under the skin,” said Andrew. “Figured this was a good crowd to try my new ideas on. Minus Mom, of course.”
Their dad gave a snort of laughter. It was no secret where Andrew’s my-way’s-the-right-way attitude came from.
“Just say you got the idea from some British Royal cookbook,” said Jace, taking a swig of his beer.
“You know she’s already read all of them,” said his dad. True.
His father’s speech was slower now, and in a large family with a long history of talking over each other, it had taken some adjustment. The smaller the group, the better, and, frankly, it was a hell of a lot easier to make room for his father in the conversation without his mother. Talking for him was her way of worrying about him, so Jace was trying hard to be understanding, but sometimes…
He propped himself in the corner of the kitchen and took a swig of his beer. “Let me guess. Drake can’t make it tonight.”
Andrew smirked. “Emergency at work.”
“What a surprise,” Jace said dryly.
Their older brother had moved to New York City after college and had been working seven-day work weeks since. Not that Jace was one to judge, especially considering the fact that he had just come from the garage, but at least he made it.
“So,” his father started, “W-what kind of a car was your tow?”
Jace stiffened. He didn’t want to get into the particulars of this car. Or its owner. But his father had taught Jace everything he knew about cars, and now that he could no longer work on them himself, he lived vicariously through Jace. This was their point of bonding…usually. So he gave his father the bare minimum.
“Mercedes, newer model.”
His father narrowed his eyes, and for a minute Jace was sure that he knew exactly whose car it was. But then his father waved his hand dismissively. “Whoever owns that car has taken shitty care of it if it’s already breaking down.”
Jace let out the breath he had been holding. His father didn’t know what kind of car Selena had. Of course not. Jace was the only one who had been watching her from an uneasy distance since she came back.
“Definitely neglected.” He hoped his father hadn’t heard the gruffness in his voice. It hadn’t just been the car that was neglected. After the way Selena kissed him in her hallway, he had all sorts of ideas about what else had been neglected and what he could do about it. Though he was trying like hell not to have those thoughts right now.
“What color was it?” His brother’s voice startled him and his dad jerked his head around to Andrew. Andrew put his hands up. “Just trying to get in on the male bonding that goes on in this family.”
Like hell. Andrew had made it clear that he had zero interest in cars. Jace knew exactly what Andrew was doing, and he swallowed back a few choice words for his brother.
His father had turned back to Jace, waiting for the answer, so Jace shrugged, like the question meant nothing. “Red.”
The lack of reaction on his face told Jace that his father still had no idea whose car it was. But Andrew knew. And there was no way in hell he was going to let his older brother open this can of worms for the family–not until Jace knew what the hell he was going to do about it.
“You can come on down to the shop and check out the color, Andrew,” he said dryly. “See if you have any expert advice.”
His father smirked at that. Usually his brother would have bristled at this comment, which would have led to a few rounds of insults, but Andrew wasn’t easily distracted. He was staring at Jace, and with one eyebrow raised, he manage to convey all the same doubts that had been circling in Jace’s mind since he answered Selena’s call. Could anything good come out of seeing her again? Was heartbreak worse the second time around? What thehellwas Jace thinking?
Their silent stalemate fizzled out as voices floated from the basement, growing louder. Footsteps thumped up the stairs, and Lizzy appeared first. She tipped her chin at Jace, smiling.
“You’re late.”
“So I’ve been told,” he said, trying his best to wipe all traces of emotion from his face. Lizzy’s smile faltered a little, so he turned away to give Mary Louise a kiss on the cheek. Talk was filling the kitchen, the way it always did in the Wilkinson family, but Andrew was still standing by the turkey, uncharacteristically quiet. Jace circled the counter and stood next to his brother under the guise of helping.
“Not a word, Andrew,” he muttered under his breath. “Especially not around Mom. I mean it.”
His brother shook his head slowly. “This is not a good idea, Jace. You’ve managed to avoid her since she came back into town. There’s no reason why things can’t continue that way. I know you’ve both moved on, but—”
“She called for a tow, for Christ sake. Was I supposed to leave her by the side of the road, just because things ended badly however many years ago?”
