Elisse
“Think you can handle an entire dinner beside me?”
I speak low so that only Theo can hear as I pass the cornbread to him.
“Can you?”
And then his attention is on Peighton as he passes the basket of bread to her.
Like I’m invisible again.
But I wasn’t invisible a few hours ago when he kissed me. Or did I kiss him?
Either way, I still feel it all the way to my toes… despite the fact he did his best to douse cold water on me with that icy glare earlier.
Message received: He regrets the kiss.
Too bad.
He’ll have to learn that I don’t live life with regrets. Not anymore.
“If only Clarissa was here,” Mom says.
If it were up to her, she’d have all of us living under her roof. Well… maybe at least in Winter Valley.
I, for one, am glad my sister is not here. Not because I don’t love her. But because I can’t handle the pressure. She’d be all over me about our business. The one she says I abandoned.
Yep. Definitely glad she’s not here. I don’t need that guilt trip.
“Did someone say my name?”
As if Mom knew my sister was on the way, Clarissa breezes into the kitchen, looking like she’s headed to Fashion Week in Paris.
“Hi, honey.” Dad stands and kisses her cheek, offering his seat.
“Hi, Dad.” She waves him off and pulls up a nearby stool. “Something smells amazing.”
Meanwhile, my appetite has vanished. My stomach churns as I blink at Clarissa. She can’t really be here. Only a few hours ago she was complaining to me about the endless to-do list she’ll never be able to complete, especially without me.
Her gaze zeros in on me before it flicks to Theo. “I thought you’d be working at the shop since you have so many cars to fix.”
Uh-oh.
“I have to eat sometime.” My words are more crisp than they should be, but her presence multiplies the guilt weighing me down. I’d gotten it to a barely manageable position.
Clarissa has just pushed it off the charts.
She makes a noncommittal noise. What is she thinking? Something. I’m sure of it.
“So, Theo, what brings you to town?”
I slump in my chair. Please don’t embarrass me. Please don’t embarrass me.
“Elisse is working on my race car. We ran into a little problem, but together, we fixed it.”
We ran into a problem. Theo didn’t blame me even though my impatience and irritation made the transmission issue a thousand times worse.
The truth is he fixed it. Not me.
Maybe I’m not as valuable to the shop as I think I am.
Clarissa smirks. “How convenient.” She slurps her soup and looks at me over her spoon. “It must be nice to have someone come help when you have a problem.”
Today, she’s sending thinly veiled messages. I’m not sure if it’s for our family’s benefit or because she knows how effective the tactic is at getting under my skin.
I hate that I’ve let her down.
I look at Morgan. I’m pretty sure I’ve let him down too.
Have I taken on too much? Who do I think I am? Superwoman?
The string tethering me to both my brother and sister stretches to the breaking point. I nibble on a piece of cornbread, which turns to concrete in my mouth.
No wonder Theo and I kissed.
I’m out of my mind.
“We’re just glad to have Theo around for any reason,” Mom says, offering him a kind smile.
I have the sudden urge to crawl into her lap like I did when I was a little girl. She always knew how to soothe my hurts.
But I’m a grown woman now. I can still depend on her, though I have to learn how to work through problems on my own.
I can’t talk to my sister.
I can’t talk to my brother… or my other brothers.
I’m surrounded by my family, yet I feel so alone.
I just wanted to help. Instead, I’ve made a bigger mess.
A strong, steadying hand squeezes my thigh.
I glance down, then flash a questioning look at Theo.
“Your soup is getting cold,” he grumbles.
This is the man I kissed. This is the man who is so easy to crush on.
He’s kind and compassionate, not cold and distant.
For as much as I want to figure out everything on my own, I can easily imagine leaning on Theo.
This Theo would let me.
And I’m so tempted to dump it all on him and beg him to help me fix everything.
Clarissa lifts a brow at me.
She sees where Theo’s hand is despite that it seems impossible from her vantage point.
I ignore her and shovel soup into my mouth.
Then I cover Theo’s hand with my own and lace our fingers together, consequences be damned. I need this small comfort, even if only for a moment.
“Why are your fingers so cold?” he asks low where only I can hear.
I shrug.
“What are you two whispering about?” Clarissa asks sweetly.
Morgan narrows his gaze.
I quickly disentangle my fingers from Theo’s, but he leaves his hand parked firmly on my thigh.
“How cold it is,” I say in a rush.
My entire family stares at me. Heat practically radiates off me from my embarrassment. And they know it.
Because they know me too well.
“How long did you say you’re in town for, Theo?” Colt asks oh so innocently.
Theo wipes his mouth with his napkin. “Not sure yet.”
“I guess it takes a lot of time to build a race car.” He smirks.
I want to slide under the table. Instead, I kick him.
“Ow,” Colin says. “Is there a donkey under the table?”
Oops. I missed.
Perry drops from her chair and disappears. “I don’t see anything but legs, Daddy.”
Everyone laughs, even me.
She pops back up. “It must have been a unicorn.”
I need to believe in unicorns because if they’re real, then my problems will miraculously fix themselves.
“Are you headed back to the shop after dinner?” Clarissa asks.
I open my mouth to answer, but Theo speaks first. “We have some things to go over at my house.”
“Your house?” Morgan scowls.
“Yeah, my house. Where it’s quiet.” Theo glances around the table. “No offense.”
I can’t eat anything else. And I can’t go to Theo’s house. What could he possibly want to discuss with me?
“We can be quiet,” Dad says, then chuckles. “If you consider a herd of elephants quiet.”
“I’m so excited for our kids to be part of building a winning race car,” Mom says excitedly.
“What about being on a reality TV show?” Clarissa pouts.
Mom pats her shoulder. “I’m proud of all of you.”
“Don’t bring those people to Winter Valley.” Colt points his finger in warning at Clarissa.
“I have no idea what you mean.”
“This is one of the last sanctuaries on earth. We don’t need it blasted all over the TV so people can come and ruin it.”
Whoa. I had no idea my brother was so passionate about preserving the sanctity of our small hometown.
“He’s right,” Colin agrees quietly.
“This is a big deal, and none of you can be happy for me.” Clarissa drops her spoon dramatically and rushes from the room.
I should go after her. Be there for her. If anyone knows how hard she’s worked, it’s me.
But I’m too tired to deal with her mood.
I nudge Theo in the arm. “Ready to go?”
He beams at Mom. “I’ll take our cookies to go.”