Page 66 of Salvaged Heart
“Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
She wandered around the back of the car and slipped into the passenger side while I folded myself into the driver’s seat.
“Thanks for doing this.” She regarded me with the sort of pitying look she’d most often used since I'd returned to Tennessee. “I know it’s kind of awkward.”
“I always spend Christmas Eve with your family. It will be like every other year. Plus, it’s not like we aren’t still friends.” I put the car in drive and pulled away.
She nodded and went back to texting on her phone.
“Is that…?”
“No, just the group chat from my biochem lab.” She flashed the screen at me, and I tried to hide my disappointment. “I promise to tell you if I hear anything from him, Beck.”
“I know.”
“We really can’t thankyou enough for all your work on Millie’s place this summer, Beckham.” Alexander Mitchell said, from where he sat in his favorite high-backed armchair by the fire.
He wasn’t a tall man or even that particularly large, but he had this presence that seemed to take up an entire room, not in a good way. During the first few years I’d been dating his daughter, just the thought of having to interact with the man was terrifying, but for reasons unknown to me, he seemed to like meenough and had always been kind, even if it was that fake, sickly sort of kindness.
“It was no trouble, sir.”
Laurel’s stepmom sat to his right, looking put together as always. She was wearing a red and green dress that made her look equal parts festive and fifties housewife. Her hands were clasped together on her lap, lips pursed. I'd never gotten the warm and nurturing vibes that I got from my mother, but I couldn’t help but notice that today, she looked especially tense.
“Can I get you something to drink, Mrs. Mitchell?” I offered, standing and heading in the direction of where Alexander usually kept his bar cart. It was noticeably empty. I had just needed an excuse to pour myself one, but she waved me away.
“I’m fine, dear.” The pet name came from her lips like it was a struggle to say.
The whole affair was starting to feel suffocating. We'd barely been here forty minutes, but the air felt tight and thin. Laurel’s parents walked on eggshells around one another, barely acknowledging the other’s presence. Laurel carried most of the conversation, prattling on about the courses she was taking this semester and her internship over the summer. A habit she'd trained herself to fall into any time she was around her parents. It used to bother me when we were together, but now it bothered me more, knowing everything I'd learned over the summer.
I had just been trying to take up as little space as possible and allow Laurel to be the center of attention. However, Alexander’s attention was now trained solely on me.
“You are being modest, boy. Linda and I drove up there for Thanksgiving to get one final look before the place was put on the market, and the work you did was fantastic.”
I just nodded my thanks to him.
“Your father would be very proud. Laurel tells me you have joined the family business since you’ve been back.”
“Yes, Sir. I hope to learn as much as possible from him before starting my own company in a few years.”
“I’m sure he’s thrilled to have you back.” He paused again, glancing over at his wife before he said to her in a low tone. “Why don’t you go check on dinner, darling? I’m feeling quite starved.”
“Just a few more minutes, Alex…“
“I said I would give it until six. It is now six fifteen. I will not sit around waiting forever.” His tone was short and matter-of-fact.
His wife stood without further protest and scurried from the room with a sad but unreadable expression on her face. Alexander waited for her to be out of hearing range before he leaned forward, closing some of the space between him and me, twisting his body as if trying to block Laurel from the conversation.
“And the other business.” It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about. “Laurel told me if you had not been there, I would be short a son. Not that he has seen himself as part of this family for a long time.” He added the last part like he couldn’t help himself to point it out. “They might be estranged, but his mother cares for him. It would have caused her great pain if…”
His words trailed off as Linda sauntered back into the living room, but we both knew what they would be.
“Paulina said we can go ahead and get seated now. She will be ready to serve in five minutes.”
“I can go help her.” I offered as I stood again. I needed a break to clear this sudden crippling ache that had overtaken my chest just at the mention of Anders.
But Alexander waved me off and led me into the dining room. As usual, Laurel’s stepmom had outdone herself, or more likely, her long-suffering housekeeper-turned-chef had. The table had a crisp red tablecloth, a gold runner down the middle, andan elaborate centerpiece of evergreen leaves and holly berries. Candles were lit along the table, and the whole room smelled wonderful. The scent of Paulina’s excellent cooking wafted in from the kitchen, one room over. My stomach grumbled despite my appetite being virtually nonexistent.
