I have it in my head to see her now and lying here in bed thinking about it makes me restless. Meghan is still in her bed when I leave the apartment and go in search of Leigh. After the look she gave me last night before I drove off … I know she’ll be pissed at me and rightfully so. I really just want the chance to explain and see if she’ll let me take her out for a drive. But I’m shit out of luck; the garage is all locked up with no sign of life. It’s a Sunday after all; what did I expect.
Chapter Seven
I push through our front door, feeling more deflated than when I left here this morning. Inside I know it’s because I was hoping to see Leigh working at the garage. After I had realized she wasn’t there, I drove around and ended up taking the road at the end of the quarter mile to see where it goes. Turns out, the curving road ends with a bluff overlooking the quarry and the rest of the town. It was peaceful up there, and I sat for ages, enjoying the peace and quiet. But after being alone with my thoughts for too long, I was ready to scream in frustration. So I headed home, Meghan would be up by now, Sunday was her day off.
What I didn’t expect to see was Causey’s car already parked outside. They are sitting together on the sofa when I get in. Meghan has her legs curled under her and is twirling her hair. Causey has his body angled toward her, his arm stretched along the back of the sofa; it looks as though he’s reaching for her. Meghan’s giggles at something he says, and I stop just inside the door. I don’t think I’ve heard her giggle like that. Meghan always was older than her years. It came from having to look after me, leave school, and get a job, as well as help with Gran. Every time we move, she is the one to work and bring in the money and find us a place to live. Shit, it’s time I stepped up and not let her shoulder the burden. I helped where I could with odd jobs as a mechanic, and I also had my race winnings.
The giggles fade and Meghan calls out. “Max?”
“Yeah, it’s me,” I call back and shut the front door.
“Where’ve you been?”
“Around.” Her eyes narrow, unhappy at my vagueness. “Hey, Causey,” I call out and he nods, a wide smile plastered across his face. Fleetingly, I wonder if he came here to see Meghan or me.
Helping myself to a soda from the fridge, I lean against the door to the kitchen and watch them. No one speaks and I try to figure out if there is something going on. Causey appears to grow nervous as he rubs his hands on his thighs and his eyes flick toward me.
“My mom was wondering if you wanted to come for dinner tonight.” He cuts straight to it. Because he’s looking at me, he doesn’t notice the look of panic that flashes across Meghan’s eyes as she opens her mouth to refuse. But I beat her to it.
“We’d love to.” Meghan’s head whips around to mine and her eyes widen. She’s trying to tell me something, but I ignore her and flash her a cocky smile instead. I know Causey likes her, but I’m not sure how she feels about him. He’s a good guy, and I think he’d be good for her. Perhaps even the type who could get her to settle in one place.
“Great.” He pushes up to standing, looking pleased with himself. “I’ll let my mom know. See you there about six?” He looks from Meghan to me waiting for confirmation. She still looks a little shocked, but I push off the doorway and clap him on the shoulder.
“Sure. We’ll be there.” I see him out and pat him on the back in silent congratulations before I close the door. By the time I turn and walk back into the living room, Meghan has disappeared, so I go in search of her. When I stick my head into her bedroom, she is standing in front of her closet, one hand on her hip and the other one at her mouth.
“Whatcha doin’?” I singsong, and she whirls around to glare at me.
“Why did you accept Causey’s invitation?” She chews the nail on her index finger, which she only does when she’s worrying about something.
I shrug and move into the room to watch as she flicks through the rail of clothes. “Why not? You like Causey and his mom. Saves you from having to cook and it beats just being the two of us.”
“I like it being the two of us,” she mumbles in a quiet voice.
“I know, Megs, and so do I … but it’s only dinner.” I’m not about to let on about the plan formulating in my mind. One that ends in us staying in one place longer than six months. If Meghan can form some sort of an attachment to the people or this town, then she might want to hang around. And I can take my time to figure out how I’m going to convince Leigh Storm to give me a second chance. But I’m not just doing it for me. I think it would be good for Meghan too, and I just need to make her see that.