Winning the Right Brother. Abigail Strom

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СКАЧАТЬ picked up the iron again. And this time, after a breathless, all-or-nothing effort, she actually succeeded in loosening the nut.

      He didn’t need to see her face to know she was feeling triumphant—he could read it in the line of her shoulders and the satisfied tilt of her head.

      “Very impressive. But you know you have to do it three more times, right?”

      “Shut up, Alex.”

      Maybe it was the flush of success, but she didn’t have any trouble with the other three lugs. She ignored him completely as she moved the jack underneath the car and began to crank it up.

      But when she was struggling to position the heavy spare over the wheel studs, he decided enough was enough.

      “Okay, you’ve made your point. Now let me hold that up for you while you get it aligned.”

      She set the spare down for a moment and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand—her first sign of weakness. But when he moved to pick it up she slapped his hand away.

      “No,” she said. “I’m not a damsel in distress.”

      “I’m not trying to rescue you,” he said in exasperation. “Just let me hold the tire while you fit it over the studs. Teamwork.”

      “I can do it myself.”

      “Come on, Holly. You’re just being stubborn.”

      “I’d rather be … stubborn than … helpless,” she panted as she finally managed to get the wheel in position. It only took her a few more minutes to tighten the lugs and lower the jack.

      “There,” she said in satisfaction, tossing her tools in the trunk and using an old rag to wipe off her greasy hands. “That wasn’t so hard.”

      “Right,” Alex said, shaking his head. “Of course, you’d be halfway home by now if you’d just let me—”

      “I can take care of myself, Alex. I don’t need anybody’s help.”

      Something else about her that hadn’t changed.

      The summer after their graduation, he’d heard that Holly was pregnant. He figured she and Brian would just step up their plans to get married and have the perfect yuppie life together. But when he found out how wrong he was, that Brian was turning his back on her, something inside him had snapped.

      He’d broken Brian’s jaw first. Then he’d gone over to her house and asked Holly to marry him.

      It was crazy, of course. A white knight impulse that had hit him out of the blue. There’d been no reason in the world to think she’d say yes, and considering their history of mutual dislike, every reason to think she’d say no.

      Still, her scornful refusal had stung.

      Just like it did tonight. The stakes had been higher then, but the feeling was the same.

      “I know you don’t need my help, Holly. You’ve made that pretty clear. But that doesn’t mean you can’t accept it. What’s so terrible about being rescued once in a while? Why are you so damn stubborn?”

      She glared at him. “You’re calling me stubborn? I told you I didn’t need any help, but you insisted on staying out here, anyway. Why are you so damn stubborn?”

      “Uh … guys?” It was Will, standing a few feet away.

      How long had he been there? Alex glanced at Holly, who was looking as uncomfortable as he felt, and then back at Will, who was obviously confused by the tense conversation between his mom and his coach.

      “So,” Will said after a moment of awkward silence. “I guess you guys weren’t best friends back in the day, huh?”

      Holly took a deep breath and let it out again. “Not exactly,” she admitted. “But that was a long time ago, and I’m sure we can keep from arguing every time we see each other now. Can’t we, Alex?” she asked pointedly.

      Not in this lifetime.

      “Sure we can,” he said out loud.

      He glanced back at the restaurant and saw parents and their kids beginning to come out. “Is the party over already?”

      “Well, yeah. You guys were out here a long time.”

      “It wouldn’t have been so long if—no, I won’t start.” He shook his head. “Good night, Holly. Take it easy driving on that spare, okay? And, Will, I’ll see you in practice next week.”

      Lying awake, staring up at the ceiling, Holly kept replaying Alex’s words in her mind. What would it be like, she wondered. To let someone help her. To be rescued.

      She hated herself for even asking the question. She’d been strong and independent for so long. The moment she let herself think about some man sweeping in and taking care of her, it would be over. She’d be lost. She’d be giving in to weakness, and it would destroy her.

      She knew that. She knew it. And in case she was in any danger of doubting it, all she had to do was remember the day she’d gone to Brian with the news that she was pregnant.

      Yes, it was unexpected. Yes, it was years sooner than they’d planned. But Holly had never doubted that Brian would support her, marry her now instead of after law school like they’d talked about. She’d gone to him trustingly, sure he’d take care of her and their unborn child.

      It had been a long time since she’d thought about that day but the memory still hurt. The way he shouted at her that she was trying to ruin his life—his career.

      He wouldn’t have to quit school, she said. She could work part-time, and his parents might be willing to help. Her own parents hadn’t taken the news well when she first told them, but they’d come around. And her grandmother would help as much as she could.

      All she really wanted was to hear him say he loved her. That everything would be all right. That they’d figure things out together.

       “If you go through with this, Holly, you’re on your own. I won’t have anything to do with you or the baby.”

      Holly could still remember the pain of that rejection. It had felt like the end of the world.

      But it would never happen again. Because that was the last time she’d rely on someone else for any part of her happiness or welfare.

      She hadn’t spoken to Brian for four years after that. They seldom spoke now, although he saw Will once in a while. And she rarely spoke to her parents, who ended up kicking her out of the house after she refused to “take care” of the situation. They’d relented a few years later, asking to know their grandson, but Holly herself wasn’t close with them anymore.

      After Will was born, her friends had told her she should get a lawyer and sue Brian for child support. But she had refused. She had learned the one lesson that would become the cornerstone of her life: the only person you can trust is yourself. She wouldn’t ask Brian for a damn thing.

      Somehow she’d survived, even though she hadn’t СКАЧАТЬ