The Mechanics of Mistletoe - Liz Isaacson Page 0,84
in brown paper. It’s going to be great.”
“That’s great,” Logan said.
Lincoln looked over his shoulder, and Sammy quickly turned to the tool chest on the back wall so he wouldn’t know she’d heard him.
“Yeah,” Lincoln said, his voice dropping. “Do you think you could help me talk to Bear? My mom won’t let me call him.”
Her heart squeezed and pounded at the same time, the box she’d stuffed it into far too small.
Logan said, “Well, Link, if your mom won’t let you, I’m not sure I should.”
Sammy turned and met his eye. He looked somewhat panicked, and she shook her head, hoping he’d get the right message.
He flicked his eyes to Lincoln and back to her. “Why won’t she let you call him?”
Lincoln’s slight shoulders lifted and fell. “I don’t know. She doesn’t talk to him anymore, and she said that means I can’t either.”
“Did they break up?” Logan looked at Sammy then, his eyes wide. She wasn’t sure why that annoyed her, only that it did. He didn’t have to look so surprised.
“I guess.” He jumped down from the trunk. “Sammy,” he said. “Can I get a snack from the vending machine? Or are we leaving soon?”
“We’re leaving soon,” Sammy said. “But get a dollar out of my purse and get something.” That would get him out of the garage for a minute or two. Once he was gone, Sammy turned back to Logan.
“Yes, we broke up. Sort of. I don’t really know.”
“How can you not know if you broke up with the man?” Logan asked.
“How do you know he didn’t break up with me?”
“Oh, please.” Logan laughed, the sound clear and loud—and highly irritating. “That man was in love with you, Sammy. If you two aren’t together anymore, that’s all you.” He folded his arms and lifted his right eyebrow. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
Sammy pressed her lips together and shook her head. He wasn’t wrong.
“Is that what you meant by I made a mistake?” he asked. “Because Sammy, if it was, you can fix that one.”
“Can I?”
“With Bear Glover? Absolutely.”
“Bear Glover?” Jeff repeated as he ducked in the back door. “Hoo, boy, it’s raining hard out there.”
Sammy hadn’t even noticed, but she looked at the water pouring down the glass in the garage doors.
“What about Bear? Did he stop by and pick up that hitch?”
“Hitch?” Sammy asked.
“Oh, never mind, that was Ranger,” Jeff said. “It’s right there, by the way. If he comes in.” He looked at Sammy. “I haven’t seen Bear for a while, actually.”
“Not a while,” Sammy said.
“Yes,” Jeff said, looking at Logan. “Something happen?”
“We don’t talk about these things,” Sammy said, turning away from her mechanics. The thing was, though, they were also her best friends.
“Yes, we do,” Jeff said. “Remember how you helped me with Trish? Let me help you with Bear.”
“Let us help you with Bear,” Logan said. The two of them stood shoulder-to-shoulder, and they wore such looks of hope on their faces. “Tell us the issue.”
Sammy swallowed, her chest vibrating in a weird way. “I got upset with him at the hospital.”
“Why?” Jeff asked.
“Because he was there,” Sammy said.
Jeff and Logan looked at one another. “I don’t get it,” Logan said.
“Yeah, I don’t either.” Sammy sighed and looked away. “I just…sometimes he makes me feel like I can’t handle the things in my life, and I may have told him that. He left. I haven’t seen him since.”
Jeff gaped at her, finally blinking a couple of times. “Okay, Sammy, let me help you understand how a man’s mind works.” He took a step toward her and put his arm around her shoulders. “Men like to solve problems. You tell us there’s something bothering you or you’re worried about something, and our first reaction is to find a solution. To do something. If you don’t want Bear to do that, you have to start the conversation with, ‘I don’t need you to solve this for me or do anything. I just need to vent for a second.’ Then, we can just listen.”
Sammy looked at Jeff, her eyes wide. “Are you serious?”
“Yes,” Jeff and Logan said at the same time.
“I didn’t need to vent,” she said. “I was stressed about my dad’s fall, and Bear was there, and I told him he didn’t need to come.”
“But we called Bear,” Logan said. “I think his cousin did too. Right? Why wouldn’t he come?” He looked so confused, and Sammy could only imagine how Bear felt.