Lean on Me (The Mackay Sisters) (11 page)

He’d even kissed her in anger, how
much shittier could a man get?  Force a kiss on a woman and then walk away.

His mother hadn’t raised any
quitters and she sure as hell hadn’t raised self-righteous pricks, either, and
that’s exactly how he’d acted, like a man who was entitled to explanations and
demanding them.

He had to go and apologise.  Whatever
was going on between Tommy and Lori, it wasn’t his business, but his friendship
with Lori had been marred, badly marred, and he wanted to fix it.  Maybe he
couldn’t have her as any more than a friend, but he’d take what he could get,
platonic as it was apparently going to be.

Feeling lower than a snake’s
belly, Matt put the unopened beer back in the ‘fridge.  Going outside, he noted
how quiet the Mackay house was, no movement at the windows, no sound.  Maybe
she was out seeking solace with a friend.

With Tommy?

So what if she was?  He’d just go
and see her later, if she came back.  Meanwhile, there was Ghost’s cats to
feed.

Even the mischievous antics of the
cats couldn’t lift his mood and it was with a heavy heart that he locked the
door and strode down the path.  As he turned onto the street he glanced at the
Mackay house, catching a glimpse of someone moving past the front bedroom
window, a shadow behind the curtains.

Lori was home.

Not wanting to leave things so
damaged between them, he went up her footpath and onto the veranda, pressing
the doorbell and stepping back to wait.

When she didn’t answer, he pressed
the bell again.  He heard movement in the house but when she still didn’t respond,
he knocked loudly.  No way was he going home without apologising.

Still no answer.  But he knew she
was home.

Jumping the side fence into his
own yard, he hurried down to the backyard and then simply hauled himself over
the fence into the Mackay backyard.  Turning, he saw her.

Lori was standing on the back
veranda, her arms folded, her head bent.

“Lori?”  He started towards her.

She started, her head lifting, but
when she began to back away, he lengthened his stride.  “Lori, wait.”

Partially turned away, she
muttered, “What?”

Stopping at the foot of the steps
leading up to the veranda, he said softly, “I’m sorry, love.”

She shrugged.

“No, really.  It was a shitty
thing for me to do.  You’re right, I don’t have any right to interfere or
question you.”

“It’s okay.”  Her reply was
muffled.  Hoarse.

Matt frowned, concern creeping through
him.  “Lori?”

“It’s okay.”  Turning around, she started
for the back door.  “Goodnight, Matt.”

Only it wasn’t okay, he could hear
the thickness of tears in her voice.

Christ, she was crying.  Because
of him?  Because of what he’d said and done to her?  That felt like a claw
ripping right through his gut.

Jumping up onto the veranda, he
reached for her, his hand on her shoulder stopping her.  “Lori, please, don’t
cry.  I’m so sorry, so very sorry.  Please don’t cry.”

She shook her head.

“Oh Christ, Lori, I didn’t-”

“It’s not you.”  She wiped her
cheek.  “It’s not you, okay?”

It wasn’t?  He stared down at
her.  If it wasn’t what he’d said, then what was it?  Moving around, he stopped
in front of her.  “What’s the matter?”

Again she shook her head but he
couldn’t miss the sudden jerk of her shoulders. Something had happened,
something that had shaken her badly.

Instantly protective, he reached
out to lay a finger under her chin, lifting it gently.  “Talk to me, love. 
What’s the problem?”

She looked up at him and he was
struck immediately by the tears glittering in her eyes, her wet cheeks, the
total misery and loss that filled her expression.

“Oh, Lori.  Come here.”  In one
movement he slid his arm around her, pulling her in close to him, worry biting
at him.  “Is it Ali?  Ghost?”

“No,” she gasped, “it’s Minx.” 
And then she burst into tears.

Instantly, he knew what had
happened.  It wasn’t hard.  Minx was old, very old, and if she’d been alive
then Lori would have been at the vet’s with her, not at home crying.  “Oh,
love, I’m sorry.  I’m so sorry.”

Lori just sobbed.

Tucking her head under his chin,
Matt held her close, one hand on her back, the other smoothing down the tumble
of brown, glossy hair that spilled over her shoulders.  “It’s okay, love,” he crooned
softly.  “I’m here, baby.  Lean on me.  I’m right here.”

He didn’t know how long they stood
out there, the breeze cool around them, the sun shining in the sky, the world still
turning as Lori sobbed in his arms, her own personal world shattered.

All he knew, all he was certain
of, was that he was so glad he was there for her.  The thought of her being
alone when her beloved cat had died was heart-wrenching.

He didn’t know how long it was
before her sobs quietened but when the storm of tears had passed, he continued to
hold her until she finally stirred in his arms, and then he only loosened his
hold on her enough for her to pull back a little.  One of her hands was still
clenched in his shirt, the other wiping at her tear-drenched cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” she said, a catch
still in her voice, tears not far away.

“No need,” he replied softly,
raising his hand to cup her cheek, running his thumb along the damp skin to
catch the last of the tears.

“I just…Minx…” Tears were close to
the surface.

Prepared to continue soothing her,
Matt waited.

She just shook her head and looked
away.

He continued to wait, his hand
still stroking through her hair comfortingly.  In a move that touched him, she
laid her cheek against his chest and just stood, leaning against him, shivering
slightly.

Minutes ticked past and Matt would
have gladly stayed there with her in his arms except he felt the shiver go
through her as the air grew a little chillier.  “Come on, love.  Let’s go inside.”

When she would have retreated, he
simply kept his arm around her back, drawing her into his side as he turned
them both and crossed to the door, opening it and letting her through first.

She stood in the kitchen, lost,
and he steered her over to the table, sitting her down.  “I think you could do
with something hot to drink.”

“I’ll be fine.”  She looked up at
him.  “I have to bury…”  A sob escaped and she clapped a hand over her mouth to
silence it.

Squatting before her, Matt brushed
the hair back from her cheeks, his hands on her arms as he waited patiently while
she closed her eyes, battling the sobs that again fought to be free.  Finally
she opened her eyes, removing her hand from her mouth to take a deep, though
somewhat shaky, breathe.  “I have to bury Minx.”

“I can do it.”

“No, I’m her mum.”

Understanding her completely, he
didn’t laugh at her words.  “Then we’ll bury her together.”

Tears filled her eyes but she
nodded, unconsciously gripping his hand.

Turning his hand over, he entwined
their fingers.  “Where is Minx now?”

“On my - on my bed.”

“Just like always, huh?”

A watery smile curved her lips as
she nodded.

“Then let’s go get her.”

Keeping hold of her hand, he
walked beside her through the kitchen, down the hallway and into the bedroom.

He spotted Minx immediately, the
little ginger cat curled up on the bed where she’d fallen asleep and slipped
away quietly.  Crossing to the side of the bed with Lori by his side, he kept
hold of her with one hand while reaching out to gently stroke the little cat on
the bed.

“Hi, old girl,” he said softly. 
“Decided it was time to go home, hey?”

Lori’s hand squeezed his tightly.

“You had a good life,” he
continued softly.  “It was just your time, wasn’t it?”  He gave her another
couple of strokes, feeling the sadness steel through him, knowing that he
wouldn’t see her standing beside Lori out in the backyard anymore, or sitting
with her little face turned up to the sun, enjoying the warmth.

Straightening, he turned his head
and leaned down to brush a kiss across Lori’s forehead.  “Are you ready for
this?”

“No,” she whispered.

“We can wait a bit longer.”

“It’s already been an hour.”  She
sniffed, a tear welling up to spill down her cheeks.  “Waiting isn’t going to
make it easier, is it?”

He wasn’t going to lie to her. 
Meeting her gaze steadily, he replied softly, “No, it isn’t.”

“Okay.”  Nodding, she tugged her
hand free.  “I’ll get her little blanket.  I want her…”  She choked, looked
away.  “To be warm.”  When she looked back at him, it was with a mixture of sadness
and defiance.

He knew she was waiting for him to
tell her that Minx wouldn’t feel the cold, that she didn’t need a blanket.  That
he might even ridicule her a little, but no way in the world would he have done
that to anyone.  “Good idea.”

She glanced away and bit her lip,
hands twisting briefly before she started across the room.

“Lori.”  When she stopped and
looked at him, he said quietly, “I’ll fix her resting spot.  Do you have one in
mind?”

For a second he thought she was
going to burst into tears again, but instead she nodded and went back out to
the kitchen.  He followed her into the backyard and down to the garden.

“Here.”  Lori pointed to a bare
patch in the garden.  “This is where Minx liked to sit and sunbake.  She
should…”

“Rest here,” he finished when she
obviously couldn’t, laying a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll get a shovel, you do
what you have to do.”

Leaving her alone while he dug the
little grave was hard, but he knew she needed time with her old cat, time to
come to terms with the loss, with the burial ahead, time to say goodbye.

The little grave didn’t take long
to dig.  When he finished he looked up to see Lori coming down the veranda
steps with a neatly wrapped blanket in her arms.  From the size of it, he knew
Minx was inside it.

The pain in Lori’s eyes was very
real as he reached out to tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear, smoothing it
back as he looked soberly down at her.  When she nodded, he held out his hands.

For several seconds she hesitated,
and then she gave the blanket bundle one last hug before handing Minx over to
him, silent tears once more spilling free.

Kneeling on the ground, Matt laid
the little bundle in the grave, straightening once more to check on Lori.  She
was crying silently, wiping her eyes, and he wasn’t sure if he should fill in
the grave just yet or not.

Moving to her side, he slid one
arm around her shoulders and tugged her close against him.  “Do you want to go
inside?”

“No.”  She choked.  “She deserves to
have me here.”

“That’s fine,” he soothed.  After
several minutes of just holding her, he asked softly, “Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

Filling in a little grave wasn’t
easy, the earth slowly covering the beloved pet wrapped in its little blanket
until nothing was left to sight but a small mound of dirt.

“The earth will settle,” Matt said. 
“It’ll sink a little and then I can put the rest of it back on top.”

Lips trembling, eyes full of
tears, Lori nodded. 

Setting the shovel aside, he moved
up to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and drawing her into him. 
“It’s okay to cry, love, she was part of your family.”

They stood there for a long time,
Lori leaning against Matt with her head tucked under his chin while he
supported her willingly, his arms cradling her close, comforting her.

The chill of evening finally had
him leading her indoors, settling her in the lounge while he heated the kettle
and poured both of them a mug of hot tea.  Returning to the lounge, he sat down
beside her on the sofa, handing her one of the mugs.

“Thank you.”  Taking the mug, she
cradled it in her hands.  “For everything.”

“No worries.”  Leaning back on the
sofa, he took a sip of the tea.

“After everything…”  She tried
again.  “I’m sorry about this afternoon.”

He regarded her steadily.  “I’m
sorry, too.”

Biting her lip, she looked down at
the mug in her hands.  “You can go home if you want, I’ll be fine.”

“Do you want me to go?”

The thick black eyelashes lifted
to reveal her sad eyes.  “No.”

“Then enough said.”  He lifted one
arm.  “Come here.”

Without a murmur she slid over the
sofa to him, fitting so perfectly under his arm as he cradled her against his
side.

~*~

When Lori woke up during the
night, she was aware of several things.  One, she was fully clothed and lying
on her bed.  Two, there was a big, warm body at her back and a muscular arm
over her waist.

As she lifted her head, the arm at
her waist tightened, pulling her back against Matt’s body, and she stiffened
slightly before remembering.

Minx was gone.  Tears filled her
eyes once more but she bit them back.

Now she remembered everything,
falling asleep on the sofa, Matt waking her and kindly leading her to her bedroom. 
She’d lain down on the bed and without a word spoken she’d shifted over to make
room for him.  Without hesitation Matt had lain down beside her, gathering her
into his embrace, tucking her head under his chin.

Knowing she couldn’t face the
night alone, he’d stayed with her.  Not one word did she need to speak, he’d
somehow just known.

That was in itself a comfort.

But Minx was gone.  The little cat
she’d had for twenty years had passed away, and that was going to take some
getting used to.

The tears spilled over her cheeks.

Almost as if he’d heard her, the
bed shifted as Matt came up on one elbow, his voice sleepy.  “Lori?”

“I’m fine.”

His arm at her waist shifted, his
hand smoothing along her hip.  “Are you sure?”