Baby, I'm Yours

Rick felt a headache forming behind his eyes. He hoped like crazy that David was wrong. But Becca had been acting out of character since Gabe died. Did David know something Rick didn’t?

IT WAS NEARLY three o’clock by the time Becca made it into the agency. She’d done upsweeps for a wedding party, run home, made lunch for the kids, taken sixteen-year-old Maya to dance class, mopped up a mess after ten-year-old Aaron had washed the dog in the upstairs tub, then picked up Maya from dance class.

Then she’d listened to Maya’s sobs about a lost dance solo for the upcoming recital. Becca had to wonder if her daughter’s hysteria was caused more by fallout from Gabe’s death than losing the solo. With teenage girls, it was hard to tell. Emotions swung from one extreme to the other, with barely any advance notice. It was like trying to grab hold of a funnel cloud.

Sighing with relief, Becca was pleased to have the relative peace of the rental agency to look forward to.

She waved to the agents and went into Gabe’s office, where she found David.

“Hi, sweetheart. Isn’t it about time for you to head home?”

“Yeah, but I’m trying to put in more hours. Rick said it was okay.”

Becca suppressed a flash of annoyance. “It would have been nice if he’d talked to me first.”

“I was the one who brought it up. Anyway, I think he was just trying to keep me quiet. I told him I wanted to take over Dad’s job so you wouldn’t have to.”

“You told him what? I thought I made myself clear. School first. Once you have your degree, then we’ll see what we can do.”

“We can’t afford college. My tuition is expensive. I could be contributing to the family finances instead of draining them.”

Becca scraped her bangs off her face. “I’ll work it out somehow. And I’m going to take on your dad’s job. Don’t worry about your tuition or the family finances.”

“Mom, I’ve heard you on the phone to Uncle Royce. I know Dad didn’t have any life insurance. How can I go to school when I know we need the money?”

“We’ll do fine. I’m drawing your father’s salary now.”

“And losing half of your own.”

“Once I get things down here, I might be able to spend more time in the salon.”

“Why? I can help.”

“No, and that’s final. Your father wanted you to have a college education. I want you to have a college education.”

David grumbled, but tidied up his mess. “I won’t be home for dinner.”

Neither will I.

Truth be told, she had enough work to keep her busy till late into the night. But shared dinners were the glue that kept a family together.

“Where will you be?” Becca asked.

“I’m taking Brittany out to dinner. It’s her birthday.”

Becca nodded. “Have fun. And be careful.”

“I always am.”

“I know you are.” Just as she knew he was a normal twenty-year-old kid who occasionally didn’t think things through. She’d always feared a phone call in the middle of the night saying something had happened to one of her children.

Since Gabe’s death, it had become almost a compulsion. She worried until she heard David and Maya come up the stairs and enter their own rooms. Only then would the dread ease.

David kissed her on the cheek before leaving.

She went to Rick’s office, knocking on the door frame as she entered.

He glanced up, his expression inscrutable. “Hi, Becca. I didn’t expect to see you today.”

“Gabe usually worked Saturday afternoons.”

“Yeah, but you have the kids and all their activities.”

Becca shrugged, hoping she didn’t look half as exhausted as she felt. “I’ll do both.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“You look like you haven’t slept for days.”

“Gee, thanks, you really know how to make a woman feel beautiful.”

“You’re always beautiful, Becca.” Rick flushed, as if realizing what he’d said. “But you’re going to burn out if you’re not careful. Gabe would never forgive me if I allowed that to happen.”

“Gabe would understand why I have to do this.”

“I’m not so sure. He’d hate to see how hard you’re pushing yourself.”

“There’s no other way. Now, do you have a few minutes to sit down and go over what I can expect in the next couple weeks as we prepare to return leased vehicles?”

“Pull a chair over. I’ll show you what I have so far. Then you can go with me to the body shop and we can check on repair status.”

“Good.”

For the next hour Rick explained how the system worked. “The factory won’t take back vehicles with extensive repairs or obvious damage,” he told her once he’d run through the procedures.

“So we’re stuck with them?”

“We’ll have to sell them at auction, probably at a loss.” He handed her a computer printout. “These cars should be on the lot today. We’ll thoroughly inspect them and avoid renting them out again if possible.”

“What if we do have to rent them?”

“We’ll want to reinspect them even more closely than usual. Come on, I’ll show you what to look for.”

They went out on the lot.

“I also pulled the repair history on each vehicle, so we can eyeball the repairs. Everything has to be pristine. The new cars will be arriving as these leave, so it’s going to be chaotic.” He grinned.