“Ah. Well it’s nice to meet a young man who keeps family a priority.”
“Family is everything.”
And just like that, he was in with her dad. Maybe Addison should have brought him armed with scrapbooking lingo too. He could have won over her whole family in one fell swoop.
Fox carried all the heavy boxes out to the moving truck her dad had rented. They packed the minivan full as well. At least the nursing community wasn’t a far drive. Fox had the patience of a saint as her gran directed where to place each box in the shared cottage.
Her grandpa was in a rare block of clarity when they arrived. Addison introduced him to Fox after they unloaded all the boxes.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Fox said, holding out his hand.
Her grandpa grabbed it and pulled him in close, then whispered in his ear, “Take care of my little girl.”
Addison’s eyes welled up as she grinned at them. She hadn’t seen a true glimpse of her grandfather in months.
“He likes you,” she told Fox as they left her grandma to get settled in. She’d never be able to thank Fox enough after seeing her gran’s face light up when she could finally live in peace with her husband.
He smiled. “Your grandma reminds me of mine. Tells it like it is, but has a heart of gold.” At the lobby, he stopped. “I’ll grab the van from around back and pull up. You look exhausted.”
“Okay.” She collapsed on a chair while she waited, then remembered the letter from school in her purse.
Her belly fluttered as she took it out of her purse and opened it. She scanned the page quickly. Key words jumped out at her. Failing. Scholarship. Academic probation.
“Fuuuuck,” she murmured.
This was bad. Really bad.
What the hell was wrong with her? She’d been so wrapped up in the world of stealing cars that she’d lost sight of everything else. The STEM foundation had awarded her the scholarship, out of thousands of applicants, and this was how she repaid them? Wasting their money, wasting her potential, blowing her future . . .
And her family—they’d been so proud of her accomplishment. She was ruining everything she’d worked so hard for just because something more exciting had come up. The situation with her grandparents had shaken her, and living life had suddenly seemed more important than preparing for the future, but she hadn’t realized how far she’d let things slide.
She wanted to smack herself. She wanted to cry.
But Fox had been kind enough to loan her the money to help her family, and she’d promised to pay it back. This was the first time she’d felt hopeful about her grandparents’ situation in . . . forever. Not only did she feel obligated to start paying him back right away, despite him insisting she didn’t have to, but she enjoyed working with him. Now she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. How could she find the time to do everything—concentrate on school, and on Fox, and his business? It was impossible.
She had to choose.
Her parents would tell her to choose school over them, but that didn’t seem right. But she couldn’t ignore the scholarship and the opportunity she’d been given either. Even her grandma would be disappointed if she gave that up.
The pressure was overwhelming and making her sick to her stomach.
Fox pulled up to the roundabout and met her gaze through the window. Her legs felt like lead. What should she do? Guilt ate at her, tightening her chest and making her feel like she might be crushed under the weight of this decision. She needed space. Time to think without being tempted by Fox.
She walked to the van in a haze then buckled into the passenger seat.
“Are you hungry? I was thinking we could try the new Thai place near the house.”
“Um.” She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, trying to think of an escape plan. “I’m not feeling well. Could you just bring me home?”
She stared straight ahead, avoiding his gaze. If she looked at him, she’d fall apart. And she desperately needed to hold it together. Just a little longer. Until she could figure out what to do, and where her priorities should be.
“Sure,” he said. “Are you okay?”
Biting her lip, she nodded. “I just feel a headache coming on,” she lied. “I’ll be okay if I lie down for a while.”
He was looking at her, but she didn’t have the heart to start explaining. If she did, she was pretty sure he’d tell her the same thing her parents would—the same thing he’d been telling her all along. That he was bad news, and that she had a bright future ahead of her that didn’t involve stealing cars. Hell, he’d tell her to forget her debt to him too.
But that wasn’t right. Not paying him back would make her feel dirty.