High Maintenance (Liam Payne AU)

Part 20

Liam took her and Carl home the next day on the dogsled. He promised he'd be back for dinner, he just needed to run the dogs. Gen turned and walked into the house, not looking forward to seeing her mother. She trudged up the stairs, listening to her parents talking. "Well, look who finally came to see her mother!" Natalie Walker said.

"Sorry. A bear got into Liam's house and ruined his refrigerator. We cleaned up until really late."

"What?" Natalie asked.

"A bear got into...."

"No! I mean, WHAT? As in, why are you near a bear? Why isn't this boy keeping you safe?" she demanded.

Gen looked over to her father. "Dad, make her stop. Please?"

Bob took Natalie's hand and said, "Liam would never let anything happen to her. He's a great kid, I swear. I wouldn't let her go with someone I didn't trust."

Gen decided to leave while she was ahead and went to shower and change. Her mother had brought her more clothes and she gladly pulled on a warm hoodie and leggings, then headed down to the store to work, Carl right behind her. She spent the day working, just waiting for Liam to come and save her. She'd already packed a bag of things to leave at his house, just in case. Her mother came into the store several times, looking for ingredients. "You father doesn't eat when I'm not here, does he? Why aren't you feeding him?" Gen just kept smiling, not wanting to tell her mother that dad didn't like big, heavy dinners and he always let the food go to waste. He made some kind of meat stew and ate it for several days in a row. That is what he wanted. She had to already know that. She just wanted to argue and Gen wasn't giving in.

Liam drove the truck into town and parked in front of the store. He came into the store just as Gen was putting up the closed sign. "Hey." he said. "Can I kiss you? Where are your parents?"

Gen threw her arms around him. "Upstairs." she said, kissing him. She pushed him against the door and wrapped her legs around him. "How about we just get in the truck and go?"

"HaHa! You made me come, we are going upstairs. What are you wearing? I like these pants." He pinched her butt and she laughed, dropping her legs. She pulled him to the stairs, and to meet her mother.

Her mother began the interrogation as she passed everyone their plates. "So, Liam. What do you do? Just race dogs? Do you have a real job?"

Liam looked down at his plate and started to push the food around. "Well, I do plan to race my dogs. They aren't ready yet. And I'm an engineer. I work for a firm in Fairbanks, but I do my work at home. I just need a computer, basically. I go into town a few times a year to work and once a year to Anchorage for annual meetings. I also own my house and the land, so I do okay."

Gen smiled at him and squeezed his hand. He was doing great. Her mother looked surprised. "I told you he was a good kid, Nat." Bob smiled.

"Okay, maybe you are a good kid, but what about my daughter? When is she going to finish college? What is she going to do if she stays here? Why are you making her stay?"

Liam put his hand over Gen's. "Mrs. Walker, I haven't made Genny do anything. She has chosen to stay. And, I will be putting her on a plane home in January. I promised her father and now I am promising you. I want her to go to school. I want her make sure she wants Alaska. I know you are concerned. Bob and I have talked about it, too. She's not staying any longer. No matter what."

Natalie huffed and sat back. Gen grinned. "I told you, mom. He's not making me do anything. I want to stay. I'm just not ready to go back."

Natalie didn't say anything else about her staying for the rest of the dinner.

September turned into October and October turned into November with Gen spending most of her days with Liam. She helped him with the dogs everyday, putting on booties, hooking up the dogs and going with him on runs. They had stayed over night on the trail, preparing the dogs for long distance races. Liam had a small teepee type tent that he could light a fire in and she loved the overnights, making love near the blazing flames. She'd never been happier in her life.

The days they didn't run or after runs, Liam worked and she napped on the couch. She was sure all of the fresh air was making her tired. She also fell asleep while running the dogs, snuggled under all of the warm blankets.

They were starting to train the puppies, who were nearly full grown. Liam put them in the middle of the pack, between the swing dogs and wheel dogs, watching how well they ran and listened, seeing if he had another Max, like he wanted. He needed another strong wheel dog. Max's partner, Zack, was getting older and was prone to split pads. Liam was worried about him.

By Thanksgiving, she didn't ever want to go back to college. Liam wasn't having it, though, and had already made the plane reservation. They had his parents and her father over for Thanksgiving, making the entire dinner themselves.

"Okay, the turkey is stuffed and in the oven. I made the potatoes last night, I just need to bake them. The vegetables are ready to roast, and the cranberries are in the fridge with the pie. I can't make the gravy until after the turkey is done. Now what?" Gen asked Liam.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her over and over. "I have an idea." he said.

"You are right! I need to set the table." Gen giggled. Liam grabbed her and carried her up the stairs. Liam dropped her on the bed and crawled next to her.

"So, now what?" he asked, kissing her neck.

Something turned in her stomach and she pushed Liam off, reaching for the trash can Liam kept next to his bed. She retched a few times, unable to get anything out of her stomach. Liam rubbed her back, holding back her hair. "Are you okay?" he asked. She nodded and rolled back onto the bed, curling up into a ball. "Can I get you anything?" She shook her head. Liam wrapped himself around her, worried. She fell asleep and he left her, checking on the food and the dogs. Carl was in the barn and followed Liam back to the house, going right up the stairs, laying with Gen. He shook his head, still not understanding the bond those two had.

Gen reappeared two hours later, feeling better. "I'm okay, Liam. I must have just ate something funny. I feel fine."

"You sure?" he asked.

She nodded and walked over to the stove, making sure everything was good. The turkey was ready so she took it out and put in the potatoes. She was working on the gravy when Liam's parents arrived. His mother, Karen, came right into the kitchen, carrying a fruit salad, offering her help. Together, they set the table as Liam and his father found the football game on TV. She looked around the cabin, feeling the happiness wrapping around her. She never would have thought that this was what she wanted. A family, taking care of dogs and being with Liam. It was all she wanted now. Convincing Liam would be the hard part.

Her father showed up a bit later and they all sat down to dinner. She smiled and looked around the table. Perfect. Everything was perfect. She was feeding her dinner to Carl, who was sitting under the table at her feet. Liam leaned over to her, "I know that you are feeding that dog." he said.

She grinned up at him. "And you can't do anything about it." He couldn't help but smile back.