Lift

Chapter Thirty Two- December

"Give me your hand," Roy instructed MacKenzie the following morning. Unconvinced, she stuck out a palm. Roy placed his wallet in her hand. "I want you to go out-"

"What???"

Roy sighed. "Let me finish my sentence? Go buy groceries. Get as much as you want, whatever you want."

"You trust me with your wallet?" She said, bringing it to her heart.

"I trust you with my wallet." Roy had already slipped an envelope filled with most of the lawsuit money (or what was left of it) into his back pocket.

MacKenzie kissed Roy on the lips. She hadn't heard him leave the night before. He had slipped back into the house silently, shivering and frozen, and finally fell asleep when dawn came.

"Wait! At least let me give you directions first..."

"Let me guess, Main Street," MacKenzie rolled her eyes.

"Er...yeh..." Roy slapped MacKenzie's ass and she squealed.

Roy knocked on the door to Dade's newly built ranch almost immediately after MacKenzie had left. It even had that distinct new house smell. It looked like Dade had simply dragged all of his belongings out into the field and threw them in his new living room.

"When are you telling Whit that you and your pregnant wife are living down the street from him?"

Roy gave Dade the look.

"He doesn't hate you, Roy. You think he does, but he doesn't."

"I was told I was no longer welcome here," Roy said softly. "After..."

"My sister's accident. I know. We say things we don't mean. All of us. And I know there's years of resentment built up between you-"

"It never used to be like that, though," Roy shook his head and lit a cigarette.

"I know that," Dade nodded. "We all know that."

"I broke your sister's heart when I took off for LA. And I ruined my body. And I abandoned our family....I think, if anything, that's what hurts him."

"Because your brother loves you, Roy. Like me, like Dahlia did. Like your wife does."

"She's grocery shopping," Roy chuckled.

"I can only imagine."

Roy slid the envelope full of money across Dade's dining room table. "Just tell me if you need more. I can get you more."

"What are you talking about?" Dade slid the envelope back to Roy. "I don't need this. I told you, we have money now."

Roy was dumbfounded. "You can't just-"

"I don't need the money, Roy. Think of the house as a gift."

"You can't do that. You've gotta accept this. I can't even begin to fathom the amount of shit you've done for me-"

"You can use that until you find a job. And when you do find a job, you can use that on your new baby."

"Dade..."

"Take the wifey furniture shopping. Get a bed. Get a radio, hell. Invite your family over."

"I...I fucking love you, man."

"Merry Christmas, Roy."

Roy was speechless. It was mostly due to Dade's nonchalant attitude of signing over his childhood home without so much as a down payment and handshake.

"M-Merry Christmas."

"So, you have any names for the baby picked out?"

"...absolutely not."

* *

Roy wrung his hands until that afternoon when MacKenzie returned with paper bags full of...well, whatever she felt was necessary to have in the kitchen. His anxiety ceased when he lay eyes on her, forgetting about Whit and his family and any other problem he still had to face.

"So," Roy wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "Everything is absolutely perfect, y' hear? Dade and I figured everything out. We just gotta get some furniture, right?"

"Well, you gave me your wallet," MacKenzie sighed. And she wanted to have a big brass bed delivered, and it was. She was one step ahead of him. "I checked out the rest of the house when you were still sleeping this morning."

Probably when I just got back.

"Oh yeah? Are you happy?"

"The room in the back, I'd like to make that into a nursery."

Dahlia's room.

"I was sucker-punched in there once."

MacKenzie frowned. "You don't like that idea? Should that be the bedroom instead?"

"No, no," Roy said, bringing MacKenzie onto his lap. "I think....I think that's a lovely idea."

"Well good. And we HAVE to go lamp shopping. I feel like it's 1901 in here."

"Of course."

"And Dade can come over for dinner tonight, right?"

"I'm sure he's available."

"And we do still have time to go lamp shopping.

"Absolutely."

"Look at us. Building a life together."

"Look at us."

MacKenzie stood up and dug through one of the various paper bags. She determinedly pulled out a measuring tape and paper.

"What's that?"

"Shut up and don't worry about it," MacKenzie said as she got on her knees.

"While you're down there..." Roy grabbed MacKenzie's hair and yanked her head back. She moaned.

"God, don't tempt me." She bit her lip and began to inch her fingers up Roy's innermost thigh. Roy was half tempted to thrust her face into his crotch.

"Are you measuring my legs? Am I not getting head out of this?"

"Not with that attitude you aren't."

"Shame."

"I did a lot of driving today. I visited your town's hospital."

"Nurses are weird."

"Well, since we're here for good, and I can work for a few more months at least, I decided why not."

"Determined to work during your pregnancy."

MacKenzie looked up at Roy and smiled. "Yeah. That. And also, while I was exploring..." she finished jotting down the length of Roy's left leg and threw the measuring tape behind her. "You wouldn't believe the orthopedic appliance manufacturer they have on hospital grounds."

"You're talking about leg braces, aren't you?"

MacKenzie grinned a sly smile before grabbing Roy's crotch. "If you walk to the end of the driveway, I'll give you a blowjob."

"Not now."

"No, when I get you braces made."

"You're already down there."

MacKenzie stood up, proud of herself. "I think we should go lamp shopping before dinner, don't you think?"

"Did you get hired at the hospital already?"

".....No."

"You're a tease with too much confidence."

"You love it and you know it."

"...Yeah, I do..."