Winning Love by Abby Niles Read Free Book Online Page A

stepped into the kitchen, he found Lance manning one pan with sizzling strips and another with scrambled eggs.
    “Smells good,” Mac said.
    Lance glanced over his shoulder. “I always make Skylar breakfast before she goes back to her mom. She’s getting dressed. Piper should be here in about twenty minutes.” A click sounded as four pieces of toast popped up from the toaster. Lance motioned to it with the spatula. “You want any of this?”
    “Nah. I’m good. Going to make a protein shake in a bit.” Mac perched on one of the stools around the island, studying his friend’s back as he grabbed two plates from the cabinet and loaded each with food. It seemed like Skylar did a lot of back-and-forth between her parents, which was an odd arrangement. “What kind of schedule do you and Piper have worked out for Skylar?”
    A slight shrug moved Lance’s shoulders. “What we can fit in. I wasn’t supposed to have Skylar yesterday, but I had the afternoon off. Since those are so rare, I had Piper drop her off with Gayle before she went to work, so I could spend the rest of the day with her when I got home. Thankfully, I have an ex-wife who makes sure I get to spend more than a few minutes with my daughter.”
    “Why don’t you cut back on a few of the jobs you take?”
    The muscles in Lance’s shoulder bunched. “Some of us don’t have the luxury of being choosy, you know?”
    This wasn’t the conversation Mac wanted to have this morning. Seemed he was making things worse, not better. He just needed to get to the heart of things. “I’m sorry about the other day. No matter what you think, that wasn’t me.”
    “I pushed your buttons.” Lance faced him, leaning back against the counter. “I’ve had time to think on it, too. I shouldn’t have come at you the way I did. You’ve spent the last four years dealing with your grief in your own way, and you’re not with me for an hour and I’m all in your face about it. So, yeah, you exploded. I probably would’ve done the same in your shoes. In fact, I’m pretty certain. I felt anger rising just now at you asking why I didn’t cut back my hours.”
    “Hey, man, I didn’t mean to upset you with that.”
    “I know, but it did. The same way you got upset with my remarks.” Lance remained silent for a moment, then said, “About a year after you left Kansas, Skylar was diagnosed with leukemia.” Mac shot to his feet in shock. Lance held up his hand, shaking his head. “You were going through your own shit. She’s in remission now, but Piper’s insurance sucked, and so did mine. The approved treatments weren’t working, and the hematologist recommended something different. Of course, insurance denied coverage. But I wasn’t going to let anything happen to my little girl, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to happen because some suit in an office was denying her healthcare. So I found the money.”
    “How?” Mac sat back on the stool, stunned by what he’d just learned. How had he not known? How could he have not been here for Lance?
    “Piper thinks I took out a loan. In a way, I did, just not a traditional one. The truth is, money like that isn’t given to a guy like me by a suit in a bank.”
    Unease curled in Mac’s gut. “Who did you borrow from?”
    “There’re a few guys I used to gamble with. Remember them?”
    Mac closed his eyes. “You didn’t.”
    “I’d die for her, Mac,” Lance paused and swallowed. “Going to two rich-ass goons was an easy-peasy decision. I think you, of all people, would know something about that.”
    Yeah, he did. He would’ve done anything to save Ally if he’d had the chance. Unfortunately, that chance had never been given to him. “How much do you owe?”
    “A lot.” Lance shrugged. “It’s not like the movies, though. They don’t come banging on my door in the middle of the night and crack their knuckles, threatening to take out my kneecaps with a baseball bat if I don’t get them paid back on