Free With Abandon: With or Without, Book 3 by J. L. Langley Page A

what gives?
    He squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds and typed in ive been stopped up. allergies i guess. Matt squelched down the guilt bubbling up inside making his stomach hurt. He’d never lied to Logan before. He started the engine, trying to convince himself it was for the best.
     
    “Boskie, Boskie, Boskie…” Aubrey shook his head and swiveled his chair around to look out the window. He had no idea how to deal with this situation. And even if he did, at this point there wasn’t anything he could do short of calling Boskie and telling him to back off.
    Aubrey spun around to his laptop. Carson’s smiling face stared back at him. Carson’s personnel file was spotless, and Boskie hadn’t made good on his threat because Carson was still employed. Likely if Boskie even hinted at firing Carson, it would raise questions. All Carson’s yearly reviews were exemplary. He’d gotten a raise every year he’d been with Reynolds Inc. His boss described him as hardworking, innovative and intelligent. There were no two ways about it, Carson was a real asset to the company.
    Running his hands through his hair, Aubrey sat back. Maybe this mess will just blow over on its own.
    The familiar scent of jasmine wafted through the air followed by, “Knock, knock.”
    He glanced up as his mother swept into his office. “What’re you doing here?” Smiling, he bolted out of his seat and around his desk to meet her at the door. He hadn’t seen or heard from her since the last full moon.
    A variety of shopping bags rustled from around her wrists, but it didn’t stop her from throwing her arms around him and going up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “We came to see if you wanted to have lunch with us.”
    “Dad’s here?”
    Right on cue, his dad staggered in, weighted down with even more shopping bags. “Hi, son.” Dad gave him a goofy grin, set his armload on one of the chairs in front of Aubrey’s desk, then took Mom’s place squeezing the breath out of him and pounding him on the back. “You hungry?” He stepped back from the embrace, looking Aubrey over.
    Aubrey nodded and checked his watch. 11:48 a.m. “Sure, I could eat. To what do I owe this honor? I know it wasn’t to see me.”
    Mom had piled her purchases on top of Dad’s in the chair. “Who says?” His mom chuckled and pinched his cheek. “Can’t we come eat lunch with our oldest son?”
    “Of course you can, but isn’t four hours an awful long drive for a meal and my company?” He pointed at the contents of the chair. “And what’s all this? You bringing me gifts too?”
    Mom chuckled again. “This is for our trip. I needed an evening gown.”
    “That’s a hell of an evening gown if it takes that many bags to carry it.” Aubrey smirked. Some things didn’t change. His mother couldn’t buy just one of anything.
    “She needed new shoes, jewelry and a purse to go with the new dress. Oh and a new suit, tie, shoes and cufflinks for me so I’d match. Then we both needed whole new casual wardrobes because the new eveningwear made our old stuff look shabby.” Dad put his hands on Mom’s shoulders and pulled her in front of him. He shook her and pretended to choke her.
    She stuck her tongue out the side of her mouth. “Don’t make me beat you, Howard.”
    Aubrey laughed. They always played like that, and it never ceased to add a warm glow to his insides. Their obvious love for one another had always been a sort of mental security blanket to him. They were everything parents should be. “So, where is this trip to?”
    “An Alaskan cruise. We’re going for our anniversary. Martha and Thompson are leaving for their vacation a few days after us, so your brother and Chay decided to take time off and come stay at Reynolds Hall and look after everything. You should take their friend out to see them while they’re here.” Mom’s brows rose a little bit. “Oh, did he get here okay? Did you get him settled in?”
    Aubrey smiled before he even