When Least Expected Read Free Page A

else, so he took the opportunity to change the subject to her classes. Soon she was off, giving him an excited description of how many times she’d had her hands inside a cadaver.
    He was almost relieved when Meeghan asked him to take her home a few minutes later.
    Meeghan had to get up early, so it was understandable, but he knew it was more about her not feeling comfortable with his family.
    This had been strange for him. When he’d started dating Alexis, his family had welcomed her with open arms. She’d fit right in and loved everyone. His family wasn’t warming up to Meeghan in the same way at all. They certainly weren’t rude or nasty to Meeghan, at least not to her face, but she didn’t seem to like anyone.
    Ian’s older sister was too nosy, his mother thought she was better than everyone, and his father was too opinionated. Willa had been spared only because she lived too far away. Most of her conclusions were somewhat true, but Alexis seemed to accept their shortcomings and love them anyway.
    While Meeghan went to the car, Ian went to say good-bye to his mother. He found her in the kitchen with Kelly, talking about him. He paused in the hall to listen.
    â€œIt’s not right. Lex was just as close to Jimmy as the rest of us. It’s not fair that she has to deal with this on her own because he’s being so stupid,” Kelly snarled.
    â€œYour brother is hurting, too,” his mother said in his defense. “He’s just too stubborn to fix things so he doesn’t have to hurt so much. He still loves her. I know he does.”
    Ian swallowed and walked into the kitchen so he wouldn’t have to hear anymore. As far as defenses went, his mother’s was letting him down on many levels.
    â€œI’m heading out,” he said.
    â€œOkay, sweetie. We’ll see you tomorrow at the service. Do you mind if we have Alexis sit with us?”
    â€œThat’s fine, Mom.”
    â€œWill it upset Megan?” she asked with a frown. She had pronounced her name in the traditional way, despite having been corrected by Meeghan many, many times.
    â€œShe’ll be okay.” He wasn’t sure if Meeghan would be okay or not, but it didn’t really matter. Alexis should be allowed to sit with the family because she was family. Or at least closer to family than Meeghan.
    As he walked out to the car, he felt much older than his thirty years. He shouldn’t have to deal with things like whether his girlfriend would be upset about his wife . . . ex -wife. Ian missed Jimmy, and he missed Lexi, too.
    â€œI’m not going to the funeral tomorrow. I have to work, and I don’t like funerals,” Meeghan told him as he was driving her to her apartment.
    Who liked funerals? For a moment he thought about explaining to her how she would be going to the funeral to help him and support him during a sad time in his life, but he didn’t. She didn’t get it. Something that had been second nature to Lexi went completely over Meeghan’s head.
    He knew this thing with Meeghan wasn’t going to last forever. They didn’t have much in common, and she was too young. Not in actual age but in maturity. She was twenty-two. The age of going out every weekend to clubs with her friends. The age he had been when he and Lexi started dating.
    Alexis had been twenty then and had never seemed as young as Meeghan.
    They hadn’t gone out partying with their friends. They’d been content to watch a movie with a pizza and beer.
    He would never tell Kelly this, but she was right about everything. He was definitely an asshole. He realized it more and more every day.
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    The funeral was relatively drama free. Ian gave a very emotional eulogy, and Lexi had to fight the urge to go stand next to him to offer him support as he wiped his tears. She knew how much he loved his uncle, and how much he was hurting.
    There was more family that she hadn’t seen since the