Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 37778 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37778 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Reid is on the phone when I enter his office. By the sour expression on his scruffy face, I’d say he’s talking to his ex-wife, Jony. With Brayden turning eighteen soon, I’m sure she’s trying to get out of paying child support. She’s waited that kid’s entire life for this moment. It’s unfortunate his mom is a piece of shit.
“We’ll talk about this later, Jo. Do you even plan on coming to his birthday dinner?” He shakes his head, rolling his eyes. “Of course not. Do your children even know they have a half-brother?”
I can hear her annoying voice carry from the phone. She’s bitching at him for everything under the sun. When he gets tired of it, he ends the call without even saying goodbye. It’s amazing to me those two were ever married long enough to have a son together and manage not to kill each other in the process.
“Your day is going like mine,” I say as I sit down in the chair across from his desk. “The beer bros bring anything good lately?”
“You know the highlight of my week is whenever I can get Jony riled up,” he says with a smirk. “And yeah, they brought something over yesterday as ‘collateral.’”
I snort out a laugh as I watch him fish out a couple of locally made beers from his mini fridge. The beer bros are the neighbors on our other side in unit five. Kevin and Tyler Westin are college students who never seem to attend class. They’re beer connoisseurs, though. When they’re scraping together rent, and always late, they attempt to buy off Reid with free beer. It mostly works. I sure as hell don’t get let off the hook if my rent payment runs late.
After popping the cap off a beer called Sady Gala, he pushes it across his desk to me. I pick it up and sip it before committing to a huge gulp. Sometimes these local brews taste like shit. It wouldn’t be the first time the beer bros unloaded their unwanted stash of beer on unsuspecting victims.
It’s stout with a hint of the sweetness of an apple. It’ll do.
“Not bad,” I say before taking a longer swallow. “Came to ask a favor.”
“If it’s to fix Maggie’s AC, go ahead and walk your broody ass out of here.”
We both grin. I like Reid because he’s a bit of a prick like me. Where Travis is playful and fun, Reid is gruff and perpetually annoyed. I’m able to relate to him.
“Nah. I wanted to see if Brayden would want to give Savvy a ride to school tomorrow.”
Reid’s eyebrows lift. “She’s here. When did she get in? Travis run her off yet?”
“I don’t think Travis will be the problem.” I take another long, satisfying pull of my Sady Gala. “What the hell do I know about raising some kid? I need your help.”
He sets his beer down and crosses his arms over his chest, studying me for a beat before he speaks. “Look, man, I know you two tried to rescue her when her parents died and the system shit all over you. Had you been able to take her in then, I’d be giving a different speech right about now. But she’s come to live with you on her own free will. You’re going to need to treat her like a roommate, not a dependent.”
“She is dependent on us,” I explain with a sigh. “In my eyes, she’s my buddy’s kid.”
“Listen,” he says, eyebrows furling. “Take it from a guy who has a son about that age. They think they’re grown from sixteen on up. When you start treating them like an adult, they behave like one. If you treat her like the child you remember, she’ll act out.”
Wonderful.
“This doesn’t really help,” I grumble. “You’re supposed to like, I don’t know, give me a damn to-do list or something.”
He shrugs. “There’s not a list for this sort of thing. Everyone is out there just winging it, doing the best they can. I’ll talk to Brayden, though. Having a friend her age will help. He’s a bit of a loner, so this’ll be good for him too.”
“I appreciate that.”
“What’s really bothering you?” Reid asks. “You’re on edge and that girl can’t be winding you up this badly.”
I scrub my palm over my face and then polish off the rest of the beer before answering. “Some asshole took a shot at me today. Put a hole in the fender of the Explorer.”
His eyes widen comically. “What the hell, Cole? Could have started with that news.”
At the time, when the drug dealer I’d busted during a truck stop pulled a weapon on me, I’d been extremely pissed. I was able to subdue him before anyone was hurt, but all I felt at that time was anger.
Now that the adrenaline has left my system, I’m feeling off.