Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 77415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“What is it?” I asked as I stepped out of the car.
“Nostalgia,” he muttered, almost to himself. “Got the keys?”
I held up my key ring and he nodded.
“Go unlock the door and we’ll get started.”
I did as directed, and walked to the middle of the living room and stared.
“I don’t know where to put it,” I said. “I didn’t think much about furniture when I was buying it.”
Ghost grinned.
“It’s a good thing the boys bought a desk. They’ll be here in a little bit to get it set up. In the meantime, I’ll use the tabletop to do what I need to do.”
And that was how I had nearly the entire club, sans Aaron who was working, at Jessie’s house, getting his son’s big birthday gift ready to go.
We’d just gotten the computer settled on the desk in Linc’s room when I heard the front door open and close, signaling either Linc’s or Jessie’s arrival.
Since both were supposed to be home around the same time, I had no clue who to expect as I turned to face the door.
Seeing them both walk in was a surprise—but still a good one.
“Oh shit, Dad. You got it!” Linc crowded. “Thank you!”
Jessie took one look at what we’d done, then turned and stalked in the opposite direction.
The back door slammed, and I looked at Ghost in concern.
“Go. It’ll be okay.”
I did, but I didn’t have the same confidence that Ghost did, apparently.
I was biting my lip when I pushed through the back door and looked at him.
The moment he saw me, he opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again.
I could tell that Jessie was mad. So mad, in fact, that he couldn’t even find the words to speak what he was feeling.
“Jessie,” I said. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
Jessie’s eyes narrowed, and I wondered if that pulsing vein in his forehead bothered him when he got like this.
“Not a big deal…” he murmured carefully, his voice so tight and controlled that I wondered if he would lose it.
The door behind me opened and closed, and Linc appeared at my side.
“You helped dad get it?”
I ignored the words and focused on Jessie.
“Exactly, not a big deal,” I repeated.
“Dad…” Linc tried to interrupt. “Dad…”
Jessie held his hand up, silencing Linc so effectively that I would’ve applauded him had this not been such a volatile situation.
“Go back in, son. I need to talk to Ellen.”
Linc didn’t go inside, but he backed away, torn.
He, apparently, could sense the mood, too.
“I’ve done it all by myself for fourteen years now, sweetheart, and I’m doing just fine. Take it back. I was going to get it for him for Christmas.”
I refrained from saying that Christmas was just a little less than a year away.
I crossed my arms over my chest.
“No,” I refused. “I’m not taking it back. You can kiss my ass, and Linc can be happy with the stupid computer.”
“You will take it back. That’s my kid, and if I say he can’t have the computer, he can’t have the computer.”
I gritted my teeth as irrational anger started to pour through me.
Suddenly, I was mad. So mad, in fact, that I let him have it with both barrels.
“It’s my due!” I screeched, likely sounding like a flaming harpy, but I didn’t care. I was so goddamned mad that I couldn’t help it. “It’s my due!” I repeated.
Jessie froze, his anger all but freezing in the realization that this was something that I was just as passionate about as he was.
“Ellen…”
I shook my head.
“No,” I snapped. “You stole fifteen years of presents that I would’ve given him. Fourteen years, Jessie James. That’s half of my lifetime, and nearly half of yours!”
His lips thinned.
Linc shuffled warily as he tried to figure out what in the hell to do.
It was good that he was just standing there, because had he given his father a target, he would’ve likely blown to pieces and thrown the new computer in the trash.
“Ellen,” Jessie said, startling me with the softness in his tone. “Go take a seat on the couch.”
Before I could comply, his phone rang, causing him to curse.
The moment he answered the phone and started to speak shortly to someone on the other line, Linc turned to me.
“He’s being called out for an emergency,” Linc said. “He’ll be gone half the night.”
My brows rose. “Does this happen a lot?”
He shrugged. “I guess. They’re putting a new forty-two-inch pipeline in, and Dad’s the big wig top welder who’s over everyone else. Someone calls in, he’s the one to take their place if they can’t find anyone willing to take the shift. He’s paid more, but he also has to deal with more shit than he thought he would have to. We’re hoping, once this pipeline gets finished, that it’ll slow down.”