“Pops?” he called, glancing at the TV playing to an empty living room. He poked his head into the also barren kitchen, then started down the hall before he heard voices.
A second later, a woman—one of the neighbors—emerged from his dad’s bedroom, with him following close behind. Her laughter halted the second she saw Nash.
“Oh hey, Little Nash,” Marie said with a wave. “Though I guess there’s not much little about you anymore, is there?”
“Quit hittin’ on my boy,” his dad said, smile evident in his voice. That good old King charm working hard. “One King is plenty for you tonight.”
Nash had had enough experience with these kinds of run-ins over the years that it no longer fazed him. He tipped his head toward Marie and offered her a tight smile. “Hey, Marie.”
She clasped her hands in front of her. “All right, then. Well, I’ll just get a move on and let you boys have your time.”
His dad walked her to the front door, gave her a brief kiss, and slapped her ass—a move Nash knew was just a way to shove her out of the house as quick as possible. He’d seen the same thing done to plenty of other women dozens of times before.
His dad met Nash’s stare with a raised eyebrow. “Don’t look at me like that. Our little celebration was done, and it was time for her to leave.”
“Celebration of what? A day endin’ in y?”
“I like how you think.” His dad tipped a beer can in his direction and settled into his recliner. “But this was real celebratin’. Got a call today from the Bozemans over in Parkersville.”
For as long as Nash could remember, his old man hadn’t had a single good thing to say about Bozeman Builders or the competition they brought to town. They may not have been located in Havenbrook, but they were close enough that it proved to be a challenge for King Construction.
“About what?”
“Seems I’ve been doin’ something right with King Construction. They wanna have a little chat about buyin’ me out and takin’ over in Havenbrook.”
“Theywhat?”
“How about that, huh?”
“Since when are you actively lookin’ to sell?” And since when had it been to anyone but Nash?
“Since I decided I’m gettin’ too old for this shit. I’ve been doin’ this for thirty-five years, kid, and I’m tired of it.”
“So, what, you’re suddenly retiring now? You’re barely fifty.”
“My back says I’m eighty.”
“You and I both know I’ve been doin’ the bulk of the manual labor for years now. So maybe your back trouble has less to do with construction and more to do with your after-hours activities,” Nash said dryly.
His dad shrugged. “Doesn’t matter the reason, just that it’s happenin’.”
Nash shook his head. “I don’t understand what the sudden rush is. Last time we talked, you said I had a couple years.”
“Yeah, well, last time we talked, I hadn’t been plannin’ on this. But when an opportunity drops in your lap, you gotta snatch it up.”
“I’myour opportunity, Pops. Not the fucking Bozeman brothers. Those guys are jackasses—you’ve said it yourself a hundred times. They do shit work for overinflated prices and don’t know their heads from their asses.” Nash raked his hands through his hair and turned in a tight circle. King Construction was all he knew. Was all hewantedto know. He had no idea what he’d do if it were suddenly gone. “I can’t believe you’d sell this business to just anyone. Granddad built this from the ground up, and now you just wanna turn that over to a bunch of strangers?”
Nash’s dad barely spared him a glance out of the corner of his eye, most of his attention focused on the TV. “What’re you gettin’ so upset about? Thought you hated this business.”
Nash fuckinglovedthis business, and his dad’s response only proved that nothing at all had changed about their relationship from the time his momma had left until now. Nash had spent his entire adolescence trying to gain his father’s attention. Had gotten in so much trouble, most parents would’ve sent him off to military school—or at least grounded him. Hell, he’d dropped out of high school on a whim just to see if his old man would glance his way, even it if was to yell.
In the end, he hadn’t said a thing. Not a single damn word. Nash had decided on his own to get his GED and had never spoken of either again. Since Nash’s momma had left, his old man had become too self-absorbed to see anything beyond his own nose.
“King Construction is my legacy, too.” And Nash loved it enough that he’d do just about anything to make sure it didn’t get sold out of the family. “What kind of timeline am I lookin’ at here?”
His dad waved a hand in the air. “Relax, kid. They’re still wooin’ me. Probably drag ’em on like this for a while. Maybe if I make ’em sweat a little bit, they’ll up their offer.”
“Do me a favor and warn me, all right? When things are gettin’ serious?” He had no fucking idea how he was going to make this happen, only that he needed to try. Needed to do everything in his power to make sure King Construction stayed in the King family.
