“Okay, but why? If you want Liam to have a space to himself, why don’t you build it at his own house?”
“Because I figure he’ll be spending more time here when the baby comes, and I want him to have his own space,” I said, giving Jace half the truth.
“What are you wanting to put in there?” he asked.
“So the other day I was scrolling on my phone and purchased a few things, but I’m definitely going to need help assembling them.”
Jace shook his head. “What did you buy?”
“A pool table and some couches. Plus some smaller stuff, like toolboxes and a dartboard. Oh—and some panels to hang on the wall for his tools or fishing stuff. Whatever he wants to use them for,” I added.
“Where is it all?”
I peeked out the living room window. “It should be delivered any minute.”
“And you’re telling me we have until he gets back from his shift to put it all together?” he said, checking the clock on the kitchen wall.
I flashed him my biggest smile. “Remember how I’m your favorite sister?”
“You’re my only sister,” he deadpanned.
“Same thing.” I shrugged, hoping he’d accept the job either way.
“Show me the space we’re working with,” Jace said, looking around for the door to the garage.
“Right this way,” I said, cheering inside as we headed into the empty two-car garage and I flipped on the lights.
When Liam renovated the house, he’d added new insulation in the garage and installed Sheetrock. It was the perfect space for a man cave.
“Nothing but plain white walls and a slab of concrete,” I said, looking around the empty space.
As Jace studied the garage, beeping from the backup sensors of a truck reversing into the gravel driveway caught my attention. I pushed the button on the wall to open the garage door.
As the delivery driver climbed out of the truck, clipboard tucked under his arm, Jace stepped out of the garage to greet him.. After a few minutes of small talk, the driver climbed into his truck and backed it up to the garage instead of parking by the front porch. Usingdollies, it only took a few minutes for him and Jace to unload everything.
The couches were already assembled, and so were the toolboxes—thank God—but the pool table came in one large box. Between Jace and me, it seemed doable that we could put it together in a decent amount of time. Once the panels were unloaded, along with the smaller items I’d ordered, the driver headed out for his next delivery.
I gestured at the pile of random things sitting in the middle of the garage floor. “So what do you think? Think we can knock it out?” I asked.
“You’re lucky you’re my sister and he’s my best friend,” Jace said, pulling the clear plastic off the couches. “I still can’t believe you two are having a baby together.”
“For what it’s worth, we used protection. It just broke.”
“Oh my God, please stop talking. I’m begging,” he said, scrunching up his face.
“Just saying.” I laughed.
“Please talk about literally anything else.”
“Did you know all that stuff about his dad and brother?” I asked, unboxing one of the smaller packages.
“I knew his dad was a prick, but I had no idea he lost his brother like that. All this time we’ve been friends, and he never told me,” Jace admitted.
“Why do you think that is?”
“He told me there was never a right time to bring it up, and I mean, if that shit happened to me, I’d never want to talk about it to anyone.” Jace’s reasoning made sense. “Plus, as long as I’ve known Liam, he’s never once stood up to his dad the way he did that night. I don’t know what names he called you, but whatever his dad said, I can tell you this—Liam cares about you. He wouldn’t have fought him like that if he didn’t.”
“I guess I can understand why he never wanted to be a dad. I’d be scared to turn out like that jackass too. I can’t say it didn’t hurt me though,” I said somberly. “Sometimes I get in my head and worry.”
