“Anything! I’ll do anything!”
“—just keep the airplane mode on to keep your mom sane.”And me.I could live a few more years without him finding his way into the dark corners of the internet.
“Okay!”
“What do you say to your uncle?” Roxy prompted once more.
“Right!” he exclaimed. Before either of us could do anything to stop him, Carson slipped right under the table.
“Carson!” Roxy hissed. “We don’t—ow!”
“That was me,” I said, chuckling.It was.But I only kicked her because I was trying not to knee my nephew in the face.
“Jerkface,” she muttered.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Carson chanted as he crawled up on my side of the booth. He hugged me tight around the neck. “Thank you!”
“You’re welcome,” I replied and hugged him back.
“Thank you, thank you!”
“You’re welcome.”
“I’m going to make so many cool things.”
“I know you will.”He would. His talent for drawing far exceeded his age. Watching him create was one of my favorite things in the world.
“And I’ll have Mommy print them and put them in your office,” he told me.
“Damn straight you will.” I had an entire wall in my office dedicated to Carson’s art. Though at the rate this kid made me art, I was going to need to put an addition on the building just to have somewhere to put everything. We weren’t going to talk about all the art in my house, either.And it wasn’t just me.Roxy’s house was covered in it, and so was everyone else’s. The kid supplied the whole family with art, and we just never threw anything away.
Roxy mumbled under her breath as Carson insisted on crawling back under to get to the other side of the table. I wished I could be more helpful, but I found it funny.There was a reason I was an uncle and not a parent.
While Carson fiddled with his birthday gift, I poured another cup of coffee for Roxy and me. The waitress knew well enough to leave a whole pot at our table. It was easier than running back and forth every time we wanted a refill.
“I told you that Mr. Weller won’t be home when you go over there today?” she began, and I sighed. Four years ago, Frank had a stroke. While he recovered, I kept his businesses running. It was exhausting and stressful but more rewarding than anything else. On his first day back, he tried to give me both companieson the promise that I wouldn’t gouge his customers’ prices. I kept him on as a silent, non-decision-making partner because at least that way, he made a small income every month and wasn’t forced to stretch his savings too thin. Besides, he was good at answering any questions I had in the beginning.My first tax filing had been hell.
I quickly learned that Frank’s business didn’t work for me, simply because I wasn’t Frank. And so, with Millie’s help, I rebranded. I putWB Auto CareandWB Home Repairunder one business:Torque & Timber.Roxy helped me with a new logo, along with new business cards and all that shit. The whole process was infuriating, but in the end, it was worth it. And somehow, during it all, Roxy deemed herself the secretary I needed and didn’t have. She kept my office running and kept my crew happy but organized.
“Are you trying to make me work right now?” I asked as I lifted the cup of coffee to my lips. “I don’t do work when I’m off the clock, and I don’t start for another half hour.”
Fuck, I had to get out of there, so I wasn’t late.
“No, I’m trying to make sure you remember that Mr. Weller has a dog, who doesn’t like people,” Roxy said.
“I hate Taco,” I grumbled. Taco was Mr. Weller’s pomeranian with an attitude problem. It wouldn’t be so bad if he’d put Taco in another room, but according to Mr. Weller, that was just unfair to Taco. “Do you think I could write it off as a business expense if I bought a K9 bite suit? Just waddle in there looking like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.”
Her laughter filled the diner, loud and happy, while I waved down our waitress for another pot of coffee. I was going to need it if I was going to deal with the devil dog named Taco.
CHAPTER 74
harley
There was something to be said about starting the day off with a cup of coffee and a zombie teddy bear.And yes, I did say zombie teddy bear.Sir Bites-a-lot the Dramatic had faded purple fur and all sorts of stitching for decoration. Maybe it was more of a Frankenstein’s monster bear, but I wasn’t going to be picky about it. At this point, the thing unfazed me, but there had been a time when it scared the ever-loving daylights out of me.
As I lifted my coffee mug to my lips, screaming from down the hall gave me pause. I didn’t move.That was an excited scream.There was no reason for me to go running. Instead, I waited.
Less than a minute later, my six-year-old came streaking down the hall, through the living room, and onward to the other side of the condo.Yeah, she was completely naked.I took a sip of my coffee and watched as she came barreling back, bypassing me altogether and going back to her room.
