GABE
I’m in an absolutely shitty mood by the time I get to work the next day—or later that day, I guess—but of course like always, life has to go on.
I can’t even focus on the fact that my ex-wife is having a baby because my boss Oakley is ready to hand me a new assignment, which I’m grateful for. He bounces into the office, happy as usual, his smile bright as he pats me on the back with his beefy hand. “Just the man I needed to see.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” I grumble as I make my way to the coffeepot because I’m going to need it. I pour some coffee into a mug and take a sip when Travis walks in and looks amused and a little apprehensive.
“You told him?” he asks his husband, and great, Travis looks worried. Which really, really can’t be good.
Oakley, of course, isn’t bothered at all. He’s grinning. “Not yet. I was about to.”
“What? Tell me what?” I ask, almost wanting to joke around about Travis knocking up Oakley too, but knowing without a doubt that would send a high alert to Travis—who’ll immediately pick up on my mood and know something is going on. I don’tthink I’d be able to leave out thetooat the end of the joke. It’s too raw at the moment.
Shelly is knocked up. And the baby isn’t mine.
I’m not ready to talk about Shelly being pregnant yet, so no mention of babies.
“It’s not a huge deal...” Travis starts, pouring himself a mug full of coffee and taking a seat at the large table in the meeting room.
“But?” I ask, sitting down. I was ready for a new assignment—something to keep my mind off everything, but now I’m not really sure.
“Okay, so we have an unusual request from someone who called us this week. And the guy did not want us to come out and discuss it either.”
“What kind of request?” I ask, tilting my head to the side with curiosity. What can it be? I mean... we’re landscapers, for crying out loud. How unusual can it really get?
“Well...” Travis is struggling, which is odd for him. “So the guy wants a greenhouse.”
I squint at him, waiting for the unique part. We don’t do a ton of greenhouses. More often, it’s gardens, but we’ve done plenty of greenhouses over the years. “Are you fucking with me?” I have to ask, and Oakley cracks up at that.
Okay, so they are. But Travis isn’t really laughing, his expression is kind of sour. “Well, it’s not really the job that’s the problem. It’s the fact that he doesn’t want more than one person at his house. The one doing the job, and that’s it.”
My brow furrows at that just as Jackson walks in. We’ve gotten to know each other pretty well since we both started working here around the same time, and I’d say he’s one of my best friends. He caught that last part because he stops on his way to the coffee. “Is this person some sort of serial killer or something?”
I mean... it’s not all that off base. It sounds creepy, if I’m being honest.
“The man is a father. That little girl needs her dad!” Jackson says, slapping me on the back, and his tone has taken on amusement, the fucker. “Think of the child!” Yeah, he’s being overdramatic now.
I shake my head, and Travis shares my sentiment. “I don’t think he’s a serial killer.” Travis looks almost bored with Jackson’s antics, but I have no doubt he loves his job. Oakley is for sure enjoying this, probably a little too much. “I think he’s an older man who maybe doesn’t leave his house much and doesn’t want to deal with people.”
“Ah, so, like Walker,” Archie says, and I didn’t even see when he arrived. But sure enough, he’s here and playfully shoving his best friend, Walker, as Walker flips him off and grumbles.
“Hey, I leave the house sometimes.”
“Even less now that you have your man,” Archie sings. “I’m shocked you ever make it to work with that gorgeous man in your bed.”
“Can you blame me?” Walker asks but then quickly shoots back, “Don’t say anything about Dutton or I’ll let Cane know you’re being a brat again.”
“Oh, yes, please.” Archie waggles his eyebrows and I scoff, trying to hide my laugh but failing hard.
Travis just grips the bridge of his nose and takes a deep breath. “Okay, so that’s enough of that.” His eyes meet mine. “If you don’t feel comfortable with this, I don’t blame you. We can turn the job down.”
I shake my head. It’s late February in Kansas. Work is fairly slow at the moment, and I need something to do. “I’ll be fine. But he wants only a one-man crew for a greenhouse? A small one, I’m guessing?”
Oakley shakes his head. “Didn’t seem like he was looking for a small one.”
“Whoa. What exactly did I walk into this morning?” I grin over at Luke as he walks through the door. He’s the youngest on the crew, and his older sister and her wife walk in right behind him, so I assume he’s still staying in their guest room after losing his place when the landlord sold it right out from under him.
The kid hasn’t had it too easy lately, that’s for sure. But he has a grin on his face the way he usually does, and I’m sure part of that is finding out he’s going to be an uncle soon. When Missy announced at the holiday party this year that she was pregnant and that she and Luke’s sister, Sarah, were going to have a baby, we were all beyond thrilled.
