Dinner is chaos and not because of the five-year-old. Nope, it’s the big kids.
Laughing it up and threatening a food fight—which I’m pretty sure has Travis clenching with nerves. Thankfully, no food is thrown, and it’s delicious.
Like I said—family.
6
ARCHIE
“Where’s Rebecca?” I’m helping Jackson clear the table because we volunteered while everyone else heads outside into the cold-as-hell weather. I’d like to put that off a little bit longer.
“She went outside with everyone else,” he says, but something just feels off with my friend. I can’t really describe it.
Besides Walker, I’d say Jackson and Gabe are the two other crew members I’m closest to, and I know when Jackson is being shifty.
“Talk to me,” I say, carrying a load over to the sink. I start rinsing them and loading the dishwasher.
He brings more to the sink, keeping his voice low. “Nothing to talk about.”
“You’re bored out of your fucking mind, aren’t you?” I try not to sound too amused.
“I’m not.”
I hear the sliding glass door open and grin at Gabe when I see him walk in, clearly clocking that we were having a little talk. He’s just as worried about Jackson as I am.
“Uh-oh.” Gabe walks further into the kitchen, still bundled in his coat with his hood pulled up over his head. “The Rebecca talk?” he asks me, his eyes serious with worry.
“Seriously?” Jackson looks from him to me and then back at him. “You fuckers don’t have anything better to talk about?”
“Nope.” I fold my arms and lean back against the counter. “You can talk to us.”
He looks at Gabe. “You don’t want to supervise Amber? She’s around fire, and that kid isn’t afraid of anything.”
It’s a dick move. He knows Gabe is kind of a nervous wreck about Amber getting hurt. It’s strange—the man is not afraid of anything—except his daughter getting hurt. That seems to keep him awake at night, and I think it’s only gotten worse since he doesn’t live with her full-time anymore.
“I’m getting gloves for her, and her mother is there.”
“And Randy,” Jackson says, playfully nudging him. Most people would assume Gabe likes Randy. If you were just a casual observer, you’d think so, and maybe he would if he’d give him a chance, but Gabe isn’t one to trust easily.
And it’s not that he’s still hung up on Shelly, I don’t think. It’s just—trust. That’s a big thing to Gabe.
“Tell us what’s going on with Rebecca, and we’ll leave you alone,” I say, turning back to the sink and hurrying to finish up the dishes.
“Nothing is going on. She’s great. She’s nice. And I don’t know why people keep asking me about her.”
“So we aren’t the first?” My brows arch.
He huffs and looks at Gabe. “You better bring Amber some gloves. It’s cold as fuck.”
Gabe rolls his eyes, but doesn’t argue any more, shooting me a look that says we’ll talk later before he grabs his daughter’s gloves and heads back outside.
“We just care about you, man,” I say as lightly as I can because it’s true. We all care a hell of a lot about each other. This is the only family I’ve ever really had, and they mean a lot to me.
And life is way too damn short not to have fun. He’s not having fun. It’s clear to all of us. He’s being polite and tiptoeing around it, but he’s not in love with her. And I don’t understand spending one second with someone who you aren’t in love with.
What’s the point?
If it were just for sex, I’d understand that. I was a total slut at one time and loved every second of it—until I didn’t. But that’s a different story. But he’s in a relationship with her. They’re exclusive, and he’s not happy.
