Page 9 of Lawson & Jill

Chapter 3

“Did you go?”

“Really, that’s how you’re going to answer the phone?” Law grimaced as he turned the wrench on a stubborn bolt. “No, ‘Hi, how are you?’ How’s Eden, by the way? Can I talk to her, she has better people skills.”

“No, you can’t talk to her,” his brother growled. “Tell me if you went to counseling.”

Law would’ve been pissed if he didn’t hear the worry in Ash’s voice. Ever since Xavier’s suicide, they’d been putting each other under a microscope. Then Ash found Eden and Law was finally able to breathe again. Somehow, after the hell they’d gone through, and the way the couple communicated, Ash was finally at peace. So, Law didn’t worry about his older brother anymore.

“Law, answer me.”

“Dammit.”

The bolt came loose, but he’d stripped it.

“What’s wrong?” Ash demanded.

“I’m trying to work on my motorcycle and I stripped a bolt. It pissed me off. Yes, I went to a grief counseling session. It was a total bust. Except for meeting another escapee.”

Lawson wiped his hands on one of his garage towels, then picked up his phone and carried it out of the garage and into his house. He sighed with relief as he was hit with air conditioning.

“You can’t just go one time and call it a day. Dammit, Law, you didn’t even go to Maman’s sixty-fifth birthday party.”

“It was in Belgium and I was in Yemen so just how in the hell was I supposed to manage that?” Law set down his phone and put it on speaker so he could rifle through his fridge. Nothing, absolutely nothing. When was the last time he’d gone to the store? Shit, he had to settle on a protein drink, even though the beer was calling his name.

“She was disappointed.”

“Ash, I already told her I’d be there to celebrate Thanksgiving. I don’t know what else to tell you.” He took a chug of the drink straight out of the bottle and winced. Geez, just how old was this? He checked the expiration date. Ew.

He heard his brother sigh. “I’m worried about you,” he said quietly.

“I understand that. I was worried about you, too, until Eden came along. She’s good for you.”

Even before his brother spoke, he could practically hear his smile through the phone.

“I don’t know how I got so lucky.”

Law poured the rest of the drink down the sink. “I don’t know either, but I also think she got lucky, too.”

“Quit being a sap. See why I worry?”

Law laughed. He couldn’t help being a sap when it came to Eden and Asher—his brother had knocked it out of the park the day he’d rescued that woman.

“Law,” Asher growled.

Law grabbed a beer—that he knew, wasn’t expired—out of the fridge, then he picked up his phone. “Seriously, you need to back off now. I’m doing better. Making the decision to go to that group session was a big deal. It meant I knew that I was not in the best headspace. Okay?”

“So, you went to some kind of group, and not a psychologist?”

Law set down the beer next to the couch and sat down. He took the phone off speaker so he could enunciate clearly. “Asher, I said back off. I am dealing with this. I just fucking told you that I acknowledged that this has me twisted up. I told you that I’m trying to get my head right. The last thing I need is you crawling up my ass. Are we clear?”

Ash didn’t say anything, but two could play that game. Law put down his phone and took off the cap and took a swig. Finally, he heard Ash talk.

“I hear you.”

“Can I have that in writing? Maybe notarized?”

“You’re an asshole, you know that Lawson?”