Page 83 of If I Didn’t Have You

“That may be, but it doesn’t excuse what I did or said.”

JR’s jaw clenched yet again. It was time for me to leave. “Don’t come back here.”

“JR!”

I nodded to him, taking my leave. I was lucky he didn’t pull out a gun and shoot me. Hell, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to protect my family, and he was doing the same for his.

“Let me know how much it cost to replace what I destroyed. I’d like to pay for it.”

“We don’t want your money,” JR snapped.

“JR, stop it!”

Ignoring her, I spoke only to him. This was between us now. “I understand, but if you change your mind, send me the bill.”

His lip curled in disgust, so I turned on my heel and walked away, tuning out Josie yelling at her husband. She was a sweet girl, always wanting everyone to get along, but there were just some things people could never move past.

This was one of them, and I wouldn’t push it any further by going anywhere near either of them again. I came and said my piece, but now it was time to walk away.

So, I jogged down the street to the gym, checking yet another item off my list—inspecting the damage to Sam’s training area, and finding out if I was now banned for life for my wife’s “accident”. I still wasn’t sure about what happened, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe she actually wanted me dead.

Not yet, anyway.

“How’s the cleanup?” I asked Sam when I headed down to the gym after my run-in with JR.

“The new window will be installed later today. The support is fine.”

“Good. Send me the bill.”

“Nah. I’ve got it covered.”

No matter how much he resisted, I would get that bill. I paid my dues, and this was most definitely on my family. Much like the damage to Josie’s shop, though convincing JR to send me the bill would be a hell of a lot harder.

“When the bill comes, send it to me.”

“Geez, you’re one cranky bastard.”

“You would be too if your woman ran her car through a window.”

He cringed, probably thinking about something Cassidy had done. She was always giving him a heart attack, carrying around a drill or a ladder. I knew the feeling all too well.

“Clara doing okay?”

“She kicked me out. Wouldn’t even let me in the house,” I muttered.

“She’ll get over it.”

I kicked my shoe on the ground, staring at the tiny pebbles on the sidewalk. “I’m not so sure about that.”

“Look, I get where you’re coming from, but you’re gonna have to give in.”

My gaze shot up to meet his, my brows crinkled in confusion. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You’ve got issues. Hell, I had a mountain of issues when I met Cassidy. The only way to keep her is to talk to her.”

I grunted at his insightful words of wisdom, not that I especially wanted to talk to her about any of it. I’d already done my best. Well, I had sort of discussed things with her. After so many years of marriage, did a guy really need to have in-depth discussions?

“Just give in and…tell her shit.”