AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Exasperated, I tried again. “Because he’s been in the military. Serving our country, Dad.”
“Which I get and am grateful for. But why come back now when he hardly ever visited? And he was in for ten years, which is an unusual term of service.”
Oh, here we go.
“I just don’t know if—”
I stopped him right there. “We aren’t going to do this again. I’m not a teenage girl who can be easily swayed.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” His voice was already low, so as not to be overheard. But that question was barely a whisper.
“You know what that means, Dad.”
“Hey, Marty, how’s it going?” My father waved to the manager of one of our newest properties. “Do you have a minute?”
Just like that, I was dismissed.
“We’ll talk about this later,” he said.
I managed not to respond with Can’t wait.
Instead, I made a beeline to my office. Closed the door behind me. Locked it. And sat behind my desk.
What in the actual hell was my life right now?
I’d thought I’d come such a long way since my first go-round with Lucas, but it seemed like he was probably right. My father had a thing against him, and there was nothing he should dislike since Dad knew nothing of Lucas’s dumb plan.
Everything else?
He was a man of honor who had served his country for ten years. An entrepreneur. A good guy, for all intents and purposes, despite a shitty childhood.
Then there was this job. One that would put me firmly on the path to financial freedom for life. I turned my wrist around, stared at the design there for I didn’t know how long.
And then put down the legal pad I’d been doodling on at the meeting. And started to draw. If someone had asked me to design a similar tattoo, what would it look like?
A design took shape, and for a little bit at least, my troubles seemed to fade away.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
lucas
When I last texted Charlee, I got a “busy at the moment” and then a little bit later, when I asked about tonight, a “not sure.”
Now I was in the very unusual position of wanting to text her again but also not wanting to chase a woman who didn’t want to be chased. Clearly Charlee was busy, and I definitely had my hands filled with the soft opening this week. Three tattoos today plus an interview that Owen Smith had set up. So instead of staring at my phone to see if she texted back—a fucking awkward state of affairs—I closed up shop and headed down the street to KC’s Taphouse.
On my way, I couldn’t help thinking about what I’d be doing if I was still deployed. Looking at the time, unless we were outside the wire for some reason, it would be card night. I stopped just in front of the bar and texted Nate.
Winning?
It only took him a few seconds to respond.
Unfortunately not. How’s it going in Kitchi Falls?
That was a loaded question.
I’ll send a voice text to catch you up. All OK over there?
If by OK you mean hotter than hell with shit for food, then yeah. All is well.
