He reaches for his drink. “Scarlett told me you two have been working together for a while now. How come you’ve never mentioned her to me?”
My forehead pulls into a frown. “I don’t mention any of the staff I work with to you.”
“Right.”
I continue frowning at him. “Are you going anywhere with this?”
He sips his drink. “Not tonight.”
Fuck, he’s talking in riddles. Something he’s great at, and I’m not. “Can we discuss more important things then?”
“That depends on what those things are.”
I give him a look. He knows exactly what those things are. “Have you changed your mind about Dad’s birthday?”
He sighs like he’s bored. “No, and I won’t be. I’m not going.”
“It’s his sixtieth.”
“So?”
“So it’s a big one. And you haven’t been home in three years. They’re missing you.”
“They could come visit me.”
“You know that’s not gonna happen.”
“Yeah, because we have a father who thinks the world consists only of Mount fucking Isa and he refuses to leave it.”
He’s speaking the truth, but the truth isn’t always a useful thing. Not when we use it to hold onto old hurt. “Think about it some more. I want you there.”
Paul’s eyes fill with the pain that’s consumed him for eight long years. The pain I wish I could rip from his soul. He doesn’t agree to what I’ve asked him to do, and he doesn’t say anything more about the party our mother’s throwing for our father. Instead, he says, “Let’s talk about the fact you’re gonna come with me to the hardware store next week and show me what I need to buy to fix my walls.”
Taylor: Jedd took me to Mohawk last night. He knows how to stand up for a girl. And the food was amazing there. You missed out.
Fuck.
It’s Sunday. The day of rest and no bullshit. Not the day for this kind of crap.
Without bothering to reply, I finish washing my ute. I’ve got the day off and am catching up on stuff I’ve been putting off while work has consumed my time.
Paul and I hung out for an hour last night before he went home. I then headed over to Scott’s for poker with the boys. Exhausted after the week, I didn’t stay much past midnight. I still managed to win everyone’s cash, though.
I spend the morning on my ute and tidying the mess of my yard. Just after lunch, Mum calls.
“What’s up?” I answer as I drop down onto my couch and mindlessly flick the TV on to find some sport to watch.
“I was just going over the plans for your father’s birthday party and was wondering if you think Paul will come.”
“I’m hoping to change his mind, but at the moment, he’s adamant he’s not.” I hate giving her this answer. I know it’ll devastate her if Paul doesn’t go.
“Please keep working on him, Justin. Your father and I really want him there.”
“I know.”
“It’s been too long since we’ve all been together,” she says softly.
“Yeah.”
The line goes silent while we both avoid what we’re really thinking. Finally, Mum says, “Okay, I’ll let you get back to what you were doing.”
“You good, Mum?”
“Yes. Are you? Are you eating properly?”
I chuckle. She’s always on at me about cooking healthy meals. “I manage restaurants for a living. If I’m not eating properly, there’s something wrong.”
“I miss you.”
“Miss you too. I’ll let you know how I go with Paul.”
“Okay, darling. Bye.”
I stare at the TV for a long fucking time after our call ends, my thoughts all knotting together.
“Fuck,” I mutter, pushing up out of the couch a good hour later. Sitting here doing this isn’t a productive use of my time. Thinking about the shit going on with my family won’t solve anything. All it’ll do is give me a headache.
Changing into jeans and a T-shirt, I grab my jacket and keys and head to the clubhouse. Shooting the shit with the boys for the afternoon always clears my mind.
“Wilder,” Nash greets me as I enter the clubhouse bar. “You fuckin’ owe me a drink after winning all my cash last night, brother.”
I grin. “You win any after I left?”
“Fuck no. Colt took it all after you left.”
Colt joins us, eyeing me. “These city boys don’t know how the fuck to play poker.”
“You left Winton when you were ten or some shit. You’re just as much city as they are,” I say, taking the beer that J hands over when he steps next to me.
“I’ll always be a country boy at heart,” Colt says.
I suck back some beer. “Yeah.” I like living in Brisbane, but I miss the fuck out of the quiet of the country.
“You missed some fun yesterday,” J says. “We paid a visit to Ostelin’s crew.”
“And?” I ask.
“And they weren’t too fucking happy to see us.”
Nash grins. “Shit got fucked up, and let’s just say they won’t be so quick in future to get their fists out.”
“King brought his crazy,” J says. “A few of their guys are lucky to still be breathing.”
I down some more beer. “You figure out if they were responsible for the break-in?”
“Nah, wasn’t them,” Nash says. “And it wasn’t the Carlton boys either. We dropped in on them too.”
I catch sight of Scarlett in the hall as Nash delivers this information and am distracted for a moment. When I lose sight of her, I rejoin the conversation to discover Griff’s setting up extra surveillance around all the restaurants in case we’re hit again. Scott’s also asked his brother Blade to help figure out who the culprit is.
“J,” Madison says, coming over to us. “I need you to keep an eye on the girls while I help Harlow with the food.”
J nods, glancing at their daughter playing with Scott’s daughter in the corner. These two kids have far more energy than any of us in this room, but at the moment, they’re playing quietly with their dolls.
J smacks Madison’s ass and drops a kiss to her lips. “You making that cob loaf dip?”
“Only if you agree to put out tonight.”
“Baby, when do I not agree to that?”
“I’m talking about that thing I told you I wanted you to do this morning that you refused to do. You agree to put out that and I’ll make you cob loaf.”
“Fuck,” he mutters. “You drive a hard fucking bargain, woman.”
She shrugs. “I also make it worth your while.” She stands on her toes and brushes her lips over his. “Watch Willow and Aurora. Make sure they don’t put any small objects in their mouths.” She hits him with a look that says “don’t fuck this up” before turning and leaving us.
J throws some beer down his throat as he watches her go. “I swear she’s punishment for some shit I’ve done that I’ve forgotten about.”
“Seems like a logical conclusion,” I say. “Either that or punishment for your future sins.”