My Young Rebel Daddy (The Young Daddies #3)

12. Jason

Chapter 12

Jason

I think the guys knew from the spring in my step the next day at work that me and the boy had done the deed.

After some back and forth ribbing and joshing, I did confirm that Nick and me were now totally official – and it felt good too.

To be fair to the guys, both Taylor and Kyle were totally happy for me. I mean, I knew they would be but it’s always nice to hear these things confirmed, right?

Speaking of Nick, me and the crew are driving over to his place right now to begin work for the day. We’ve got some heavy lifting to do, and a serious amount of dirt to dig and move to prepare the ground for what will be the house’s foundations.

‘Yo, so is Nick going to be all naked and waiting for his Daddy?’ Taylor laughs, trying to provoke me as I drive around the corner that will take us onto Nick’s street.

‘Maybe he’ll be waiting for you in nothing but a collar?’ Kyle adds, his loud voice projecting over the in-truck stereo.

‘Jeez, do you two think about anything other than sex?’ I say, shaking my head. ‘I mean… it would be nice if the boy was waiting for me like that!’

I’m only joking of course, but it’s pointless trying to be coy and shy around Taylor and Kyle. And anyway, I’ve known both of them for long enough to know that beneath the banter they are both very respectful and good-natured dudes.

‘Here we are,’ I say, pulling the truck up into Nick’s driveway. ‘Looks like we’ve got a good weather day ahead of us, so I’m thinking we go absolutely balls out to try and clear as much of the build’s footprint as we can?’

‘Hell yeah,’ Taylor replies.

‘Hell to the motherfuckin’ yeah,’ Kyle adds. ‘I’ve got a big leg session planned for after work, so anything I do now that adds extra intensity to my gym time later I’m all for it!’

‘That’s commitment,’ I laugh, the idea of doing a leg day at the gym after spending my working day squatting and thrusting all manner of heavy objects filling me with dread. ‘I think you’re crazy, but… whatever turns you on my man.’

The three of us laugh and get out of the truck.

With Nick being busy at The Little Petal, I know that we’ll have a clear run to plough through a ton of work without having to worry about being interrupted.

Nick has been a good boy when it comes to not interfering too much, but the truth remains that he does like to involve himself a little bit too much for my liking – which of course I always remind him of as I spank his naughty butt later!

I do decide to send my baby boy a quick message though.

I like to keep my clients informed of my whereabouts, just to make sure my work schedule is as transparent as possible.

I know me and Nick are an item, but that doesn’t mean I want to slack off and compromise my work practices – especially after the shit-stirring words of his neighbor.

Taking my phone out of my pocket, I begin typing…

Boy – we’re here! Got a big day ahead of us, so don’t be surprised if you don’t hear from me until way after lunch time. Speak later, sweet cheeks! Daddy XoXo.

I smile as I press send.

It feels so good to have a boy in my life, and the fact that it’s someone so wonderful as Nick is the icing on the cake.

Now all I need to do is show my baby boy what an incredible home I can build for him and who knows where all of this might lead.

‘Jason! Over here,’ Kyle hollers, you need to see this.

‘What’s up?’ I say, walking toward Kyle and Taylor who appear to have had their attention taken by something in the grumpy next door neighbor’s house.

Holy fuck.

This is not good news.

In fact, this absolutely stinks to high hell…

‘Is that who I think it is?’ I say, knowing full well that I am absolutely and totally looking at Werner Hodge. ‘But what the hell is he doing with Christopher Snoot?’

‘I don’t know man, but whatever it is, it doesn’t look too friendly,’ Taylor says, a concerned look on his face.

‘Come on, let’s get closer,’ I say. ‘But we don’t want either of them seeing us. Not yet anyhow.’

The three of us go into stealth mode and crouch-walk toward the boundary between Nick and Christopher Snoot’s house.

It’s not like I’m a fan of Snoot by any stretch of the imagination, but my initial impression here is that Werner Hodge seems to be intimidating him…

‘What the fuck is going on?’ I say in hushed tones as I look to Kyle and Taylor.

‘I don’t know, bro,’ Taylor replies. ‘But I think it’s worth recording it, just in case.’

Taylor raises his cell phone so that it can get a decent view of what appears to be some kind of heated discussion.

Judging purely from body language alone, this is very much the case of one man being the aggressor – and that man is, no surprises here, Werner Hodge.

In the time I’ve known Hodge, he’s bullied a lot of men and pushed people around to get what he wants. If I was a gambling man, I’d say that Werner Hodge had something to do with Snoot trying to cause crap between me and the boy.

Part of me wants to make my presence known right this second – hell, maybe I could take out two assholes in one swift maneuver?

But I know that I need to show restraint.

It’s even possible that this whole thing could be a rouse to get me to react and land myself in some serious trouble.

I need to play it cool.

I need to work out what the fuck is going on here…

I need to get closer.

As I crawl toward the boundary fence, I begin to hear what is going on between Werner Hodge and Christopher Snoot – and it’s not good.

It seems like Hodge is bullying Snoot into selling his property, and Hodge’s plan is to buy all the properties on this street and turn it into a large, luxury series of apartment complexes.

And that would mean… Nick’s house would have to be sold too.

But it gets worse the more I listen. Hodge tells Snoot that he’s bribing someone at the town planning department. Unless Snoot agrees to sell, he may end up being faced with a compulsory purchase order from the local authorities.

I’ve heard of big developers trying these kinds of tricks before, and sadly they often get away with them too.

This is fucking terrible.

I actually feel bad for Snoot too. It’s not like I like him or anything, but seeing an innocent man being pushed around by a bully like Werner Hodge isn’t nice.

Something needs to be done about this – and it needs to happen fast.

I’ve got the footage recorded by Taylor, but I don’t think that will be anywhere near enough on its own.

First things first though, I need to get to The Little Petal and warn my baby boy that things might be about to get real complicated, real quick.

Not many constructions projects get completed without a few bumps in the road, but this Werner Hodge situation might just be the biggest obstacle I’ve had to overcome…

I can tell by the look on Nick’s face that he knows I’ve got bad news the second I walk into The Little Petal.

The store happens to be quiet, which is almost certainly a good thing right now.

‘D-D-Daddy? Is everything okay?’ Nick says. ‘You look worried.’

‘Baby boy, this isn’t brilliant news I’m bringing,’ I say. ‘It’s Werner Hodge. He’s cooking up a plan to force the people on your street out of their homes.’

‘What?’ Nick says, a look of sheer disgust on his face. ‘How?’

‘He’s a corrupt sonofabitch with bribable contacts in high places, that’s how,’ I reply. ‘But don’t worry, we’re going to do something about it. There’s not a chance in all hell that I’m going to let this low-down piece of crap hurt you. Hell, I’m even doing this for Christopher Snoot too.’

‘Daddy, I’m scared,’ Nick says, running over and wrapping his arms around my chest. ‘I’ve put all of my dreams into my new home. I can’t not have it now, I just can’t.’

‘Don’t worry, boy,’ I say, my determination clear in my voice. ‘I’m a resourceful man. Hodge isn’t going to get one over on me. No way.’

‘I’ve got a lawyer friend from my days working in the city,’ Nick says, gathering his thoughts and composing himself. ‘He’s probably one of the only people I ever really trusted from my old life. And I still trust him now too. He might be able to help, but there’s no guarantees.’

This sounds promising.

We need all the help we can get, and if Nick’s high-powered lawyer friend has any tricks up his sleeve then I’ll accept them with open arms.

Right now though, everything is still up in the air.

It’s not going to be easy to beat Werner Hodge, no matter what we try.

Hodge has been in the business for too long to not anticipate someone trying to stop him getting his way – but on the other hand he’s probably never come up against a Daddy who would do anything to keep his special baby boy happy.

‘Don’t worry, baby,’ I say, putting my hand on Nick’s cheek and wiping away a solitary tear. ‘Daddy will make sure this all goes away.’

I believe every word I’m saying.

But only time will tell if I can truly back my words up with sufficient actions…