Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
NASH
I wasn’t quite right in the head. There was no other explanation for my utter stupidity with Rory on the Fourth. What had I been thinking, opening my mouth and letting whatever shit came to mind just pour out?
As soon as I’d said the words, I’d known what a colossal mistake I’d made. I’d also known I couldn’t stick around, not all that interested in listening to her rip me a new one for even thinking about being in her bed. The last thing she needed to know was exactly how often those particular thoughts came to mind.
Avoidance was key at the moment. I needed to give myself time to cool down and remember exactly why keeping my distance was necessary. I had a whole laundry list of reasons why I didn’t get involved with anyone , let alone a Haven girl. But that, specifically, would be troublesome for me, considering my best friend—and Rory’s youngest sister—Nat would skin my balls for even looking in Rory’s direction.
God help me if Nat ever found out how much jacking off I’d done in Rory’s name while we’d been in high school. My best friend would kill me. Then she’d bring me back to life just to kill me all over again.
In my twenty-five years, I had avoided relationships and local hookups like the plague. When your old man had screwed his way through most of Havenbrook’s female population in his own age group and had started working on the next generation, well… I would take care of my business in another town just so I didn’t run the risk of double dipping with dear old dad.
Considering my fuckup the other day, there was no time like the present to remind myself exactly why I had those rules in place. Without knocking, I opened the front door of my childhood home. It was small but nice—couldn’t own the only contracting business in town and live in shambles—but it’d never held happy memories for me. From the day my momma’d walked out of this house until I’d moved out at seventeen, life within these walls hadn’t been anything but letdowns and loneliness.
“Pops?” I called, glancing at the TV playing to an empty living room. I poked my head into the also barren kitchen, then started down the hall before I heard voices.
A second later, a woman—one of the neighbors—emerged from my dad’s bedroom, with him following close behind. Her laughter halted the second she saw me.
“Oh hey, Little Nash,” Marie said with a wave. “Though I guess there’s not much little about you anymore, is there?”
“Quit hittin’ on my boy,” my dad said, smile evident in his voice. That good old King charm working hard. “One King is plenty for you tonight.”
I’d had enough experience with these kinds of run-ins over the years that it no longer fazed me. I tipped my head toward Marie and offered her a tight smile. “Hey, Marie.”
She clasped her hands in front of her. “All right, then. Well, I’ll just get a move on and let you boys have your time.”
My dad walked her to the front door, gave her a brief kiss, and slapped her ass—a move I knew was just a way to shove her out of the house as quick as possible. I’d seen the same thing done to plenty of other women dozens of times before.
He met my stare with a raised eyebrow. “Don’t look at me like that. Our little celebration was done, and it was time for her to leave.”
“Celebration of what? A day endin’ in y?”
“I like how you think.” He tipped a beer can in my direction and settled into his recliner. “But this was real celebratin’. Got a call today from the Bozemans over in Parkersville.”
For as long as I could remember, my old man hadn’t had a single good thing to say about Bozeman Builders or the competition they brought to town. They may not have been located in Havenbrook, but they were close enough that it proved to be a challenge for King Construction.
“About what?”
“Seems I’ve been doin’ something right with King Construction. They wanna have a little chat about buyin’ me out and takin’ over in Havenbrook.”
“They what ?”
“How about that, huh?”
“Since when are you actively lookin’ to sell?” And since when had it been to anyone but me?
“Since I decided I’m gettin’ too old for this shit. I’ve been doin’ this for thirty-five years, kid, and I’m tired of it.”
“So, what, you’re suddenly retiring now? You’re barely fifty.”
“My back says I’m eighty.”
“You and I both know I’ve been doin’ the bulk of the manual labor for years now. So maybe your back trouble has less to do with construction and more to do with your after-hours activities,” I said dryly.
My dad shrugged. “Doesn’t matter the reason, just that it’s happenin’.”
I shook my head. “I don’t understand what the sudden rush is. Last time we talked, you said I had a couple years.”
“Yeah, well, last time we talked, I hadn’t been plannin’ on this. But when an opportunity drops in your lap, you gotta snatch it up.”
“ I’m your opportunity, Pops. Not the fucking Bozeman brothers. Those guys are jackasses—you’ve said it yourself a hundred times. They do shit work for overinflated prices and don’t know their heads from their asses.” I raked my hands through my hair and turned in a tight circle. King Construction was all I knew. Was all I wanted to know. I had no idea what I’d do if it were suddenly gone. “I can’t believe you’d sell this business to just anyone. Granddad built this from the ground up, and now you just wanna turn that over to a bunch of strangers?”
My dad barely spared me a glance out of the corner of his eye, most of his attention focused on the TV. “What’re you gettin’ so upset about? Thought you hated this business.”
I fucking loved this business, and my dad’s response only proved that nothing at all had changed about our relationship from the time my momma had left until now. I had spent my entire adolescence trying to gain my father’s attention. Had gotten in so much trouble, most parents would’ve sent me off to military school—or at least grounded me. Hell, I’d dropped out of high school on a whim just to see if my old man would glance my way, even it if was to yell.
In the end, he hadn’t said a thing. Not a single damn word.
I’d decided on my own to get my GED and had never spoken of either again. Since my momma had left, my old man had become too self-absorbed to see anything beyond his own nose.
“King Construction is my legacy, too.” And I loved it enough that I’d do just about anything to make sure it didn’t get sold out of the family. “What kind of timeline am I lookin’ at here?”
My dad waved a hand in the air. “Relax, kid. They’re still wooin’ me. Probably drag ’em on like this for a while. Maybe if I make ’em sweat a little bit, they’ll up their offer.”
“Do me a favor and warn me, all right? When things are gettin’ serious?” I had no fucking idea how I was going to make this happen, only that I needed to try. Needed to do everything in my power to make sure King Construction stayed in the King family.
Without waiting for a response or a goodbye from my dad, I walked out the door. I’d learned a long time ago not to expect either.