Chapter Four #2
Roxanne wasn’t privy to everything in her brothers’ business. But it didn’t take a genius to know hacking into the DMV files was illegal.
Bogs lifted his chin in her direction. “Blame it on Rox, man. She’s the one who didn’t get the info, and now I gotta fix her mess.” He glanced up, sighing dramatically. “As usual.”
Roxanne forced a fake smile and drew up her middle finger. Asshole!
“What’s going on?” Stone asked.
His focus was now on her. No! As if it wasn’t bad enough getting a lecture from one brother, now she’d get it from another. She was really hoping to avoid Stone in this matter. While Bogs teased her about her good Samaritan mistake, Stone would ream her ass out.
“I got into a little fender bender. I was hit from behind.” She noticed Stone tense and peruse her body, same as Bogs did. Roxanne quickly held up her hand. “I’m fine. I didn’t get hurt. I was at a stop sign, and the guy hit me from behind.”
“Did you see a doctor?”
She softened her gaze. “Stone, I’m fine.
I got jolted, no big deal. Except …” She sighed.
Here it comes. “I agreed not to go through insurance and got the guy’s phone number.
He said he’d pay for the repairs out of pocket.
Now he’s dodging my calls, and since all I’ve got is a name and number, I came to Bogs for help finding him. ”
Stone’s nostrils flared, and he clenched his fists, turning to Bogs. “Get me the info, and I’ll pay him a visit.”
What, no! Roxanne shot up from her chair and turned to face him. She craned her neck, looking up at her imposing brother. This was her issue, and she’d handle it. Roxanne didn’t need or want any of her brothers dealing with this situation. I got it!
“No, Stone. I will handle this. God, what am I sixteen still? You do realize I’m an adult? There were twenty-six candles on my last cake, or did you miss that?”
Bogs held up his hand. “I didn’t. I was afraid the whole house would go up in flames seeing that much fire.
” Bogs laughed and continued tapping on his keyboard.
She was prepared to tell him to fuck off.
After all, Bogs was older than her. Again, asshole!
Instead, she remained silent, watching his features ease.
He leaned closer to the screen, angling his head as his eyes drifted. He must have found Cord’s information.
“Got him?” Stone asked.
Bogs lifted his gaze, eyeing Stone, and then Roxanne. The corner of his mouth cocked up slightly, which seemed odd. “Yeah, I got him, but I think Rox is right. I mean, this is her shit. Let her handle it. After all, she is an adult.”
Roxanne widened her eyes, caught off guard. She hadn’t expected Bogs to back her up, but it was welcomed.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Stone rushed forward, slamming his palms on the desk and shooting Bogs a harsh glare. “There’s no way she’s going by herself to some fucking asshole's house. Are you fucking stupid?”
Bogs snickered. “Always gotta start with the insults, don’t you?”
“Bogs.” Stone’s tone was feral, sending an obvious warning. Roxanne’s gaze darted between her brothers. She was more than happy to have Bogs on her side, recognizing she could handle this on her own. But something was off. She just didn’t know what.
Bogs leveled his hands in front of his chest. “Stone, she’s twenty-six. She’s smart and knows enough to protect herself in any situation.” Bogs grinned, turning to Roxanne. “She’s got this, man.”
For a brief second, she shared a silent moment with Bogs. Thank you. It didn’t last.
“No. Fucking. Way,” Stone shouted so loud, she was sure some of the wall hangings shifted. It was enough for any normal person to back down.
But not me!
Roxanne turned to Stone, pinning him with her stare. He was going to hear her whether he liked it or not. She wasn’t looking for anyone’s approval.
“Stone, seriously?” Roxanne scoffed and turned to Bogs, stretching out her hand. “Give me his address.”
Bogs scribbled something on a Post-it Note and handed it to her. With a quick look, she saw all the information she needed. Brace yourself, Cord, I’m coming for you. She tucked it in her bag and slipped past Stone, who looked like he was about to combust.
“Rox, you are not going there alone!” Stone shouted.
Ah, older brothers. Overprotective, slightly overbearing, and bossy as hell. Roxanne was having none of it.
“Watch me.”
“Stone?” Bogs said.
Roxanne walked to the door and glanced over her shoulder, catching the exchange between her brothers.
“Let her do this.” The corner of Bogs’ mouth curled, and he mouthed, “Trust me.”
She squinted her eyes. Trust him? What did that mean?
His confidence in her ability? Roxanne had doubts about his meaning.
And why did Bogs seem amused? Stone’s glare turned on her, and she darted out the door.
Roxanne rushed through the office, making her way to the parking lot.
She brushed aside the odd sensation that Bogs knew something she didn’t.
She headed south toward her apartment. She’d be a woman of her word and give Cord the whole day to man up. But if he didn’t?
Your ass is mine, Cord.
****
Jonah stretched his arms over his head, feeling the tightness in his neck and biceps.
Most days, he felt older than thirty. A lifetime older.
Jonah had no regrets. Life dealt him a hand, and he played it.
Still, it wasn’t what he’d envisioned. Virtually a parent of two at eighteen?
The sole caregiver and provider for a six-year-old and a nine-year-old.
Jonah had barely experienced adulthood when he was throttled with responsibility most kids his age couldn’t fathom. And the years are showing.
A quick glance at the overhead clock in the workshop told him it was time to call it a night.
Eleven-thirty and he had to be up at four-fifteen.
It was barely enough time to recover from a long day.
But doable. He would know. Jonah had done it for years.
He rolled his neck, releasing some of the tension.
His hours had always been long, but lately he was feeling the effects of it.
You’re not twenty-three anymore.
It was a hard truth. His life path looked a lot different from most. He ambled over to the machines and double-checked they were off before shutting off the lights and locking up his workshop.
The building was set back in his yard, next to the garage.
He’d built the addition last year, setting up his workshop separate from the garage.
It was two cars wide with a loft upstairs.
Nothing fancy, but it served its purpose for his one true love.
He’d fiddled around with woodwork since shop class in middle school.
Who would’ve thought building a birdhouse would spiral into what he was creating now?
The earnings from his projects didn’t solely pay the bills.
Thank God for his construction company, which had become hugely successful.
But he always came back to the woodwork. It was his escape. My calling.
He stopped midway to the house when headlights beamed through the backyard.
It must’ve been Cord, his middle brother, seeing as how Holden, the youngest, was already in for the night.
At twenty-one, Cord didn’t have a curfew, but at Jonah’s request, he checked in.
He waited for him to park and made his way to the back door.
Cord eyed him. “Still up?”
Always.
“Yeah, got an order for a table. You just get off?” Cord worked part time at a marina while finishing his bachelor’s degree at the local college.
Cord grinned and puffed out his chest. “Yeah, I got off.” By the sneer of bravado, Jonah knew they were talking about two different subjects.
Cord confirmed it. “Her name’s Lily.”
Jonah shook his head. “Just promise me you'll wrap your shit up. The last thing this family needs is another mouth to feed.”
His brother was a self-proclaimed man-whore.
Someday it would catch up to him, but for now, Cord was playing hard.
It wasn’t lost on Jonah that a part of him envied his brother’s freedom.
At twenty-one, he was making school lunches, coaching little league and going to parent-teacher conferences, all the while trying to raise his brothers and work a sixty-hour week.
“I’m careful.” He slapped his brother on the back. “Saw what you went through, not looking for a repeat.”
Jonah hadn’t dealt with an unplanned pregnancy. He was forced into unplanned parenthood.
“Yeah, well, we all do what we gotta do.”
“Yeah,” Cord whispered and walked ahead of him, through the mudroom door, and Jonah followed. His brother headed straight for the fridge. “SueAnn set us up. Sweet!”
Jonah eyed the fridge, making a mental note to have a stern talk with their housekeeper.
Not that it would do any good. SueAnn made her own rules when it came to the McMillian boys.
He’d hired her ten years ago. He’d given the boys chores, but it fell flat most weeks with them doing the bare minimum.
Initially, she was hired to do light cleaning.
Somewhere along the way, SueAnn had changed the terms, which now included homemade meals.
Jonah had offered to pay her for the extras, but she outright refused.
“Fucking starving!” Cord pulled out the Corning Ware not even bothering to heat it up or serve himself a plate. I failed somewhere along the way. Unfortunately, Jonah was too tired to reprimand his brother.
The golden rule of parenting he’d learned early on … pick your battles.
This wasn’t one of them. He opened the fridge, grabbed a beer and chugged half the contents. He rested against the counter watching Cord devour SueAnn’s dish.
Of his two brothers, he butted heads with Cord the most. There was a deep-rooted disdain, and Jonah understood.
Cord hadn’t always been such a little prick.
For the first nine years of life, he’d been kind, carefree and loving.
That changed after the death of their family.
Cord took it hard, mourned deeply, stayed bitter for a long time and never missed an opportunity to remind Jonah, “You’re not my dad. ”
No, I’m not. Those shoes were too big to fill. But Jonah had done his best to try. In Cord’s eyes, he’d always come up short. I get it.
“Did you order the parts for the car?” Cord asked.
“Should be in by next Monday.”
Jonah took another swig of his beer, battening down his frustration. It’d be another weekend of giving up his side work to help Cord. Story of my fucking life. Cord’s car had been hit in the marina parking lot while he was working.
“You fill out a police report?”
Cord lowered his head as he shoveled the food into his mouth. I swear I raised them with manners. Right?
“Not yet,” Cord mumbled between chews and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
Jonah dragged his hand over his face. He might’ve lacked in the manners tutorial with his siblings. This never would’ve happened under his mother’s watch. But she’s not here.
Jonah rested his hip against the counter, eyeing his brother. “Gotta do it soon.”
Cord nodded. “I know, I know, just been busy.”
Jonah snorted. “Getting off is not an excuse.”
Cord straightened and smirked while scooping up the remnants of his dinner. “It’s the best excuse. You should try it sometime.”
That statement alone proved how out of touch Cord was with Jonah’s responsibilities to the family.
Jonah could’ve given an in-depth speech about everything raising a family entailed.
But he knew it would’ve fallen on deaf ears.
Cord may have felt the loss, but he hadn’t taken on the weight of carrying their family. That was all on Jonah.
Jonah lifted his hand as he turned to leave the kitchen. “Lock up. Night.”
He heard a whispered, “Goodnight,” as he made his way through the living room and up the stairs. His hand slid across the mahogany wood. At least he had his home. Blood, sweat and cash made it all happen.
Jonah would never win “Parent of the Year,” but he’d done his best.
Sometimes, that was worth more than any award.