CHAPTER 25
KILLIAN
“For fuck’s sake, kid. Not only do you show up late for work, but you’re dragging ass all day. Move out the fucking way.”
With squinted eyes, I watch from the tree above as Callen shoulders past Jaxon, causing the malnourished boy to stumble.
I shake my head, anger simmering inside.
Who the fuck does that prick think he is?
I continue watching in silence as Jax lifts a branch and drags it over to the woodchipper with his head hung. He feeds the branch into the machine, his shoulders sagging in defeat as he turns and heads back toward Callen.
I feel sorry for him.
Knowing that he’s having a hard time at home only heightens the sympathy I feel for the kid. He comes to work every day, on time, to escape the bullshit at home, only to have to put up with Callen’s bullshit here.
I’ve had enough of it.
I make a mental note to pull Callen up on it after work. I’m done with his shit. The petty bullying won’t fly with me. I have a business to run, not a fucking school courtyard to monitor.
I restart the chainsaw, the rumble of the engine a welcome distraction to the shit going on below me. Before Callen had opened his mouth and ruined my mood, I’d been consumed with thoughts of Daisy.
I’ve been replaying our kiss over and over in my head like my favourite movie. Been trying to think of ways I can convince her to do it again.
I knew she was lying when she told me she didn’t love me anymore. That was only solidified when her lips met mine. I could feel it in the way she clung to me. The way her body trembled against mine as we moved in tandem with one another.
It was desperate. Needy. And fucking addictive.
I’ve dreamt of her mouth every night since.
I haven’t touched another woman since her. And the moment she climbed into my lap and kissed me; she awoke something inside of me. Something hungry. An animalistic beast that has lain dormant for four years.
I want her.
In our bed. In our house.
I want my ring back on her finger, where it belongs.
I just haven’t the slightest clue how the fuck to make it happen.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Daisy since she’s been back, it’s that she’s skittish. One wrong move and she’ll take off running.
I still don’t know what it is that has her running, but I do know that the next time she tries to run from me, I will chase her.
***
Leaning over the pool table, I line my cue up, glancing carefully between the ball and the intended pocket before pulling my arm back and firing off the shot.
Without watching, I know the moment it rolls into the pocket, and a smug smirk teases my lips.
“Oh, c’mon, boss,” Callen groans, dropping his head back as I hold my hand open in his direction.
“A bet is a bet. Pay up, Marshall,” I say, opening and closing my fingers in a ‘gimme’ gesture.
Shaking his head in disappointment – at himself – he pulls a wad of cash from his pocket and reluctantly hands over a hundred-dollar bill.
With the same smug expression, I pluck the Benjamin from his fingers and tuck it into my back pocket. “Pleasure doin’ business with ya.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he mutters with an eyeroll, bringing his beer to his lips.
“Didn’t take you for a sore loser, Cal,” Jace teases, which earns him the middle finger from Callen and a chuckle from me.
Callen had bet that I couldn’t seven ball him in a game of pool. I took that bet, knowing I could seven ball the fucker with my eyes closed. Now, he’s down a hundred bucks and I have bragging rights that should bring the cocky shithead down a peg or two for at least a week.
Callen’s a hard worker. He’s worked for Ashby Trees for the last two years and I have nothing but respect for him. Lately, though, his attitude at work and the way he speaks to Jaxon is grating on me.
On more than one occasion in the past few weeks, I’ve overheard Callen giving Jax shit for arriving to work later than the rest of us, despite the fact that Jax and I have an agreement.
He’s gone against my orders to keep his mouth shut and his nose out of places it doesn’t belong, and I’m about done with his shit.
Today was the final straw.
Which is why I accepted his and Jace’s invitation for a drink after work. I figured the best time to mention the issue would be on neutral ground over a cold beer or two.
Jace empties the rest of his beer and stands. “I’m going to get another. Want one?”
I nod, holding up my almost empty bottle and Callen does the same. I wait for Jace to head to the bar before turning my attention on Cal. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”
Callen’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise, and he leans closer slightly, his eyes full of interest. I don’t know what he thinks I’m about to say, but I can guarantee that hopeful look won’t be on his face for much longer.
“I don’t appreciate it when the people representing my company go against my warnings.” I fold my arms over my chest and lean back in my seat as I wait for my words to sink in.
As expected, his face drops. “What are you talking about?”
“Jaxon.”
Callen shakes his head and chuckles. “Man, whatever that kid has said is bullshit. I ain’t done shit to him.”
See? Cocky.
I nod, keeping my facial expression blank as anger simmer beneath the surface. “Do you know what I hate more than bullies, Callen?”
“What’s that, boss?” he asks, draining the rest of his beer.
“Liars.” I hold his stare, daring him to lie to my face again.
When he doesn’t say anything, I try a different angle. “Do you like your job, Callen?”
He dips his chin in a nod.
“Good. If you want to keep your job, I suggest you keep your shitty comments to yourself. This is your final warning. Got it?”
“Got it, boss.”
“And you’ll apologise to Jax first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Will do,” he responds right as Jace returns with three fresh beers. I take mine and gesture it at the two of them in a cheers before chugging the entire thing and saying my goodbyes.
I only came out tonight to have that conversation, and now that it’s done, I don’t plan on sticking around.
I pull out my phone as I push through the doors of The Boot and step out into the frigid night. Heavy rain, that had been drowned out by the noise from the bar, falls like a sheet and I make a run for my truck, my head tucked low.
I climb inside right as the sky lights up and a deafening boom of thunder rattles the windows.
My phone vibrates in my hand, my sister’s name flashing across the screen.
“Hello?”
“Oh, thank God, you answered.” Comes my sister’s breathless, panic-stricken voice. “I’ve tried calling everyone, but none of them are answering their damn phones.”
My brow creases as I turn the key in the ignition and flick the window wipers on. “What’s wrong, Bells?”
“I stayed late at the café to work on some new recipes, and the storm started. The power went out while I was mid baking, which in itself, is a disaster, but then the roof sprang a leak so now I’m sitting here in the dark watching a bucket fill with water.”
“Shit. Do you need me to come there and take a look? I’m outside The Boot so I can be there in five.”
“No, no. Don’t worry about me. Justin is on his way to help me with that.”
My teeth grind at the sound of that fuckweed’s name. I thought Noah had been exaggerating when he told me that Justin Thompson was making a move on my sister, but after the other night and her mentioning him so casually now, leads me to believe there was some merit to Noah’s concerns.
Justin and his brother, Sam, have been nothing but a problem for us since we were teenagers.
The pair grew up with a silver spoon in their mouth, and they took every opportunity to flaunt that when growing up.
The Calloway brothers didn’t grow up poor, they made an honest living from an honest business, and they have always remained humble, no matter the amount they have in the bank.
Whereas the Thompson’s made their money from their sleaze ball father’s publishing company.
The man has gone through six assistants in the last year alone, and every single one has filed an inappropriate behaviour in the workplace claim against him.
So yeah, the fact my sister is dating one of them doesn’t sit right with me.
“Okay. So why are you calling me?” I ask, more confused than ever.
“Because Daisy is home alone and I can’t leave. It’s currently raining in my kitchen, Killian.”
Her words slowly sink in, followed quickly by worry.
Shit.
“I’m on my way there now.”
***
I turn the volume up on my TV to drown out the sound of the torrential rain hammering against my window shutters.
A statewide alert for category four thunderstorms was given earlier today, with the storm expected to hit in the early hours of the morning.
I spent the better part of my day helping Noah and his family batten down the hatches and get all the livestock to safety in preparation.
They were surprisingly calm considering the high threat posed against their livelihoods.
The rest of the town, however, were not. The residents have lost their minds.
On my drive home earlier, the streets were filled with people rushing in and out of different stores, their arms loaded with supplies. They’ve even gone as far as boarding up their windows. Anyone would think they were preparing for the apocalypse and not just a bit of thunder and lightning.
Then again, it’s not often we get a storm as severe as the one we have coming, so to say everyone is a little on edge would be an understatement.
As of right now, rain falls like a sheet beyond the shutters and the wind howls between the pines, creating an eerie feeling as the sky slowly turns darker with the fall of night. Yet, the storm we have rolling in out there doesn’t hold a candle to the storm already at full force inside this house.
The storm that is my mother.