Owen #2
Right. “I guess I can ask Lila. She can take notes,” I said, going for nonchalant, even as the thought of spending more time with her sent a thrill through me.
That thrill quickly turned to dread, though, when my brother shot me a glare.
“Don’t,” he said, his voice low and gruff. “Don’t look at her. Don’t think about her like that.”
“Like what?” I said, playing dumb.
“You are a grown man. I don’t need to explain it.” He leaned closer. “Lila’s a good kid. She’s working her ass off so she can move to New York and get a master’s degree. Do not cause problems for her.”
“You’re misreading the situation.” I lifted my chin, indignant, despite the guilt pooling in my gut. Whatever he had seen, it was a fraction of what I was really thinking about her.
“I’m the oldest of six boys, and I’ve spent the last twenty-plus years working in the woods with dozens of men. Trust me when I say this. You’re not fooling anyone. So let me say it again. Not her.”
He was massively overreacting, not that I’d point that out, given his murderous stare.
“She’s too young for you,” he continued. “And too nice. Not to mention she’s Cole’s ex.”
“You’ve got it all wrong.” I leaned in and ducked my head, lowering my voice. “I didn’t recognize her when she came to the office on Friday, okay? The image of Cole’s girlfriend I had in my head didn’t remotely resemble her. Seeing her just knocked me on my ass a bit. That’s all.”
Gus buried his face in his hands and growled, clearly not comforted by my half-assed reasoning. “Jesus. This is the last thing we need right now. She’s a kid.”
“She’s twenty-eight. Hardly a kid.”
“Said the thirty-eight-year-old man sitting across from me.” He fisted his hands on the tabletop.
“No way. Off limits. Stop this shit. Please do not complicate things anymore.” The glare he fixed on me brought me back to my teenage years, when he’d be pissed when I was too busy to help him with the shit Dad had tasked him with completing out at a logging site.
“Weren’t you just whining about how you want to get the job done and get out of this town? Get back to that and stay there.”
“I’ve got it under control,” I said. That was a lie. Deadlines, expectations, details. I was built to handle the pressure there. Getting things right the first time was a goal I strived for. Putting forth maximum effort to ensure success was my default.
It was the way I existed in this world. Owen Hebert did things the right way, never cutting corners or missing details.
I gave every task 100 percent of my attention, and I didn’t believe in distraction.
At least I hadn’t before.
Now? This was no ordinary job, and this was no ordinary town. And Lila? She sure as shit wasn’t an ordinary employee.
“I want to trust you,” Gus said, eyeing a table near the front window. Just about every seat in the place was full now, and the line was out the door. His body was tense, and his jaw had gone rigid.
Huffing and annoyed at how little my brother thought of me if he was this angry, I gritted my teeth and said, “You can trust me.”
Only then did I realize the anger coming off him wasn’t directed at me. Discreetly, I shifted in my seat and followed his gaze to the coffee bar.
Mayor Lambert, who I’d known since I was a kid, was sipping espresso out of a tiny cup. Chief Souza and Doug Baker, who owned a few car dealerships in the area, sat on stools beside him. The fourth man with them looked familiar, but I couldn’t place him.
He was wearing dress pants and a tie, and his hair was slicked back, which made him stick out even more than I did in a place like this. People in Lovewell were casual, sticking mostly to jeans and flannel.
“Who is that guy?” I asked my brother.
“The tall guy with the hair plugs and the chiclet teeth?” He raised one brow but shifted so he was facing me again. “Charles Huxley. He and Dad used to be friends. He was a state senator for a long time.”
Ah. I turned back to survey him again, and recognition dawned. He was tall and thin and blandly good looking for a guy in his sixties. He shifted in his seat mid-conversation, and when he noticed me, his smile faded. Jerk.
“He lives here?”
“Yeah. Ran for lieutenant governor last year and lost. Bought one of those big houses on the lake. He’s harmless, but don’t let him corner you. That guy never stops talking. Typical politician.”
It figured that these former friends of my father would be the ones judging us so harshly now.
Gus returned to his coffee and his phone, shutting me out again.
My chest ached as I took him in. For the first time in a long time, I longed for things to be the way they were.
At least when it came to our relationship.
Back when we joked and busted each other’s balls and felt comfortable enough to be completely honest with one another.
He worked long hours, and that was when he was in the office. He often had to leave for days on end to help our crew with cutting. These days, he wore many hats, and each of his responsibilities kept him busy. I wouldn’t get much time with him here, but I’d take advantage of what little we had.
“I need your help,” I said, finally getting him to look up from his phone. “I need you to teach me more about the business. If we’re going to make this sale happen, we’ve got to work together.”
With a wince, he took a long sip of his coffee.
As a kid, Gus had taken the divorce hard. He’d always worshipped our dad, and even after Dad treated Mom so badly, he’d struggled to see the man for who he really was.
But the battle lines had been drawn after the events of last year.
Gus and Jude were on one side, in denial and still believing that the business could be saved.
Finn and I were on the other, wanting to wash our hands of all of it and move on with our lives.
Noah had yet to bother giving us his opinion. If pushed, he would blindly support Jude but wanted nothing to do with the drama.
Cole was too self-absorbed to even participate in these conversations. He was probably sleeping off a bender right now.
“There’s only so much I can teach you in a coffee shop.”
I let out an annoyed grunt. “I know that. I just want the basics.”
“You should know the basics, asshole.” He set his cup down a little too hard. “You grew up here just like I did.”
I pushed my plate away, no longer interested in the last of my scone. It figured that he wouldn’t go easy on me.
“Here’s how I see it,” I said. “We drive out into the wilderness and we cut down trees. Then we load those trees onto trucks, drive them back to civilization, and deliver them to a sawmill, where they’re cut to fit the specifications of our customers’ orders.”
With a scowl, he crossed his arms and sat back. “It’s a bit more complicated than that.”
“If that’s the case, then why not teach me more about the intricacies?”
“Why bother? You’re more interested in stripping this business for parts and selling them off than understanding it. It’s bigger than that. It’s more important than that.”
Oh, for the love of God. The last thing I needed was another high-handed lecture from Gus. “Spare me the talk about the family legacy today, Gus.” I huffed. “I’m here, aren’t I? I’ve put my life on hold—a really fucking awesome life, by the way—to come up here and save your ass.”
He snorted into his coffee cup. “Keep telling yourself that, city boy.”
My blood heated beneath my skin, just like it did every time we talked about this shit. “Fuck you.”
“Listen, little brother. If you could pack up so easily, leaving no one behind to miss you, then maybe your life in Boston isn’t so fucking excellent.”
His words stung. Shit. Was that what he thought of me? Maybe coming here had been a mistake. If Gus wasn’t interested in my help, then there was nothing I could do to fix this clusterfuck.
We hadn’t had a knock-down, drag-out fight since we were kids, but I was itching to drag him out to the parking lot and throw a few punches. How had we gotten so far away from one another? How had our family gotten so splintered?
And why were we all so angry at one another? Our dad was the villain. He was the one who’d fucked everything up.
Before I could stand and drag Gus out of the booth by the collar, the door chimed and Lila walked in. The world around me ceased to exist as I watched her greet the barista and several of the patrons with warm smiles, her ponytail bobbing as she waved at each one of them.
Gus growled. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about. I see the way you’re looking at her.”
Ignoring him, I took in every inch of her body. She was wearing yoga pants today, and the view of her ass alone was worth the expensive latte. God, I was already gone for this girl.
“Get your fucking head in the game. We have work to do,” Gus said, sliding out of the booth. “And stop mooning over your little brother’s ex-girlfriend. It’s pathetic.”