Chapter 21
21
COLE
“Cole!”
I pulled my head from under the hood of the car I was working on and saw my dad approaching. “Hey, what’s up?”
It wasn’t unusual to see my dad in the garage. He usually stopped in a few times a week but hadn’t this week with all the shit going on at the construction sites. I knew everyone was on guard, watching for Paul Lewis to make an appearance, but so far nothing. Today was Saturday, which meant Dimarco Construction was closed, and he had a free day.
He stopped and leaned his hip against the front of the car. “Just wanted to see how it’s going.”
“Good.” I pulled the rag from my back pocket and cleaned my hands.
“Heard you hired Paige.”
“I did.”
He grinned. “Any reason other than you want to keep an eye on her?”
My dad didn’t miss anything. He knew exactly why I wanted her close. Paul Lewis fucked with the wrong family. Attacking Bailey was his first misstep. Going after Paige was his second. I was not a three-strike kind of guy. As far as I was concerned, he was out at one.
I just needed him to show his face in our town so I could explain that to him.
“She needed a job.”
His brow furrowed. “She didn’t like working for Dave?”
“He fired her.” My dad’s lips thinned, and I recognized that expression. “Actually, he told her he was downsizing, but she knew he was firing her.”
“Why?”
“She was messing up orders,” I explained. “Not little mistakes, big ones, so I get it, but he could’ve given her some time to heal. He knows she’s a hard worker and the customers love her, but he said he couldn’t afford the mistakes. It’s not her, though.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve been keeping an eye on her these past two days. After a few hours on the computer, she starts to struggle. When I ask her if she’s okay, she says it’s just a headache. I did a little reading last night, and it could be the headaches, but I also found out she shouldn’t even be on devices, especially computers, with the severity of her concussion.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. “Now that you say that, I remember the doctor telling us the same thing when you were in high school and had your concussion. We didn’t give it much thought because you were never on the computer anyway. You hardly even watched television, so it wasn’t a hardship to keep you off that shit. I guess if it’s part of your job, though, it’s harder to keep off it.”
“Exactly. And I think that was what happened at Dave’s. Her entire job was computer-based, so she couldn’t take a break. That’s not the case here.”
“What are you gonna do?”
“We’re going old school, starting Monday,” I told him in no uncertain terms. “Back to paper invoices. She can do filing, shit like that. Hell, even the scheduling can be done on paper for now.”
“That’s a lot more work for everyone, including you. Shit can be easily missed, and it’s not as easy to keep track of orders. You remember how it used to be when you worked for McAllister. You complained about it all the time. You were the one who talked him into the new system to make life easier for all of you, and you don’t even like using computers.”
Dad was right. I did talk McAllister into the new system. I even paid to have it set up and explained to me so I could use it, but none of that mattered. “True, but yesterday afternoon, I heard her puking in the bathroom. I pretended I didn’t hear it, but she came out white as a fucking sheet, and I can’t stand to see her like that.”
He smirked. “You seem to be watching pretty closely.”
I shoved the rag back into my pocket. “I just notice things.”
His hearty laugh bounced off the concrete walls and floor, echoing it was so loud. “I’m calling bullshit.” He laid his hand on my shoulder. “Trust me, kid, this’ll be a whole lot easier if you just admit you have feelings for her. Even if it’s only to me.”
I looked across the room, but I already knew he was right. I needed to talk to someone, and I obviously couldn’t talk to Ben or Jake since they couldn’t keep any fucking thing to themselves anymore.
Sighing, I met my dad’s expectant expression. “I’m working on figuring it out.”
“Fair enough.” He dropped his hand. “Let’s start with the shit that bothers you when it comes to her.”
I could do that, and it seemed a hell of a lot easier than trying to figure out what I felt for someone I’d been avoiding because all we did was fight. “I hate seeing her like this,” I admitted. “She’s not Paige right now. She looks so fucking lost.”
“You’re worried about her,” he surmised.
“Yeah.” I lifted my hand and scratched the back of my neck. “But it’s more than that. I want to help her find her way back to who she was. It was like there was always a light on if Paige was in the room, and now…” I shook my head. “I don’t know…now it’s like she’s surrounded by darkness, and it bothers me.” I met my dad’s stare. “A lot. I’m not sure how to help her dig her way out of the darkness.”
“You already are.” He pointed out. “Look at the shit you’re doing to make sure she has a job she can do while she heals. I don’t know her that well, but from what I’ve heard, she’s fiercely independent. She’s always taken care of herself and doesn’t allow anyone to help her. It must have crushed her to be fired, but you stepped in and hired her right away. You gave her a purpose, and I’ll bet she needs that more than anything right now.”
“I’ve wondered if she’ll even fight me on the accommodations. The old Paige would have.”
“I hope she does.” He grinned. “That means the fighter she’s always been is still in there.”
“I don’t know, Dad. I sure as hell haven’t seen it.”
“She’s scared.” His expression sobered. “She was beaten, Cole, and the man who did it is still out there. I’m sure it’s constantly on her mind if he’s going to hurt her again or Bailey or even someone else.”
“I won’t let him near her or Bailey.”
“You’re not always with her.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m sure that shit plagues her when she’s alone. At least Bailey has Chase now. She’s never alone and won’t be until this bastard is caught, but that’s not Paige’s life.”
“Shit.” I ran my hand through my hair. “I thought the gray marks under her eyes were from her headaches, but I wonder if she’s sleeping at all.”
“I can’t imagine it’s good sleep if she is,” he remarked. “Seems to me she’d probably sleep better if someone was in her house with her. Jake said Lanie offered to stay, but Paige told her no, that she’s fine. I have a feeling Paige doesn’t want to pull Lanie from Jake and Braydon, and she’s refused to stay with them.”
"I was at the hospital when Jake tried to convince her to stay with them, but she said no.” I sighed. “I would offer to stay with her, but I work late, and I don’t want her sitting around waiting for me to finish before going home. That would defeat the purpose.”
“Your place has two bedrooms, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah. There’s nothing really in there, though. Not even a bed,” I said aloud, but I was really only talking to myself.
“That can’t be too hard to get your hands on.” Dad clapped his hands together. “Well, I gotta get going.”
“See ya, Dad,” I called out as he walked away.
If I’d been paying attention, I would’ve seen the smirk on his face.
But I was too busy trying to figure out where the hell I was going to buy a bed and how to convince Paige she needed to live with me.