Chapter Twelve
CHAPTER TWELVE
“You don’t have to keep stopping by. I do know what I’m doing.”
Eugene cracked a smile at Linc’s sniping. “Are you sure? Because that cabinet looks crooked.”
With a sigh, Linc laid down his drill and turned to face his brother. “Since when did you become a contractor? Because the last time I looked the only thing you know how to do is play games.”
“Hey, I know how to do all this stuff.”
“Is that right? Good. Then put up or shut up.”
Oh shit. He knew he could only push Linc so far, but it was fun getting under his skin, and Linc got irritated so easily. Now he either had to back off or dig in and help his brother hang kitchen cabinets, something he most definitely didn’t want to do.
Rolling his eyes, he helped Linc hang the upper cabinets. Of course Linc made him hold the heavy cabinets while he drilled the screws in, making Eugene drip with sweat.
“Too hard for you?” Linc asked, pausing, drill in hand, while Eugene held on to the cabinet.
“Just fucking do it,” he said.
Linc laughed. Asshole.
After they finished the uppers they got the lower cabinets in place, then put on the cabinet doors.
They both stood and stared at their work.
“Looks awesome,” Linc said.
Eugene swiped away the sweat from his brow. “Hell yeah it does. We did all right.”
“Yeah, we did. Thanks for the help. You saved me half a day’s work.”
“That means you can take me to lunch, then.”
“I already ate a sandwich before you got here.”
“That was hours ago. And I haven’t eaten. Plus, you’re probably hungry again anyway.”
Linc rolled his eyes. “Fine.”
They found a pizza place not too far from the house, ordered a large pizza and a couple of beers.
“You did great today,” Linc said, taking a long swallow of his beer.
“Thanks. I have to admit it was fun to get sweaty and do some heavy lifting. I can see why you enjoy it.”
“Yeah, it makes me feel good. I like putting things together, creating something with my hands. Kind of what you’re doing with the new job, huh?”
“Yeah, sort of.”
“Not sort of. Exactly. How’s that going?”
“It’s going good. It’s like putting puzzle pieces together. Similar to the games I’ve designed, only more three dimensional, more of a real-world experience. It’s definitely different from anything I’ve ever done.”
“You sound more excited about this job than you have in years.”
“Thanks. It’s something new, for sure, and that’s always exciting.”
“Speaking of new and exciting, how are things going with Natalie?”
He fortunately didn’t have to answer that question right away because their pizza arrived, and despite Linc telling him he’d already eaten a sandwich, he dove in with both hands to grab a slice.
Figured. His brother always ate the most. Eugene had to fight Linc and Warren to even get a bite of food when they were kids. Fortunately, he had his mom to slide him extra slices so he wouldn’t starve.
The pizza was excellent. Eugene could have eaten the whole thing by himself, which was why he was happy his brother shared it with him. Now he wouldn’t have to work out so hard at the gym.
“I think we were talking about how things were going with Natalie,” Linc said after he signaled for the server to bring them another round of beers.
“Oh, right. It’s fine. I’m still taking things slow.”
Linc frowned. “Still? Why?”
He shrugged. “Because she deserves that. I don’t have all the details but I think her ex held her back, and right now she’s working her way into having a sense of freedom. The last thing I want to do is to stifle her.”
Linc nodded. “That’s considerate of you.”
Eugene started to say something, then took a sip of his beer instead, trying to come up with the right words to express his feelings.
“I like her. I really like her. I don’t want to screw it up.”
Linc cocked his head to the side. “I get that. Seems to me you’re handling things with Natalie…gently, right?”
“So far.”
“Then keep doing what you’re doing. And don’t screw it up.”
Eugene laughed. “Yeah, that’s the plan.”