23. Jace
Jace
“Knock, knock.” Blake's voice carries to me on the back porch, and I make my way inside to meet him while I work through what all I plan to discuss with him tonight. “Uh, you got something to tell me, Jace?”
I bark out a laugh at Blake’s face while he holds the American Girl doll dangling from his fingers like it’s something abhorrent.
“Look, man, I try not to judge. If I came in and saw you had an inflatable doll, I’d mock you for sure but not judge.
However, I can’t think of a single reason for you to have a baby doll.
” He punctuates the last two words by shaking the offending toy at me.
“Ha ha, you’re so clever,” I deadpan, grabbing the doll from him and smoothing the hair I had brushed out earlier. “It’s nothing weird. I got it to practice doing hair. Reviews and YouTubers said this brand is great for hair styling practice,” I explain, like it should be obvious to him.
“Sooooooo, you’re going into hairstyling now?” Blake still looks confused.
“No, you dope. It’s for Lizzie. The other day, after she went missing, I stayed over to be with Harper.
She was understandably freaked, and I didn’t think she should be alone.
The next morning, Lizzie asked me to do her hair.
It was not good, man. Anyways, I decided to learn to do some braids and shit so I can help out more if needed in the future.
That's all, no biggie.” I shrug and put the doll in the hall closet.
Blake watches me in a calculated manner. “You really care about her, don’t you?”
I blow out a breath before responding, “Yeah, I’m crazy for her, and Lizzie. I hadn’t thought too hard about kids, but she’s the best, and I don’t know…I just want to be there for them.”
“Well, it sounds like you’re on the right track. The doll is still weird, but the reason behind it is cute.”
I glare at him. “Did you really just call me cute?”
“Definitely not, but what you’re doing is. Speaking of which, I have the tent and projector in my truck.” He shoots a thumb toward the door.
“Let’s get those, then want to join me out back for some beers?”
“Sounds good to me.” Blake smiles as we head outside.
“I can’t thank you enough for taking care of all this. I planned to do it myself, then with everything that happened with Lizzie, I just assumed the date was off. Then Harper surprised me by wanting to keep the date.” Blake shakes his head at me, waving off the comment.
“I was already going to Portland, it took an extra ten minutes max to stop by the shop, and it’s about time someone got some use out of this tent.
” We unload the rest of the stuff then head out back.
The firepit is already warming the space enough to make it comfortable even with the slight chill moving in.
The scent of burning wood hangs in the air, comforting and inviting.
We sit for a few minutes, listening to the wood crackle and the soft sound of the stream babbling over the stones and reeds. It’s peaceful.
“One last question about the doll.” I roll my eyes but laugh at the way he’s hung up on it. “Are you just trying random things with it, or did you get a book or something?”
“Nope, good ole YouTube.”
“Seriously?” Blake's eyebrows are halfway up his forehead, and he nods, taking a sip of beer.
“Yep, there are millions of tutorial videos on there. I found a few and have been practicing. I’m all thumbs, and half the time it looks nothing like what they are doing, but I’m getting better.”
“I can’t decide if that freaks me out or makes me want it for myself someday,” Blake absentmindedly remarks, almost more to himself than me.
“Speaking of somedays, there was another reason I invited you out tonight, Blake.” I stare into the flames, watching them dance in the gentle breeze.
Each flicker bending the shadows, stretching them, before the flames snap and curl, reforming them.
“What would you think about becoming my partner in the business?”
That got his attention. The front legs of the chair he had been tipping back, clunk onto the floorboards, beer sloshing over his hand, making him curse under his breath. “What did you say?”
“I asked if you want to help me grow the business and come on as an equal partner. I’ll give you some time off to get your contracting license, and once you are licensed, we can get the paperwork completed, splitting the business.”
Blake stares at me, too stunned to speak, so I go on, “Look, you know I don’t want to move back to Portland, I hated living there.
Coming here really cemented that for me.
Even if things don’t work out with Harper, I find myself feeling so discontent with the way things were.
Doing the woodwork for this project has been more fun than I’ve had in ages.
I think between the two of us we could expand and keep the construction going but also allow me to focus on the custom builds for projects. ”
“Don’t you want someone with more experience? A known name in the community to be a partner?” Blake, who is normally so self-assured, seems a little lost and more than a little uncertain of himself. I’m nipping that in the bud.
“Blake, you have more than proven yourself over the years, and in the last year especially. Customers love you, the crew all respect you, and more than anything, I trust you completely. There is no one I would be willing to make this jump with but you.” His mouth opens, but nothing comes out.
He ends up taking another swig of beer and staring into the darkness beyond the porch.
“You don’t have to give me an answer tonight, or even this week.
Just think about it, and if you don’t want to make that move, your current job still stands.
But if you do want to give it a go, well, then we can sit down and make a plan together on what that will look like. ”
Blake’s smile returns as he stands up, extending his hand to me. “I’m with you ‘til the end of the line.” His cocky smirk that I’m well acquainted with is back.
Recognizing the quote, I chuckle before grasping his outstretched hand. “Alright, Captain America, let's do this.”
“How about we work out the details on Monday?” Blake grins happily. “Tonight, we need to make sure everything is ready for your date tomorrow. Then, we are going to watch one of those hair tutorials, and I’m going to show you how it’s done.”
Laughing, I stand, pulling him in for a quick hug. “You’re on, and just so you know, it’s much harder than it looks, so don’t feel bad when you fail.”
We head inside and get a few more things prepped for tomorrow then have a battle of the hair. Blake, the little motherfucker, catches on quickly and destroys my attempt at a fishtail braid, but I own him in French braids, so we call it a tie before turning on the TV to hang out and catch up.