7. Chapter Seven
If I have to hear one more person say boss today, I’m going to rip my hair out.
I’ve only been out of town for a little over a week and it still isn’t getting any easier knowing Bethany is home alone. Well, she’s technically not alone, but she’s still not with me.
“Boss,” one of my men says from ten feet away, his hard hat sitting lopsided on top of his head. “We need you down here.”
When don’t they need me? It’s like as soon as I finish up with one guy, another one is just waiting to call for me. I’ve been out at the job site for most of the afternoon and have yet to sit down for lunch.
I had thought when my boss offered me this promotion through his contracting company that it would be a walk in the park. He told me beforehand that I would be in charge of the crew and have to walk through the jobsite to make sure everything was going smoothly, but he didn’t tell me how incompetent all of these guys are.
“What’s the problem?” I ask him.
He points to some electrical wiring that’s hanging from the ceiling and frowns. “Does this look off to you?”
I scrub a hand over my face and stare at him. “Is that not something you should know? You’re the contractor; how do you not know if the wiring is put in there incorrectly? Come to think of it, weren’t you the one who did the wiring in the first place?”
My frustration is clearly evident, which I blame on the beautiful redhead back home. I can’t stop thinking about her and it’s messing with my head. I need to focus on the job at hand, not on how Autumn felt as she came apart underneath me.
I glance up at the wiring and shake my head. “It looks fine to me, but I’m not an electrician. I’ll call someone local and have them come take a look.”
When I get back to my hotel which is located only a few blocks from the jobsite, I take a deep breath and research electricians in the area before giving one with the highest rating a call. The call goes to voicemail so I leave a message.
“Hi, my name’s Easton Gentry. I’m the foreman working on a jobsite for Kinzer Contracting and we’re in need of your services. It’s just a simple wiring check if you can spare the time. Give me a call back at this number when you get the chance, thank you.”
I end the call and my thoughts turn once again to home and whether this promotion is worth all the time I have to spend away from Bethany. Some days I’m not sure it is.
These projects usually take a few months, but the owner of the company has four different men in my position and we swap each other out. That’s how I end up back home for some time before being on the move again.
The only reason I’m here this time is because one of the other guys had to call off after getting the flu. I was asked to fill in for him since the other two guys were already on other job sites.
I’ve always loved working with homes, but could never get into the building aspect, so I went with the planning process instead. After years of working with the same company, they finally granted me the promotion I’d been looking for and I’m now able to watch the process. Whilst it’s been fun seeing it go from nothing to this beautiful masterpiece, the time away from home sucks. Incompetent contractors don’t help either.
I groan in frustration and head into the bathroom, thinking a shower would feel amazing right about now.
When I get out, I notice I have a missed call from my boss and I immediately call him back.
“Easton,” his gruff voice says from the other end. “You’ll be heading back to Maple Creek tomorrow. I’ve managed to get someone to relieve you in the morning.”
Thank God. I don’t know how much longer I could take these guys. “Sounds good. Do you have any idea when I’ll be heading out of town again?”
“Probably next week, but I’ll keep you updated and give you as much notice as I can”
“Okay, talk to you later.”
When I hang up, I get dressed in sweats and a long sleeve tee and then pack my bag, my rumbling stomach reminding me I haven’t had dinner yet. A quick call to room service and a plate of carbonara is on the way so I lie back on the bed, switching on the tv as I wait.
Later as I lay in bed attempting to sleep, I remind myself to call Dawson and Elijah when I get home. I’m going to need a night out as soon as I get back. I need to avoid seeing Autumn for as long as I can because there’s no way I’m going to be able to look at her without wanting her naked, a thought that has my dick hardening in my pants.
The house is quiet when I walk through the front door, except for the sound of the television coming from the living room where Bethany and Autumn have taken up residence. I watch them for a few minutes before clearing my throat and laughing loudly. “Wow, I love the warm welcome.”
Bethany jumps at the sound of my voice, then rushes over to me with a bright smile. At least it seems she’s missed me as much as I’ve missed her, although it adds to the guilt I feel for being away from her so much. Autumn lifts from the couch and nods before heading into the kitchen to give me a minute alone with Bethany.
“How was everything while I was gone?”
She shrugs. “Good. Autumn made sure I got my homework done so don’t get on her about that.”
“That’s good. And practice?”
“It’s all good, Dad. I told you I’m not a little girl anymore, I can handle it on my own.” She glances around the room and bites her bottom lip. “When will you be gone again?”
“I’m not sure right now. Possibly next week.” My phone pings and I glance at it, seeing a message from my mom. “Grandma wants to know if you’d like to have a sleepover tonight,” I tell her.
She nods excitedly. “Can I? I mean, I know you just got home and I missed you like crazy, but it’s always so much fun at Grandma’s house!”
I smile at her even though I’d much rather she stay home tonight seeing as I just got back, but I’d never deny her spending time with my parents. “Of course you can,” I tell her.
“Thanks, Dad! You’re the best! I’m going to get my things together now!”
I’ve already got tomorrow planned out for us since I’ve been gone a lot, so I’ll let her have tonight with my mom and dad while I go out with Elijah. Muffled voices are coming from down the hall, but I choose to ignore them and head into the kitchen. It only takes a few minutes for Bethany to come rushing back downstairs with her overnight bag slung over her shoulder.
“Ready,” she says breathlessly while running to the front door.
I shake my head with a chuckle while following her out to my car. She’s had my parents wrapped around her finger since the moment she was born, so her excitement doesn’t surprise me one bit. I’m just happy that she was able to have my parents and Savanna in her life after Elena died – even if it was only video chats with Savanna most of the time.
My mom is already standing outside on the porch when I pull up the driveway, a big smile on her face when Bethany jumps out of the car. I let out a low growl and shake my head, then step out myself. “Bethany Gentry, you know better than to open that door before I’ve stopped the car.”
“Sorry, Dad.”
My mom looks me up and down. “Where are you going looking so smart?”
I shrug. “I’m just going for a drink with Elijah.”
Her eyes light up and I immediately regret telling her. She keeps hoping I’ll find the love of my life, no matter how many times I tell her it’s not happening.
“Elijah’s waiting for me so I’d better go,” I tell her before she can say anything. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Mom. Love you, Bethany; be good.” I give her a quick kiss on the cheek then get back in my car, waving to both of them as I back out of the driveway.
Elijah is scowling at the TV hanging above the bar when I walk in and doesn’t move when I sit on the stool next to him. I look at the screen and frown, realizing what’s got his panties in a bunch. “Come on, man, ignore that shit.”
He shakes his head and downs the rest of his beer, then shakes it at the bartender to indicate he needs another one. “How does she still have such a large fan base?” His lip curls before adding, “Meanwhile, Raine has to hide away here because of everything that woman did.”
“This is supposed to be a fun night out, Eli, let’s enjoy it.” I’m never going to get Autumn off my mind if he’s not going to shut up about the girl who ruined Raine’s life.
It also doesn’t help when Elijah glances over my shoulder and waves to whoever just walked in. When I look over my shoulder, I see Autumn standing next to Savanna and Dawson. Savanna points to one of the empty tables and the three of them head in that direction, but not before Autumn looks at me with a small smile. It looks like we may have had the same idea. This will be fantastic. Not.
Autumn doesn’t waste any time walking onto the dance floor and I have to hold back a groan at the way her dress is clinging to her curves. Her red hair is flowing down her back and looks unbelievable against the black fabric she’s wearing.
“Might want to close your mouth, man,” Elijah says with a soft chuckle.
I shove him playfully, almost knocking him off his stool and then glance over at Autumn. When I see some guy standing behind her with his hands on her hips, it sends my blood boiling in ways it hasn’t before. What the hell is he doing?
“Be right back,” I mutter to Elijah as I step off my stool. Savanna waves to me from her seat, but I don’t bother returning it as I make a beeline for Autumn and the random guy. It’s bad enough she went out on a date, now this?
I know I should’ve thought this through, but it seems common sense disappears when it comes to Autumn. It wasn’t my intention to start anything, but as soon as my hand lands on the guy’s shoulder, I wait until he lets go of her hips and I shove him away.
“What the hell, man?!” He growls as he clenches his fists at his sides. When I glance back at Autumn, her mouth is wide open in surprise and her gaze is darting between the two of us before she glares at me. I ignore her and stare her admirer down with my arms crossed over my chest. “You can go now, asshole.”
Autumn scoffs and rolls her eyes, while the guy mutters something under his breath and stomps away.
Savanna’s still glaring at me, while Elijah smirks from his seat at the bar. I close my eyes while silently cursing myself. What the hell did I just do?