Page 29 of Love and Loathing

A rush of gratitude filled Alex as he took the offering. “Thank you.”

Dave opened the door to leave.

Alex glanced over at him. “Dave, who was it that told you this?”

“Jacob Whitley,” Dave said, and every muscle in Alex’s body shook. “I’ll let him go today. I’d wanted to wait to fill his spot before I did that, but he’s already missed at least six shifts in the last month, so there.”

“No, I’ll take care of it. And I’ll fill in around here until you find another employee.”

Dave turned all the way back to Alex. “Have you done construction before?”

Alex nodded. “My dad owned a construction company in England. I worked on his crew every summer from the time I was fourteen until he passed away when I was twenty.”

“Then worked on your mom’s crew from twenty on?” Dave smirked.

“Yeah, something like that.” He smiled. “Do you have Jacob’s phone number?”

Dave went to his computer. “Yeah, but he hardly ever answers it.” He scrolled through some documents, then grabbed a Post-it Note and jotted it down. “I was going to go by his place tonight. Do you want his address?”

“Please.”

* * *

Six hours later, the crew cleared out for the day. Alex was sore, smelly, and tension free. He’d forgotten how much he enjoyed a long hard day of heavy labor growing up. He’d be glad to help out for a few days while they found a replacement.

Following the address Dave had given him in his GPS, Alex ended up pulling to a stop out front of a run-down bungalow. An old yellow boat with a cabin sat in the driveway, and behind it a beat-up Honda truck. He double-checked the address, then confirmed it was right and got out. He’d almost made it to the door when a decidedly girlish giggle sounded from the boat, followed by a deeper chuckle.

Alex pushed down his fury and took a deep breath. Of course Jacob would be up to his old tricks here. He went to the boat and yelled up. “Whitley, get out here!”

The boat rocked back and forth, and a moment later Whitley stumbled out of the cabin, pulling his shirt on over his head. He saw Alex, smirked, and leaned against the railing. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Alexander Young, famous movie star, real estate mogul, prat. What do you want?”

“Dave Daley was under the impression that you didn’t come to work today because you were sick.” Alex slanted a glance toward the cabin of the boat.

“I’m feeling much better now.”

“I bet you are,” Alex said. “You’re fired.” Alex turned and headed back to his truck.

“Wait, you can’t do that! I need this job!” Jacob yelled after him, jumping down off the boat and following.

“Maybe you should have thought about that before you lied to your boss and left your co-workers shorthanded on no less than six occasions in the last two months.”

Jacob came around him. “Wait, stop. I’m just getting settled here again—I need the money. This job and that boat are all I have. Come on, we were friends once. Have a little compassion.”

Alex stepped around him.

“Oh, I see. You’re still mad about your sister?” He chuckled. “Or is it Jessie you’re mad about? I wouldn’t blame you; she’s a hot little number.”

Without thinking, Alex whirled around and socked Whitley in the eye. Whitley hit the dirt with a satisfying thud.

Alex shook out his hand. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from Jessie. Do you understand me?”

Whitley held his eye and let out a bark of laughter. “Man, that girl has you wrapped around her little finger, doesn’t she? And she can’t even stand you.”

Alex headed for his truck.

Jacob kept laughing. “She likes me. I’m invited to dinner Sunday night.”

Jumping in his truck, Alex jammed his key in the ignition and sped off. He took several deep breaths and managed to calm down blocks later. Crap. He shouldn’t have punched him. But the guy had mentioned his sister, and then Jessie … and Alex had just seen red. This wasn’t good. He scrubbed a hand through his hair. He’d just have to hope that Jacob would still be too afraid to do anything about it.

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