Page 117 of Rules to Love By

“It helps that my uncle was by and got me just drunk enough to sleep all yesterday afternoon, and I did sleep last night for a while too.” He pulled Marcus into a hug. “As did you.”

“A bit.”

“Good.”

“How…?”

“Cool room.”

“Freezing, more like.” He shivered and realized his feet were bare.

“Who cares. It worked. Also, complete darkness, quiet, calm environment.”

“An anxiety whisperer doesn’t hurt.”

Eli gathered him into his arms. “I try.”

Footsteps on the stairs alerted them both, and they looked over in time to see Eli’s father appear. “Eli.” He paused, taking in the scene, then shook his head. “You boys had better come down to breakfast, son. It’s going to be a bear of a day, I expect.”

“Yeah, Dad.” Eli moved to put himself slightly between his father and Marcus. Sweet, but unnecessary.

“Actually,” he said, casting around to find his socks and shoes, “I should go.”

“Nonsense.” Mr. Benson waved a hand at them. “There’s plenty for the both of you. Eli, your uncle Ezra’s on his way. He’s bringing that no-use cousin of yours, Jethro, to help with the storeroom, so get a move on. I want you keeping an eye on that boy.”

Eli groaned. “You should not be letting Ambrose fob his responsibility off on his little brother.”

“Jethro needs the cash while he looks for a real… something more permanent.”

“I’m texting Ambrose to come supervise,” Eli told him.

“Good luck with that. Breakfast?”

“We’ll be right down, Dad.”

“I’m really sorry, Mr. Benson,” Marcus blurted. “So much has been going on—”

“Stop.” Mr. Benson held up a hand. “You’re fine. I’m only having him get rid of the dust and grime and get it ready to paint.” He waved a hand. “Lad needs some spending money, so don’t you worry. You’re fine. I still expect you to put in those shelves we talked about, and I decided on the drawers in the lower stairs, so you’ll have plenty to do. No need for you to be slogging soap and water around when that boy needs something to keep him out of trouble.” He looked at Eli, eyes narrowed. “You’re not sticking around today, are you.”

Eli shook his head and took Marcus’s hand. “No, sir.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll go call your uncle. Maybe Lydia can come with Jethro instead. Swear that man has more kids…” Whatever else he muttered got lost in the sound of his retreating footsteps as he clumped back down to the main apartment.

As soon as he was gone, Marcus turned on Eli. “What does that mean? I’m going to do the work. I’ve been doing it.”

“I know.” Eli reached for him, but Marcus took a step back. “He doesn’t want you to feel you have to, with everything else going on.”

“I don’t feel I have to. I just want to. It’s a good distraction.”

“Maybe he thinks you should be focusing on what you need.”

“This is what I need. I’m not going to bail on him. I just…” He huffed. “I needed half a minute. Or. A day. Whatever. I’m still going to finish what I started.” He spotted his shoes and socks next to the bed and sat on the edge of the mattress to put them on. Before he got farther than picking up the first sock, though, Eli knelt in front of him.

“I know you will.” He took the sock from Marcus. “He knows too. This isn’t about him thinking you won’t finish. It’s about Jethro. Uncle Ezra does his best, but after Auntie died, his kids sort of… flew off the rails in all directions. Dad tries to help. That’s all this is, and he’s right. You don’t have to do all the grunt work when Jethro is perfectly capable and needs the money.”

“Does anyone in this town ever say no when someone needs help?”

“Not to my knowledge. Not the ones worth knowing, anyway.”

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