Page 24 of Only Temporary

“You need to get laid.” I’d started working on the car again, but my eyes snap to my best friend now, a hefty glare in his direction.

“And when exactly would I find time for that?” I don’t bother mentioning the fact that I couldn’t care less about getting laid. Never really have.

He just shrugs his bigass shoulders and starts tinkering under the hood. “I don’t know, but you need to. You’ve been biting everyone’s head off nonstop.”

Chelsea, one of the other mechanics, can’t seem to help herself and laughs while she works on an older Harley. “He’s not wrong.”

I feel a little sheepish now because I may have been a dick to her earlier. “I apologized.”

She laughs, her dark-red lipstick a little intoxicating when she does. “Listen, I’d help you out, but I think Max would probably kill you.”

I look toward the back office, where her two hundred pounds of pure muscle husband is on the phone and thankfully not paying any attention to us. He’s a big fucker, and no doubt, he would tear me in half if I even thought for a second about touching her.

Chelsea is a bombshell, no doubt. Curvy with platinum-blonde hair, blue eyes with tattoos. The woman is gorgeous, but not worth dying for. “You’re hot, but I happen to like all my body parts attached.”

She tosses her head back and cackles, and Tatum gets a good laugh too before tossing a rag at me. I catch it and give him a questioning gaze. “Go.”

I shake my head. “I can’t. We still have at least an hour’s worth of work here.”

“Go,” he says again. “I’ve got this.”

Now I feel even more like a dickhead. He’s done nothing but help me out since even before I started taking care of the kids. “Tatum...”

“Don’t,” he says with a smirk. “You have a lot going on. Go take care of the kids. I hope they had a good first day.”

God, me too.

I clean my hands with the rag and pat him on the shoulder—he’s still wearing his coveralls, so it doesn’t matter that my hands are still pretty dirty. “Thank you.”

He nods and jerks his head toward the door, telling me to get going, so I follow his direction. I strip out of my coveralls and wash my hands before getting into my car and going to the store.

I got paid today, but I need to make sure I stretch the money out. It takes me well over an hour to find stuff to feed the kids for the next week and try to plan simple meals in my head.

I have no doubt I’ll be right back in here in a day or two because food doesn’t seem to last long with four kids. I should probably get government assistance, but I can’t bring myself to do it. It feels like I’d be letting the kids down somehow in my fucked-up head.

I reach the house and pause briefly when I see a small, newer model car parked on the curb.Who the hell is here?

My heart races as I park in the driveway and go inside the house, panic racing through me at the thought that whoever it is, is here to take the kids away. But I stop short in the doorway, when I see Phillip is in the kitchen, chatting with Braylen.

He looks over at me, and I see Braylen’s head turn. He looks upset, and I close the door, walking toward him in an instant. “Braylen? You okay?”

He nods his head stubbornly. “I’m fine.”

“We were just talking about his first day at the new school,” Phillip supplies, his eyes offering a quiet warning. Like I shouldn’t push.

“How was it?” I ask carefully.

He shrugs. “I miss my old friends.”

I nod in understanding. This is such a huge change. “I’m sorry, buddy. It’ll get better.”

He shrugs his small shoulders. “I know.” He looks back at Phillip, like maybe he wants to say something to him but doesn’t. And I feel a momentary pang of jealousy because I’ve never gotten that close to him confiding in me. “I’m hungry. When will dinner be done?”

Phillip looks a little sheepishly at me, and I look behind him toward the stove, seeing water boiling before I look back into his eyes. “You’re cooking?”

He clears his throat and addresses Braylen first, “Not too long. I promise.” My little brother seems satisfied with that and leaves the room before Phillip turns his attention back to me. “I hope it’s okay. I just thought with it being their first day of school, maybe I could help out a little.”

“That’s...”

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