Page 65 of Need You
Carrie Jo buzzed in. “Your mother is on line two.”
Why she didn’t call his cell, he’d never know. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hannah says Sunday is the best night to hold the dinner for Josh. Monday they’re heading to San Francisco so they’ll have a day before the surgery.”
“Okay. You want me to bring anything?”
“TJ says you’re seeing your next-door neighbor. Why don’t you bring her?”
I’m going to kill you, TJ. “TJ doesn’t know what he’s talking about. We’re neighbors . . . friends. That’s all.”
“Well, you could still bring her if you’d like. Deb and Foster are coming too, and if Jack and Carrie Jo want to come there’s always room at the table.”
“You sure Josh wants such a big crowd?” Mary Garner could get carried away. She liked to entertain, but maybe they should wait until after Josh’s operation to start celebrating.
“If Josh wasn’t okay with it, Hannah wouldn’t have invited Deb and Foster. It’ll be fine, dear. Come around five.”
“All right. I’ll bring beer.”
He signed off and texted TJ. “Hey, asshole, quit meddling in my business.” Colt found an emoji of a giant middle finger, tacked that onto the message, and hit the send button.
That’s when Win barged into his office. “Carrie Jo said you weren’t busy.”
Carrie Jo is about to get fired. “You don’t even knock?”
“Why? Were you having a little special time with your right hand?”
Colt looked up at the ceiling and counted to ten before he throttled his brother. “What do you need, Win?”
“How do you know I didn’t come over to spend some quality time with my big brother, huh?” He sat on the love seat, stretched out, and made himself right at home.
“What do you need, Win?”
“Can you fill in for me Sunday? I’ve got a white-water rafting group but want to go to Tahoe for the day.”
“What’s in Tahoe?”
“A lake.”
Colt picked up an old baseball cap on his desk and sailed it across the room to land on a hook on the wall. “We’ve got a lake here.”
Win nodded. “Can you take my group?”
Colt guessed there was a girl involved. When it came to Win there was always a girl involved. “Do you guys not get that I have a full-time job? Do you not get that I have only one day off a week?”
“Isn’t that illegal?” Win got up, took the hat off the hook, and put it on his head.
“Aren’t you going to Josh’s dinner?”
“I’ll be back in time.”
“Get TJ to take your group. He needs to get out of the office and remember what it’s like to do some actual work for a change.” The truth was no one worked harder than TJ. Colt’s brother was a certified workaholic.
“He can’t do it. I already asked him. You’re my last resort.”
“What about Dad? Maybe Chip could use some extra cash. He’s still sober, right?”
“Yeah, Josh would love that.” Chip was Hannah’s first husband and Josh’s ex best friend. “Come on, Colt. Can’t you help me out? I’ll return the favor, I promise.”
