Page 113 of Somebody's Watching Me
Yeah, they had nothing to worry about with this kid. He might be annoyingly soft-spoken and weird from time to time, but Tobias would come out of his shell one day.
“Neither.” Charlie nodded at the hyenas marching obediently on the screen. “He’s more like them.”
“Which one?”
Swiping his beer off the table, Charlie polished it off as fast as he could. Father-son bonding hadn’t exactly been a big part of his upbringing, and he wanted to make sure he did this right.
“In this life, there are two types of people. Users and losers, and your Uncle Trevor is a hyena. A loser who does what the users tell him to do.”
Tobias’s eyes went wide. “Your brother is a loser?” His brows furrowed together as this revelation settled in his brain. “But Uncle Ben isn’t a loser.”
“Nope, he’s a user.” Charlie pointed to the dark lion. “He’s like that one. The second son who thinks he should be in charge.”
“But Uncle Ben is in charge. He’s not Scar.”
Ready to teach his son the most valuable life lesson he would ever learn, Charlie popped open the second beer Becca already had waiting for him. “At what cost?”
Clearly not understanding the question, Tobias shrugged, so Charlie rephrased it. “Ben is in charge, but he’s like that lion up there, using people to get what he wants,” he explained. “Look how much effort it takes. Ben can’t enjoy anything he gets because he’s too busy making people do what he wants. He’s a user, except he doesn’t know how to do it right.”
The boy’s gaze returned to the TV. “I don’t want to be a loser, but I don’t think I want to be a user either.”
Charlie chuckled. “I said Ben doesn’t know how to do it right. Let me show you what I mean.”
Grabbing the remote, he paused the movie. “Alright, listen up!” Charlie clapped his hands and put on the charm. “If you’re a beautiful girl that loves me, I want you to stand up.”
Livy wiped the pizza sauce from her chin and stood with CeCe. The girls bounced in place, excited over whatever he had planned.
“Mama?” Charlie cocked an eyebrow at Becca. “You’re breaking my heart just sitting there. Are you saying you don’t love me?”
Setting her plate of pizza on the table, Becca fought a smile and stood.
“Very good.” Charlie took his time, meeting each of their gazes for a second or two. “I think what this place needs is fresh flowers, and I saw some pretty yellow ones close to the dock when I got here. I want you three to go pick them so we can have a centerpiece for our meal. It’ll make it nice and fancy and just what my girls deserve.”
A rumble of late afternoon thunder carried over the water, and no one moved. “Go through the back door,” Charlie suggested, giving CeCe a tickle. “The first one to return gets a surprise.”
Holding hands, Livy and CeCe ran to the rear door while Becca leaned down to smack a kiss on his lips as she passed. “I get my surprise either way.”
Smiling against her lips, he patted her ass. “A big one.”
She giggled the same way CeCe had and followed the girls outside. When they were gone, Charlie let his smile drop. “Did you see what I did there?”
“You made them go outside even though they didn’t want to.”
Oh yeah, nothing to worry about with this one. Livy would become his rocket scientist, and CeCe his rockstar, but Tobias was going to give Ben’s brats a run for their money when it came down to Fairweather Holdings.
“Yep, Imadethem go,” he said. “And why did they do that?”
“Cuz’ they love you and want to make you happy.”
The more they talked, the stronger Tobias’ voice grew, and Charlie clapped his shoulder. “That’s it. You make them love you, and then people will do anything you want.” He looked past him to the window,where they could see the near torrential rain falling. “Even go out and pick stupid flowers in a thunderstorm.”
“But that’s not nice.” The strength that had been there a minute ago fled, and Tobias averted his gaze. “I don’t want to be mean. Sammy is mean, and I hate him.”
Charlie set his beer down on the glass tabletop with a loud clang. “Listen to me. If that little fucker messes with you, I want you to take his ass out. You do not hold back when it comes to Samuel.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m serious, Tobias.” Snatching him by the chin, he forced the boy to look at him. “Selah might be alright, but Samuel is just like his dad, and you’re going to have to fight them your whole life.
