Page 119 of Caught in the Axe
He came to a stop and crossed his arms, silently waiting for me to go on.
“The offer specifically requires that you, August Gabriel Hebert, stay on as operations manager for at least one year.”
Disappointment flashed in his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had come, replaced by his usual stoic glare. “Fine,” he grunted.
“Stop and think about this before you make a decision. I don’t want to fuck you over.”
“Nothing to think about.” He shook his head. “Our family needs this. Our town needs this. Those guys out there?” Nodding toward the door, he lifted a brow. “They’ve stuck with me through all the bullshit. I’m not going to risk their jobs and their families. Jude, Noah, Cole. Hell, Finn is about to have a baby. I’m not going to take money out of their pockets.”
Typical Gus. When given the choice to take care of himself or others, it was always the latter.
“But you’ve got another job lined up—”
“Doesn’t matter.” His expression was hard, unyielding.
“And are you sure you can work for someone else? Now that we’ve lost it all?”
“I’ll deal.” His shoulders tensed, and the tendons in his neck went taut. “And we didn’t lose anything. Dad did. He fucked us over. This is on him.”
My chest went tight at that comment. Gus took personal responsibility for every aspect of this business and had been hesitant to blame my father, but finally, he was catching up with the rest ofus.
“There is no discussion. Talk to the lawyers. Do your financial shit. I’ll make it happen.”
“Okay…” I blew out a long breath.
“Seriously. Get your ass back to the office. I’ve gotta make a plan for how to get all this shit done in half the time I’d planned. I’ll come to town tonight and talk through what I figure out.”
With that, he strode out of the building.
Admiration flooded me. For so many years, I’d assumed we were too different to ever get along again. But that was my own baggage. Gus would do anything for me and the rest of our family.
And finally, I could do something for him in return. This sale would give him a nest egg to use for whatever he wanted. To help him start over when he was ready. For decades, I’d been a shitty brother, but at least I could give my family some financial security.
Chapter 40
Lila
Irolled my shoulders, giving myself a pep talk in the car. This was necessary.
Growth.
Maturity.
Fuck, I didn’t want to do this.
But there was no going back now.
I’d texted him this morning after Owen left to go to work, and he’d agreed to meet.
Stomach in knots, I knocked on the door and gripped the latte from the Caffeinated Moose, a peace offering, a little tighter.
It took several minutes, but finally, he opened the door.
Cole looked like a stranger standing in the doorway of the small home in his sweats, his medium-brown hair grown out and hanging over his forehead.
He’d lost so much weight that his T-shirt hung on his frame. Just the sight had my caretaking instincts kicking in, but I pushed them away.
Silently, he stood back and motioned for me to come in.
