Page 6 of To Believe In You
They worked at their craft with uncommon discipline, and Matt had only pulled them down. Without him, they owned their share of the market like few bands could dream of, especially after so many years. He wished them and, by extension, Adeline with her music studio, all the best.
They were all truly better off without him.
Krissy rounded the counter and slung her purse beneath it. “Matt!”
With a jerk, he quit staring after Lina to find Krissy gawking at his leg.
“Oh. Yeah.” The bleeding had stopped, but his cleanup effort left a pretty grotesque smear. He stepped toward the restroom.
“What was it this time?” Humor lightened Krissy’s voice. “Find a helicopter to jump out of? A cave to explore? A bear to tame?”
“My life isn’t nearly as interesting as you think it is.” He flipped on the light in the small restroom and yanked a few paper towels from the dispenser.
“It’s more interesting than mine.”
Interesting wasn’t synonymous with good. If he’d kept his life boring, he would’ve hurt far fewer people. From here on out, boring ranked as his number one aspiration.
2
Matt knew no one besides his father who considered the speed limit a maximum. Using the passenger side mirror, Matt eyed the luxury sedan hovering near the tailgate of their company truck. At the first opportunity, the car passed. He caught a glimpse of a dress shirt and tie before the sedan sped toward town.
If Matt had any real-world skills to speak of, he wouldn’t tolerate his father’s way of doing things either. But his employment options had been an unskilled factory job or the family business. He was opposed to hair nets and appreciated sunshine, so here he was.
Dad kept a steady hand on the wheel as the speeding sedan faded into the distance. Matt’s old man had spent his whole life in one city, building the business that now supported generations of their family. He had good relationships with all three of his kids and hundreds—thousands?—of satisfied customers. Any risk he’d taken had been a calculated choice, never an impulse, never careless.
Make me like him, God.
Patient. Content. Hard-working. Dedicated.
Matt couldn’t picture himself as the steady one with gray creeping into his brown hair and weathered smile lines around his eyes, the one who’d built a lasting positive legacy.
Matt could hardly repay his debts, let alone build something new.
Dad slowed as he passed the sunflower field, where morning sun illuminated yellow crowns. The blinker ticked for the turn into Visser Landscaping. “This is the day the Lord has made.”
Matt couldn’t bring himself to quote the rest of the Bible verse the way Mom always did.
Stray gravel crunched beneath the tires in the parking lot as Dad spared him a pointed look. “We will rejoice and be glad in it.”
“Yes, sir.”
Dad chuckled. “It’s not an order. It’s a privilege.”
Saving him from having to voice his doubts, Pete stormed out of the building and toward their truck. An expression that dark, aimed this direction, meant he’d found another fault with Matt.
“He’s at it early.” Dad took the keys from the ignition, and they both climbed out.
“You’re fired!” Pete’s shout sliced through the still morning.
This, rather than privileges, was what Matt expected from his life. He followed his dad toward the office building.
Pete fell in step and shoved his phone toward Dad. “Jason Baxter isn’t happy.”
Matt glanced over, but his brother blocked his view of the screen. Jason Baxter owned a dozen apartment complexes around town. Visser Landscaping mowed for him in summer and plowed in winter. Matt had spent the majority of last week at one of his new builds, adjusting the slope so run-off would drain properly. He hadn’t had a run-in with Baxter, his employees, or even his renters, but the new building did stand next to an existing one that had about three dozen windows pointed toward the work area.
Someone might’ve seen Matt’s non-traditional method of keeping the skid steer from digging into the grass at the bottom of the drainage ditch.
He craned his neck and caught a glimpse of the phone. Definitely a video of a piece of yellow machinery. “I had it under control, and I saved us the hassle of having to fix ruts in the ditch.”
