Page 28 of Jaxson

“For fuck’s sake, Carl, you don’t need to go messing around in your house like this.”

“You won’t come any other time,” Carl said.

This made Jaxson stop. Carl was not his father. He had his own parents, but one look at Carl, and he didn’t know why, but it seriously bothered him to think of the man being alone. In fact, he hated it.

He sighed. “You know what?” Jaxson pulled himself back up and grabbed one of his business cards, writing down the number for his personal cell phone. “If your hands are getting itchy or some shit, before you decide to start touching my handiwork, I want you to call me. You want to talk, or for me to come and visit, or just have a beer, call me, and I will come.”

Carl took the card from him, and Jaxson couldn’t believe he had done it.

“Thank you.”

“I should warn you, I’m not exactly a social butterfly,” Jaxson said. “You might regret this.”

“I appreciate this, Jaxson. Thank you. Your dad raised you right.”

“Are you saying you didn’t raise your son right?” Jaxson asked jokingly.

“I raised a son who cares about business. I didn’t show him how to spend time with family, and now I’m paying the price,” he said.

Jaxson saw the sadness and regret.

“It’s good to be hardworking. Especially in this day and age. First of all, everything costs a fucking arm and a leg. Secondly, it keeps everyone out of trouble, always working.”

“There’s always time to rest, Jaxson. Trust me, you can work and make millions, but we all know the Grim Reaper’s not going to give a fuck what you take to your grave. You can’t take anything with you.”

Jaxson couldn’t argue with that. His own father had always had a balance, understanding he could do more, but he only ever earned enough to make a good living, to be able to spend time with his family. Jaxson, over the past few years, did nothing but work. Even on Sundays, he worked. It was something he and his father disagreed on.

“No amount of working could save my girl,” Carl said.

Carl’s wife had died a few years ago from breast cancer. Jaxson was aware that Carl had spent a lot of money trying to find a cure, or to keep his wife alive a lot longer. Jaxson reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, trying to offer him some comfort.

“Let’s just say I’m not regretting the money spent, Jaxson. I’m regretting all that time I stayed behind and didn’t come home for dinner,” Carl said. “I even worked it out, the extra hours equated to two years spread out across a lifetime. Two years where I chose work over my woman, and she was gone before me. That is what I regret now. If you get the chance, don’t take another appointment. Go home, be with your woman. Hold her. Because you never know how long you’re going to get with her.”

Jaxson felt a lump in his throat. Carl was always a nasty piece of work, but now he saw the truth. Carl, even after all these years, was grieving his wife. He missed her.

He sighed, then got back under the sink. This was going to have to be a temporary repair. He stopped the water from leaking, which would buy him some time to get the parts he needed.

Once he was done, he cleaned up the mess, and as he looked at the fridge, he couldn’t help but notice the picture on the front. It was of Carl’s wife and his son, and Carl was not in the picture. Jaxson already figured that Carl was either working or behind the camera. He was more inclined to believe he was working based on their conversation.

Writing up the receipt, he handed it to Carl, told him to keep his hands to himself, and left. He did so, knowing a little more about Carl.

Getting into his truck, he made his way toward Cruz Moore’s ranch, and he drove down the long driveway which seemed to have more holes in it than last time. He’d gotten the call from Cruz that it was an emergency and he was needed at the ranch when he’d been arriving at Carl’s. Cruz was not a nice guy, at forty years old, the man was one of the worst-tempered men Jaxson had ever seen. That made Cruz a serious problem. He was not the easiest man to get along with.

The moment he pulled into the large parking space, where there were already plenty of cars from his ranchers, Cruz was there, stepping out of his home.

“What took you so fucking long?” Cruz asked.

Jaxson knew it was going to be a long morning once he got the call before dealing with Carl. Cruz didn’t like calling anyone for help, least of all him.

“You’re not my only customer.”

“When I call, I expect to be jumped to the top of the fucking queue. I pay you enough.”

“You pay me exactly the same as everyone else. You’re not special, so don’t even try that game. Unless it’s a health hazard, I will get to you, but there is no jumping the line. Is it a health hazard?”

Cruz looked like he wanted to kill him. It wasn’t the first time they had this disagreement. He didn’t like Cruz, and Cruz didn’t like him. He was more than okay with that.

“It’s in the kitchen,” Cruz said.