Page 61 of Will to Run

Hazel

Which space on the bingo card is that? Runaway bride or employee?

Jax

I cannot stress this enough: you are all the worst.

Hazel

Hold on, let’s get clarification on whether he was just protecting her from cougar sounds again.

I send a series of middle finger photos and put my phone down again so I can try to get something done.

But it’s futile because Cayson enters less than ten minutes later

“What’s up, Case? Where are the kids?” I ask, looking at my brother, knowing they just had swim lessons earlier, and he wouldn’t have dropped them off at home.

“They’re in my office for a sec,” he says, eyeing me back. Few people can read my brother as well as I can, and he has something to say. Even though he’s older, it’s only by fourteen months, neither of us has known life without the other. I can read every microexpression on the man's face. Things with his ex have been ugly for so long that it’s taken a toll on him. He’s not as carefree and easy as he used to be. And on some level, I get that. He’s responsible for two kids now. So, of course, he’s going to be a little different. But this latest bout with the bio mom has intensified his anger and cynicism. And I wish he would let me in on it a little. I don’t know if I could do much to help, per se, but he’s trying to shoulder everything by himself, and I’m watching him go down a path I think he’ll look back on and regret. Even if he complained to me about it, I’d take it as a win. He won’t even acknowledge how shitty that woman or the situation has been, just that the kids are his whole life.

“Don’t do this, Jax,” he says point blank.

“Do what, Case?” I roll my eyes at him because now I know where he’s going. Occasionally, part of me sometimes feels like he’s so deeply unhappy that he unintentionally tries to make other people miserable, too.

“Take everything else away,” he continues. “Take away the fact that she came into town in a questionable way. Take away the fact that it’s high season, and we’re slammed, and none of us can afford the distraction of a new and shiny crush. Take it all away. She’s your employee now, Jaxon. Are you rewriting manuals?”

I lean back in my chair and tap my fingers together. “Rewriting manuals? Give me a break, Cayson. You know as well as I do how many people hook up, date, and break up here weekly. Why is this bugging you so much?”

“I don’t know. You know when you just have a feeling in your gut? That’s what I have.”

“Then go to the doctor to get your unaddressed GI issues checked. Any belief you have about her is misguided.”

“You can’t afford to slack off right now.”

“What part of me is slacking? None.” I clip back.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe the fact that you forgot about the meeting you called might be a starting point.”

“Jesus Christ. One thing, Case. Comb through the rest of the piles here,” I say, pointing to the tower of files on my desk. “Since you’re so concerned, I challenge you to find another thing I’ve slipped on. Everything’s under control.”

“This is dumb, even for you,” he says.

“Thank you for your input. I’ll make sure to take it under advisement,” I snark at him. “Just kidding, actually. I am putting in a couple of hours here because, despite what you think, I’m working my ass off, too. And then, I’m taking my friend… employee… crush, whatever the hell you want to call her, on a date. I’ll put the ball in her court on what happens after, but after the last twelve hours, I couldn’t be more excited about where I think we’re headed,” I shrug. “So now you can be pissed about that too.”

“You fucking idiot,” he hisses while shaking his head.

The problem with knowing someone this well is that you also know precisely how to provoke them. His holier-than-thou attitude pisses me off, and my flippant responses get under his skin.

“Dada,” a small voice comes from the other room. “Lukey is smelly.”

“Well, looks like your nose is needed somewhere, Case, because I assure you my business is not where it should be.”

He shakes his head again and walks towards the door, and I’m sure he’s wondering if I’m just doing this to be contrarian.

“Just be careful, Jaxon. I don’t know what it is about this, but… just be careful.”

When he closes my office door, I sink into my chair. I don’t need my brother projecting his issues onto me, but beyond that, it pisses me off that he’s even paying any mind to this at all. Why can’t he just let me do my thing? After taking some meditative breaths, I look back at the files I have to go through. No use letting his ridiculous opinions live in my brain when I have so much to get done. Digging in, I speed through the work so I can see Della that much quicker.

When I knock on her door, I expect her to be in some fancy dress, ready to be taken to a nice dinner. Instead, she’s dressed in a casual sundress that accentuates her glorious boobs and tapered waist. All the places I can’t wait to explore with my tongue, fingers, and dick. Pair that with the cowboy boots and the way she’s holding a picnic basket; I’m beside myself.