“We all know that,” Tanner interjects. Dad holds his hand up because he’s not done, and that’s when all of us boys decide to take a seat. It’s going to be a long discussion, and any hopes of me leaving are thrown out the window.
“May as well get comfortable,” I grumble, looking at Deke, but he doesn’t think that’s a great idea, apparently. He stands, shoulders up to his ears, arms down by his sides, hands balled into fists.
“It’s going to be a long one, it seems.” This comes from Keller. The two of them are holding back from laying into Deke. Neither of them said a word to Marlie or Alana about the possibility of an Alabama office. It was understood that until a plan was made, things would be tabled and stay inside of that meeting. Deke blabbing his mouth surely didn’t help.
“Deke.” Tanner looks at him, nods his head to a place to sit. Deke shakes his head, and Tanner leaves him be, stubborn ass that Deke is.
“It seems to me, son of mine, that you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders. So much like Tanner did when he was younger. Your mother and I, we tried to be there for you all, and I know we relied on you too much.” Dad looks at Tanner. “It seems now Deke is doing the same thing, worrying about everyone but himself. This also shows me, Deke, that you haven’t looked around, seen who helps hold the glue together. Tanner takes on the burden as the big brother. Keller is the quiet and serious one, always in protection mode. Asa, well, he floundered. It’s hard to compete with those two with their personalities. Jokes, pranks, playing himself off as an easy-going, fun-loving guy, it’s his defense mechanism. Then there’s you, so full of anger that I’m not sure how to even help you or if you want help. And, son, that fucking sucks. So, I’m going to wade in. You want this job in Alabama, I think Hart Construction should take it. I’m almost done with some orders and well stocked up on the Christmas trees. I’ll go up with you and see what it’s all about. Your mother has been wanting to hit the Gulf shores anyways, so it works out, too.” This is fucked up, in every way imaginable. Mom and Dad should be relaxing, enjoying their semi-retired state, yet here they are, willing to wade in and make it so Deke is happy getting his way. I shake my head. What else is there to do?
“I’m not thrilled about this idea. Look what happened to Keller when he went off half-cocked. Now another brother is doing the same and dragging both you and Mom with him. I’m not signing off on it,” Tanner states.
“Alright, how about this, because I’m not all for it either. You go up to Alabama by yourself, Deke, take a look at the bid, go through how we’d handle things down here. Montana and Leena will need all the information, too, then we’ll make a decision as not only a family but as a company,” Keller responds. If Deke had taken my advice to begin with, this shit wouldn’t be happening.
“Yeah, I like that last idea better. No offense, Dad.” I guess that’s all we’re going to get out of Deke.
“That good with you, Asa?” Tanner asks.
“Yep, sure is.” I don’t go into the fact that Deke had his chance to do things differently. It’s better to leave it alone. “I do believe you owe a few women an apology, though. I won’t stand down on that.” I stand up and walk away because if I don’t, nothing will come of it, and something tells me it’ll just make shit one hundred times worse.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
montana
“Well, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” I ask Asa as we walk into my apartment. Now that the cat is out of the bag, it’s time for me to move some of my plants to his house. I’m not going to bring all of them because seriously, they would take over Asa’s entire house, and that could seriously make him run away.
“Sure, we’ll go with that.” I’ve been moving around my place gathering the snake tail plants, also knowns as mother-in-law’s tongue, my fiddle leaf fig tree, which is my baby, along with my Monstera that I’ve named Big Daddy. I don’t know how the two of us will be able to lift it into Asa’s truck, but I’ll give it my all.
“I’m sorry. If I knew Deke would take it that badly and be such a jerk, I would have just let us stay the way we were.” Deke’s apology was lackluster at best, the hug was awkward, and now I’m worried about how things will go tomorrow for not only my first day but also the weekly meeting Hart Construction holds.