“Always,” Ellis said, rubbing his stomach before putting his hand on Josie’s lower back.
I clenched my jaw, unable to pull my gaze from the tiny spotmy fingertips should be touching instead. It took everything I had not to walk over and rip his stupid hand from his body. Maybe I could crush it beneath my boot.
Ellis’ gaze swept over the group, stopping when he landed on me and tucked Josie closer to his side. His dad followed suit, reaching out his hand to shake mine. “I don’t think we’ve met before! I’m Charles—or Charlie. Whichever you prefer.”
“Nice to meet you, sir,” I said. “I’m just here to help out over the summer. My name’s Lincoln.”
“Where are you from?” he asked. His smile was genuine, unlike his son’s expression.
“Tennessee. Up near the mountains.”
“Really?” he asked, raising his brows. “Whereabouts?”
“Pinecrest,” I said, shoving my hands in my pockets.
Ellis turned to Doug. “Don’t y’all have a cabin up there?”
Before Doug could answer, I spoke up. “They do. I check in on it from time to time to make sure the maintenance is up to date.”
Josie’s eyes darted to me, the crease between her brows deepening. I’d never told her that, but in my defense, I didn’t know it was her family’s cabin until months later. All I knew was that it belonged to a buddy of Frank’s, and I was doing it to help him.
“Huh,” Ellis said, pulling Josie tighter. He gave me a tight smile. “That’s kind of you.”
I tipped my cowboy hat in his direction. “All in a day’s work.”
Was I stirring some shit? Yeah, a bit. The more time I spent in his company, the more I hated him. It was unreasonable. I had no real reason to dislike the guy other than out of jealousy.
When I saw the uptick of Josie’s lips, it was all worth it.
“Lincoln, you have any dinner plans?” Doug asked, cutting the tension.
“No sir,” I replied. “Other than going back to the bunkhouse with three other rowdy kids, my evening is wide open.”
Doug only laughed. “Might do you some good to show thoseyoung’uns how to party. But I’d love to have you at our table. We’ve got plenty to eat.”
I glanced at Josie. She shifted on her feet, distancing herself from Ellis just a hair.
“I’d be honored, Doug,” I said, throwing Ellis’ words back at him with a wink.
“That’s what I like to hear,” he said, clapping me on the back. “Let’s go, son.”
As I trailed behind Ellis and Josie, I smiled as he said, “Why doesn’t your dad ever call me son?”
josie
. . .
If someone had toldme I would’ve been sitting around a table with Ellis and Lincoln this summer, I would have called them insane.
And yet, here I was… Sitting next to my current fling while my five-night stand from over a year ago watched me with careful consideration.
Obviously, I’d been a fluffy baby bunny murderer in my past life. That was the only possible explanation for this level of torture.
I’d spent a lot of time avoiding everyone over the past week, locking myself in Dad’s office with no one to keep me company but my own thoughts. In fairness, that was likely a horrible idea. I spent most of the time mentally berating myself for digging myself into this hole.
Lennox and Cleo both stopped by frequently, pushing me to talk about the situation with Lincoln, but I didn’t know what to tell either of them. I knew what I wanted, but I was still working up the courage to do it.
Family dinner was a longstanding tradition in the Hayeshousehold: seven o’clock on the dot every Friday. It was passed down from my grandparents, something my grandma had insisted on when Dad was a kid because she said it was the only time she could bring all her rowdy boys inside at the same time.
