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That made him chuckle.
J: Gossip? Is that what we’re reduced to?
Then, deciding that he hated texting because it made him feel like every conversation took ten times longer than it should, he asked:
J: Can I just call you? I hate this texting shit.
The phone rang ten seconds later.
“Hey! I wasn’t sure you were somewhere that you could talk,” Garrett said as soon as Jackson answered. “I didn’t know if you were at PT or something.”
“Uh, yeah. Or something,” he murmured. “No, I’m done with it for the day. So, what’s going on?”
“Well…I’m not really sure how to say this…”
“Dude, just say it. Please.” He hated when his brother got dramatic like this. Normally it was over something minute and ridiculous. “What…did Austin and Mia decide to paint their bedroom a new color? Is someone else in this family having a baby? Did Mom decide to put new wallpaper up in the bathroom? Um…are you…?”
“Dad’s back.”
Jackson felt like all the air left his lungs and he took a moment to process that statement. He wasn’t sure if he was surprised or pissed.
Pissed. Definitely pissed.
“And?” he said, raking a hand through his hair.
“And what?” Garrett asked. “That in and of itself is huge news!”
He shrugged. “Have you seen him?”
“Uh…no.”
The mirthless laugh was out before he could stop it. “So in typical Cash Coleman fashion, he’s lurking about or sniffing around the family again after screwing everyone.” He snorted with disgust. “If you haven’t seen him, then how do you know he’s back?”
“Aunt Georgia told us. She said…”
“You know what? It doesn’t matter,” Jackson snapped. The last time his father had shown up, he had been deployed so he missed out on the drama he caused, but he’d heard enough about it that it made him angry. “I don’t care where he is or what he’s doing. He’s basically dead to me, so…”
“Jack, come on…”
“What? I’m serious! He walked out on his family and then he comes back, grabs the inheritance from Pops that he promptly promises to all of us, and then takes off with it! I mean…are you really looking to cut him some slack?”
He heard his brother sigh. “It’s not that simple. You know he’s sick…”
“If you ask me, that could all be a lie too. I wouldn’t trust anything that comes out of his damn mouth. He deserves to go off and be alone and just…” He growled with frustration. “I hope he’s alone and miserable.”
“I don’t know about miserable, but apparently he’s not alone.”
His head fell back against the cushions. “So…what, he’s got a girlfriend? Who cares!”
“No one knows. Not really. Just…she’s young. Like…maybe a little younger than you.”
As if my day wasn’t crappy enough…
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Jackson mentally counted to ten. “Would anyone really be surprised if he had another family out there? Because I know I wouldn’t. Hell, he’s probably got a bunch of kids out there that he abandoned. No shocker there.”
Garrett sighed loudly again. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
“Why? Are you saying you never thought about it? I mean, he walked out on us and I’m sure he hasn’t been living a celibate life all these years. It just makes sense.”
