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Mitch’s voice disappeared, replaced by monotonous pounding in the distance.
I caught you at work, didn’t I?
“Okay, sorry.” The noise disappeared as Mitch seemingly left the job site. “What’s up, Austin? You didn’t call to talk about my wife.”
“I was calling about rewiring an office, but—”
Mitch cut him off. “What about it?”
“Umm, well, the suite I secured needs to be fully rewired. My guy says it’s a two-week job. It can’t really take that long, can it?” Austin leaned forward, poking his head around the door to peer back into the missing ceiling tile again.
“How big is the space?”
“About 19,000 square feet.”
Mitch snorted. “And you think two weeks is too long?”
A wave of heat crashed over him, embarrassment flooding his body at his lack of knowledge. “Well, yeah...”
“Austin, I’m not an electrician, but it sounds like you’ve got yourself a good team if they can knock that job out in just two weeks.”
Oh.
Austin sighed. “All right... it is what it is.”
“How’s the job? How’s Chicago?”
Despite the growing to-do list in front of him, Austin smiled. “It’s good actually. All of it.” He stood and stepped toward the window. Lake Michigan stared back, sparkling in the afternoon sun. “I’m sorry, I should have called home sooner.”
“Eh, you’re fine. I hear you’re a Cubs fan now.”
Austin snorted, a grin tugging at his lips. “Not yet.”
“I got a hundred bucks on the Dodgers the next time they play Chicago.”
The probability of a win ran through his mind, pulling stats and figures from the nonsense Casey seemed to spew about the team night and day.
The Cubs are the better team right now.
“I’ll take that bet.” Austin smiled, a piece of home settling back into his heart. He cupped the back of his neck as the tiny, buried pieces of Rosewood called from his soul. “Oh, and umm, hey, I guess I have to start planning a bachelor party. What do you think?”
Mitch snorted. “Well, it’s Josh... so a strip club and illicit drugs for sure.”
A bubble of laughter burst from his belly. He snickered into the phone, allowing the absurdity of Mitch’s suggestion to consume him.
“You know my brother so well.”
“Better than you, dude.” He barked out a laugh. “Back room at Highside. Pizza. Beer. Basketball game.”
“Probably more his speed.”
“A bit.” Mitch sighed and cleared his throat. “Hey, Austin?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you make sure Lauren has a good time this weekend? Just... make sure she sees everything she wants to and all that?”
“Yeah, of course.” He frowned.What’s going on with you guys?“She’s with Casey right now, probably checking off the first place on her list.”
