AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Meg’s going to flip a shit.”
“The potential is there, and Caroline knows it. She doesn’t want to let on, but she’s nervous.”
“It’s all great that you want her to take control here, but what about you? Are you going to give her some space, so she has time to decide what she wants? Who’s calling the shots between the two of you?”
Josh considered his friend. That was quite the gauntlet he’d just thrown down. It was nicely delivered, too. It almost didn’t sound like a threat, but Josh knew better.
“I’m not staying away. I can’t. You’re all going to have to get used to it.”
Kevin leaned forward on the bar. “That’s it then? That’s all you have to say?”
“Whether I stick around for the long haul has considerations. Caroline is the biggest one. Whatever she wants, I’ll do. She decides. Not me. Not you. Not Meg.”
Kevin nodded. “I can’t argue with that, even if I don’t like it. Meg is going to hate it. But if Caroline is okay with things, that’s the way it is.”
Josh rolled the bottle between the palms of his hands and exhaled, relieved that Kevin seemed resigned to whatever Caroline wanted. He probably knew he didn’t have a choice. The quiet sister wasn’t going to be quiet anymore.
“I won’t lie, I am worried about how things are going for her at that job,” Kevin said after taking a long pull on the bottle. “Meg said her boss is a prick.”
“He is,” Josh said. “I have that covered, but it won’t matter in a couple of weeks. She found out today she landed a better position at another firm.”
“That’s good. What are you doing in the meantime?”
“He knows I’m in the picture and that I’ll be watching out for her.”
“Will that be enough?” Kevin was intently staring at a point on the wall. He was concerned. So was Josh, but he had had it taken care of.
“Nothing will happen. She’s got a backbone of steel. She could handle most everything herself, but she has backup if she needs it.”
“I know how smart she is, but still.”
Josh figured Kevin and her family didn’t know the half of it, and they never would if they didn’t let her make some discoveries on her own. “It’s not just her brains, man. It’s everything.”
* * *
Caroline couldn’t sleep.She was sitting in her bed with her laptop, going back and forth between wondering if Josh was going to call and wondering what he was saying to her brother. On one hand Caroline was sorry she had left him, because she wanted nothing more than to be curled beside him right now.
She turned her focus back to her newest story and after a few lines it was time to pack it in. She was too tired. There was nothing even remotely close to a coherent sentence on the page and that was her first clue.
The buzzing phone startled her. Looking at the caller ID, she smiled, because she’d resigned herself to the probability that Josh was still with Kevin and wasn’t going to call. This was a nice surprise to see his name and picture on the screen.
“Hey, it’s me,” he said.
“Hi. I didn’t think I’d hear from you.”
“No? Look out your window.” Her window? Getting up from her warm bed, she peered out her bedroom window and saw her prince charming below in the street, bathed in the glow from the streetlight. He waved and Caroline fell for him a little bit more.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I came to see you, beautiful. Let me up.”
“Oh, okay. Are you sure you want to come up? It’s kind of late.” Caroline was smiling as he folded his arms and narrowed his eyes.
“Let me in. You won’t be sorry.”
Feigning shock, she giggled. “Josh Campbell, is this a booty call?”
He laughed. “Only if you want it to be. Now buzz me in. It’s starting to rain.”
