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“You guys have an office?” I asked. I had always just assumed they worked at the sites.
“We do. It’s not far from here actually. We also have a warehouse where we store all of our equipment and supplies,” Liam explained.
“How long has your business b-been going?”
“About three years. We started pretty small. Dad offered to pay our start-up costs, but we didn’t want that. Our parents had already paid for college for us. We wanted to start standing on our own two feet once we graduated,” he went on.
“We worked the whole way through college. Liam worked at a student bar close to where we lived on campus, and I worked weekends at this little art gallery. We saved almost every penny so once we finished college we had enough to start our business,” Tom continued. “We started small. The first project we took on was just some barns, then we moved onto a house build. Our projects have gradually been getting bigger and bigger, until this last year when things just went crazy. We have four projects on-going now and thirty employees.”
“That’s amazing. Your mum and dad must be s-so proud of you,” I told them, amazed myself at what they had achieved.
“I think they’re proud that we did it ourselves without any of their help or contacts,” Tom agreed.
“I think they’re just pleased they got to retire and run off traveling without worrying about us,” Liam laughed.
“What about the family business? Trent s-said it’s huge. Who runs that now?” I asked.
“Our parents sold off a huge chunk of it. They were sick of the stress that came with it. They’ve worked hard, keeping it all going for the last forty years. They just want to be able to retire and relax now,” Liam said.
“They were older when they had us. They had been told they couldn’t have kids, then Mom found out she was pregnant when she was in her forties. They’re nearing seventy now and they just want a peaceful retirement. They didn’t care that we didn’t want to take over the family business. They’re just happy we’re doing something we enjoy.” Tom pulled me tighter into his side as he spoke.
“We just want them to be happy too. They have more money than they could spend in their lifetime, so whatever they do with the companies, they’re set. I think eventually they’ll sell the shares they still hold in various places, but for now they’re still hanging on to a few different businesses they’re attached to,” Liam said, and I wondered how that would feel – to have more money than you could ever spend? It was very hard for someone who had often been forced to spend the last week before pay day skipping meals to survive, to understand. As the conversation came to an end we continued down the crowded street.
The guys took it in turns holding my hand as we wandered into a few other shops, looking at anything and everything to get an idea for my Dad, but when we had still had no luck, Liam declared we needed a break and dragged us into a coffeeshop.
I was feeling pretty deflated as I finished my latte, sure I was going home with a box of chocolates or pack of socks for my Dad, neither of which was the token I had wanted to use to show him how much having him in my life meant to me.
I pulled out my phone, intending to text Trent and ask if he had any ideas for me, when the screen saver caught my eye and brought a great idea to mind.
“Is there a photo printing place around here?” I asked excitedly.
“Sure, further down the street,” Liam replied. “You got an idea?”
“I think I do,” I grinned.
***
“Oh my goodness, you guys!” I cried as Liam walked into the living room of their house with my gift for my Dad. “How did you do that so fast? It looks amazing!” I ran as much as I could over to Liam and took the huge picture from him.
We had visited the photo print shop and had a picture of Dad, Trent, and I printed onto a canvas. It was a photograph of the three of us at the twins house on the night of their birthday party. While that night had ended terribly, it had been great before that and I had some great photos from it. The one I had chosen had Dad squeezed between Trent and I. It was a close up of the three of us, and we were all smiling, Trent wrapping his arms around Dad and I. We all looked so alike with our dark hair and dark eyes, and we also looked wonderfully happy.
When the canvas was printed, I had been delighted with it, but the twins suggested they could knock up a frame for it to make it even better, so we had driven back to their place, and in the time it had taken me to make and drink a cup of coffee, they had done that.
The canvas was now surrounded by a thick, natural oak frame that looked perfect and just highlighted the picture more. It was going to fit perfectly into Dad’s house and I couldn’t help but tear up, so delighted that I got such a great gift for my Dad, It did exactly what I wanted it to – showed my Dad how much he meant to me.
“He’s going to love that, jelly bean. It was a great idea,” Liam told me as he leant in and placed a kiss on my cheek.
“How about I find you some gift wrap so you can wrap it up for him?” Tom asked, and I nodded excitedly. I couldn’t wait for the evening to come so I could give it to my dad.
“Let’s sit outside. It’s a little cooler now,” Liam suggested as he took the picture from me and held the other hand out for me to hold. I agreed and followed him out, the feel of my hand wrapped in his huge grip sending little zings racing all through me. Spending time with any of my guys was turning out to be a lesson in restraint. The issue was, since my brain injury, restraint didn’t seem to be a term my body understood.
“It’s so beautiful out here,” I sighed as we settled into seats at the table down near the swimming pool. The whole garden was planted with exotic looking plants and brightly coloured flowers. The sun was glinting off of the swimming pool and there was a faint breeze coming from the ocean. It was a paradise I couldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams.
“Yeah. We thought about selling the place when our mom and dad gave it to us, because it’s really way too big for us, even with Dec here, but we just couldn’t. It’s our family home and we love it here,” Liam explained, and I completely understood. Yes, the place was bloody massive and way too big for three bachelors, but who could part with such a spectacular piece of heaven?
“It was meant to be, brother,” Tom announced as he appeared behind me, obviously having overheard the conversation.
“What do you mean?” I asked as I looked to Tom. He was stood at my side placing several different rolls of wrapping paper on the table before me, along with tape and scissors.
