AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It was a rush of relief when his brother, Wade, hopped down from the driver’s seat. “Hey.” He’d known it was inconvenient, but he refused to take any more risks with Eva’s life or Ruth’s property.
“Got yourself a nice little vacation home here,” Wade teased, pushing up the bill of his ball cap. “Ruth give you a good deal on it?”
“Shut up.”
Wade only grinned as he opened the back of the van. “What’s with the armed guard?”
Carson leaned close, like he was about to impart the wisdom of the ages. “That’s need to know.”
“Typical.” Wade snorted. “Word at the Rooster is you pulled bodyguard detail for that hot Italian girl,” he said when Carson’s hands were too full of door to smack him.
“You want details, join the department.”
“Touch-y. I just want to meet—”
Wade finally accomplished the rare feat of silence when he caught sight of the mess in the kitchen. “Holy shit, J.C. Are you okay?”
Carson held up a hand, warding off the concern. “Just put the door in. And don’t touch anything on the island. I’m waiting for evidence bags.”
“Okay, but—”
“You can keep the current lockset right?”
Wade nodded. “Sure.”
“Good. That’ll make things easier for Ruth.”
Carson resumed his cleanup while Wade tore the protective wrap off of the new door.
“Mom says you might not be at Christmas Eve dinner.”
“Not now, Wade.” He dumped a full dustpan into the trash can and went back for the next.
“I was just thinking if you can get away with a to-go sort of thing, it opens up options for the rest of us.”
“Dare you to try it.” He knew his mother had no intention of making an exception, for him or any of his siblings, regardless of the circumstances.
Suddenly it seemed like a stupid idea to bring his brother into the mix, this close to the danger. If the bastard pulling the strings was watching… He cut off the thought at the knees. Negativity wouldn’t help him get past this any faster.
Second-guessing good decisions changed nothing. Still, the sooner Wade was gone, the better. “Just get the door done.”
“We’re adults,” Wade continued, warming to the subject. “When do we get treated accordingly?”
Carson figured it wouldn’t be until their elders were dead and gone. Morris family tradition wasn’t going to change for either of them anytime soon. And when they were the oldest in the room, they’d probably pull the same stunts with their own children. Life was like that.
He didn’t want to have the ‘oppressive older generation’ conversation. “How’s Sheldon doing?”
“Your stupid dog—”
“Brilliant dog.”
“Your opinion. He’s fine and having a blast teaching my pair to howl at everything.”
Carson chuckled. Wade might gripe, but it wasn’t sincere. “Don’t spoil him too much.”
“Like I could do any more damage on that score than you already have. You’ve been feeding him from the table again.”
“Not true. He’s just testing you. Being brilliant, he knows a soft touch when he sees one.”
