Dad popped his head out of the office. “Ryan. Come here.”
I got out from behind the register and walked to his office. He sat in his chair, scrubbing his hands over his red face, the vein in his forehead throbbing double-time.
“I’m sorry you had to hear that.”
I blinked at him. If there had been customers in the store, it would have been worse. But since it was a Thursday morning, no one was here, making me the only audience to their shit show.
“We just want you to succeed. Right now you’re stalled. We’re just trying to help.”
“Stalled? I’m not some car that needs a jump.” Fuck him. Fuck Gary. Fuck their help.
“Don’t you get how serious this is?”
Like it didn’t freak me out I didn’t know what to do with my life. Why did he think I was going into the force? Of course I know how serious it is, asshole. “Don’t you see? This is my life, Dad. I have to make decisions for myself—and that doesn’t involve you or Gary making a scene.” My pulse hammered in my throat, and I could barely contain my anger. “And what happened to you helping me look at career options? Is that done now that Gary’s in town? Every time he comes, it’s like you have to overcompensate.”
The muscle in his jaw ticked as he stared me down. “Go home, son.”
My shift didn’t end for another three hours. He wanted to play it this way? Fine.
“You’re kicking me out because I’m calling it like I see it?” I pulled my Office Jax shirt over my head and walked toward the door.
Dad grunted, ignoring my response, and went back to his paperwork.
I needed to clear my head, get Dad and Uncle Gary’s conversation out of my mind. I walked out of Office Jax, flipping my shirt over my shoulder. Blake was busy at his internship, couldn’t talk to him. But Jules would understand. She had to work with the bastard, too.
I pulled out my phone and dialed her number. It rang six times, and I expected it to go to voicemail. She picked up on the seventh ring.
“What’s up?” Her voice sounded hoarse and raspy. Had she been sleeping? Did I wake her? I glanced at the clock on the dash. At nine, definite possibility I’d woken her.
“You sleeping?”
“No, just dying my hair. The fumes get to me. What’s up?”
My throat tightened, thinking back to what Gary had said. Was it a mistake calling her while I was so upset? I hadn’t counted on someone like this since Lex. I hated being such a pansy ass, but the uncertainty of my future weighed down on me like a bench press bar loaded with forty-fives. “Do you want to go fishing?”
“What?”
I rested my head against the steering wheel and closed my eyes. “Fishing. Right now.”
“Now.”
“Yes.”
“Is everything okay?” Concern laced her voice.
I fisted my hand through my hair. “No.”
“Pick me up in ten.”
I pulled up to her apartment complex eleven minutes later. I clutched the steering wheel, taking deep breaths, trying to calm myself enough to go to the door and get Jules. As soon as I parked and shut off the car, Jules bounded out of her apartment, her hair an odd shade of blond, almost white. She ripped open the car door and fell into the passenger seat, vanilla, laundry detergent, and chemicals following in her wake.
“That’s very…”
She lifted up her hand, stopping me. “Don’t even. The box said it was warm blond. Obviously whoever labeled this box was on crack.”
I let out a low chuckle, and she smacked my chest.
“Cool it, DeShane, or I’ll bust out a can off whoop-ass when we get out of the car.”
“Do you need me to hand you your walker first?”
“Ha-ha.” She stuck out her tongue and I squeezed her thigh, running my thumb across her smooth skin.
“Remind me to pick up your Bengay when we get back into town.” Teasing was much better than thinking about Dad and Uncle Gary. Easier to ignore with a pretty blonde at my side.
She shook her head and smiled, keeping her gaze focused on the road ahead.
After thirty minutes of silence, listening to George Strait, and Jules sitting next to me, my muscles started to relax as we drove farther away from the city. With trees replacing the concrete prison of Spring Hill, I could start to focus. The chokehold of emotions gripping my throat loosened, and I decided to tell her why I’d just taken her on this random fishing expedition. For the first time in a long time, I trusted someone besides Blake to talk about my dad and this shitty situation. Why did I trust this one girl who I’d probably never see again after next week? Not going there. “My dad thinks I’m a fuckup.”
She let out a forced laugh, one that sounded like she’d pushed out every last bit of oxygen from her chest. “Welcome to the club.”
How could Peach possibly understand? She had med school. And a life plan.
“My uncle’s in town. They’re in a pissing match over who can figure out my life goals for me.”
“What about you?”