One More Chance, page 24
“I’m bringing in a new painting crew, and I’ve put a call in to meet the decorator on Monday morning.” He shook his head. “Tired of wasting my time.”
“Ever think maybe you’re looking a little too closely at things?” Darcy asked, and then instantly regretted her comment when her brother aimed an angry glare in her direction.
“I look at things the way they are meant to be looked at,” he said defensively. “The craftsmanship I put out there is what makes Shaughnessy Construction stand out. If I relax my standards, then what?”
“Sorry,” she mumbled, reaching for another slice of pizza.
“Aidan, don’t take it out on Darcy. All she’s saying is that you have a craftsman’s eye. The typical home owner and buyer won’t notice the things you see.”
“So that makes it right? That makes it okay to just put a crappy product out there? I can’t believe you would suggest such a thing.”
“I’m not suggesting anything of the sort, Son,” Ian said. “I’m just suggesting that you relax a bit.” He looked at Darcy slouching in her seat, staring at her plate, then back at Aidan, who looked ready to turn the table upside down. “Who’s up for a game of bowling?”
Darcy and Aidan looked up at him incredulously. “Bowling?” Darcy repeated. “I’m not going to the bowling alley with my dad and brother on a Friday night. Forget about it.”
Now it was Ian’s turn to roll his eyes. “Video game bowling.” Ian pulled Darcy out of her seat and then turned to his son. “Don’t make me pull you up too. C’mon. Family bowling in the living room. Now. Let’s go!”
It was the last thing Aidan wanted to do, but he knew it would make his father happy so he didn’t argue. Five minutes later, the three of them were standing in the middle of the living room choosing their order of play. Ten minutes later, it was as if the earlier tension had never even happened.
And that was what was most important to Aidan—his family’s happiness.
***
Later that night, Aidan sat alone in his apartment. It was late, but his brain wouldn’t shut down enough for him to go to sleep. He was restless. His skin felt too tight for his body. And for the life of him, he didn’t know what to do about it.
Darcy’s comment about being too nitpicky wasn’t new, so he wondered if that was really enough to keep him awake. Meticulous was a word that was often thrown around when people talked about him. It didn’t bother him.
Much.
Meticulous could be a good thing if his brothers didn’t add “anal-retentive control freak” to it all the damn time.
He rested his head back on the pillow and let out a breath. If he allowed himself to stop being the big brother for a minute and just be a bystander, he could admit Darcy wasn’t asking for anything out of the ordinary. He thought she was probably itching to spread her wings. But there was no way in hell he or any of his brothers were going to let her go off to some faraway college on her own. She’d just have to learn to deal with it. But he supposed there were some things they could compromise on.
Looking at the clock on the wall, he saw it was after midnight. He should be tired.
Instead, he grabbed his cell phone and pulled up Hugh’s number. Although Aidan couldn’t remember where exactly his brother was this month, he knew it was somewhere on the West Coast, and three hours earlier.
“If you’re calling me this late on a Friday night, it can’t be good,” Hugh said as he answered the phone.
Aidan chuckled. “Maybe I just wanted to hear your cheery voice.”
“Yeah, right,” Hugh said with his own laugh. “Seriously, everything okay? This is late for you.”
The comment burned more than it should have. He was responsible, so what? Why did everyone have to make it sound like there was something wrong with him? “It’s not that late,” Aidan grumbled. “I just...” He paused. “Something’s going on with Darcy.”
“Oh shit,” Hugh muttered. “That is all on you and Dad, bro. There is no way I’m dealing with a teenage girl. She scares the hell out of me.”
This time Aidan’s laugh was hearty. “For crying out loud, Hugh, she’s a child. And she’s our sister!”
“What is it this time?”
“It’s mostly the same song and dance, but she’s getting more...vocal about it. She kind of yelled at me and Dad tonight about the whole college thing.”
Hugh sighed loudly. “Listen, Darcy is going to be pissed because, well, she’s Darcy. She’s a female, and females like to argue. Aidan, look...it’s Friday night. I’ve got a resort filled to capacity—”
“I’m thinking of letting her work for me a couple of days a week after school.”
“That’s brave, man. Very brave. And she’s good with that? I would have thought she’d take issue with having to work with family.”
“I haven’t mentioned it to her yet. I just thought of it right before I called you. What do you think?”
“Like I said, you’re brave.”
“Bravery has nothing to do with it. It’s just that—”
“She doesn’t need to work,” Hugh interrupted. “Our sister doesn’t want for anything, Aidan. Dad takes care of everything for her. Why can’t she just be grateful and...go shopping or something?”
“I agree with you, but maybe she wants to feel like she’s contributing.”
“To what?”
“To her family,” Aidan said. “With all of us moved out, now it’s just her and Dad at home.”
“And you.”
Aidan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t live at home. I have a place of my own and—”
“And you still spend a lot of time at home,” Hugh said carefully. “It’s not a bad thing, Aidan. I think it’s great you’re close by in case either of them needs you, but don’t you ever want more?”
How had the subject suddenly turned to him? This wasn’t about him; this was about Darcy. Ignoring Hugh’s question, Aidan went back to his original train of thought. “If she has a job, maybe it’ll pacify her about the whole college thing, and I can still keep an eye on her.”
“And working for her brother is going to accomplish that?”
“It’s a start.”
“Fine. Go ahead and ask her, but do me a favor.”
“What?”
“Have someone record it. I want to see her reaction.” He laughed for too long before he realized Aidan wasn’t. “Look, man, do what you think is best. Let me know what you need from me and I’ll do it. You’re the responsible one in the family. You always seem to know exactly what to do and what to say to smooth things over. If you think offering Darcy a job with your company is the answer, then do it.”
“But...?” Aidan knew there was more.
“But...” Hugh began, “maybe it’s time for you to stop smoothing things over for everyone else and start doing something for yourself.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Dude, it’s midnight on a Friday freaking night and you’re on the phone with your brother. And that’s after you went and had dinner with your father and sister. For God’s sake, go out! Go on a date! When was the last time you were even with a woman?”
“None of your damn business,” Aidan snapped.
“That long, huh?” Hugh chuckled. “Okay, fine. Don’t tell me. I can pretty much guess.” He stopped and collected his thoughts. “Just...think about it, okay?”
“About what?”
“And you call me a dumbass,” Hugh said with exasperation. “Think about yourself, damn it! Think about doing something on a Friday night that isn’t family related. Think about going out with a beautiful woman and wining and dining her and spending the night with her nails raking down your damn back.”
Aidan hadn’t thought about it that way, but he had a feeling he’d be thinking about it a lot tonight. “Fine. I’ll think about it.”
“Hey, and Aidan?”
“What?” he said grumpily.
“You can call me any damn time you want. Seriously.”
A small smile broke on Aidan’s face. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”
“Keep me posted on the whole Darcy situation.”
Aidan agreed and they hung up. He was no closer to any decisions about anything. The only thing that had changed was that he suddenly had an itch that needed to be scratched.
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Samantha Chase is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller of contemporary romance that’s hotter than sweet, sweeter than hot. She released her debut novel in 2011 and currently has more than eighty titles under her belt – including THE CHRISTMAS COTTAGE which was a Hallmark Christmas movie in 2017! She’s a Disney enthusiast who still happily listens to 80’s rock. When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading romances, playing way too many games of Solitaire on Facebook, wearing a tiara while playing with her sassy pug Maylene...oh, and spending time with her husband of 32 years and their two sons in Wake Forest, North Carolina.
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Samantha Chase, One More Chance
