“You’re always acting like you’re a hotshot with your Fairhope job catering to all those rich college kids, but slinging drinks is something any fool could do,” he says. “It’s not a real career, and I want to see you make the best of yourself.”
“And you think driving trucks is the best I can be?” I ask, knowing I’m pushing my luck here.
“See, there you go again, thinking you’re too good.” He lights another cigarette. “It’s time to grow up, Colton. Take some responsibility for your life.”
He steps toward me, takes a long drag on his cigarette, and then points it at me with two fingers.
“I set up an appointment for a week from Monday at nine sharp,” he says. “Move out to your own place if you want, but if you leave, don’t expect to come crawling back when you’re late on rent or things fall apart, because with you, they always do. I expect you to be at that interview next week, Colton. Show me what kind of a man you plan on being.”
He walks away, and I have to stop myself from punching a hole straight through the side of my truck.
Nothing I do is ever good enough for him. He wants me to follow in his footsteps, but as I watch him disappear into his house, I hope that someday I can work up the nerve to tell him that his footsteps are not ones I care to follow.
Chapter Six
Colton moves into the small apartment above our garage on Sunday afternoon. I meet him out front with a set of keys and a cup of coffee.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
I expected him to show up with a truck full of stuff, but he’s only got a duffle bag and two boxes in the back of his truck.
“I pack light,” he says, slinging the bag over his shoulder and picking up one of the boxes.
“I’ll get the door.” I unlock the garage and show him up the stairs to the apartment. “There are two different keys. One for the outside door, and one for this inner door. They’re each marked with a different color.”
“What about cable and internet?” he asks. “Do I need to call and set that up?”
“Nope,” I say, opening the door and scooting to the side so he can get past me. “We’ve got it all setup to use the cable and internet from the house, so you don’t have to do anything. Utilities, too, all included.”
“Are you trying to seduce me?” he asks. “Because this sounds a little too good to be true.”
I ignore the twisting in my stomach at the word seduce.
“Knox was living here rent-free since he helped us so much with the bar, and before that it was empty for a long time. He did a lot to fix this place up in his spare time, so it’ll be nice just to see a little income from it,” I say. “We don’t need much, and if it’ll help you out, we’re happy to do it.”
Colton sets his things down on the kitchen table. “I really appreciate this,” he says. “I wasn’t sure I’d be able to afford one of those big places by the campus, so you just saved me the horror of living with my parents for the next year or however long it would take for me to save up for a place of my own.”
“No problem,” I say. I hand him the extra cup of coffee, feeling awkward for just standing around. I thought it might take an hour or so to get all his things moved in, but one more box and he’s done. Not that I was looking forward to spending time with him or anything. “Want a tour?”
“Sure,” he says, glancing around. “Doesn’t look like it’ll take long.”
I laugh. “I told you it was small.”
I show him around the kitchen, pointing out the small collection of basic pots and pans, plates, silverware, and all that. I walk past the table where he set his belongings and he runs a hand over the smooth wood.
“This is gorgeous,” he says. “Knox?”
“Yeah, he made that after he moved in,” I say.
“That guy’s got some real talent,” Colton says.
“If you think that’s good, you should see what he’s done out at his house on the lake. It’s absolutely gorgeous,” I say. Then, just like the other night, words start tumbling out of my mouth before I realize it. “I hope you’ll think about coming out with us