to cast into. Jett and I go right toward the clearing to avoid tears and frustration.
“Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask…” Jinx calls back as he sets his stuff down and begins to fuss with his line. “I think it’s time we invest in a new cherry picker. We have quite a few people needing tree work done this summer and the ol’ Genie was pretty damn stiff last year.”
Is he friggin’ serious? “You didn’t think to mention this sooner? Like maybe in the winter when we’d have some time to shop around, rather than a week before you need it?”
He shrugs. “Not really. Was too focused on plowing and shit.”
Uh huh. Plowing half the women in town, maybe. “Get me some quotes and we’ll go from there.”
“Me?” His eyes widen. “Isn’t that your job?”
I stick my tongue in my cheek and resist the urge to push his ass into the creek and hold his head beneath the water. “Maybe you haven’t noticed, since you’re so busy trimming old ladies’ hedges, but I’m doing about five jobs right now. The least you can do is get me the damn quotes.”
“Yeah, I’ll get on that.” He makes a smart-ass face that reminds me why I’ve never given him more responsibility. He’s a hard worker, but he’s too immature to see the big picture. Maybe it’s time we work on that.
“Good.” I dip my chin. “Because you’re not getting new equipment until you do.”
He flips me off and casts his line without another word. I have zero faith he’ll get a single quote, but I’d love for him to prove me wrong.
Shaking my head, I turn back to Jett, who’s wearing the same smarmy expression.
“Come on, Dad,” he groans impatiently, and then has the audacity to shake the worms at me.
I laugh—and then laugh some more—because that shit is not happening today. “Kid, you’re gonna be four, not fourteen. Drop the attitude or I’ll make you bait your own hook.”
His eyes light up like the early morning sun shining down on us, and I cringe. The little turd lured me right into that shit, didn’t he? No pun intended.
“I want to bait my own hook,” he says, bouncing on the toes of his muck boots. “Please, Dad!”
I lift my ball cap and scratch my head. “I don’t know, little man. I thought you said worms were slimy.”
“Yeah, when I was two.” He rolls his eyes and all I see is Hayden. He’s a miniature version of me in so many ways, but he’s just as much her, especially with that challenging gleam in his eyes. Which means he’ll learn to bait his own hook today, because the kid always gets what he wants when he looks at me like she used to.
“Fine. Whatever. But once you learn, there’s no going back to me doing it for you. Got it?”
“Yesss!” He does some crazy, overexcited dance involving way too much rear end.
“What the heck is that?”
“It’s the booty dance! Mama does it when she washes dishes.”
“Does she now?” Jesus, the very thought.
“Yep!” He starts grooving again, and I can’t help but smile. I also can’t help but imagine Hayden shaking her peachy little ass across the kitchen in a pair of itty bitty shorts and—
“How many quotes?” Jinx calls. “Will three work or do you need more?”
“Huh?” I clear my throat, but the image of Hayden’s ass remains. “Oh. Yeah, that’ll work.”
“I’ll have them to you by the end of next week.”
I won’t hold my breath. I learned long ago that getting your hopes up and waiting around only leads to disappointment.
An hour and a half and a bunch of poked fingers and smooshed worms later, we have ten trout in the creel. Jett stands so proud and tall, it’s like he’s grown two inches since we started this adventure today.
It’s no surprise that, by the time we load up the UTV and head back down the dirt road toward the house that he and I call home, he’s sawing logs in the back.
Jinx chuckles quietly. “God, I love that kid.”
“Yeah, he’s something.” Something I never expected, but someone I can no longer imagine my life without. “You want to come over for dinner later? We’ll fry those bad boys up.”
“Wish I could, but I have a date.” He buffs his knuckles on his T-shirt, and I snort.
“Who’s the unlucky lady? No, don’t tell me. Just promise me she’s legal.”
He scoffs, but we both know it’s a legitimate question. A couple of months