“Lex, those people volunteered to go to your shack. I mean, they’re getting paid, but I have crews working damn near twenty-four-seven. When I offered to let a few of them run over to your place for a few hours to cut back those gnarly limbs and some bushes, they jumped at the chance. It sure as hell beats pouring concrete, which was what they would be doing.”
Oh.
“And another thing,” he added. “It’s almost one. It was about time your drunk ass got up and got around anyway. By the looks of that old heap, you’ve got a lot of work to do yourself.”
I yanked the phone from my ear and checked the time.
Shit. He was right.
I hated that.
“I’ve been up.”
“Liar. You still sound like you have gravel stuck in your gullet.”
I coughed and cleared my throat. “Allergies.”
“Whatever. You wouldn’t have been able to do all that yourself anyway. That’s why I sent the bucket truck. Your yard was dangerous at night, but you’d straight up murder yourself trying to get that big limb down alone.” He grumbled something under his breath, but I didn’t hear it. Then he added, “You with a chainsaw is my worst nightmare.”
With nothing left to argue, in true Lawson family fashion, I changed the subject. “Well, what are you doing?” I asked and then chugged the rest of the water in my glass.
“Lauren’s trip got extended a few days, so Jack and I are getting some pizza and then hitting a ball game. He’s still laughing at your unique dance moves from last night.”
I smiled, remembering how much fun it had been, even if my feet were still in critical condition. They would be touch and go for a while.
“My moves are good.”
“Your moves look like upright seizures.”
“Shut up.” I rolled my eyes, listening to the pair of them chuckle at my expense. “Anyway, have fun at the game, and thank you.”
“We still on for Huey’s Thursday?”
Drinks didn’t sound good, even days away. “Cal will be on his honeymoon. If you want to cancel, that’s fine.”
“No way. You’re not ditching me. I’ve had to miss the last two.” Hudson could only make it to our weekly night out when Lauren was in town. Life of a single dad and all. “Come on. I can’t play darts by myself. That’s too pathetic,” he complained and then sweetened the pot. “I’ll buy.”
“Deal. See you Thursday.”
The beer was usually a little too warm and the wings were on the dry side, but free beer and wings would always hit the spot. Surely, I’d recover before then.
I helped Hudson’s crew with cleaning up and thanked them all. He’d of course been right. They were tickled pink to have what they considered a “puss day.” But if it hadn’t been for them—and him—I would have likely never gotten around to it, and I had to admit that it looked ten times better than before.
My porch was now visible from the street and I didn’t have to worry about someone scary jumping out from the bushes to get me. I could check “major yard overhaul and cleanup” off my list thanks to Hudson and company.
Then there was the other thing I had to do that day, but Craig took the breakup—if you could really call it that—pretty well. That was until I learned right after our call that he’d called his mom, who called my mom, who I then had to talk to for thirty minutes about why I’d broken her friend’s son’s heart.
Truthfully, if a man’s heart was that weak, he shouldn’t be wearing it on his sleeve to begin with. I’d been dumb enough to do that once, and I wouldn’t be making that mistake again anytime soon.
The beginning of the week flew by. The closer my bosses, Maggie and Shane, got to the arrival of their baby, the more they were delegating tasks and projects to us in the office, but I didn’t mind. They paid me well; plus, I got along with everyone else they’d hired.
That’s kind of what made it nice at Warren and Warren Consulting. We’d all been brought on around the same time, so there wasn’t any real hierarchy to speak of. We were all new and doing our best. Not to mention, I was getting some real hands-on marketing experience, which would hopefully come in handy soon.
“Are you sure you don’t mind waiting?” Maggie asked from the front doors Thursday evening as she was heading out. Shane was already