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Wes

*Figures*

When my dad called me last night to ask if I’d be available to help him start on a landscaping project this weekend, I agreed to it immediately. A little physical labor is exactly what I need to get out of my head—or rather, to get a certain someone out of my head. When he told me it would be on the Barnes property, I laughed quietly.

Of course it is.

When he told me that Lily had brought up the idea of having a gazebo built in the garden the day she got back, I shook my head.

Of course she did.

I’m sure that way back on Monday afternoon, the concept of seeing me as “the help” again was amusing to her.

I’m almost positive that the prospect of seeing me shirtless was also a motivator.

But it is a nice idea, creating a covered place to sit and admire her mother’s lily garden.

And I can’t say no to my dad.

So here I am, on an unseasonably warm Saturday morning, in the backyard of my boss and my assistant, helping my dad unload patio stones from his truck.

“Jay really agreed to this?” I ask as I place another paver in the wheelbarrow.

My dad nods and smiles. “Lily said to go ahead and do it, but I cleared it with him before ordering the materials. She hadn’t even mentioned it to him.”

“Figures,” I mumble.

“But he actually liked the idea.”

“Not the point,” I grumble.

My dad watches me silently while handing me pavers before casually asking, “How’re things at the office?”

“Tolerable,” I mutter.

My dad watches me for another few seconds and then laughs—belly laughs—so hard that he scares off the birds that were hanging out in the tree nearby. I frown at him. It’s good to hear him laugh, but there’s nothing funny about my life right now. “Son of a biscuit—it’s good to see you so passionate about something again, boy. Been a while.”

“Passionate? I’m annoyed.”

“Only because of the circumstances.”

I scoff. “Ya think?”

“So change the circumstances.”

I look around to see if anyone else is outside before saying, “I can’t fire her, and it’s too soon to suggest moving her to another desk.”

“I know that. I’m talking about changing the way you’re dealing with everything. The way you’ve always dealt with things when it comes to her.”

“You mean like an adult?”

He laughs again. “I mean like a stubborn ass.”

I shake my head and push the wheelbarrow over to the site that my dad prepared yesterday. I can still hear him chuckling as he follows behind.

“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“Talk about what? There’s nothing to talk about. It is what it is.”