Page 22 of Outside Looking In

Chapter 7

Liam

“How did today go?” Mark asked him that night. Liam helped his brother prepare dinner in the kitchen. He had offered to do the cooking, but Mark shot him down every time. He said that after a day in an office, he looked forward to working with his hands and crafting something.

“Today was...not terrible. Though not great, either. He had quite the attitude.”

It frustrated Liam all over again, but it also made the beginnings of a smile spark on his face. He didn’t know why. He knew there had to be a real farmhand out there who would’ve done the work without complaining and wouldn’t have shown up blatantly hung over.

“Dad!” Franny burst into the kitchen holding the remote control in her hands. “The remote is busted. It’s not working.”

Mark opened the back and checked the batteries. “Maybe they’re out of juice?”

“I thought we just replaced them.”

“We’ll deal with it later, Fran.”

Franny let out a perfectly teenage ughhhh then left.

“It’s going to be a very interesting next few years,” Mark said with a knowing smile. Liam felt like he was also raising some kind of child, having to follow Nathan around today.

“I don’t have the time to train the Brit. I have a farm to run,” Liam said.

“He’ll get the hang of it, just like you did. This is a new experience for him. It could get you some good exposure if his movie’s a hit. Until then, enjoy the free labor.”

“I couldn’t find any articles about a grittyBabereboot being produced.”

“There will be once the movie comes out. I’m glad you’re looking up something else on your computer except your ex-girlfriend.” Mark tossed vegetables around in a wok.

Liam hadn’t been on social media at all today. And this was the first time today he thought about Kelly or Craig.

“He’s still on a probationary period,” Liam said.

A little bit later, they all sat down for dinner. Mark, Franny, and Walt took their regular seats.

“Is Nathan coming?” Mark asked.

“I told him about it.” Liam got up and knocked on Nathan’s door. Music blasted from the other side. “Nathan. Are you coming to dinner, cuz? Nathan?”

The door swung open, and Nathan stood in front of him dressed like a total gentleman. He wore a dark blazer, crisp white shirt, dark jeans, and shined black shoes. His rusty hair was combed to the side and the front strands fell into his bright green eyes. He should be at a fancy dinner in Wellington or London.

Liam couldn’t talk for a second. He became very aware of his accelerated heart rate. The man was lousy in the field but cleaned up damn well.

“Are you going out?” Liam asked.

“You said there was a dinner tonight.”

“It’s notadinner. Just dinner. At the house. With the family.” Liam was having trouble speaking in complete sentences. He couldn’t believe this was the same guy puking on his property this morning.

“Oh, sounds lovely.”

“Nah yeah.”Blink, dammit.“We’re ready to start. Just waiting on you.”

Nathan waltzed past him, his musky cologne making Liam a bit dizzy.

“Sorry I’m late.” Nathan waved to the others. His hand dropped when he looked at Franny and Walt. Liam noticed a quick change overtake his face, shock mixed with something else, like a cloud passing over the sun. And then it was gone.

“Gidday!” Walt said.