Page 74 of Help Wanted

“Sounds good.”

As he and Hunter drove to the bank so he could cash his very first paycheck, Brady realized he’d been wrong about the entire situation with Dr. Walker.

Now he’d have to figure out a way to apologize.

* * *

Zane took a deep breath before walking into his sister’s house on Saturday afternoon. His parents were there, which meant he was facing the trifecta of people telling him all the things he was doing wrong with his life.

Only his niece and his brother-in-law were safe.

Unfortunately, Paige was napping and Tim had run out to pick up ice cream.

“There you are.” His mother acted as though he were late, when there was no set time. It had begun. “Where’s your girlfriend?”

“I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“The girl who works for you. From the hospital.”

“She isn’t his girlfriend anymore, because he scared her off,” Sidney supplied helpfully.

“Good for you. Don’t get strapped down, son.”

“As if being married kept you from dating.” His mother scowled at his father, and Zane lost it.

“Would you all just shut the fuck up?” He rubbed his temple as they stared at him in shock. He’d always been the quiet one who just took it. Where had that gotten him? Nowhere!

“Zane—” His mom started, but he cut her off.

“Dad cheated on you. It was a cowardly, despicable thing to do.” He looked right at his father, who flinched. “But you didn’t kick him out or leave him, so you made the decision to accept it. You need to stop bringing it up, and you”—he pointed to his father now—“need to stop giving me advice as if I would ever want to follow in your footsteps.” Finally he turned to his sister. Her eyes were wide.

“I love you, Sid. I know you want to help me. You’ve always wanted to help me. But I’m a grown man. I messed up with Kenley. I know that. I’m working out how to fix it. I need to do this on my own. Please just let me figure it out for myself.”

She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him.

“Good for you.” Her words were rough with tears. Great. He’d made her cry.

“Sorry I’m late. I had to go to three stores until I found the right ice cream.” Tim took in the scene in his kitchen and frowned. Chances were good Tim had never seen his mother-in-law so silent.

Sidney wiped her eyes and went to hug her husband. “I’m fine. I’m just so proud of my little brother.” She smiled. “He said a bad word in front of our parents.”

The sound of Paige fussing on the baby monitor snapped everyone out of the surreal moment. Life went on. Peaceably. They spent their meal talking about the weather in Florida, Paige, and the new shop he was opening in Ohio.

There were no comments on his love life, and his parents didn’t take stabs at one another. Overall it was a nice visit.

He found his father alone on the patio where he went to smoke.

“You heading out?”

“Yeah. I’ve been gone all week. I have a pile of laundry that won’t do itself.”

“You need a wife.” His father chuckled at his own comment and pulled in a lungful of smoke.

“Is that all you think wives are good for?” Zane frowned. He hated facing the truth of who his father really was, but it was time. He’d spent too much of his life trying not to be like his dad. It was obvious he didn’t need to worry. They had nothing in common.

“Relax. It was just a joke.”

“It wasn’t funny.” Zane started to walk away and then stopped. His father smoked like a fiend and drank too much. He might not be around for long. “Can I ask you something?”