Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 50872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
His frown deepens. “Can we talk in your office?”
Instead of answering him, I start walking through the plant. Mentally, I try to prepare myself for what’s about to happen. We walk into my office, and when Ford shuts the door, I start before he can get a word in. “I’m not slacking off. I’ve been in contact with Mark every day, multiple times a day. I’m going over reports every day of our inventory, shipments, all of it. I’m not letting anything slide.”
He puts his hands on his hips. “You think that’s what I care about?”
I stutter. “Well, I uh, yeah, that’s what you care about. You’ve always been on me about how I ran the plant, so I know that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Bullshit.”
My mouth drops, and all I can do is stare at him.
He points at the closed door. “If you think I care about that more than I care about you… or Ally and the baby… or your happiness, then you’re wrong. You’ve completely disappeared on us. And I’m not talking about work or anything. I’m talking about how you’ve completely withdrawn from your brothers. You don’t answer your phone, you don’t tell us what’s going on…”
I shrug my shoulders. “I just thought—”
He cuts me off again. “No, you didn’t think. You just thought you’d handle it all yourself. We’re your brothers. We want to be here for you.”
I hold my hands up to stop him, but the truth of the matter is he’s right. He’s absolutely right. I have tried to handle all this myself. I cross my arms over my chest. “Look, I know what you’re saying. The only thing that matters to me right now is Ally and the baby. I know you disagree with that, and that I should be here, but—”
“No, I fuckin’ don’t. Quit putting words in my mouth,” he tells me with his voice hard.
My eyes about pop out of my head. He looks like Ford, but he sure as hell doesn’t sound like him. “But…”
He shakes his head. “For the longest time, Blaze has been our whole life. We worked hard to build it to what it is, but the most important thing is our family.” He holds his hand up. “And yes, that includes Ally. You’ve loved her forever, and she’s always been a part of this family.”
Still unsure, I lift my shoulders. “But I thought…”
He leans toward me. “You thought I’d be upset that you were taking time off to take care of your family. I know through the years, I’ve put all my focus on the distillery, but I know what’s important, Austin. When one of us is going through something, the others step up. We stepped up when Lucas took off when Bella had the baby. We stepped in when Huddy needed help with Elle’s stalker. You all stepped in when I spent the summer traveling with Lilian and Ollie. That’s what we do. It’s your turn now. Let us help you.”
I blink at him. “I just thought you’d think I was slacking off.”
“Fuck, Austin. You’ve worked tirelessly to make this work. The recipes and the running of the distillery has been all you. No one would think you’re slacking off.”
Emotions roll through me. My brothers and I have always been close, but the majority of our lives have been involved with running this company. The fact that I don’t have to feel guilty for missing work or working from home takes a weight off me that I didn’t realize I was carrying.
“Thank you.”
He nods and then walks over to the couch in my office and sits down. “All right, so now that we have that out, talk to me. How are Ally and the baby? How are you? What can I do?”
I lean against the edge of my desk and go into the story of everything we’ve been experiencing. All the worries I have that I don’t say to Ally because I don’t want to add even more stress to her. I break it all down, and by the time I’m done, I’m slumped over in my chair feeling helpless. “I just don’t know what to do. I know the answer. If she’d just marry me, her problems would go away. She could leave her neighborhood that’s filled with ex-cons and drug addicts. She could work when she wants to instead of stress over not being able to work enough.”
When I stop, Ford leans forward. “And?”
Confused, I ask him, “And what?”
“And she’d be married to a man that loves her and loves her baby like it’s his own.”
“That’s a given.”
He laughs, “Yeah, so she knows you love her?”
I roll my eyes at my big brother. “How could she not?” I give him a look, layered with annoyance. “Come on, Ford. This is Ally we’re talking about. She’s not stupid.”