Page 49 of The Ones We Fight For

“Yeah, I’ve got some math homework that I need to start on,” Carter declared. Walker's suspicions solidified.

“Bullshit!” Walker called out as if they were playing a round of BS, which, unsurprisingly, was Carter’s favorite card game.

“Fuck,” Carter hissed.

“Hey, don’t say ‘fuck!’”

“You literally just said ‘bullshit!’” Carter pointed out.

“I’m older than you. The saying ‘do as I say, not as I do’ applies here. When you move out on your own, you can feel free to do as I do. For now, I want the illusion that I’ve helped raise someone who’s not a heathen,” Walker grinned.

“That’s BS.”

“Yep, and yet, you’re following it. I appreciate the acronym. Now, wanna tell me why you’re lying to my face right now?”

“I would, but I’m more afraid of Talia than you.” Carter folded his arms defiantly and Walker whipped his head in his nephew’s direction at the mention of her name.

“Talia? What does she have to do with anything?”

“Careful, Uncle Walker, or you might let on to the fact that you’re in love with her.” The arrogance took everything just a touch too far for Walker’s liking and his hand flew out to sock his nephew in the shoulder. “Ow!”

“Watch it,” Walker warned. “I’m not in love with her.”

Shame sparked in his chest. He was a liar caught betweenwanting to shout from the rooftops that he was in love with her, while also wanting to beat his head against a wall for stupidly falling for her regardless of how wrong it was. But, if he could physically beat the guilt into his thick skull, he would have done that already.

“Bullshit,” Carter took on the card game tone from earlier, and Walker sighed in frustration, gripping the wheel tighter, too annoyed to correct his nephew’s language again.

“We’re going to Roscoe’s right now, so either tell me what’s going on, or I’ll find out anyway. Clearly you don’t want me to go over there.”

“So we’re avoiding talking about Talia?” Carter grinned cockily.

“You want to play ball? Let’s play ball.” Walker straightened his spine. “Are you sexually active?”

“Wh-what?” Carter stammered, blinking like a deer in headlights.

“You heard me.”

Nothing but silence filled the car. Walker raised his eyebrows at his nephew menacingly, and Carter wrung his hands together nervously. The answer was written on his face, so Walker really didn’t need a response, especially because the week before he’d found a box of opened condoms in the kid’s bedroom. At least he was having safe sex?

“Talia’s throwing you a surprise birthday party,” Carter finally resigned, sounding as though he’d lost a battle.

A birthday party. The last time Walker had one of those, he’d hated every second of it. Birthday parties were an obligation. Between running around trying to split time evenly between all the guests and painstakingly trying to act like he wouldn’t rather be sitting alone and reading a book, they were not his thing. The idea of Talia throwing him a birthday party, however, was making his heart flutter with a nervous thrill of excitement rather than one of dread.

“Okay, fine.” Walker did his best to relax his shoulders.

“Fine?” Carter turned toward him with restored attention.

“I’m in love with her.” The frog in his throat barely let Walker say the words aloud. He thought if he admitted to it, the world would collapse in on itself. Instead, his nephew responded with a level of monotone boredom that was mildly insulting.

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“Okay, language!” Walker shouted, returning to his earlier rule. Pulling into a random driveway on a side street, he turned the car around, choosing to go home instead of to Roscoe’s. He didn’t want to ruin Talia’s surprise and hoped to at least give her the illusion that he had no idea it was coming.

“So, are you going to date her, then?” Carter ignored the curse reminder.

“No. I can’t right now… or ever. I’ll screw it up, and I need her help with you guys more than I need to date her.”

“That’s such a cop out.”

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