Page 41 of Rugged and Filthy

I was seriously asking my pup that question? I would soon be losing my ever-loving mind. Okay, maybe I already had just a little bit.

My baby laid her head on my lap as I pulled into my father’s driveway. The fact I’d gotten into some crazy fight with Foxx had been ridiculous. We’d called each other names. Who did that but angsty teenagers? I noticed my father’s truck wasn’t parked in its usual spot. He’d gone out for the night? That did mean he was feeling better. While he wasn’t supposed to drink, I had a feeling he’d headed to his favorite local watering hole after experiencing the spectacle Foxx and I had created.

It was just another reason to hate the man.

But you still crave him. In fact, you enjoyed all three sexy men quite a bit. Don’t lie to yourself.

Damn it. The ugly voice inside my head was right, which made me want to rip out my brain through my eyeballs.

“Come on, baby. Or maybe I’ll call you little Miss Traitor.” I hopped out of the truck and this time she scrambled out of my side, almost knocking me to the ugly sunken asphalt. “Silly goose.” I grabbed the bags from the small backseat.

I tried my best not to slam the door when I came in but failed. I only hoped Aiden was already in his room. Xena scampered in, heading out of the kitchen almost immediately. I was ready to toss everything in the grocery bag but managed to put the ice cream and milk away before placing the two cheap bottles of wine on the counter. As I rustled in the drawer for the wine opener, I cursed like a sailor under my breath.

“Son of a bitch. Fucking asshole. Jerkoff. Ass wipe. Dick. Fuckhead.” On top of the meeting, my dad had told me he’d asked Foxx and his buddies to come with me to the broken-down rig we owned to check it out. For feasibility purposes. I knew what that meant. I was no fool. He was interested in selling it out from under me. Maybe there was a part of me that would be relieved when it was gone. The stress of ownership was killing all of us. Sadly, when I’d grilled him about already securing a buyer, he’d denied it to my face. I wasn’t certain what to make of the entire situation.

At least Uncle Danny had provided the name, although that had brought another round of anger.

“Wow. Quite the vocabulary you have there.”

I slowly turned my head toward Erin, snorting as I did so. “Trust me. I have a dozen more not so nice sayings.”

“About anyone in particular or just men in general?”

I hadn’t told her about my wicked foray into pure sin the night before. Now, I was even more embarrassed. Plus, I was disgusted. With myself as well. The bastard had purposely egged me on and I’d allowed it. I’d fallen into a trap, the ringleader of the three of them having far too much fun at my expense.

“All men are pigs. That much I’ve learned but…” How was I supposed to finish the statement? “Too bad you can’t share a glass of wine with me. I plan on having an entire bottle.”

“I’ll take that glass. The hospital didn’t need me tonight.”

“Really?” I had a feeling I knew the reason why. I grabbed two glasses, placing them on the counter.

She moved further into the kitchen, leaning against the wall. “Budget cuts. They might pull me down to thirty hours a week.”

“Oh, sis. I’m so sorry. I’ll pour you a glass.”

“Make it a large one.”

I laughed. We’d had the same kind of day. While the entire family either lived in or just outside of Cork, the second largest city in Ireland, the population at roughly two hundred and fifty thousand, that didn’t mean there weren’t difficulties. Even in a health care system that allowed for most hospital stays for free, that didn’t mean medicine and specialists weren’t expensive. Sadly, it seemed many people in the medical field had been hurt in the serious financial crunch that had hit the area years before. “What’s going on?”

“The usual. Unless I want to move to Dublin, I might be pushed out of a job.” My sister had been offered a fabulous job with much better benefits on two occasions, but that would require a move for her and Dublin was almost three hours away. She’d refused, saying it wasn’t the right job for her either time, but I’d known the truth both times.

First, it had been right after Finn had died and I’d been a mess. Then when Dad had landed in the hospital the first time and we’d learned the horrible news. It seemed our little family had a dark cloud hanging over its head.

“Then you should take the position.”

“I can’t do that and leave you and Pops. Besides, what will you do with Aiden?”

“Maybe his grandparents need to pick up the slack.” Finn’s parents had blamed me for his death for some crazy reason, but they still expected to see Aiden on a regular basis. However, they also lived far enough away it was a stretch to accommodate their wishes, especially since they refused to come to where we lived.

“You don’t really want that. Do you?”

In truth, I didn’t. “There’s a buyer for the business that Dad refuses to sell to. I’m going to try and talk with him tomorrow.”

“A buyer? Are you kidding me?”

I poured the two glasses. A huge part of me had fought the possibility for so long but I knew the time had come to seriously consider it. “No. Maybe Daddy is right and it’s time.”

She took the wine from me. “Maybe so. Incidentally, Pops went to see his buddies.”

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