Page 62 of These Family Ties

“Yes,” He crouches, letting me get down without twisting or breaking something. “But will you please cut the theatrics this time and just tell me what happened?”

“Just take all the fun out of it, will ya?” I tease, bumping him with my shoulder. “Okay, I’ll start at the beginning.”

Chapter Four

“You got a what?” Calden paces our bedroom floor, tugging at his hair.

“A job.” I shrug, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“But why there?” He turns to me, and I hate that he’s making me say it.

“Because someone has to, and Doctor Murphy is the only person willing to hire any of us in this town.” I hate hearing it, and I loathe being made to say it, but we both know it’s true. “You won’t leave this place, and we have to have money for things like food and, ya know… father’s medication.”

“I don’t like it.” He sighs, dropping onto the bed beside me.

“Neither do I, but it’s a legit offer, and look…” I lift some papers from my nightstand, handing them to him. “Medical, vision, dental, tuition assistance, and I’m starting at twenty dollars an hour.”

“That’s more than Dad was making before he… you know.” He flips through the pages, looking through all of my onboarding forms, and then looks me in the eye, asking the same thing I did when Aaron dropped them off to me last night. “Why?”

“They needed someone they could depend on at the front desk while their receptionist is on maternity leave.” I shrug. “Cal, if I take the position Doctor Murphy offered to take over Dad’s medical care, that means no more clinics. He’ll see the same doctor every time.”

“You think he can fix him?” He’s not really asking.

“Maybe?” I shift, feeling silly when I hear him say it. “Is it that ridiculous?”

“No, it’s not.” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “This isn’t the first time I’ve thought about it, but this is the first time it’s been a possibility. I don’t love the idea of you working for that family.”

“I don’t like it either.” I take his hand in mine and lean my head on his shoulder. “But we need the money, and this is quite literally the only place willing to give us a chance, even if it’s so he can force the three of us to get along. You won’t run with me, so what else can we do? It’s this, or we lose our home.”

“When do you start?” He stands and walks over to the closet. “Do you need work clothes? What can I do to help?”

“You mean: When do we start?” I smirk. “And we start first thing tomorrow.”

“Could have led with that, beautiful.” He leans me back and straddles my waist.

“Now, where’s the fun in that?” I ask, feeling pretty fucking proud of myself.

“Fun? I can give you fun.” He grins wickedly, and that bitch between my legs immediately starts getting ideas.

“Oh yeah?” He inches the hem of my shirt up just enough to slide both of his hands under, and my brain joins my cunt in a victory cheer just before he digs his fingertips into my sides.

“Nooo.” I shriek, gasping for breath. “Cal, stop.” I hiccup. “I’m going to pee!”

“What? I can’t understand you through all the fun.” He laughs, tickling me relentlessly. “Can you repeat that?”

“Gotta.” I giggle. “Pee!”

“Oh, well, why didn’t you say so?” He lets me up, pressing his lips together, trying to look serious. “What am I being hired to do, anyway?”

“Valet,” I reply, keeping my tone even. I have been ridiculously excited about this part.

“Valet? For a private practice? Why?” He rolls off the bed, sounding hopeful, but the furrow of his brow screams that it sounds too good to be true.

“That’s what I said, but evidently, it’s a thing now.” I sit up and cross my legs, watching him.

“I thought you had to pee,” He exhales.

“I thought you could always see through my bullshit.” I lift my finger to his nose. “Boop.”

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