Page 17 of Passion Restored

Yeah, it could be that bad.

And worse.

All of Owen’s notebooks were splayed out on two desks, his keyboard lying unevenly on top of a few that were stacked. Countless pieces of paper with notes jotted in ink, pencil, and what looked like crayon covered the tables and desks.

The large pile of sticky notes seemed to be untouched.

Owen once again counted to ten before closing the door behind him and readying himself. Well, at least he wouldn’t be bored on his first day back.

No, he would just be angry.

And would get organized.

By the time lunch rolled around, he at least had everything in organized stacks. He was just finishing entering a few things into the computer when Jake strolled in, his hair a mess and dark circles under his eyes. He’d looked pretty much the same when he’d come to pick up Owen that morning.

“Need more coffee?” he asked his older brother, concern in his voice.

“That’s all I’m running on,” Jake said with a yawn. “Sorry. I had a huge project run over, and Noah has a slight cold. And because Maya needed her sleep since Austin is on vacation from the shop this week, Border and I stayed up with Noah. But, of course, Maya couldn’t just sleep, she had to come in and out of the nursery all night, freaking out, so Border and I had to make sure Maya was taken care of, as well. It all added up to a very long night, and not enough sleep for anyone.”

Owen pointed to the chair next to him with his good arm. “Sit, man. Why are you here if you’re so tired? You’re allowed to sleep, you know.”

Jake sank into the chair and tilted his head back so he could rest. “With Murphy down a hand thanks to those stitches, and you out, as well, Graham needed someone. I know I usually only do the intricate things at the end, but Dad trained all of us, so I know how to help with the actual construction. I don’t want to let you guys down.”

“You never have, Jake. And you won’t.”

Considering Owen was the one who worked the least with his hands these days—even before the accident—he was pretty sure he was the one that let people down. But as soon as this next project came through, he’d make sure that was a thing of the past. He might not be as handy as the rest of his brothers most days, but he could at least do this.

And as soon as he had his client meeting later that day, he knew he’d be back on track. No truck with bright headlights and the subsequent unending pain would change that.

Jake let out a deep breath before pulling himself out of the chair. “Okay, Graham sent me in to force you outside so you can eat with the rest of them. So let’s get to it because Graham gets grumpy without food.”

Owen snorted as he stood up, pocketing his phone and making sure he had his tablet in his messenger bag as he did. “Graham gets grumpy regardless, full stomach or not.”

Jake grinned over his shoulder. “True, though Blake and Rowan are helping that.”

Owen followed his brother out, wondering why those words made him a little jealous. Graham had his new family that kept him sane, while Jake had everything he ever wanted—even though Owen was pretty sure Jake had never thought a triad would be his future.

Now Owen and Murphy were the only single ones left, and while he used to think that was just fine since he hadn’t been ready to settle down, Owen was feeling just a bit too lonely for his tastes. Maybe it was just because he’d been stuck on the couch for too long and not able to be in his element. Once he was fully immersed back in the land of the living and planners, he’d be back to where he needed to be.

Jake led him down the street less than a block away to the taco joint the crew had fallen in love with when they started this project. Deep and abiding love. It used to be that everyone just brought their lunch and called it a day, but this place had reasonable prices for fucking amazing food. He was pretty sure a quarter of the place’s business the past couple of months had come from the Gallaghers and their crew, and Owen couldn’t really blame anyone for that.

Once he had his four steak tacos and a soda on his tray, he made his way back to the table. Normally, he wouldn’t even need a tray, but if his brothers caught him trying to move around without his sling, he’d get his ass kicked. Graham and Jake were already seated, scarfing down their tacos and not bothering to talk. Who needed conversation when they had this kind of food?

Owen had one carne asada down and the other in his hand when Murphy finally made his way to the table, a scowl on his face and his bandaged hand pressed to his chest.

“You okay?” Jake asked around a mouthful of pork taco with extra onions.

“My fucking hand hurts,” Murphy growled low before using his left hand to start eating. Considering that all of them were right-handed, Murphy had to be getting annoyed at this point.

“It hasn’t been that long since you got your stitches,” Graham said slowly. “You’re not healed yet.”

“I know that,” Murphy bit out. “They’re just starting to itch, and it’s killing me that I can’t do anything about it. Liz said I should be fine, and the doctor agreed, but I want to get this damn bandage off so I can go about my business.”

Owen choked on his soda and coughed as he tried to catch his breath. “Liz?”

Murphy’s eyes brightened as he set down his drink. “Oh, right, I haven’t talked to you really since it happened. Yeah, Liz was my nurse.” He grinned. “Too bad she was going off shift before I could ask her if she wanted to play nurse with me.”

Owen let out a growl before he caught himself. “Don’t talk about her like that.”

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