Page 9 of Walking Red Flag

“I’m thinking a table,” he said. “I saw a really sweet football table on the news last week. It sold in auction for half a million dollars. So I thought I’d make one for the Dallas Cowboys. These fanatics love their home team.”

That was right.

Living in Dallas, Texas, you were either a Dallas Cowboys fan, or you were wrong.

Personally, I’d never really loved football all that much. I’d watch it if it was on and there wasn’t anything else to do, but it wasn’t my first pick.

Now, sand volleyball, rugby, or soccer, I was all for it.

“Is that what you’re entering into the charity gala auction for next month?” I asked.

“Sure,” he said. “Gotta build something that’ll beat out your bullshit.”

I rolled my eyes.

I hadn’t even started on my ‘bullshit’ yet.

I had no clue what I wanted to do.

But I’d figure it out.

Hopefully.

“I have a set of cabinets that I need to get started on, and I have a client meeting around noon. Do you want me to bring you lunch back, or are you good?” I asked.

“I’m good. I’m heading to lunch with Chevy. He’s swinging by after his shift,” he answered.

Chevy was an anesthesiologist now. He’d gotten the government to use his GI bill to pay for him to go to medical school, and now he was making bank.

Keely was the only one that wasn’t really raking it in, and that was because she’d started going the nursing path only to graduate, work for a year, and realize that she fuckin’ hated it. She’d found a job at a sleep study place shortly after, and now she had a cushy night job that she could relax at, still use her nursing skills, and make a pretty decent living.

Though, technically, if she really wanted to, she could be making more than all of us.

Years ago, when my father died, he’d been grooming Copper to take everything over from his real estate business. When that didn’t work out for dad or Copper, Keely had reluctantly taken the CEO position over once she’d graduated. She had to do CEO things—things that she hated doing—to keep the business alive for when Copper got out.

Even though none of us had asked her to do that.

We knew the cost it would take on her to run a business of the man that’d abused her.

But Keely? She was stronger than all of us.

She ran that CEO position like she was made for it, all the while refusing everything that position granted in return.

“Gotcha,” I said. “I’ll leave you to your table.”

I walked into the shop and inhaled, loving the smell of wood, lacquer, and even the burned sap.

It was a calming smell, and never failed to make my blood pressure lower.

I loved this place, and everything about it.

Too bad I couldn’t have the same thing at home.

If you already know I have an attitude problem, why would you upset me?

—Milena’s secret thoughts

MILENA

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