Page 64 of Rounding Third

Chapter 31

Smithy

“What the heck happened in here?” I ask as I step over more than a dozen boxes sitting in my foyer.

“Wheeler,” Lils groans from where she’s sitting on the couch.

“How is it that he can continue to piss me off when he isn't even here?” I grumble under my breath.

“Can you please just forgive him, babe? I'm tired of getting up and thanking the delivery men. They think I'm crazy now.”

“How many things did he send?”

“Well, I got seven gift baskets. I texted him and told him to stop sending them and I forgive him. He was still upset because you won't forgive him, so he started sending you gift baskets. Apparently, he thinks you’re going to be harder to sway because you have fourteen so far.” She sighs and places her laptop on the coffee table.

“What’s in all of them?” I eye the boxes.

“Well, you had one of different types of jerky. One full of raw meat for smoking and one raw meat for grilling.” She grimaces at that. “Cigars, a male spa kit, a basket of gift cards to yourfavorite places, a tailgating basket, one with snacks and nuts, your favorite beers, your favorite bourbons, a BBQ set with different rubs and seasoning, a sandalwood bath set, a basket of your favorite coffees, and your favorite boxer briefs.”

“Jeez, what is wrong with him?” I run a hand through my hair and glance at the boxes again.

“He doesn’t know how else to apologize to you, Trav. He loves you like a brother and it hurts him to have you mad at him. He’s apologized, the only other thing he knows to do is throw money and gifts at you.”

“What do I do?”

“I think you need to talk to him… or if you hold out long enough, we might be able to get a new car.” She grins up at me. “I really like Escalades.”

“I can buy you an Escalade myself.” I chuckle.

I tug my phone out of my pocket and pull up my text thread with Wheeler. I'm not sure how to do this, so I keep it simple.

Smithy: Come over.

Wheeler: Be there in five.

I chuckle at how quickly he responds and tuck my phone back in my pocket. He’ll be here sooner than five minutes. He lives next door and we installed a gate between our properties so we don’t have to walk down the driveways to get to each other’s house.

Exactly two minutes later, he’s knocking on my front door. I'm shocked he didn’t just walk in, but I guess he knows he’s not exactly welcome right now.

“I swear, Wheeler, if I have to get up one more time to answer the door because of you, I'll start charging you by the step. Now every delivery person in the city thinks I'm some crazy lady.They kept eyeing the piles of boxes behind me when I opened the door. One of them begged me to forgive you and another told me I should hold out as long as I can and bleed you dry,” Liliana sighs.

Wheeler wraps Liliana in a big hug. He’s whispering something in her ear, but I can't hear what he’s saying. When they pull apart, she’s nodding her head and swiping under her eyes. His eyes are watery too.

“Smithy… I'm sorry. I know I’ve said it a million times in the last day and a half, but I'm serious, man.” The tears filling his eyes again make my own water.

I nod my head, unable to speak because I know I’ll start crying and I really don’t want to do that right now.

“I can't lose you, man. You’re my best friend. You’re my brother. I fucked up, but we can move on from this, I know we can.”

“You’re an idiot,” I choke out, losing control of my emotions faster than I’d like to.

“I know. I'm not denying that.”

“Liliana wants an Escalade.”

“Done. Anything else?” He nods his head, not even caring about dropping that type of money to get us back in his life.

“I want my best friend back,” I rasp as I tug him into a tight hug.

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