Page 83 of Hot for the Jerk

“You’d think he’d see it that way,” Clint said, pulling his collar higher up around his neck as we continued to traipse through the rows, our warm breath visible in front of us.“But some men view women as less.They view their daughters as less and only place value on having sons.”

Marco made a face of disgust.“Well, that’s stupid.Girls can do all the same things boys can.Even more.My cousins Laurel, Honor, and Sam can all do cartwheels, and I can’t.None of us boys can.And also, girls can have babies, boys can’t.”

I bent down and picked up a rock.It was round and cool to the touch.“You keep that mindset about girls.They are just as important and smart, capable, and in many ways, better than men—than boys.Did you know that having women in a boardroom can lead to better company performance, improved decision-making, and more ethical and inclusive corporate culture?”

“And countries led by women statistically have better social and economic conditions,” my brother added.

Marco shrugged again.“Makes sense.My mom and her cousins are running a great business here.We can’t hire everyone that applies to work here.There are just too many.”

“We should head back,” I said.

We all turned around, but Marco skipped ahead so he was in front of us again.“I don’t understand what would happen if Uncle Soloman had me go live with him.Would my mom go too?”

“I can’t answer that, bud.But I don’t think she’ll let that happen,” I said, a sickly feeling forming in my gut.“You guys have a great life here.She doesn’t want to pull you away from that.”

“It’s weird to think that I might have all these other cousins out there though.Cousins I’ve never met.Do you think they know about me?Do you think they wonder about me?”

“If their parents have told them about you, I’m sure they have,” Clint chimed in.“Hey, I want to show you something over here.”He jerked his head to the side, and once we reached the end of the row, we crossed over and headed toward a grouping of trees.“Do you guys climb these?”Some of the trees were alders, others evergreens, but there were a few gnarly and twisted madronas as well with their peeling red bark.

“We’re not really allowed,” Marco said.“The moms are all worried we’ll fall and break a bone or something.”

“Fair enough,” I said, sliding my hand along the slippery trunk of the closet madrona to me.

“I get that,” Clint said.“But I also think climbing trees is an important skill to have.I’m going to show you how to climb this one, just in case you ever need toget awayfrom someone.”

“Like my uncle?”

All Clint did was nod before he found a notch in the trunk of the madrona nearest me and shoved the toe of his Blundstone into it.Then he looped his hands around the trunk, clasping his fingers together at the back, and he leaned backward to create tension so he could scale the tree like a logger.Before we knew it, he was twenty feet in the air, straddling a branch.“Your uncle old?”Clint asked.

“Yeah, like ninety, or eighty, or something.”

I snorted.“I’m gonna say late sixties, early seventies at best.”

Marco did his token shrug.

“I doubt he’s going to know how to or want to climb after you.So if you can’t hide among the grapes, because the leaves haven’t come in yet, climb a tree.Just be careful, because they’re slippery.”

“Can I try?”Marco asked, glancing at me for permission.

“If you fall and break something, your mother will never forgive me.”I grinned, and he took my lack of a “no” as permission.He was a quick learner and did exactly what Clint showed him, joining my brother on the branch in no time.

“I can see Seattle from up here,” he joked.“Hi, Seattle!”He waved enthusiastically—too enthusiastically—and nearly bailed if Clint hadn’t been there to catch him.

“Christ, kid, you’re gonna give me a heart attack.”I positioned myself beneath him, so if he did fall, at least I’d break it.

“How do we get down?”Marco asked.

“Same way we got up,” Clint replied, showing him how to descend.

They landed with boots on the ground half as fast as they went up, but nobody broke a bone, so I considered that a win.We made our way back to the house.Myla’s patrol car was still parked out front.When we re-entered the house, Raina’s cousins were in the living room as well.

“Come on, Marco,” Gabrielle said, looping her arm around his shoulder.“Let’s go back upstairs for a bit.Give your mom, Jagger, and Officer Bruce a chance to chat.”

Marco glanced back at me.“I’m glad you’re staying, Jagger.”

I shot him a wink.“Me too, bud.”

“You McEvoys sure get up to trouble,” Myla said, after Gabrielle and Marco left.

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