Page 29 of The Making of Mila and Blake
Jason glowers at me like I’ve broken a pact we had. “Has Mila told you I’m drunk? Because I’m not.”
“The smell of rum on you says otherwise,” Dad counters, then relaxes his voice and moves closer, gently punching his fist into Jason’s bicep as though he’s interacting with a kid. “C’mon, man. You should know better when you work in construction.”
“Sorry, Everett. Must be nice being a big-shot actor who has assistants bringing you beers on set.”
Dad gives a forced laugh. “Ha. If only. The rules are the same for me, buddy, and I no longer act.”
“I guess there aren’t many movie deals coming your way after that big scandal a few years ago, huh?” Jason taunts, and I wish he wouldshut up.Dad is going to lose his patience in a moment, and then who will help me out?
Dad moves his mouth close to my ear and murmurs, “Mila, you are askingalotof me right now.”
“Jason,” I say, flashing Dad an apologetic grimace. “Please just let us take you home before you get yourself in trouble.”
Jason realizes that Dad and I aren’t going to let him continue his shift, so he quits the war before it begins and agrees to our offer. We all head to our rental and over in the very distance, I see Savannah and Teddy watching from the stables.
I wonder how their first shift together after the pool party is going. Is Savannah giving him the cold-shoulder too? It was Teddy’s idea to lay one on me, after all, so I don’t deserve allthe blame for hurting Savannah’s feelings. Maybe he can talk her around.
“Where do you live, Jason?” Dad asks as we buckle up and exit the ranch.
“Down on Grammar Drive,” Jason says, heaving a petulant sigh. He sits with his hat in his lap and his arms crossed, refusing to make further conversation while Dad drives. It’s easy to forget that Dad spent half of his life in this town. He doesn’t need directions.
In the backseat, I anxiously rotate my phone in my hand. Blake should know what’s going on.Again.
I start a fresh message thread and text:Ihate to be the bearer of bad news again, butwe’re taking your dad home. He smells like liquoron shift. Meet you there?
The reply is instant and blunt:On my way.
And much to my disbelief, Blake’s truck is already outside Jason’s house by the time we arrive. I dread to think of how fast he drove over here, but he must consider this an emergency. Maybe I should have clarified that Jason seems relatively okay and there’s no need to panic.
I hop out of the SUV at the same time as Blake bursts from his truck. He rushes over and asks, “Where did you find him?”
“He was on shift,” I say.
“Yeah, but where?”
I look at him funny. “The ranch, obviously?”
Blake’s eyebrows shoot upward. “He’s working on your ranch?”
“You didn’t know?”
“No.” Blake grits his teeth and wrenches open the passenger door to reveal Jason. “For God’s sake, Dad. Have you been drinking on the clock?”
Jason shoves his hat at Blake and steps out of the car, shaking out his legs. “Don’t be an idiot. You think I’m that stupid? I hadonedrink this morning to wake me up a little after I didn’t get much sleep, and the righteous Hardings over here are acting all uptight!”
Dad slams his door and moves around the hood of the car. “If it was up to me, Jason, I’d have left you out to dry.”
“Hey, Everett,” Blake says, swallowing the lump in his throat. He only ever met Dad a couple times, and I imagine it’s a thousand times more awkward meeting him again in these circumstances. “I didn’t know he was working at the Harding Estate, but I promise you, this won’t happen again.”
Dad holds up a hand to cut him off. “The construction work at the ranch has nothing to do with me, Blake, so I won’t mention this to Sheri, but only this once.”
Jason fixes Dad with a threatening look as if he will deck him right here, right now. Blake snaps his fingers in front of his face to break his focus.
“Come inside,” he says.
The sound of another car door clicking shut sounds behind us and my eyes flash over to Blake’s truck. Olivia shuffles down the driveway toward us and I feel blindsided by her arrival because I hadn’t even noticed her in the truck when we pulled up. My attention was only on Blake.
“Oh, wow!” Olivia gushes. “You’re Everett Harding!”
