Page 22 of Upshot

“Yeah. Maybe with some help?” He nods, and we down our beer.

“Alright,” Reed says, tossing his empty can on the top of the debris. “My toolbox is in the front room. Where do you want me to start?” Oh. He’s serious about helping. I take a piece of paper out of my back pocket. Grabbing a scrap nail, I nail it to the wall with my sledge. That wall is coming down anyway.

“Here’s the list to start. I’ll have my business partner draw up plans when I get a little further with demolition.” I run a gloved hand through my messy hair. “And as soon as I grow the balls to call him with this news.” He nods and turns to study the list.

“I’ll start pulling out the carpet. Do you have a dumpster coming?”

“It’s supposed to be here tomorrow morning.”

“Perfect. I’ll just toss it into the yard, and we can put it in the dumpster tomorrow. Don’t drink all the beer,” he warns before walking out of the room.

I don’t think I understand what just happened. In what universe does some guy just waltz into your house to help remodel it? The same guy who ate dinner with me? Is this what living in a small town is like, or are these people just nuts?

“Shit,” I mumble, realizing I’ve just joined them.

Am I truly throwing away everything to move to the middle of nowhere? I swing the sledge up and study it. I know I can’t give up the chance to watch my child grow up.

I also know I can’t just be a weekend and holiday dad. My father barely bothered to notice us growing up. I want to be there for everything. In a perfect world, that would include all three of us living under one roof. This roof.

I swing the sledge into the counter next to the old rusted sink. It feels good. In the other room, I hear carpet being ripped from the floors. I’ve already pulled up several corners to discover hardwoods underneath. Fingers crossed they just need a little sanding and varnish to look good. I can’t wait to see them. You know what? This is a good decision, I don’t care what anyone says.

Setting the sledge down, I pull my gloves off and pick up my phone. I’m not waiting until tomorrow. They either back me on this, or I’m done with them.

It’s not fair to accept the help of a stranger ripping the carpet out of my house but not give my best friend a chance to have my back. And my sister needs to find out that I plan to stay here. It won’t be the first time that circumstances pulled us apart. This time, though, it won’t destroy us.

“Dude, I’ve been fucking calling you all day,” Peter says when he answers.

“I’ve been busy.”

“Too busy to pick up the fucking phone?”

“Is that my brother? Give me the phone,” I hear Geneva say in the background. There’s scuffling, then she’s on the phone. “What the fuck, Henry?”

“Okay, first, that’s a lot of f-bombs right off the bat. Do you need to put me on speaker so you can both rip me a new asshole together?” I check my watch. “And why are you together at eight in the evening?”

“It’s six here, asshole. We’re just finishing work. Where are you?” The phone clicks over to the speakerphone. I do the same and toss the phone on the remaining counter. If they bitch at me too much, I can always use the sledge on it.

“Listen, guys. I’m still in Texas. Dansboro Crossing to be specific.” The other end of the phone remains silent, which might be worse than all the yelling f-bombs. “I’ve bought a house.”

“Christ,” Peter moans.

“What do you mean you bought a house? Where?” Geneva asks. “You can’t mean in that little podunk town in the middle of nowhere. I’m coming out there to beat some sense into you.”

“Not yet. Give me a week, then you can come kick me in the face or whatever you’re into now,” I answer. “Pete, if I send you some marked-up drawings can you do some preliminary plans? Just until you can see it. Nothing elaborate yet.”

“Sure,” he says. I hear a smack and his yelp.

“Rand, think about this. You can’t just move. It’s crazy. What happened to filing for custody? Then you can raise your monster here,” Geneva snarls. “Dad’s going to be livid. He’ll retaliate.”

“Let me handle Dad. Just give me the week, G. Then I’ll listen to everything you want to say. But I need to do this. You won’t change my mind.”

“Rand—” she shouts, but I press End on my phone.

“Man, she sounds terrifying,” Reed says, walking into the kitchen.

“She is. My sister,” I add, making sure he doesn’t think there’s someone else in the wings. “She’s pissed. I’m sure Peter is too. We run the company together, and I’m basically making twice as much work for them right now.”

“I wouldn’t worry, they’ll come around. Family always does.” He tosses me a second beer. It’s warm, but I don’t care at this point. I’m exhausted, and I’ve only been in town a couple of days. “How did you get this house so quick anyway?”

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