Page 3 of Forever Enough
Joshua exhaled a long breath. “Yeah, that’s putting it lightly.”
“Want to talk about it?” I asked.
Joshua looked around the room, most likely looking for his parents.
“Let’s go to my father’s office,” I suggested. “He won’t mind us using it.”
The look of relief on his face nearly made me laugh. It was clear he needed someone to talk to. “If you don’t mind.”
I motioned with my head for him to follow me. Once he walked in, I shut the door. “Want a drink?” I asked as I headed over toward Dad’s bar.
His eyes went wide before he said, “Um, what are you having?”
“I’m going with scotch.”
“I’ll have that too.” I lifted a brow but decided not to say anything. “Ice?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never had whiskey before.”
That surprised me. “Hell, I was younger than you when I had my first taste of whiskey. Right here in this room. Hunter and I were looking at a bottle of scotch that I always saw my father drinking from. He walked in and caught us. Told us to step aside, then proceeded to show us the proper way to make and drink a good scotch.”
Joshua smiled. “What did he show you?”
I poured us both a drink as Joshua watched. “Pour one finger, and never add ice.”
Joshua took the drink as I motioned for him to sit on the sofa.
“This is between us. I don’t want Uncle Ty or Aunt Kaylee hunting me down for giving you alcohol.”
He laughed. “Do I down it?”
I sat on the chair opposite him. “You could, but I recommend taking your time so you can enjoy it.”
He took a small sip and nodded. “That’s…interesting.”
I grinned. “So, tell me what’s going on.”
He exhaled and ran his hand down his face. “I don’t want to go to college, Bradly. And I don’t want to work on the ranch. I don’t want to raise bulls.”
My eyes flew wide open.
“I love the ranch, don’t get me wrong. It’s in my blood. And I love helping my father with the bulls. I just don’t want to do that for a living.”
“What do you want to do?”
He took a few moments before he answered. “I want to be a firefighter.”
I nearly choked on the scotch. “What? A firefighter? What in the world brought that on?”
He shrugged. “I’ve wanted to do that for as long as I can remember.”
“I remember when we were younger, you mentioned it once. I didn’t realize you still wanted to pursue it as a career.”
He nodded and massaged the back of his neck. “I want to make a difference. I want to help people. Do I love the thrill I get when I’m on the back of a bull? Yeah, I love it. But I feel that same adrenaline thinking about being a firefighter. The only difference is, I’m doing something to help someone, to help a community. No offense to your job.”
I held up my hand. “None taken.”
Joshua sighed. “I know my dad is trying to be understanding about it, but I think he always dreamed of me following in his footsteps. I feel like I might be a huge disappointment to him.”