Page 121 of Wright Together

“I told him he had to do this alone. Sorry you drove all the way out here.”

“Oh yeah, he told me.”

“Then, what are you doing here?” Jensen pushed the door closed behind him, shielding his fifteen-year-old son from our conversation.

I shrugged. “You know, I really don’t know. Except that I feel responsible for the kid and I want to help.”

Jensen looked skeptical. “He should do all the manual labor alone.”

“Probably. I could stand by and make fun of him while he works, if you prefer.”

Jensen cracked a smile, the first break in his veneer. “I’d pay you to do that.”

I snorted. “I’d do it for free, man.”

He stepped off of the front porch, as if giving up guarding his youth from getting out of his consequence. We walked back to the cars, and he leaned against his truck, tilting his head back. “Have kids, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.”

“Could be worse.”

Jensen’s head popped up. “How?”

My mind went to Bailey. The vivacious youth that Eve thought the world of. The one who had overdosed last year and was missing this year. There were many more worse off than Colton Wright being a rebellious dickhead.

But I didn’t say any of that.

“You love him and want what’s best for him. So, no matter what he does, he has you to fall back on.”

“Yeah,” Jensen agreed. “I wish he wouldn’t use me quite so literally as a cushion.”

“He’ll learn. We all did.”

“When I was his age, my mom was dead, and my dad was a raging alcoholic. I was raising my five younger siblings and holding the entire family together by the skin of my teeth. I had Colton too young and took over the company too young.” Jensen shook his head. “He has no fucking clue how good he has it.”

I nodded and clapped him on the back. “The consequence of trying to give your kid better than you had it.”

Jensen chuckled. “I suppose so.”

“My dad is a dick, too,” I told him. “If it makes you feel any better.”

Jensen clenched his jaw. “Well aware that Owen is a singular brand of asshole. I don’t know how he raised so many respectable children.”

“Breaking the cycle,” I told him. “Also…it probably helps that he didn’t raise any of us. We can thank our moms for that.”

Jensen sighed. “Is that where I went wrong? I left Colton with Vanessa.”

“Maybe,” I said honestly.

He nodded, accepting his fate. “Well, that won’t be the case any longer.”

“Keeping him here?”

“At least for the school year.”

I nodded. “How’d he take it?”

Jensen’s laugh cut like a razor. “Go ask him.”

“I’ll do that.” I clapped him on the shoulder again. “You’re doing the best you can.”