Initiative (Suncoast Society #31)(55)

“On the one hand, Dad would talk about how proud he was of John for being a self-made man, and on the other, he would get irritated that he couldn’t control John. I know I f*ck things up, and I’m sorry. I thought maybe when he married you that things would get better. And it was so cool when he let me come to work for him. I thought damn, I can really make him proud. But I also knew he wasn’t going to just give me stuff. I never was looking for a hand-out. I only wanted a chance. My dad had told me, countless times, what a failure I was. I just wanted to make a living, that’s all. I didn’t have John’s drive, the drive my dad did.”

As Jack fingered the papers and it hit her.

He’s a sub.

No wonder he’d always done so well under John. John had known exactly how to handle his little brother because it’d come naturally to him.

I’m an idiot.

“You need to find what makes you happy,” she said. “Stop trying to live up to whatever bullshit your father says you have to. It’s your life. Go be happy. Find someone who makes you happy and settle down with them.”

“Easier said than done.” He stood, gathering the papers.

She stood and walked around the table, knowing she needed to do this. “I’m sorry, Jack, but this is the way it has to be. I’m not strong enough to be who you need.” She offered him a hug.

She wasn’t sure he was going to do it at first, but then he stepped into her arms. It was the first time they’d actually hugged since…

Since before John died.

She’d always tolerated Jack for John’s sake. When he wasn’t being an ass, he was an okay guy, and usually he wasn’t an ass around John.

She could hardly bear to look at him now.

When he finally stepped away, he smiled, but it looked sad. “I’ll run back by work and get my stuff,” he said. “Thanks for the week’s pay. You didn’t have to do that, or the health insurance, but I appreciate it.”

If he’d acted like this with her since John’s death, she wouldn’t have resented his presence a fraction as much as she had. It was a shame, but she wouldn’t back down, either.

“If you’re careful, if you get another full-time job, you can turn that into a nest egg of your own.”

He nodded. “I know. I will. Thank you.”

With that, he left.

She leaned against the wall and fought back the round of tears threatening. “Wow.”

“Wow is right,” Ed said as he stood. “Let’s go tell your guys.”

Grant and Darryl looked up when they entered Ed’s office. when Ed gave them a thumbs-up, the men broke into relieved smiles and stood to hug her.

“That’s great,” Grant said. “So you’re done?”

“Done,” she said. “Twenty grand poorer, but it’s worth the peace of mind.”

“You can refer his parents to me, if you want,” Ed said.

“Hopefully I won’t have to deal with them for a while.”

After leaving Ed’s, they were sitting in the car and trying to decide where to go for dinner. This was worth a celebration.

Then Kristin called.

“Sorry, hon. I want to hear how it went, but I have a major problem you need to deal with here.”

“What?”

“Water pipe burst in parts…”

Shit. “We’ll be right there,” Susie said after Kristin had detailed what happened.

She ended the call and sat back. Grant was behind the wheel while Darryl had shotgun. “We need to go by the dealership. I have a massive plumbing emergency.”

Grant shifted the car into reverse. “Then let’s handle that. If you need us to, we can go get dinner and bring something back for all of us to eat there.”

“Thank you.” She sadly laughed. “What does it say about me that I don’t dread dealing with a plumbing disaster, yet I dragged my feet for over two years dealing with Jack?”

“I think it says you’re human, sweetheart,” Darryl said.





Kristin, on the ball as always, had already called it in to their insurance company and had a plumbing contractor on the way. The facilities manager had got the water shut off, which meant no water at all on-site.

Including no working bathrooms.

Kristin was already calling around to get some portable toilets brought in, as well as hand-washing stations. It was the best they could do until the repairs could be made. She’d already sent one of the lot prep guys out to buy several cases of gallon jugs of water and hand sanitizer for people to use.

And they were big repairs to be made. It wasn’t just a water pipe. It was the incoming water main, just outside and under the parts department’s wall, and supplied not only their plumbing system, but irrigation and fire sprinklers as well.

Meaning the facilities manager had also had to deal with getting the fire alarm shut off when the water pressure drop triggered warnings there, too.

Before they’d got the water shut off, the force of the water had dug a huge six-foot hole under the asphalt outside the wall, as well as undermined a section of the wall.

A building contractor would have to be called to shore it up to ensure it was safe.

It was a headache, yes, but not as bad as the night five years earlier when a small F0 tornado ripped part of the roof off over the body shop and damaged another forty cars in the lot.