Vested Interest by Bethany Jadin

Author:Bethany Jadin [Jadin, Bethany]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jadin Press
Published: 2018-01-28T16:00:00+00:00

14

Jude

Entertainment stand. I use a thick Sharpie to label the bag of bolts and washers before standing and moving the laminated planks of Emma and Zoey’s disassembled entertainment center against the wall for Gunner to bring downstairs.

It’s a good operation we have going on here. Gunner, my bulldozer, is getting in a good workout, even for him. But he’s in his element, using his brawn to shuttle boxes and furniture from the ladies third floor apartment down to the moving truck. Daniel was thinking ahead more than the rest of us and showed up with enough boxes, tape, and packing material to move the entire Eastside.

“Trigg, you’re going to want to help him with that.” I direct him over to where Gunner is manhandling a couch out the door all by himself.

“I got it, boss,” Gunner says, tipping it on end.

“I’m sure you do, big guy, but I don’t think the girls want you to use it as a toboggan to sled down the steps.”

Gunner’s eyes light up. “You’re a genius.”

“No, no, no.” Trigg takes hold of the opposite end. “No sledding down the steps. Let me help.”

The two men shuffle out the door with the couch between them, and I hear Gunner as they make their way down the hall. “I can put skis on this. Do you think they’d let me take it down Crystal Mountain?”

I shake my head. Whatever that man dies of, it’s going to make front page news. “You got the last of the trash, Jax?”

My twin is in the process of tying off a big, white plastic bag. “Got it.” He calls down the hall toward the ladies’ bedrooms. “I can’t believe how much food you two throw out. You’re lucky I’m hiding this from Gunner. He’d be in a frenzy.”

Emma emerges from her room, bent backward in an attempt to balance herself with what is obviously a heavy box.

I rush over and relieve her of the burden. “Let me get that. You just tell us what to do and what goes where.”

She smiles at me gratefully before replying to Jax, “I tried an experiment with fruitcake and sardines. It didn’t turn out quite like I wanted. Not at first, at least. The last batch is in the fridge. It’s actually not that bad.”

“Fruitcake and fish?” Jax makes a face and holds the trash bag further away from his body. “Sounds... uh, creative.”

“Yeah, that’s one way to put it,” Zoey says, emerging from the hallway.

I place Emma’s box on the coffee table and jack my thumb toward the door. “Jax, just send the bag down the chute. Hey, Daniel?”

“Yeah?” He pauses in his careful wrapping of the ladies’ wall art.

I point down the hall at Zoey, who is carrying a box that looks just as heavy as the one Emma was hoisting.

“Got it.”

Emma leans against the kitchen counter, taking in the sight. “I know it isn’t much, but it’s been home, you know?”

I do know. I was in the Marines for twelve years, and I never stayed anywhere long enough to make it home, not until Pentabyte formed.

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