Chapter 11

Good luck today, not that you need it.

I consider adding a tongue emoji to the cake one I include on the text to Charlotte.

Today’s her big day with the wedding monstrosity we’ve been working on. Purely by necessity, I’ve been helping more in the shop because of it. In addition to helping with cleanup, I’ve been running things from the back up front and pulling trays out of the ovens while Charlotte does the finicky decorations needed on the four-foot-tall wedding cake. Still, I want her to know I’m thinking of her, so I click Send.

She says *~*Thank You~*~. You should see the heart emojis popping out of her eyes right now. But for real, she’s busy. Leave us alone. –Trixie

I appreciate that she took the moment to reply, even through Trixie, knowing that they’re likely swamped. Charlotte told me that she’d spend a chunk of time getting the cake set up and that Trixie would be running the shop today, but they’d both denied my offer of help, saying they had it well in hand.

I feel surprisingly adrift without a plan to go to the bakery like I’ve been doing every day. It’s just not as meaningful to me without Charlotte there. But I have been working on the information download for Jacobs Bio-Tech, going through files and familiarizing myself with almost a decade of data.

Honestly, the company seems mostly to be headed in the right direction, which makes me question why I was needed home so desperately.

Research seems to be on the cutting edge, a ballsy risk, but one that makes sense for the industry. Payroll doesn’t seem excessive, and while the marketing materials I’ve looked at seem a bit dry and boring, that’s not my area of expertise.

All in all, I’m mostly impressed with what Dad’s accomplished in his quest to make the family company thrive. I can see his blood, sweat, and tears in every facet.

Maybe that’s what made him ask for help? The sheer volume of work he’s been shouldering has to be wearing on him, even with Cody’s help. And while he’s in good shape, a man pushing sixty might not have the same energy as a younger man.

Of course, I can see Cody’s touches here and there. He’s done some project management on some new designs that look good. They’re nothing groundbreaking, but they were completed on time and the financials on the results seem to be good, at least to me.

But the progression of his responsibilities does seem lacking. I wonder if that’s his own preference or Dad holding him back.

Needing to clear my head, I throw on athletic shorts and tennis shoes and make my way to the home gym Dad installed when he built this place.

In some ways, I’m still adjusting to civilian life. Instead of clean, beautifully lubricated and maintained equipment, part of me still looks forward to a workout where there’s sand in my shirt, rough metal digging into my hands, and saltwater stinging my eyes. Still, it feels good to move, to challenge my body and push myself.

No, desk life is not for me.

Finishing up with my favorite machine, the Jacob’s Ladder, I swipe at the sweat running down my face, then toss the towel around my neck for my cooldown stretches. It’s only because I’m changing positions that I see Cody pause in the doorway. He’s dressed like he’s here for a workout too, but as soon as he sees me, he turns to walk away down the hallway.

“Cody! Wait, come back,” I call. In the hallway, I can see him look upward and sigh, like he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. But he does come back.

“Fine. But I’m not talking business with you. This is my escape from that shitshow, so don’t even try it, Mr. All-American Hero, come to save the fucking day.”

Bitterness drips from every word as he steps onto the treadmill, which surprises me.

Once upon a time, we were close. Well, as close as we could be with the years between us.

When I was off to the military, he was still in high school, so the years before that had us mostly interested in different things, but I’d always had a soft spot in my heart for my little brother. I hope that we can find some common ground again, now that we’re both adults.

“We don’t have to talk business if you don’t want. Trust me, the SEALs were a lot simpler than that corporate jungle. Wasn’t perfect, but I had sun, sand, and could wear a T-shirt for half my damn job. But when Dad and Mom said they needed help, here I am. Woof, woof,” I say, letting Cody know that being caught up in Dad’s games isn’t sitting well with me either. I want Cody to drop whatever burr he’s got up his ass about my being here.

He smirks, shaking his head. “You can stop the woe is me sacrifice act, Lance. At least you get to be a fucking Goldendoodle, coming back all decorated and welcomed and shit. I’m like the chihuahua that gets shoved off to the side, no matter how much I bark. Yip, yip, yip.”

The joke is harsh, but he sounds funny, and I can imagine him bouncing around like a tiny dog that thinks he’s the fiercest beast. I can’t help but laugh, and after a minute, he does too. Cody’s laugh is rough, though, like he hasn’t done it in way too long, and I wonder just what the hell went wrong here for him.

“Fuck, that feels good,” I say, wiping the salty combination of sweat and tears from my eyes. “I missed you, brother. I swear, I went away and you were this gangly kid with his head down in school work. Before I knew it, you were a man who was making your own way. I feel like I don’t even know you now, like maybe you don’t even like me anymore.”

It’s a big confession, one that might send him stomping out of here when I barely forged a crack in the wall between us, but I’m a gambling man. And if anything, I think it’ll give Cody an opening to dump all his venom on me. I’ll take it because then I’ll know what I’m dealing with, at least.

“Like you give a single, solitary fuck about what I want or like?” Cody asks, snorting derisively. “First off, I’m not walking my own path. I’m walking the one Dad wanted you to follow. So when the prodigal son returns, you get set up for the good life, and once again, I’m reminded that I’m a poor substitute for you in every way.”

“Substitute? You were never . . . Cody, you’ve always been an important part of this family. And from what I can tell, you’ve done a great job at Bio-Tech.” He scoffs, but I soldier on. “I’m honestly not sure why I’m needed here. It seems like Dad’s stressed to the max and you and he are damn near at each other’s throats, but from what I can tell, the company is okay.”

“You have no idea, do you?” he shakes his head, rolling his eyes. “You’re so fucking clueless you don’t even know what you don’t know.”

“Fine. Fill me in then, Cody. Tell me what the hell’s going on!” My voice raises in frustration.

He snarls, years of anger bubbling to the surface and overflowing in a rage-filled rant as he starts pacing back and forth, letting it out maybe for the first time ever. “You want to know what happened? Fine! You happened! You ran off to go do your own shit and never cared what I had to do back here. You think I wasn’t a substitute? They compared every single thing I did to what you would do and I came up lacking each and every time. So I tried to do better, be better, and fill in the gaps you left behind. You didn’t want the family business, so I joined right up. You wanted to see the world, so I stayed right here at home. I’ve done all the things you weren’t willing to, worked my ass off as a junior executive, paving the way to a life I thought I wanted as a VP. I figured eventually, he’d have to see that I’m just as good—” his lip curls, and he points a thick finger at my chest. “No, better than you. Because I’m willing to do what the family needs, not run off on a whim.”

He turns to leave, but I can’t let it end like that. He’s said his piece, but I’ve got one of my own, so I yell back, stopping him in his tracks. “You think I ran off on a whim? My whole life has been plotted out for me, expectation on top of responsibility, with zero concern over what I wanted. So yeah, I got out. And you could’ve done the same, but you chose not to. Now, I get lured here under false pretenses, all because they’ve decided I should be ready to settle down. I’m not back for five minutes before they’re pairing me off with a socialite who has more ass than brains, and her ass is flatter than a fucking crepe!”

I cringe, the food pun rolling off my tongue and not having near the thorny emphasis I’d intended. Cody looks angry, but then an incredulous grin washes over his face. “A crepe? What the hell kind of military slang is that for a piece of ass like Sabrina?”

“Sorry, I’ve got a bit of baking on the mind,” I say, shaking my head.

The tense stalemate is broken by my unfortunate slip. “Ooh, I know what’s got you thinking about cupcakes and popping cherries.”

I shove at Cody, feeling good again as we laugh. “Leave Charlotte out of this.”

He pushes back at me, and for a minute, I swear we’re kids again. We’re not really trying to hurt each other, but we end up bear hugging, mock-wrestling in the hallway. I’m better than him, trained in ways he’s not, but I let him get in some pushes, rolling up and down the hall and banging off the walls.

We both need to burn some of this testosterone out because we don’t need to fight for Alpha, not in our own family. Neither of us is out of shape, but between the pretty aggressive wrestling horseplay and mouthy taunts, we’re out of breath quickly and both flop to the carpet, laughing. I’m spread-eagle, leaning back on my hands, and Cody is laid out on his back, staring at the ceiling.

“They’ll never go for it, you know that, right?” he says and then turns a side eye to me. “Charlotte won’t happen.”

He sounds resigned, like he’s used to Mom and Dad getting their way. And I guess with his way of dealing with them, they always have.

But I’ve always handled their intrusiveness a bit differently, and I have no problem saying, ‘fuck it all,’ and walking away. Even though neither of us, my parents nor me, truly wants that.

“We’ll see. She’s not why I’m here. I’m here for you, man. Dad too. Tell me what I need to know. I’m on your side. There’s got to be more than what I’m seeing in the spreadsheets and quarterly reports.”

I get that Dad probably wants me to take over, but Cody seems a reasonable, if not good, heir to that responsibility.

Which would leave me open to whatever life I wanted, maybe even a return to the Navy.

I imagine that life once again taking over my every moment, a simpler life in some ways, one of mission-oriented focus.

But that image blurs in a red haze, one that clears and focuses into a certain redhead with fair skin that blushes in splotches, blue eyes that enflame me, and a sense of humor that makes me feel lighter than I have in a long time. Another kind of mission... but one just as important.

Cody, not privy to my thoughts, gets up after a minute and goes into the gym again, and while I know Dad feels like Cody isn’t pulling his weight, I can see the heavy weariness Cody wears. Whether real or imagined, the expectations are drowning him.

“Cody.”

He stops at the door and turns back, his eyes cold and hard again.

“Look, Lance, I know you’re not doing it on purpose. But just stay out of my way. This will be my company. I’ve worked for it. Fuck knows, Dad didn’t give me a damn bit of it just because I share his name. I’ve earned this, and I won’t let them hand it to you just because you’re their favorite.”

He closes the door, and while I’m tempted to go back into the gym and settle this, I know this isn’t the time. Despite our playfulness, he’s still angry deep down. That anger is going to bring things to a head between him and Dad sooner or later. I only hope we can all survive the fallout. We’ve been a mostly happy family, or at least Mom and Dad have always had our best interests at heart even if I didn’t agree with their methods. But I’m afraid this meddling is going to cause irreparable damage to our family if we don’t change course.