34. Cody

THIRTY-FOUR

I was drenched in sweat, and my tee clung to my skin as the sun blazed down from the bluest sky. No clouds or coolness were to be found. I drove the shovel deep into the earth, grunting as I shifted to use my boot to ram down on the sides to dig it in deeper.

Wry laughter rolled from behind me. "You look like you're taking out whatever happened to you last night on that dirt."

I tossed a glare over my shoulder. Matthew stood with his hands on his hips, smirking down at me where I was in a hole that was about three feet deep. We'd used the Bobcat to dig most of it out, but we'd gotten down close to some pipes, and we needed to do the rest by hand to make sure we didn't hit one.

The last thing I needed was to cause a huge fucking leak.

"And you look like you're standing around like a lazy prick when you could be helping me dig this hole."

Two guys on our crew hadn't shown today, and I was down here doing it myself since the rest of the team was working on the mold for the pathway in front of Cabin 6B that was going to be poured tomorrow.

Turned out it was the exact kind of day that was going to piss me off.

I was completely on edge. Raging on the inside and trying to keep it tamped, riding a thin line that warned I might snap.

My head fucking throbbed like a bitch, and my face was so swollen I was lucky I could see out of my right eye.

Matthew's brow arched. "I thought we were past all the manual labor?"

"The day the boss decides he doesn't want to get his hands dirty is the day the business goes to hell." I grunted it as I pitched the mound of dirt in my shovel up onto even ground.

"Looks like you got more than dirty, Cody. You look like you were about five seconds from needing that hole for yourself because someone was close to putting you six feet under."

Fury blistered through my blood.

I'd been able to keep it partially under control last night. Giving it everything not to lose it in front of Hailey, even though I'd been half mad when I'd fucked her.

Fast and quick and hard, terrified it might be the last time I would get to touch her.

I'd seen it in her eyes. The fear of fully letting me in. Thinking she was responsible when I deserved any ugly thing coming my way. I should have known Karma wouldn't let me get by so easily.

"It was just some punk who jumped me at a bar."

The half-truth was going to have to suffice.

Matthew laughed like any of this was funny. "You might look like shit, but I'm betting that guy is worse for the wear."

Not yet, but he would be.

"He caught me by surprise then took off. It was over before I even knew what happened," I said, focusing my agitation on the shovel that I drove deep into the ground.

"Well, damn. Hope the fucker tripped as he was running around the corner." Matthew was all lightheartedness, making it a joke, like I normally did, too.

I couldn't find it in myself to find the humor in it.

Not when I knew what this meant for Hailey. What was riding on it.

"I'm sure he'll get what's coming to him," I said, tossing the dirt up onto the pile.

"No doubt. So, you want my ass in that hole, huh?" he said, shifting gears, gesturing to the pit I was making.

"Nah, go check on the rest of the team and make sure they have those molds correct. They need to be set before anyone leaves this afternoon."

Honestly, I didn't want the company. I wanted to stew in the outrage. In the wrath that was coming.

"Alright. Just holler if you change your mind."

"Will do," I told him.

Matthew strode down the pathway in the direction of where the rest of our guys were working, and I turned back to the task at hand, praying by the time I finished I'd have come to some sort of solution.

A resolution.

It was damned hard when I had no idea how to handle a scumbag like Pruitt.

He struck me as a weaselly prick, and I was ninety-nine percent sure the actual person who attacked me wasn't him but rather someone who'd been sent to do his bidding.

Nothing but a twisted fuck who had so much control and power that he could send someone to commit a crime without much of a worry.

Hailey and I had talked this morning on the way to work about going to the police, what our options were.

She'd asked for a little time. Needing to figure out how she was going to handle this.

I turned back to spear out another shovelful when I felt a shadow cover me from behind, blocking out the rays of light though it did nothing to blot out the heat.

My stomach clutched, and I slowly shifted around, fighting the way my ribs wanted to cave in when I saw the man standing over me.

Douglas Wagner.

Surprise scuffed from his mouth when he saw my busted to shit face, and he shook his head, though it wasn't quite in disbelief. "Trouble follows you wherever you go, doesn't it?"

I scoffed and went back to shoveling like my stomach wasn't sick at the sight of him.

"And I wasn't even asking for it this time." I injected as much irony into it as I could, even though the statement wasn't necessarily true.

I had asked for it.

Had asked to stand for Hailey.

No doubt, this asshole was going to be none too happy if I claimed it.

"It's a lifestyle that breeds those things." His tone was the same as it'd been all those years ago.

Condescending.

Disgusted.

"I'm not that same kid any longer."

"That doesn't mean you're a different person."

I drove the shovel straight into the ground and rested my arm on the top of the handle. Agitation clamored through my nerves, though I forced myself to remain calm as I stared up at Hailey's father. "And what exactly are you implying?"

He didn't hesitate. "The same thing I was saying then. Stay the hell away from my daughter. She has enough going on in her life without you making it worse."

Scorned disbelief rattled in my chest. "Your daughter is a big girl. She can make those decisions for herself."

"My daughter is grieving. Looking for something…anything…to make her feel good."

I bit down on my tongue to keep from spouting off just how good I actually made her feel.

"I'd suggest you don't prey on that," he added.

Anger screamed, running hot through my veins. Still, I managed a semblance of composure, though the words were rough. "That's quite the accusation to make."

He stepped forward so he completely blocked the sun. Placing me in his shadow. "If it fits."

"You don't know anything about me." I couldn't help but spit it.

"Maybe not everything, Cody Cooper, but you know I know the one thing that counts. You aren't good enough for my daughter. Not then, and sure as hell not now."

He didn't give me a chance to respond. He turned his back and stalked down the walkway in the direction of the stables.

I grabbed the shovel and rammed it into the dirt, gritting my teeth, barely able to breathe.

I might hate him for it, but I knew every word he spoke was God's honest truth.