I loved how he was there for his family. Moving into him, my lips found his, lingering there not wanting to let him go. “I’ll talk him through it.”
He watched me for a moment, his arm resting on the top of the door. It seemed like he was mulling something over, but all he ended up saying was, “Appreciate it.” And then he closed the door, kicked over the engine and reversed out of the driveway.
I kept my gaze on his ute until I couldn’t see it anymore. Wrapping my arms around my body, I headed back inside. The fact he trusted me to help his brother didn’t escape my attention. I wondered how many others he allowed into his life in that way?
* * *
“Right, tell me about this interview,” I said to Dustin as I dumped my bag on Nitro’s kitchen table a little while after he’d called for help.
He paced nervously and stared at me with a desperate look of fear. “What do you want to know?”
I smiled, trying to gain his trust. I’d never seen anyone so scared about a job interview before. “What’s the job?”
“It’s for a cleaning job at a school.”
“And have you done that kind of work before?”
He twisted his hands together. “Yes.”
“Great! So you’ve got experience. That will look good for you.” I glanced at the table, looking for a resume. “Have you got a resume?”
His eyes widened. “Shit! Yes… no. Oh, fuck, Tatum….”
I moved to him and placed my hands on his shoulders. “Breathe, Dustin. Deep breath in, then out.”
He nodded and did what I said, taking a deep breath. On an exhale, he said, “I don’t know where it is.”
“What time is the interview?”
“Eleven thirty.”
It was only just after eight. “Okay, this is what we’re gonna do. You’re going to follow me to my work and we’re going to type up a new resume for you. We’ll print it there and then you can drive to your interview.”
His breaths were coming faster, and I wasn’t convinced he would get through this hiccup. But he nodded his agreement.
I brought out my stern voice. The one I often used on my girls when they were having a moment at work. “You’ve made it through the first hurdle, Dustin. Getting an interview is hard these days. So, pull up your panties and let’s get this shit done, because you’re going to kick ass at this interview. And I’m going to make sure you have the best resume to impress them with.”
His eyes widened again, and I thought we might have a problem for sure, but he ended up grinning and moving into action.
As I followed him out of Nitro’s house, I realised it was the second day in a row that I was going to work with a smile on my face.
31
Nitro
“The Story” by Brandi Carlile
I stared at Joseph as he entered King’s office. Bewildered, I turned to King. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding! He’s who you wanna buy fucking guns off?”
King had called me in early to meet with him, Hyde, and a potential new supplier. The last person I’d expected to see walk through that door was my
fucking uncle.
“You two know each other?” King asked, looking between us.
“He’s my fucking uncle, and I’ll be fucked if I work with him,” I thundered.
Joseph’s mouth spread out into a thin line as he regarded me with irritation. “My nephew always was overdramatic.”