Free A Measure of Love by Sophie Jackson

eyes, and shoveled another spoonful of cereal into his mouth.
    “Riley Lincoln Moore, that wasn’t a question!”
    From the floor, seated in front of the TV, Dex snorted. “Dude, you just got full named and it’s not even Sunday.”
    No, it wasn’t Sunday. It was Saturday. The Saturday after a week from hell, and the last thing Riley wanted to do was help his father do . . . whatever the hell it was he wanted him to do. Dex’s blue eyes shined with amusement behind his black-rimmed glasses, making Riley curl his lip at his oldest brother. Dex chuckled harder.
    “I’m busy!” Riley shouted back in reply. “But Dex is more than eager to help you.”
    The smile dropped off Dex’s face like a stone in water. “Really?”
    The smack to the top of Riley’s head halted the smart-ass response he was going to fire back at Dex, while simultaneously causing him to flail and spill milk all over the crotch of his The Flash pajama pants.
    “Goddammit,” he swore, holding his bowl out in one hand, arms wide. He held his breath, realizing what he’d just said in front of his father.
    “Get up,” his father ordered, glaring down at Riley, apparently letting the curse slide.
    “But Dad,” Riley began in that whiney voice that could result in another smack.
    “But Dad nothing,” the man grumbled, pointing a finger in Riley’s face. “Get your ass dressed in clothes you don’t care about getting dirty and meet me in the backyard in ten minutes. And trust me, son, you don’t want me to have to come and get you again.”
    The look he shot Riley always had all four Moore boys jumping in whatever direction their father wanted at lightning speed and, despite Riley feeling like crap, this time was no exception. With his bowl in the kitchen sink, he thumped up the stairs, dried himself, and then dressed in an old pair of jeans and an old T-shirt before joining his father in the backyard.
    Park Moore was a large, formidable man. He had shoulders the width of a barn door, without having to work out too much, and hands the size of shovels. As a kid, Riley had always been in awe of the man’s size, but now he was envious. He hoped to God that he’d be the same when he was older.
    Riley couldn’t be too down about it—he’d definitely had a growth spurt over the last year, hitting almost six feet, but his arms and legs were still lean and gangly. How was it fair that his younger brother, Seb, was already growing muscles at the age of twelve? And Tate, with his dreams of being in the military, was always running and competing in sports at school, so he was fairly ripped. Riley wasn’t a slouch—he ran and played football three times a week—but he was still built like a damned green bean.
    It wasn’t fair.
    Life wasn’t fair!
    Riley huffed and looked over the piles of wood and paint that his father was standing next to. “So what are we doing?” he asked petulantly.
    “We’re building the fence your mother wants.”
    Riley frowned. “Hasn’t she been wanting a new fence since Christmas?” He glanced around himself. “It’s May.”
    “Yes,” Park replied with an exasperated sigh. “But I have the time now that I’m on vacation from work and I need your help.”
    Pushing his hands into his jeans pockets, Riley shrugged. “Help doing what?”
    “I need you to knock down the old fence and help me put up the new one.”
    Riley considered his father for a moment, noticing the large mallet resting against a pile of timber. “I get to use that?”
    Park followed Riley’s gaze. “Can I trust you not to kill yourself or anyone else with it?”
    “I can’t promise anything if Dex comes out here, but I’ll do my best,” Riley offered, glimpsing a small smile twitch at the corner of Park’s mouth.
    “Then it’s a deal.”
    Riley heaved the mallet over to the old fence, which in reality looked as though a slight breeze could knock it down, and glanced back at his father.
    “Hands close to the head of it,”