Free Rebel Soul: (Rebel Series Book 1) ((Rebel Series)) by J.C. Hannigan Page B

have left. I need you to come home.”
    So, I took a leave of absence from work and came back.
    And I still wasn’t ready to face her, to go to the house I’d grown up in, which was why I was throwing every goddamn thing I had into the cabin I was building on my land. I wasn’t really planning on staying indefinitely; I just needed to do something, anything that wasn’t watching my mom die. Building the cabin I’d been thinking about building for years, seemed like a good thing to do with my time.
    Grady McDonnell was over with his portable saw mill, and we were milling all the trees we’d cut down the week before. Braden was helping, partly because I’d told him I wasn’t going to let him throw a party on my land unless he did, but also because Braden needed this distraction every bit as much as I needed it.
    He was a lot like me. We didn’t like to face our problems or talk about the shit that was bugging us. We liked to throw ourselves into distractions, into work. Because he was so much like me, I didn’t have to worry about him asking what the fuck my deal was.
    He didn’t ask because he was avoiding the house, too. He was drinking more and attempting to steel himself for the inevitable. We both were. We knew it was going to happen, and we were powerless to stop it. What else could we do?
    Becky was the only one of us that actually faced her problems head on, a change that came forth after she’d nearly lost her son. I knew she was livid with me for not going to the house yet. Mom was getting sicker, deteriorating faster, and I’d been dodging her calls.
    I was an asshole.
    “I need a break and a beer,” Braden said, his forehead dripping with sweat. “Do you want one, Grady?”
    Grady looked at the huge pile of freshly milled lumber. We’d been going at it hard all morning, my rage from not only my mom’s situation but from what had nearly happened to Tessa Armstrong under my watch fueling me.
    Another three or four days at this rate and we’d be done ahead of schedule.
    “I don’t normally drink on the job,” Grady said apprehensively, looking from the beautifully milled wood pile to the cold Mill Street beer Braden clenched in his hand.
    “Go for it,” I told him. “This isn’t a formal job anyway,” I reminded him. Grady and I had struck a deal. I would work for free, and he would give me a wickedly cheap discount. He was also welcome to take all the leftover wood for other projects.
    Braden grinned, thrusting a beer into Grady’s outstretched hand. “See? Boss man said it was fine.” Without asking, he threw one at me. I cracked the cap and took a long swig.
    I was hot too, and a break sounded good. I’d long since ditched my sweat soaked t-shirt, but the sun was beating down on us all and the heat was relentless. The condensation rolling off the bottle hit my chest and it cooled me a fraction as it slid down my throat.
    “Are you going to the concert tonight?” Grady asked, making conversation. He was sitting down on the wood pile, stretching out his legs.
    “What concert?” My brow furrowed.
    “Travis is actually back in town, and he’ll be performing at the fairgrounds tonight,” Grady explained.
    “No shit?” I said thoughtfully, taking another swig from my beer. I hadn’t seen Travis in years, and I’d never heard him perform before. I’d only caught a few of his songs on the radio; Alberta didn’t have many decent radio stations and they definitely didn’t play newer music.
    “I’m going. Elle scored tickets,” Braden said. He paused to drink some more beer. “Tessa will be there too,” he added with a smirk.
    I narrowed my eyes at him in warning. The last thing I needed was for Grady McDonnell to get the wrong idea and go running back to the Armstrong brothers. My life was complicated enough.
    “You interested in Tessa?” Grady asked, picking up on Braden’s not-so-subtle hint. His dark eyes fixed on my face as he waited for my response. I could have decked