Read Online A Broken Man by Brooklyn Wilde - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Brooklyn Wilde
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her out.
“Thanks. You like Dame?”
Jared’s face lit up. “Yeah, she’s great. Oh! That reminds me. I’ve been working on something for her.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
Jared ran off to his bedroom and emerged a few moments later with a small object made of metal wire. He held it up proudly and raced over to the door. Ethan had no clue what it was supposed to be. Jared slipped the top wire over the knob and then opened the door, fitting the rest inside the door’s closing mechanism. He opened and closed the door a few times to test it, and once he was satisfied he hooked on a loop that hung down from the doorknob. He retrieved a tennis ball from his back pocket. The ball had been slit in half, and he slipped it on over the loop and stood back.
“What do you think?”
Ethan had no fucking clue what to think. “What is it?”
“Watch.” Jared reached down and slapped at the tennis ball. The door popped open. “See, she can just hit it with her paw when she needs to go out. Automatic doggy door.”
“Whoa, that’s incredible. You figured that out all by yourself?”
“Wasn’t hard.” Jared shrugged his shoulders.
“You think she’ll be able to learn how to use it?”
“Totally. She’s really smart. I’ve already taught her some new tricks.”
“Maybe you could show me?” This kid thing wasn’t so hard after all. Ethan patted himself on the back for a job well done.
An hour later, they ran out of things to talk about. Jared and Dame showed off the new tricks they’d been working on, but eventually Dame got tired and lay down for a nap. Ethan was out of ideas.
“So, uh…you like school?”
“It’s all right.”
“Got any homework over the weekend?”
“Nope, we’re out for winter break.”
“How long does that last?”
“Three weeks.”
“You’re not going back to school for three weeks?” Ethan was on the verge of panic. It hadn’t been three hours yet, and they were bored of each other.
“No. So…since we live here now, does that mean we’ll have Christmas here, too?”
“I guess.”
“But you don’t have a tree.”
“Oh.” Ethan looked around the room. Nope, nothing that resembled a tree anywhere to be found. He never put up a tree. It was just him, and he was always gone anyway. Holiday tours usually sold out. “Should we put one up?”
“Could we?”
“Why not?”
“Where do you keep it? In the attic?”
“Keep what?”
“Your tree. Mom keeps ours in the attic.”
“You mean an artificial tree? I don’t have one of those. I always used to go out and chop one down with my dad.”
Jared’s face fell. “Oh. Well, thanks anyway.”
“You don’t want a tree anymore?”
“I do, but how are we supposed to get one?”
He meant how are a nerd and a cripple supposed to get one. That fired Ethan right up. They would have a fucking tree.
“You built the dog a door opener out of wires and a tennis ball. Surely between the two of us, we can figure out how to bring in a tree.”
* * *
Sarah came home exhausted after a long day of work. She worried about how the boys had gotten on all day without her. She half-expected to find them both hidden away in their respective bedrooms. To her surprise, she heard them laughing and talking in the living room. They seemed to be having a good time. Color her impressed.
“What on earth happened here?”
They both turned to look at her with what could only be described as shit-eating grins. A tall, skinny Christmas tree stood next to the fireplace. A hacksaw lay in the floor beside it. Green needles littered the room all the way to the French doors. There was also a set of distinct, snow-covered tire marks running along the same path. The two of them had somehow gotten down the hill, chopped down a tree, and dragged it inside without hurting themselves or freezing to death. Out on the deck, she could see that they had rigged up some sort of pulley system to get the thing in the house.
Ethan
“Thanks. You like Dame?”
Jared’s face lit up. “Yeah, she’s great. Oh! That reminds me. I’ve been working on something for her.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
Jared ran off to his bedroom and emerged a few moments later with a small object made of metal wire. He held it up proudly and raced over to the door. Ethan had no clue what it was supposed to be. Jared slipped the top wire over the knob and then opened the door, fitting the rest inside the door’s closing mechanism. He opened and closed the door a few times to test it, and once he was satisfied he hooked on a loop that hung down from the doorknob. He retrieved a tennis ball from his back pocket. The ball had been slit in half, and he slipped it on over the loop and stood back.
“What do you think?”
Ethan had no fucking clue what to think. “What is it?”
“Watch.” Jared reached down and slapped at the tennis ball. The door popped open. “See, she can just hit it with her paw when she needs to go out. Automatic doggy door.”
“Whoa, that’s incredible. You figured that out all by yourself?”
“Wasn’t hard.” Jared shrugged his shoulders.
“You think she’ll be able to learn how to use it?”
“Totally. She’s really smart. I’ve already taught her some new tricks.”
“Maybe you could show me?” This kid thing wasn’t so hard after all. Ethan patted himself on the back for a job well done.
An hour later, they ran out of things to talk about. Jared and Dame showed off the new tricks they’d been working on, but eventually Dame got tired and lay down for a nap. Ethan was out of ideas.
“So, uh…you like school?”
“It’s all right.”
“Got any homework over the weekend?”
“Nope, we’re out for winter break.”
“How long does that last?”
“Three weeks.”
“You’re not going back to school for three weeks?” Ethan was on the verge of panic. It hadn’t been three hours yet, and they were bored of each other.
“No. So…since we live here now, does that mean we’ll have Christmas here, too?”
“I guess.”
“But you don’t have a tree.”
“Oh.” Ethan looked around the room. Nope, nothing that resembled a tree anywhere to be found. He never put up a tree. It was just him, and he was always gone anyway. Holiday tours usually sold out. “Should we put one up?”
“Could we?”
“Why not?”
“Where do you keep it? In the attic?”
“Keep what?”
“Your tree. Mom keeps ours in the attic.”
“You mean an artificial tree? I don’t have one of those. I always used to go out and chop one down with my dad.”
Jared’s face fell. “Oh. Well, thanks anyway.”
“You don’t want a tree anymore?”
“I do, but how are we supposed to get one?”
He meant how are a nerd and a cripple supposed to get one. That fired Ethan right up. They would have a fucking tree.
“You built the dog a door opener out of wires and a tennis ball. Surely between the two of us, we can figure out how to bring in a tree.”
* * *
Sarah came home exhausted after a long day of work. She worried about how the boys had gotten on all day without her. She half-expected to find them both hidden away in their respective bedrooms. To her surprise, she heard them laughing and talking in the living room. They seemed to be having a good time. Color her impressed.
“What on earth happened here?”
They both turned to look at her with what could only be described as shit-eating grins. A tall, skinny Christmas tree stood next to the fireplace. A hacksaw lay in the floor beside it. Green needles littered the room all the way to the French doors. There was also a set of distinct, snow-covered tire marks running along the same path. The two of them had somehow gotten down the hill, chopped down a tree, and dragged it inside without hurting themselves or freezing to death. Out on the deck, she could see that they had rigged up some sort of pulley system to get the thing in the house.
Ethan
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