Cultivate

8Ace

Every so often, Collin's phone would ding and notify him of an incoming text message. He'd stop midsentence to check it and respond, or hold up one finger to pause the person who was talking so he could focus on the message in his hand. This drove Alex crazy, but he tried hard to let it go. They were there to talk business and play golf, not text. Be present, Alex silently pleaded.

“Let it go,” Austin whispered, sensing her dad's irritation and nudging him. He relaxed his shoulders and directed his attention to his golf ball on the tee.

When Collin returned, Alex asked, “Needy client, eh?” and he tried to pretend he didn't feel Austin shaking her head in disappointment. Collin stopped and looked at Alex for a few seconds before answering.

“Yeah, you could say that,” he said coolly, sliding his phone into the back pocket of his pants.

“How's Amy?” Alex asked casually, staring at Collin. Collin smirked and looked at Alex. They both knew who the phone calls and incessant texts were from, and they both knew it wasn't Amy or a real client.

“She's good. I don't know, man, marriage is hard. We have our ups and downs like I'm sure you and Christy do. She wants to go to therapy, but I'm not so sure. Not really sure what a perfect stranger could tell us about our marriage, you know? Do we yell and fight and throw things? Sure, but that's a part of marriage. We work it out,” Collin ...