A/N: Yay! I actually updated! =) Sorry I haven't been as good about that recently, I'll try to get my act together. Anyway, MidnightBlue88, in answer to your question, yes, Miles WILL end up with Sarah. Eventually. I already have a plan to bring them together, and I also have a scene in mind with a HUGE Jesse/Miles fight. It'll be good, I promise. Mwahahahaha… btw, your story rocks (Escape to Forever.)
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Miles and Jesse entered the house. They took off their shoes (Mae had been picky about that recently) and hung up their jackets, then went into the living room where their parents sat on the couch.
"Well?" Angus asked, turning his attention away from the TV to them.
"I have to be at the rink at 3 tomorrow," Jesse reported. "3-5:30."
Mae smiled. "Good!" she said. "How about you, Miles?"
"Best Buy warehouse. I have to be there at 6 in the morning tomorrow."
Angus nodded. "Very good, boys. You've made me proud."
Jesse turned to leave but Miles grabbed his arm. "That's not all," he said. "You'll wanna hear this, Jess." Jesse turned back around.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
Miles turned to their parents. "I got Jesse a job, too."
"You what?!" Jesse demanded. Miles ignored his younger brother and continued talking to Angus.
"We need the money, Tuck. Don't we? Isn't that why you wanted me to get a job in the first place?"
"This isn't fair," Jesse insisted. "I didn't pull anything like that on you."
"Jesse, quit being selfish," Miles scolded. "We need the money."
"That's not why you did that." Jesse turned to his father. He was able to see clearly through his brother's motives. "Tuck…" He was whining now. His tone wasn't whiney, but he was still whining. And his father knew that.
Angus looked at him sternly. "Jesse, wait a minute." He looked to his oldest. "Did you know he wouldn't want to work?"
Miles knew that his father would carefully examine each thing he said, so he was careful in choosing his words. "I wasn't exactly sure. I mean, I didn't think he'd be thrilled at first, but I thought – and still do – that once he starts he'll like it. And the manager said they're low on workers, so she needed as much help as possible."
Angus looked at Mae, then back to Miles. It was hard for everyone in the room to tell what he was thinking, because his expression remained neutral. "So you were just trying to please everyone, huh? Me, your brother, your boss…"
Miles nodded. "Yeah."
Angus allowed a smile to appear across his face. "I know you better than that, son."
"So I don't have to?" Jesse asked, hopefulness in his voice.
Angus leaned back and looked thoughtful. "No, I think you do have to. And you will."
Jesse glared at Miles, but spoke to his father. "But why?"
"Because it'd be good for you. But don't worry, your brother won't go unpunished."
Miles had been thinking he'd won up until that point. The threat said, he winced and looked at Angus. "Like how?" he asked.
"Looks like you'll be juggling 2 jobs. Between this warehouse and doing all of the farm work for a month, you'd better be getting your sleep. But I appreciate it. Thank you." He said the last statement like Miles had volunteered to do it. The punishment laid down, Angus then got up and walked off.
"All the farm work?" Miles asked his mother. She gave him a helpless look.
"That's what he said," She replied. "This may be the 21st century, but our family rules are the same as they were in the 1800s. And that's that the man of the house has final say."
A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. I'll try to update again soon. Just in case you're wondering, the next chapter is a memory with Sarah, Miles's ex-wife.
