A Man with Nerves of Steel (Joseph Hart) novel Chapter 280

Chapter 280

Cora and Joseph parted on bitter terms.

As Joseph quietly finished his lunch, Cora stormed out of the hospital. Not long after, a knock sounded at his office door.

It was Brooke. She slipped inside, quietly closing the door behind her. “Dad, I missed you so much. I just had to come see you.”

Joseph wanted to scold her, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to. “Have you eaten yet?”

She shook her head. “Not yet. I actually won a prize on my exam and came to tell you. I was hoping I could treat you to lunch.”

Her gaze drifted to the food on his desk. Realizing that sharing it would leave him next to nothing, she pivoted. Reaching into her backpack, she pulled out a thousand dollars and held it out to him.

Joseph asked, “Tell me the truth. Where did you get that kind of money? Did you gamble with your classmates?”

Having spent more time with Rosalie and Brooke lately, Joseph had figured out exactly what kind of child Brooke was. She was obsessed with making deals and betting on outcomes.

She was the type of kid who would willingly throw an exam to come in dead last, just so the student in second-to- last place would pay her off.

“I could have easily taken first place,” Brooke said defensively, “but being number one doesn’t actually pay. So, I cut a deal with the girl who usually tops the class. I let her keep her spot, and she paid me for the favor. Isn’t that smarter?”

Joseph sighed. “You think you’re being clever, but you’ll regret it one day.”

He pushed the money back to her and asked her to get something to eat. He also told her not to come to the hospital anymore.

Brooke asked, “Dad, was that pretty lady from earlier your wife?”

Joseph replied, “The adult world is complicated and dangerous. If a kid like you tries to play in it, you won’t just put yourself at risk-you’ll drag Rosalie down with you.”

Brooke frowned. “Then doesn’t that mean you’re in danger? No, I have to help you. We’re family. Mom and I can’t just stand by while you’re in trouble.”

Joseph froze for a moment. Brooke was young, but she spoke with the calculated weight of an adult. She sounded entirely sincere, fierce, and loyal.

He smiled wryly. “I’m touched, really. But you’re being foolish. With your petty schoolyard tricks, what exactly do you think you can do for me? You can’t do a damn thing.”

Brooke patted her chest proudly. “Dad, we’re family! We might not have been born on the same day, but we can die on the same day! Mom and I aren’t afraid of dying.”

Joseph stared at her for a moment before he said seriously, “Brooke, do I look like I have the word ‘idiot’ tattooed across my forehead?”

Brooke shook her head. “No. But Dad, I really do want to help. You’ve done so much for us, and we’re so grateful. We just—”

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Joseph cut her off. “Watch less television, and stop treating fiction like real life. You should go home. Don’t come here again. I’m busy, and I don’t have time to play house with you.”

Joseph then called Rosalie, instructing her to pick Brooke up every day at noon and in the evening. He made it explicitly clear that Brooke was not to wander around unsupervised, and under no circumstances was she allowed near the hospital.

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