Chapter 21

Reid wanted to be angrier, but he’d pretty much blown his wad in the gym. Seeing someone threaten his brother, he’d erupted. Then dealing with all the stress of loving a woman most likely unresolved about her ex, in addition to trying to figure out why his mother hadn’t loved him enough and why his brother was now avoiding him, it was no wonder he’d lost it.

“We should be helping each other through this. But you’re avoiding me. What’s going on?”

Cash sighed and took a step back. He studied Reid, then looked away. “I don’t know, man. I’m fucked up about Angela.”

No kidding. One minute, she was Mom. The next, Angela. And Cash didn’t know an emotional up from down on a good day.

“Talk to me. We’re it, Cash. You and me.”

“I know.” Cash reached up and gripped his hair, his arms bulging. He had to be cold in just his workout shorts and sneakers, his shirt still in the gym. The spring air grew chilly in the evening, and the sun had set an hour ago. “Shit. I’m freezing.”

“Get in. We’ll talk.”

Cash shook his head. “We’ll talk at home.” He got in his car and left.

Reid hurried to his vehicle parked out front and paused before he could be seen. Unfortunately, Mac was leaning against it. But so was Gavin, who caught Reid’s eye and coughed. “No, no.”

“What?” Mac growled.

“No, I know where Cash might be. He likes to hang at the steam room. I bet he’s back there. Oh hell, Mac. What if he’s on a tear with our older guys? Just what we need, our Marine vet talking shit about the other services.”

Mac swore up a storm and marched back inside.

Reid hurried to his car. “Thanks, I owe you one.”

“No problem. But I never saw you leave. You get me?” Gavin headed for the front of the building, yelling at a fictional Reid he supposedly saw inside.

Reid raced home, wondering what to do about Cash. And about Naomi.

The talk with her mother should have calmed him down. Kim seemed to like him. She’d filled him in on Naomi’s quirks after learning about all his own and didn’t seem to have a problem with his employment, which, compared to the rest of her family, looked pitiful.

But now he knew he was in love with a woman for the first time in his life. And he had no idea what to do about it. Naomi was independent, too smart for him. Beautiful… She could have any guy she wanted if she put in the effort. He had to wonder what she was doing with him.

He pulled into the driveway at home and hurried inside. Only to find Cash asleep, clearly exhausted. He had dark circles under his eyes and had lost weight. The poor bastard.

So Reid kicked at his leg and yelled, “Reveille! Reveille!”

Cash jerked awake and fell to the floor, which started Reid laughing.

“Asshole.” Cash gingerly sat on the couch once more and yawned. “What?”

“Explain.”

Cash stared from under hooded lids. “I think we might have different dads.”

“And?”

Cash blinked. “You knew?”

“Cash, Dad hated you for a long time. But not me. Of the two of us, I look a lot more like him. But you’re big, have his size. I wondered about it, but his name is on your birth certificate. And in Mom’s scrapbook.”

“It is?” The hopefulness in his voice had Reid hurting for him.

“You are so stupid.” He sat next to his brother and slugged him in the arm. Sadly, the blow did nothing. “Who cares if we’re half brothers or not? And I still don’t think that’s the case. If Dad wasn’t your dad, he’d have kicked your ass out years ago.”

“True.” Cash stared at the spot where Reid had hit him in the arm. “That hit sucked.”

“So do you. What a pussy. Boo-hoo, I might have a different daddy.” Yeah, he was acting cruel. But Cash needed a wake-up. “Look, I need you now. We’re in this Vets on the Go! thing together. It’s our future.”

“Man, I’m thinking Naomi might be your future. You don’t need me.”

Reid hit him again, and this time, Cash jerked back.

“Cut it out.”

“Then stop being a dick. I think I love Naomi. I don’t think she loves me back.”

“Yet,” Cash said.

“Yet,” Reid repeated and shocked himself by smiling. For the first time since his lunch with Kim, he felt good. “She’s gutted me and doesn’t even know it. I have to figure out this Tanner guy, where he fits with her. And then I have to outmaneuver her.”

Cash nodded. “Outflank her. Trick her into needing you.”

“She’s smart. She doesn’t need anyone.”

“Sure she does.” Cash snorted. “Or aren’t you any good at sex? Give her lots of orgasms and she’ll stay.”

Reid sighed. “We really need to work on your interpersonal relationships with the opposite sex.”

“You first.”

He nodded. “We get through Mom’s funeral Sunday. Then the workweek. And Jennings is having a major party next weekend. We should go. He wants to ask about the business. He’ll help spread the word.”

“Good man.” Cash rubbed his chest. They sat in silence. “So you really don’t care if I’m your half brother?”

Reid wrestled him to the ground and put his brother in a mock hold. Cash couldn’t stop laughing long enough to take Reid seriously, apparently, so Reid snarled, “Cut it out. I’m your brother, no matter what. Say it!”

“No matter what.” Cash tossed Reid off him as if Reid weighed nothing.

His brother really was a monster.

“Now stop being a pussy and deal.”

“Fine. Quit calling me a pussy.”

“I will as soon as you stop acting like one.” Reid waited for Cash’s assent before adding, “And speaking of pussy, I’m putting Heidi with you and Jordan next week.”

Cash groaned and lay flat on the ground. “Why me?”

“Because Tim threatened to quit if we pair him with anyone besides Martin anymore.” Reid sat on the floor, his back to the couch. “Or Hector. But that’s it.”

Cash sighed. “Fine.” He paused. “I’m sorry I said Naomi might not be blowing you enough.”

“Great.”

“I’m sure she’s blowing you just fine.”

“Stop. Please.”

“And I won’t stand in the way when you guys decide to live together and shit. I’m good with that.”

Reid heard the worry and groaned. “Slow down, okay? First I have to get the woman to admit she can’t live without me. That’s a tall order considering I don’t know if she even likes me past my dick.”

“Sure she does.”

“And anyway, that’s all moving way too soon. I barely know her.”

Cash opened an eye. “Really?”

“No. I know her.” And I love her like crazy. But I’m desperate to not let her know and scare her off. Not yet. But now he had to deal with not scaring off someone else he loved. “Look, dickhead.”

“Hey.”

“I’m never ditching you. Not for a woman, a man, a dog, nothing. I might fall in love. Hell, someday I might even have kids if hell freezes over. But you’re always my brother. And if my woman can’t handle that, she’s not the one for me.”

Cash closed his eyes, but Reid saw a tear escape before he wiped it away. “Yeah, right. You’ll be whipped. Mark my words.”

Reid heard the relief in them and smiled. “Whatever you say, Casanova. How is Jordan, by the way?”

He scrambled to safety when Cash caught his second wind and rushed after him.

* * *

The funeral service had gone as expected. Aunt Jane and Evan showed, though they both came for Reid and Cash, not to mourn for a woman who’d never been there for her sons. To Reid’s surprise, Naomi had shown up to offer her support as well. After the short service, where they’d placed Angela’s remains next to Charles’s, Evan and Aunt Jane left. Naomi had insisted on going home with Reid and Cash and had cooked them some meat casserole thing for dinner.

Reid had never had better. The home-cooked meal won Cash over. He couldn’t say enough good things about Naomi after that, and they had passed the evening quietly, watching television together before they retired to bed. Naomi and Reid stayed in his room, and Cash crashed on the couch, as usual ignoring his own bed.

Reid had slept—and only slept—with her, too emotionally drained for sex. Naomi, bless her, had understood. Though he felt like a weak wreck, Reid felt surprisingly better having her near. During the funeral and after, she was there for him. And watching her interact with Cash in the days that followed showed him how right he was to care for her. Naomi gave Cash attention without a fuss, treating him as a friend. She teased Cash, drew him out, and insisted he prove himself by competing in everything from video games downtown to drinking contests at their favorite bar.

It wasn’t just Naomi who helped. The entire team at work offered condolences. On Monday and Tuesday, Jordan stuck to Cash like glue on the Johnson job despite him trying to shake her. Heidi had been a godsend, more efficient and hardworking than either he or Cash had suspected. And the Jacksons treated Cash like their long-lost brother. Giving him the space, and arguments, he needed to get right again.

Reid felt as if his team was coming together, not just as coworkers, but as family. Hell, half of them hung around after work, just because.

By Thursday, he sent Mannie out with Jordan and Heidi, figuring that between the women, they could keep Mannie in line. He worked hard but seemed to go off track if not watched.

“I don’t know how much longer he’s going to work here,” Cash said to Reid Thursday afternoon as they caught up in his office. “When I took him out this morning, he took his breaks with some rough-looking guys. Not saying we’re not all a little rough, but I’d swear they were casing the house.”

“Shoot. Really?”

“Yeah, but I can’t say for certain.”

Reid frowned. “He passed his criminal check. I don’t know. Let’s keep an eye on him.”

“Problem is we need him, and I don’t have time to babysit the guy. Stan, Heidi, and Funny Rob—who’s not that funny, actually—are good to go. Lafayette and Hector gave Funny Rob a thumbs-up. Finley okayed Stan.” Cash grinned. “Heidi’s my personal fave. You know she watches Real Housewives? Bro, she adds value to our team.”

Reid sighed. “Great. How about we call that big guy, Smith Ramsey, and put him on standby?”

Cash frowned. “I didn’t like him.”

“I did. He called today to check in. He’s a Marine, and he’s responsible. At least on paper. His background check and references checked out. All had good things to say about him.” Aside from the fact that he was a sarcastic prick.

“We don’t have the space.”

“We—”

Jordan knocked on the door. “Can I talk to you guys?”

“Sure.” Reid glanced at Cash and saw his brother checking her out, subtly, but it was there all the same. Reid cleared his throat, and Cash glanced down at some papers on the desk.

Jordan entered and closed the door behind her. “We have a problem.”

“What did Mannie do?” Cash asked.

She blinked. “Ah, how do you know I’m here about Mannie?”

Now it was Cash’s turn to look surprised. “What? No way Heidi made a move on you!”

Jordan frowned, then blushed. “No, you idiot. I’m here about Mannie.”

“Which is what I asked in the first place,” Cash grumbled.

Reid hid a smile. “Jordan, what’s this about Mannie?”

She sighed. “I saw him take something today, and when I called him on it, he said it happened to fall into a box he was moving. Reid, I know what I saw. He was stealing Mrs. Early’s jewelry.”

Cash straightened in his seat, his gaze intent. “What did Mannie say when you called him on it?”

She shrugged. “Said if I was smart, I’d forget about it. That I hadn’t seen what I thought I had, and if I made trouble, he’d make trouble back.” A mean look came over Jordan’s cute face. “Excuse my French, but fuck him. I’m not going to get fired because he has sticky fingers. I won’t work with him again, and if you’re smart, you won’t either.” She glared at Cash, as if daring him to contradict her.

Cash nodded, and her ire seemed to fade. “Thanks, Jordan. Good work. We’ll take care of him.”

She took a step back. “Oh, well. Okay then.” She looked to Reid for confirmation.

“We don’t tolerate thievery or bullshit. And threatening a fellow vet over an accusation instead of coming to us about it? That’s not cool.”

She gave a relieved smile. “Good. Because I really need this job.”

“You got it,” Cash said gruffly, then playfully added in a teasing voice, “unless you start stealing too.”

Jordan didn’t find him amusing. She poked him in the chest, right over the spot healing on his sternum.

Cash winced.

“Suck it up, you big baby. And don’t ever tease me about stealing anything. I don’t do that shit. Ever.”

“Sorry, sorry.” He held up his hands in surrender. “Jesus. I was kidding.”

Jordan just laughed. “You’re in for it, Griffith. Just you wait.” She cackled like a witch and hissed at Cash, then left.

“Damn, I like her.” Cash beamed. “Now let’s can Mannie before I rip his arms off.”

Reid sighed. “Bring him here and let me do it. You just stand around looking threatening. I’m not getting sued for wrongful termination because you beat him to death with his own arm.”

“Hey, if he’s dead, he can’t sue.”

“His wife can,” Reid snapped, out of patience.

Cash, the bastard, chuckled and left to fetch Mannie.

Naomi called.

“Hello?”

“Just wanted to say hi, Reid. And to remind you about Chris Jennings’s party on Saturday.”

“I’ll be there.” He paused. “Are we going as a couple or as work friends?”

She took a moment to answer. “Work friends, I think. I’m sorry. I’m not trying to hide us, but this account with Jennings is huge for me. And it’s bad enough I have to work with Tanner, even though I know you hate it. I hate it too.”

He refused to be that guy, the one who couldn’t handle his girlfriend alongside her ex. He trusted her, damn it. But he didn’t trust Tanner. “I’m cool. Like I said, he touches you, I’ll gut him.”

She laughed. She obviously had no idea he was serious. Good thing she hadn’t seen him fight at the gym. She still thought him mostly a gentleman. He planned to keep it that way.

He’d seen her all week. The sex, as usual, was fantastic, their connection deepening. At least, on his part.

Reid hated being this way, hated that just hearing her voice made everything better. Since when had he ever depended on anyone or anything for his happiness?

“Sure, Reid,” she was saying. “Sounds good. Are you doing okay?”

“I’m good.” He coughed. “Great. Looking forward to the party.”

“I wish I was.” She sighed. “I know this will turn out okay in the end. I just hope Tanner doesn’t think he can dictate how we approach our advertising strategy.”

Reid heard voices coming closer. “Hey, sweetheart. I’m sorry, but I have to go. Work calls.”

“Oh, I’m rambling. Sorry. See you soon.” She disconnected, and he immediately felt depressed.

Sack up, he told himself.

Cash walked in with Mannie, both of them looking a little tense.

“You wanted to see me, Reid?” Mannie shot Cash a wary look.

“Come on in, and shut the door.”

Mannie took a seat across from Reid’s desk. Cash stood by the exit, leaning against the wall.

“What’s up?” Mannie tried to act tough, but Reid thought he looked nervous.

Reid watched him, letting the silence build, wondering if Mannie would say anything.

“Hey, look, if this is about what Jordan thinks she saw, she’s wrong.” He tried to laugh it off. “Damn. I was moving shit from one room to the van. I swear, she thinks I was stealing. If I was stealing, why would I wrap the stuff in a moving box and put it on the damn truck?”

“Why would you move the customer’s personal jewelry without her okay?”

“What? Hell, man. I don’t remember all the rules. That’s why I’m still a trainee, right?”

Cash snorted. “Bullshit. We went over that the first day. I remember because I told you. Get out.”

Reid held up a hand. “Hold on. Mannie, you were seen taking jewelry from the customer’s bedroom. When Jordan spotted you, you then suddenly turned to the van, as if to place it there. Then, after you were caught, you threatened Jordan not to tell.”

“That’s crap. I didn’t do any of that.”

“Really?” Cash opened the door and yelled for Jordan, who had insisted on being there to confront Mannie. Subtle his brother was not.

“Keep it down, son,” Dan snapped. “I told you earlier I’d get her when you asked.”

“Oh, sorry, Dan.” Cash smiled at the older guy, then waited for Jordan to enter before closing the door again.

Jordan scowled at Mannie.

Mannie scowled back and stood to face his accuser.

Reid wished it to all be over. “Jordan, can you please tell us what Mannie said to you?”

“He said he wasn’t stealing but—”

“No,” Reid interrupted. “The part about where he threatened you.”

She planted her hands on her hips and stared Mannie down. “He said if I was a smart bitch, I’d keep my mouth shut. Because he needed this job. And if I ratted him out, I’d pay.”

“So he threatened you?” Reid said, cutting off Cash. “That’s workplace harassment.”

Everyone who came on to Vets on the Go! signed a harassment disclaimer, agreeing to immediate termination if found guilty.

Jordan’s eyes narrowed. “Oh yeah, I was harassed. And Heidi heard it, if you need more proof.”

Mannie didn’t seem to like hearing that. His eyes narrowed, but he looked worried.

“As we have a non-harassment policy, one that you, Mannie, signed, what do you have to say?”

Mannie swore. “They’re lying. They don’t like me outworking them is all. Not my fault I’m a go-getter.”

Jordan scoffed. “Please. The only thing you’re likely to get is jail time for petty theft.”

“Fuck you, Jordan. It’s your word against mine.”

“Don’t forget Heidi,” Reid reminded him.

“The big lesbo?” Mannie snorted. “Whatever. You ask me, she’s not that bright. She barely talks and doesn’t really know what she’s doing anyway. She’ll say whatever Jordan wants her to say because she hates men.”

Cash blinked. “Now you have a problem with Heidi?”

Reid had heard enough. “Manuel Lorenzo, you’re fired. Your final paycheck will be mailed to you by the end of the week. Cash will escort you from the premises.”

Mannie looked ready to explode. “This is bullshit! I didn’t do nothing!” He started going off in Spanish, and Reid caught a few words that weren’t so good.

Then Jordan fired back at him in Spanish, the two of them engaging in a lethal battle of swearing and insults, if Reid was a good judge of facial expressions.

“Do it, puta. I’ll make you wish you had the balls to.” Mannie grinned.

The poor bastard didn’t realize Cash understood a lot more than he’d let on. Cash said something in a low voice that had Mannie, and Jordan, staring in surprise. “Yeah, fucker, I know what you’re saying. You and me, we’re gonna have a nice long chat once you’re off our property. You come near her, even to say hello, I’ll rip off your dick and shove it up your ass. Just for fun.” Cash took a few steps toward Mannie, who backed away, his eyes wide.

“Try it, cabrón. You might be bigger than me, but you’re not bigger than a bullet.” Mannie pretended to shoot him with his fingers. Cash grabbed those fingers and bent them backward.

Mannie shrieked in pain.

“Come on, bitch. Let’s take your finger gun outside.”

“Easy, Cash.” Reid knew better than to say anything, but Mannie had to know threatening Jordan wouldn’t go over well. “Take him outside, then break his hand.”

Cash let him go. “Okay.” He opened the door and shoved Mannie out of it.

Before Reid could join them, Jordan said, “I’ll go with them, as a witness. Oh, there’s Hector. I’ll grab him too.” She raced after Cash.

Reid worked another hour until he heard his phone alarm. Time to visit the lawyer to wrap up their mother’s will. She’d kept most of her things at the old house, only a few personal items and her clothing at the assisted living home, which one of the nurses had boxed up for them.

Reid still thought it odd their mother had been lucid enough to arrange for her passing with such thorough attention to detail.

But after he and Cash left the lawyer’s office a few hours later, he realized he’d never really known her at all.