Gloria Murdoch was petite and pleasant and entirely huggable. She was the patient center of the masculine storm that was the Murdoch household, keeping order at the family construction business as the office manager and making a warm and loving home even when her sons had been teenagers prone to thundering through the house and bellowing rather than speaking or when her husband got a little too rowdy while watching the Bears play.
“We’re behind on the McClarens. They should’ve been done a week ago,” Rudy announced. He’d missed a spot of gravy with his napkin, and it glistened on his chin.
Trip met Aiden’s eye, and they shared a frown. They might not be able to hold a civil conversation these days, but they were both worried about their dad. “We finished that, remember?” Aiden said slowly, dread building in his gut. “Last Friday.”
“No.” Rudy’s tone turned belligerent. “I left instructions for Trip and his crew—”
“We handled it,” Trip said. “It’s done.”
“No, I…” Rudy’s thick brows snapped together, and he shook his head like a bull about to charge. “I… okay. If you say it’s done, then it’s done. What’s next?”
He and Trip exchanged another look, and he knew his brother was fighting back the same fear. Rudy’s memory problems were getting worse. Aiden knew it. Trip knew it. All the Murdoch Construction guys working jobs around town knew it. The big question was how many of their clients knew it and whether the Murdoch brothers could agree on what to do about it.
“We should finish up the Riverside Grill job this week,” Trip said. “Next up is Santiago Pharmacy. They’re ready to go on the reno for their new location in the Heights.”
Aiden grunted. “City permits got held up. We can’t start yet. I’ll talk to the Santiagos.”
“No,” Rudy said sharply, swiping his sleeve across his chin. “I’ll do it.”
Across the table, anticipation flashed in Trip’s eyes, which made no sense. Aiden was the one who worked with local governments to secure permits.
“I’ll call Tony Santiago first thing tomorrow to—”
“Goddammit, IsaidI’d handle it.” Rudy slammed his fist down and rattled every drinking glass and piece of silverware on the table. His dad could be firm, but that level of vehemence shocked the whole table into silence for a moment. Gloria pressed her hands to her lips as Ashley stared wide-eyed at Rudy. Trip even lost his smirk.
“Okay,” Aiden finally said, keeping his voice level. “Okay.” He rested his hand on his mother’s shoulder when she turned to look at him with bleak, pleading eyes. “Maybe Mom’s right. We should scrap the shop talk and just enjoy lunch.”
As if anybody was enjoying anything around that table. His appetite was gone, Rudy had retreated into himself, and Ash looked like she wanted to be anywhere else.
“So. Aiden,” Gloria said briskly. “Have you met any nice girls recently?”
Trip’s scornful snort would’ve chafed if it wasn’t part of the Sunday lunch ritual. His mother was the last person on earth who held out hope that Aiden had the capacity to settle down someday. Every week his mother asked this question with hope in her voice, and every week he quashed that little spark while Trip made barely audible comments about man-whoring.
“I know lots of nice girls,” he said. Then he reconsidered his usual answer. “Actually, I spent some time with Thea Blackwell this weekend. Remember Thea?”
Gloria’s smile faded. “Yes. That poor girl, losing her dad so young.”
“I helped her out with a flat tire after the show on Friday.”
“‘Helped her out,’” Trip muttered. Ashley frowned and nudged him, but it didn’t stop his derisive snickering.
Aiden leaned back in his chair to study his brother. “Got something to say to me? Or something to say about Thea?” His smile was casual, but his voice carried a warning that Trip actually heeded. He crammed a forkful of pot roast into his mouth and let the subject drop, thank Christ. Because really, sleeping with Thea? Ridiculous. It wasn’t just that she was slender in all the places he was used to finding curves, but she was clearly a “marry me” girl. He didn’t mess with that type, and doubly not when it was someone who’d proudly shown him her tooth fairy haul when she was a kid.
Sleeping with Thea.Ha.
But then he tipped his head back and thought about standing on the back porch of the house she desperately wanted to make her own. The setting sun had limned her sharp cheekbones and soft mouth with an orange glow. She’d turned to him with those huge brown eyes, crushed when his estimate came in too high, and that sad, hopeful expression was what had driven him to write up a contract that underbid the job.
So no, he wasn’t sleeping with Thea. But he did want to find some way to help her afford her princess house. Not that he’d waste his breath explaining that to his asshole brother.
“When’s your next Moo Daddies show?”
He smiled at Ashley, grateful her question had shifted the subject. “The weekend after the home expo. We don’t usually do them so close together, but we’re fitting in one last one before we go on hiatus for Dave’s paternity leave.”
“Fun!” Ash said, patting Trip’s forearm. “We should go, babe. Do something different for a change.”
“Pass.” Trip leaned back in his chair but kept his eyes on his empty plate. “Not my kind of music.”
Everybody around the table recognized that as bullshit; his brother had gone to plenty of Moo Daddies shows early on. This animosity now was yet another frustrating piece of the Trip puzzle these days. Thankfully they managed to finish lunch without further incident, and Gloria herded Trip and Ashley into the kitchen for dish duty while Aiden joined Rudy in the study to discuss the job assignments for the week.
