“Not looking for any help,” Ethan said tersely, but didn’t walk away which was a good sign.
Beau found Ethan to be one of the most difficult of the brothers to start a conversation with, but he knew it only took a few minutes before Ethan would settle down. He was always wary, so Beau had come to expect it from him.
“Work slow?” he asked.
“No.” The answer was straightforward, yet it still didn’t tell Beau anything.
Figuring he wasn’t going to get far with Ethan, he shrugged his shoulders as he turned away. “Well, if you ever need help, just give me a shout. I’ve got some free time these days if you need me to pitch in.”
Beau liked the way Ethan stared back at him in disbelief. Like he had no idea what Beau was talking about. Since Beau was a mechanic, he could’ve easily made the offer more specific, but for some reason, he liked the idea of leaving Ethan off kilter. The man needed something to shake him up, and he knew that chasing after Ethan wasn’t going to be in his best interest.
Pursuing him, letting him know he was interested… that was one thing. Chasing him… well, that just wreaked of desperation and, well, Beau certainly wanted Ethan, but he damn sure wasn’t desperate.
When an opening formed between the bodies in the hall, Beau moved forward, not looking back at Ethan. As tempting as it was to stand there and talk for as long as he could wrangle a response out of Ethan, Beau refused to be that guy.
He wanted Ethan, sure. But he wasn’t going to make it easy on him. They’d already paved the road, it would just take some time to get down it. Based on what he had witnessed, and the way Ethan was trying to punish him, Beau knew it was just a matter of time.
Easing up to the window, Beau glanced at the tiny little form wrapped in a little blue blanket. The only thing visible on the precious little boy was his miniature nose, and his small lips pursed together as he slept.
Beau grinned. Zoey and Kaleb certainly had created a miracle.
Glancing down at his watch, he realized the morning was rapidly passing him by, and he truly needed to get to work. Not that his boss would particularly mind. Right now, obviously opposite of Walker Demolition, business was a little slow at Dillinger Automotive, and since he worked for a small, family-owned shop, he was just extra help although he was the most tenured mechanic they had. Hell, half the time he was the only mechanic they had.
However, one of the problems with working for family businesses, if you weren’t part of the family, you were low man on the totem pole. Not that Beau honestly cared. He went in for a paycheck, the rest didn’t interest him in the least.
With a quick glance behind him, Beau noticed Ethan watching him. Offering the man a small smile, he gave himself a mental pat on the back as he walked away. If he could figure out a way to keep playing it cool, he might just win this game.
Chapter Three
Two weeks later…
“You wanted to see me?” Ethan mumbled when he stepped inside the main office of Walker Demolition at eight thirty in the morning. Not that the cramped metal building was much of an office, but for years his brothers had managed to make it work.
Now that Sawyer, Travis, and Kaleb had moved over to the fancy new resort offices, the only things that remained in the small area were three desks, two of which were empty. The other was occupied by Jared, Ethan’s cousin, who had practically dropped out of the sky on New Year’s Day and landed smack dab in the middle of Walker Demolition.
Jared hadn’t wasted a minute, settling right into the role that Travis laid out for him. And now, Jared had the entire office to himself. Not that he had enough personal effects to even stake his claim on the desk he had commandeered as his own much less the office.
The only thing on the chipped wooden surface was a laptop computer, opened, two plastic trays that had papers neatly stacked in them, a notebook filled with chicken scratch on the visible page and a cup full of pens.
Simple. Basic.
Sort of like the guy.
Ethan admitted, he didn’t know Jared all that well. Although the Walker family was close, and they spent a lot of time with extended family, he hadn’t seen Jared in years. Whether that was his own fault or Jared’s, Ethan wasn’t sure. But he knew now was not going to be the time to have a heart to heart because… well, because Ethan wasn’t interested in opening up to anyone. Now, or ever.
“So…” Ethan was already uncomfortable and he hadn’t been inside for more than a minute. For some reason, the way Jared was staring at him made him feel extremely uneasy. The guy was leaning back in his chair, the eraser end of his pencil tapping against his cleanly shaven chin, those blue-gray eyes that apparently every Walker male had were staring intensely over the computer screen at him.