Page 11 of Wanted: Forever (Murdock Brothers #3)

Cash

I was whistling as I walked through the doors to the Murdock Brothers. Lexi Howard, Kai’s girlfriend, was behind her desk going through invoices.

“Morning.”

Lexi’s eyebrows shot up. “Morning to you too.” She glanced at her screen and back at me with a frown. “You’re not due in for another twenty minutes.”

I shrugged. “Figured I’d get an early start on supplies.”

She twisted her chair around. “Early?”

“Don’t sound so surprised, Lex.”

“There’s donuts from Sweet Beat near the coffee maker if you want some.”

“Hot damn.” I rerouted to the small snack station we had along the side of the warehouse. I filled a to-go cup and plucked a jelly donut from the box.

Sully came through the door next, pausing when he saw me. “Morning.”

“Hey, Sully,” I said around powdered gloriousness.

“What are you doing here so early?”

“Can’t a guy be on time for work?”

Sully grunted. “With the schedule you’ve had with the police station, you’ve been squeaking into the warehouse five minutes late every day.”

I shrugged. “Day off does wonders.” Especially when a leggy blond cop made every second together count. “What’s on the docket today?”

I listened with half an ear as Lexi gave us our assignments. A handful of our day laborers showed up and things got a little chaotic. The donuts were long gone when my brother Cam came through the door, this time with the lone brother who had been missing since the family company exploded.

“Gus!” I put my cup down and flew across the warehouse to grab my brother in a bear hug. He was the shortest of the Murdock brothers at barely six feet. His beard was heavy and his skin a rich brown from his time in Costa Rica.

“Hey, man.” He slapped my back when I let him down. “Good to see you.”

“Didn’t think you were ever coming back.” Sully said as he came up to give him a hug as well.

Gus’s eyes were tired and he seemed skinnier. “Cam picked me up at the airport. There was a red-eye and since flights are hard to come by these days, I jumped on it.”

“Glad to have you back.” I frowned down at him. “Everything good?”

“Yeah, definitely.” He straightened his slumped shoulders. “All good. Just the time zones have me whacked out.”

Knowing there were only a handful of hours difference, I chalked it up to his late-night flight. Still frowning, I met Sully’s gaze. His dark brows were furrowed as well.

“Mom will feed you and let you sleep for twelve hours.” I clapped a hand over his shoulder.

“Nah. I can help out.”

“Sleep first. She’ll be pissed if you don’t go see her first.”

Gus sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Cam gave me a tight smile. “I’ll drop him then meet you at the job site.”

I nodded. “Sounds good.”

Sully and I stood shoulder to shoulder as we watched them walk out. “He’s just tired, right?” I asked.

“Sure.”

We were both quiet as we loaded up the trucks. Today’s job site was the new build we’d been hired to help out on. We mostly did renovations, but between the six of us brothers we had specialties in everything needed to build a house. Anything we didn’t know, our father would be able to answer.

It was a big step for the business even if it stressed out my older brother.

Growing pains with the business were to be expected. The previous builders had gotten overextended in the housing boom. They didn’t have enough crews for all the new builds they’d promised.

The Andrich family didn’t deserve to be left high and dry never knowing when their home would be finished.

And we were making a tidy sum on the job which worked out even better.

The ride over was tense, I could feel Sully’s brain working overtime.

“He’ll be fine, Sul.”

His only answer was the squeak of his fingers on his steering wheel. My original happy morning went to dust as soon as the work started. Two of our day laborers didn’t show up and one of the permits for the change to the blueprints ran into trouble.

“I’ll go over to the town hall and talk to Stacey.”

Sully nodded mutely.

I knew how to sweet talk the woman in records unlike my brother.

I was tempted to stop in and see Parker, but her cruiser wasn’t in the lot at the police station.

I parked in the street near Town Hall. Where all the other grasses in the area were crunchy with the lack of rain, the same couldn’t be said for Mayor Finley’s crown jewel of the town.

It was a pale stone building with gleaming black trim around the arched windows.

The steps led to massive double doors in tinted glass.

Inside, the massive hallway split off into two functions.

Signs for the courthouse gave me a flashback to my stunt earlier this month.

The Town Hall, since we were such a small town, included many facets of our town government.

I was about to hang a left to permits and records when Judge Crawford came outtalking to Mayor Finley.

He spotted me and I froze.

“Mr. Murdock, what brings you to the courthouse this time?”

I swallowed, straightening my spine. “Work, sir.”

Parker came through the doorway, her face pinched and a frown making a deep groove between her eyebrows. She met my gaze then her attention darted from me to the judge to the mayor and back to me.

My gut burned at the panic on her face.

The Chief of Police had just rolled out of my bed and I was still fulfilling my community service. I lifted my chin, my pride warring with the fact that I probably put her in a tough spot.

Before she could say anything, I cleared my throat. “Anything wrong?”

The mayor glanced at Parker before sliding her attention to me. “As a matter of fact, we were just discussing the fire from the other night.”

“Right.” I shoved my hands into my pockets.

Judge Crawford narrowed his eyes. “I heard you were a big help according to Chief Olsen’s report.”

“I was doing my community service at the police station when the call came in. Seemed like a helping hand couldn’t hurt.”

“Hmm.” The judge nodded. “We need more of that in this town. Good to hear it.” He turned to Parker and the mayor.

“I’ll sign off on the community service schedule to include cleaning up that space.

Keep me in the loop.” The older man swept through the doors to his courtroom, the heavy doors booming behind him.

When Parker still didn’t say anything, I backed up and took off toward the records office, my long stride eating up the hall as anger buzzed under my skin.

Like I could expect her to talk to me in front of them, but it still stung.

Was I stupid to believe we had a chance? Just because we had a healthy chemistry didn’t change who we were. I was the impulsive Murdock brother who got myself into more messes than I could count on all my fingers and toes. Parker was the freaking Chief of the IVPD.

Just before I got to the door to permits Parker’s voice rose behind me.

“Cash, wait.”

I turned, crossing my arms over my chest. “For what?”

“I was just ill-prepared.”

I huffed out a laugh. “Ill-prepared to face the man who made you come your brains out five hours ago?”

She rushed toward me. “Would you be quiet?”

I reached out to flick a curl over her shoulder. Parker never wore her hair down. But my mark was on her neck, along with abrasions from my scruff.

She pulled her hair back down over it. “It was one day, Cash. What do you expect from me?”

“I expect you to be an adult especially when we did all sorts of adult things to one another.” I stepped into her. “I won’t be ashamed about it.”

“Of course you wouldn’t.”

“Ahh, so you were just slumming. I get it.”

A red flush raced up her neck. “No, that’s not it.”

“I think it is.”

“It’s personal. That’s my job.”

“Understood, Chief.”

The hurt on her face made my chest ache. It was gone so quick, I could almost believe it hadn’t been there.

The door to the permit’s office opened. “Oh, hello Cash.” Stacey had a bright smile on her face. “Hey there Chief Olsen. Can I do something for you?”

She gave Stacey a tight smile. “No, that’s okay. I’m done here.”

My fingers tightened into a fist at my side as Parker strode back down the hall.

“Everything okay, Cash?”

“It will be if you can help me with a permit.”

Her smile was back, wider than ever. “I sure can. I’ve got pictures of Katie’s new baby, want to see?”

I forced myself to give her an easy smile. “Of course I want to see the grandbaby.”

I let Stacey chatter on about her new granddaughter as I inwardly stewed. I must have made the right noises because I walked out of there with a permit, thanks to a zoning error that was easily corrected. When I got outside, Mayor Finley was waiting by her car.

I paused on the stairs. “Something I can do for you, Mayor?”

“There could be. You still have a number of hours to do for your community service.”

I nodded. “I’ve put quite a few in at the police station, but I’ll be done with that soon.”

“Good, good. Glad to hear it. I’ve talked it over with Chief Olsen and we’ll be gathering forces to clear the debris and hazards from the old factory buildings. Since the budget is so tight, there’s no money other than volunteers. Can I count on you for your hours?”

I nodded again. “As if I have a choice?”

She patted my chest. “No, you don’t. Maybe you could get all those big, strapping brothers to help out? Perhaps even your heathen of an older brother?”

I choked back a laugh. “Mayor Finley if you stop parking in no parking zones, Ripley will stop towing your car.”

“I’m the mayor of this town.”

“So, you don’t have to follow the laws?”

“That’s not what I meant, Mr. Murdock and you know it.”

I held up my hands in surrender. “Of course you didn’t.”

“Anyway, please ask your brothers to help us out.”

“I will.”

She pushed off her car and rounded the hood to the driver side. “Thank you.” She pulled out of the fire zone and I shook my head before climbing into my truck.

A cruiser slid out of the parking lot with Parker behind the wheel, her face resolute as she passed without looking my way.

Annoyed, I drove across town to the job site where most of the crew were guzzling water and eating sandwiches from Bite Me. If we were caught working without a permit the fines could kill a day’s pay.

I pulled in waving the permit. A few of the crew gave a groan that it was time to work, but most were looking for the steady pay that my brother offered. I jumped in on the sweatiest jobs that took all my concentration so I wouldn’t think about the look on Parker’s face.

The build took up most of my attention for the rest of the week and into the next.

I worked on Parker’s office when she was off or when she was on the day shift, but every night I watched for her car. The light was on in the lower apartment of her two-family house.

On three different nights, I almost went over there to help, but I couldn’t quite do it.

Between the hurt on her face, and the shadow cast over the night we spent together, the street between us felt more like a wall.

And maybe there was only one way over it.