by Stacy Finz
“You cancel your bouldering tour?” TJ walked into Win’s office.
“Yep.” They both looked out the window at the snowstorm. Not quite a blizzard, but close. “It sucks, but I didn’t think it was safe. Not for this group.” They were novice rock climbers.
TJ didn’t disagree. “What do you plan to do today?”
Win rolled his chair back and put his feet up on the desk. “It was a six-hour tour, so not much. You have any administrative work you want to give me?”
“Not off the top of my head. I’ll try to think of something. In the meantime, you could ask Darcy. She might have something.”
“Where’s Deb?”
“She has a breakfast shift at the Morning Glory,” TJ said. “She should be in around noon. I don’t think she needs any help, though.”
“No?” Win sat upright and took a drink of his green smoothie. Today called for something hot and he wished he would’ve forgone his breakfast drink of champions and gotten coffee or cocoa. “I figured I could help her get more established.”
TJ all but snorted. “It’s not like you know anything about retail, but go for it, if you want.”
“Getting some serious weather, huh?” Josh walked in and shook the snow off his jacket. “Is there anything to eat, or do I need to make a doughnut run?”
“Doughnut run!” Win and TJ said at the same time.
“All right. I’ll get ’em as soon as I check my messages.”
“I’ll go,” Win said. He was bored out of his skull just sitting in the office.
“This time don’t skimp on the bear claws,” Josh said. “Has Colt been in this morning? He’ll want doughnuts.”
“He’s a cop.” Win shrugged into his jacket and pulled a beanie over his head. “Don’t they have unlimited access to their own doughnuts?”
“You’re a moron.” Josh shook his head. “I’ll call him.”
“All right,” TJ said. “We’ll make it an impromptu meeting. May as well do something productive.”
“Anyone want anything else?” Win asked as he was leaving.
“Darcy made coffee,” TJ said.
On his way out, he stopped off at the reception desk. “I’m getting doughnuts; you want anything?” he asked Darcy.
She shook her head and went back to her phone call.
He trampled through the snow—the city couldn’t clean the sidewalks fast enough to keep up with the downfall—and by the time he got to the Morning Glory, his hands were numb from the cold. He should’ve worn gloves on the short walk.
Felix waved from the kitchen window and hollered for Deb to come behind the counter and help him.
“Hey,” she said but didn’t seem happy to see him. For a while now, she’d been giving him the cold shoulder.
“I come in search of doughnuts.”
She looked down at the bakery case and called back to the kitchen. “How long for life preservers?”
“Ten minutes,” Felix yelled back.
“I’ll wait. Can I get a cup of coffee in the meantime?” He grabbed a stool at the counter. As a kid, he used to love sitting at the bar with a milk shake or a soda. All his brothers had.
She poured coffee into a white mug and put it in front of him with a cream dispenser. “Here you go.”
“If you can break away from the diner, we’re having a meeting at GA.”
“Why? Is anything wrong?” She bussed the spot next to him and wiped down the counter.
“Nothing’s wrong. We’re a company; we have meetings. And it makes TJ feel important.”
“Oh.” She scanned the restaurant. “It’s slow because of the weather. I’ll probably be able to break away. We have a cook down, though.”
That must’ve been why Felix was in the kitchen instead of working the cash register, like he always did.
“Whatever. If you can’t come, no worries. It’s not a big deal, just a way to kill time until the snow lets up.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” She started to take a couple of menus to a booth in the back when he stopped her.
“Hey, you mad at me for something?”
“Nope.” She turned to walk away and he took her arm. “Seriously, why are you pissed at me?”
“That’s the thing, Win. I’m not.” She turned her back on him and went off to seat Rita Tucker and a couple of council members.
He knew Deb had had it bad for him since high school, and he’d felt things for her he’d never felt for any other woman. He just wasn’t sure what they were. Love? Hard to tell, though he’d never felt the things you were supposed to when you were in love with someone.
He’d never have a chance to find out now. As long as he was having a baby, he’d make it work with Britney.
When the doughnuts came out of the fryer, Felix put a couple dozen in a box and tied it with string. Win took them back to the office, where his brothers descended on the carton like vultures.
“Jeez, let me at least put them in the conference room.”
TJ and Josh followed him, and Darcy brought a carafe of coffee and cups, which they set up in the middle of the meeting table.
“You save me a bear claw?” Colt came in and immediately started picking through the box. He got what he was looking for, put it on a paper plate, and took off his jacket. “It’s bloody cold outside. I can’t stay long; duty calls.”
Darcy started to walk out and TJ said, “Stay for the meeting, okay?”
Win watched her face brighten. He didn’t know what was so special about being asked to stay for a boring meeting and planned to ask TJ about it later. In any event, her enthusiasm buoyed him, and Lord knew he could use a little lift.
“What are we here for?” Colt asked while stuffing his face. Clearly, he’d only come for the doughnuts. “Where’s Mom and Dad?”
“We called it at the last minute, mostly because we don’t have anything better to do,” Win said.
“Speak for yourself.” TJ grabbed a buttermilk bar. “I’ve got plenty to do.”
“The meeting was your idea, dickwad.” Josh filled a mug with coffee.
“All right.” Colt, always the peacekeeper, held up his hands. “Give us a status report, TJ.”
TJ pulled in his chair. “The website’s being revamped and should be done sometime next week. Deb’s working on ordering the sweatshirts and plans to meet with Delaney on the Colt and Delaney orders. Win got a raise and—”
“Whoa, what?” Josh glared at TJ. “Why didn’t I get a raise?”
“Because I’ve been here longer than you,” Win said.
“Well I’m older and have a wife to support.” Which was bullshit because Hannah was killing it with Glorious Gifts and Win told him so.
Colt banged on the table to get everyone’s attention. When the bickering stopped, he turned to TJ. “Is there money in the budget for Josh to get a raise, too?”
“No. Josh can have one next year, and maybe sometime this century, I can get one, too.”
Colt took the coffee carafe from Josh, poured himself a cup, and asked him, “Can you live with next year?”
“I guess so, but why did Win get one?”
All eyes turned to him, and he sat there like the proverbial deer in the headlights.
“Because he asked,” TJ finally said. “And he was due one.”
Win made a note to himself to get TJ a better Christmas present than the rest of his brothers. Hell, maybe he’d make him the godfather of his baby. The thought made him check his phone for the hundredth time.
“You suck.” Josh sailed a paper plate at his face.
Win got up and tried to give him a wedgie and they started wrestling.
“Let me know when you toddlers are done and we can get back to the meeting.” TJ said.
Colt shot them both a look to behave, and because he was wearing a nine-millimeter on his belt, Win sat back down.
“Darcy wants a promotion,” TJ announced, and this time all eyes fell on Darcy, who looked as if she wanted to hide under
the table. Win was just glad the heat was off him.
“She’s ready for something a little more challenging, right, Darce?”
Darcy started to choke on her cruller and Colt patted her on the back. She made this awful hacking noise in her throat, and Win wondered if one of them would have to give her the Heimlich maneuver.
“You okay?” TJ asked, and Darcy nodded as she continued to cough. “Don’t die on us.”
Jeez, way to make it worse, TJ. Couldn’t he tell she was embarrassed?
“Come on, Darce, let’s get you a drink of water.” Win pulled her out of the chair and tugged her out of the conference room.
At the cooler, he filled a cup and handed it to her. “Drink.”
She dutifully gulped, which made her cough even harder, her eyes filling with water. Uh-oh. At least they were all trained in first aid.
“Can you breathe?” he asked her and she nodded. A few seconds later, the coughing subsided and she took a few more swigs of water.
Colt came out to check on them. “Everything all right?”
“She’s fine. We’ll be right in.” The last thing Darcy needed was an audience. As it was, her face was beet red and her eyes glassy, and Colt was damned intimidating, though chicks usually loved him. Lord knew why.
Colt got the message loud and clear and went back to the conference room. That was when Deb showed up in the lobby, wiping snow from her coat.
“Did I miss the meeting?” she asked, then paused to gawk at them. “Everything okay?”
“We’re all good. Meeting’s in the conference room.” Win nudged his head at the door. “We’ll be in in a second.”
Deb cocked her head to one side. “Darcy?”
“I choked on a doughnut,” she said and started to cough again.
“Let’s go to the bathroom.” She took Darcy’s arm and wordlessly told Win to get lost.
He went back to the meeting. “Deb’s with her.”
“What the hell happened?” TJ asked. And the guy was supposed to be a genius.
“You embarrassed her and she choked on”—Win looked down at her plate—“an apple fritter. Good going, ace.”
“Jesus, all I said was that she wanted a promotion.”
“We’ve got to toughen her up.” Josh grabbed another doughnut. “You can’t be an honorary Garner and freak out at your own shadow. Even Win stopped wetting his bed two years ago.”
Colt bit back a laugh and turned to TJ. “I’d hate to lose her. She’s a hard worker and it’s not easy finding good people in this town.”
“I plan on promoting her as soon as I figure out a position. You have any ideas?” TJ gazed around the table.
Josh shook his head. “What does she want to do?”
“That’s what I was hoping to talk about,” TJ said. “Do she and Deb plan to join us anytime soon?”
How the hell was Win supposed to know?
Colt gazed at the clock on the wall and let out a breath. “I’ve gotta roll.” He filched three doughnuts and wrapped them in a couple of napkins. When they looked at him like seriously, dude, he said, “For Jack and Carrie Jo, their reward for covering me back at the station house.”
“Don’t go yet.” Josh had his laptop on the table and was reading something. “We’ve got trouble. Big trouble.”
“What did we miss?” Deb asked as she and Darcy came through the door and grabbed a couple of chairs.
“This.” Josh flipped the laptop around so it faced TJ. The rest of them got up to hover.
TJ scanned the page. “Son of a bitch.”
“Hang on; I’m still reading.” Colt crouched down to get a better look.
“I’ll break it down for you,” Josh said. “Colorado Adventure apparently had the same bright idea as TJ to sell sportswear and gear. The difference is, they got an entire feature article in Outside magazine about it. We’re screwed.”
“You didn’t know about this?” Colt asked TJ.
“Yeah, I knew and plotted to keep it from you.” TJ shot Colt a get-real look, then turned to Josh. “How’d you find this?”
“What do you mean, how’d I find it? I subscribe. Don’t you?”
Everyone broke out talking at the same time, and Win let out a shrill whistle to shut them up. “People, it’s not the end of the world.”
Five pairs of eyes fell on him like he had shit for brains.
TJ plugged Colorado Adventure into the search engine on Josh’s laptop. He navigated to the online store and angled the laptop so everyone could see it better.
Josh bent over to examine the page. “Except for the Colt and Delaney stuff and the merch with our company’s logo, we carry pretty much the same gear. I don’t know how much room there is in the market for two small outfits like GA and Colorado Adventure when you can get a lot of the same stuff at REI. You know what I mean?”
TJ continued to peruse the store, only half-listening. “I don’t think their site holds a candle to our new one. When Jillian’s done with it, it’s gonna rock.”
Deb snorted and TJ glared at her.
“What?” Win asked.
“Nothing.” TJ waved him off.
Colt tapped the computer to return to the Outside article and shook his head. “You can’t beat this kind of publicity. You and Deb better deal with it.” He jabbed TJ in the arm to punctuate his point. “I’ve gotta get back to the station.”
“Colt’s right; Colorado Adventure has one hell of an advantage,” Josh said.
“We’ll come up with our own promotion,” TJ said, but Win could tell he was worried.
“If you remember correctly, we were all against this store idea of yours.” Josh took back his laptop and closed it. “See that we don’t get crushed.” He gazed out the window, where it was still snowing hard, and sighed. “No sense hanging around here. I’m taking the rest of the day off to catch up on chores around the house.”
TJ got to his feet. Suddenly, he was in a rush to end the meeting.
Win rose and Josh shoulder-checked him on the way out. Deb continued to sit there, looking as worried as TJ had.
“Darce, come into my office for a sec,” TJ said, motioning for Darcy to follow him down the hall.
“Uh-oh.” Deb looked at Win, and together they started clearing away the plates and napkins. “Darcy’s not in trouble for nearly dying, is she?”
“Nah. TJ’s not that much of a dick.” His brother was going to apologize for embarrassing Darcy. Despite TJ’s hard business persona, he was a softy where most people were concerned. Win might be one of the few people who actually knew that about him.
Deb threw the empties in the trash and was about to leave for her office when Win said, “What was that about the website? You and TJ have a difference over it?”
“Uh . . . we’re just feeling our way around each other.”
“Okay.” Win was all for Deb working at GA but, like the others, was a little surprised TJ had given her the job. His brother’s softness only extended so far when it came to GA’s bottom line. Win saw Deb’s potential—always had—but hadn’t realized that TJ did. “Don’t let my brother bully you. He can have that effect on people.”
“He’s not like that.” Her voice was clipped, and if Win didn’t know better, he’d think she was being defensive of TJ.
“He can be a hard-ass.”
“No, he’s fair. Expects everyone to live up to their potential. There’s nothing wrong with that.” She turned around and walked out.
Touchy much? Whatever. Win was too mired in his own freak show to argue. Let the two of them figure it out.
Halfway to his office, his phone pinged with a text. He fished it out of his cargo pocket. It was from Josh. A middle-finger emoji.
He rang his brother. “Seriously, dude? You’re pissed that I got a raise?”
“Nope. You deserve the raise. I’m just pissed with you in general. Wanna have dinner at our place tonight? Hannah’s making Sabine’s pecan pie.” No one could resist Hannah’s late aunt’s
pie.
“I don’t know yet. Can I tell you later?”
“Just show up if you’re hungry. Colt, Delaney, and TJ are coming, so Hannah’s making plenty.”
As soon as he hung up, his phone rang. Britney. Finally.
* * *
Deb’s piece-of-shit Honda was parked in front of his brother and sister-in-law’s Victorian. TJ didn’t know why he was surprised. Deb was Hannah’s best friend and got invited to most family events. She shouldn’t be driving on a bad transmission, though. With the weather as bad as it was, he understood why she hadn’t wanted to walk. Still, she could’ve asked either him or Win for a ride.
He grabbed the bottle he’d bought at the fancy new wine shop near Starbucks. A few years ago, there wouldn’t have been enough business to sustain an upscale liquor store in Glory Junction. But times had changed. The town wasn’t called the St. Moritz of the West for nothing.
He let himself into a full house and found Foster fiddling with the music in the living room.
“Everyone’s in the kitchen.”
TJ made his way through the dining room and discovered his brothers huddled together at the kitchen island, dredging chips through a bowl of guacamole. Hannah, Delaney, Deb, and a gorgeous redhead were sitting in the breakfast nook, drinking wine.
TJ walked over and put his bottle in the center of the table. Hannah yanked him down for a quick hug and Delaney bussed his cheek.
“You’ve met Karen, right?”
“Yeah, of course.” He turned to Karen, who was examining the wine he’d brought. “Nice to see you again.”
“Nice to see you, too.”
Deb seemed to be laughing at him, clearly aware that he was being set up. She looked fantastic. A stretchy velvet top that emphasized her breasts and a pair of skintight jeans, tucked into riding boots.
Karen was the woman he remembered from Delaney’s fashion show last summer. Curly auburn hair that fell to her back and green eyes that reminded TJ of a cat. She had on suede pants and a tight sweater that laced up in front and showed a good deal of cleavage. TJ assumed they were Delaney’s designs.
