“What? No.”
“Then stop looking pissed off.” Ryder secured the dog beside the front porch of the restaurant. “I’ll bring you dinner,” he said, then pulled open the door.
They stepped into Vesta at the early-dinner hour. Families and small packs of teenagers crowded in the booths, a few couples scattered at two-tops twirling pasta or studying the menu while two regulars sat on stools at the counter for an after-work beer.
Along with his brothers, Beckett exchanged hails and waves.
“Order me a Heineken,” Owen said, then peeled off toward the closed kitchen.
“Let’s sit in the back,” Ryder suggested. “If we sit out here, we’ll end up talking to everybody.”
“Fine.” Beckett hooked a waitress, ordered the beer, then walked down the hallway to the back dining room. A couple of high school boys competed on the video games with the requisite insults.
“The tile’s shipped,” Ryder said when Beckett joined him at a table. “Or most of it. A couple of the patterns are still on back order. We’re scheduling the delivery in two weeks. Owen contacted them about the install. They can start the end of the next week if the job they’re on stays on schedule. Early the following if not.”
“That’s good for us.”
“I want to schedule the install of the rest of the flooring right behind it. This heat’s bound to break. We can put the crew back on the pickets, get the exterior painting started.”
Owen slipped in beside them right as the beer arrived.
“You all ready to order?” the waitress asked.
“Warrior’s pizza,” Ryder declared.
“I’m not eating that much meat.” Owen shook his head, sipped his beer.
“Wimp.”
“You go for the super-artery-clogger,” Beckett suggested, then looked at Owen. “Split a large pepperoni and jalapeno?”
“Deal. And some crab balls.”
“Gotcha. How are things going at the inn?”
“We’re moving along,” Owen told her.
She pointed her pencil at him. “Are you going to take that tarp down soon?”
“Sooner or later.”
“It’s a big tease.” She rolled her eyes and went off to put their order in.
“You know that tarp’s building a lot of expectation we may not meet.”
Ryder shrugged at Beckett. “It’s also keeping debris off the street, and the crew out of the worst of the heat. Tell him about the Urban Princess.”
“Hope Beaumont,” Owen began. “She’s smart, savvy. She asked all the right questions, including a lot I hadn’t thought of, or we haven’t gotten around to dealing with. She’s got a sexy voice, one of those dark velvet jobs. Nice.”
“Sexy voice. She’s hired.” Ryder sat back with his beer.
“You’re just jacked because we may have to go outside for the job.”
“It’d be nice to keep it all local,” Beckett mused. “But we need somebody who fits the bill. Besides, if she takes the job and moves here, she’ll be local in ten or twenty years.”
“We’ll know more after Saturday. We’re meeting with her Saturday morning,” Owen continued. “Taking her through the place. I looked her up online.” He took files out of his briefcase, passed one to each brother. “Some D.C. society stuff—her out and about with the guy who dumped her. A solid article in the
Beckett started to open the file, take a look, when the sound of running feet boomed down the hall. Clare’s three boys burst in like convicts on the lam. Breathless, wild-eyed, they chattered about the Mega-Touch before Harry spotted the brothers.
“Hi! Hi! We all got a dollar.”
“How about a loan?”
Liam cracked up at Beckett’s question. “We get to have pizza and play games.”
Murphy walked up to the table, studied the three men. “You can play if you’ve got a dollar. Or I can ask my mom to give you one.”
Because the kid slayed him, Beckett hoisted Murphy onto his lap. “I bet Owen’s got a dollar. Why don’t we . . .” He stumbled to a halt when Clare came in.
She looked a little flushed, a little frazzled.
“Sorry. They’re slippery as soap. You’re talking business,” she said, noting the files. “Why don’t I just move them out until—”
“When you sit back here, you expect some noise,” Ryder pointed out. “They’re fine. Have a seat.”
“I was just telling Beck that your friend is meeting with us on Saturday,” Owen began.
“Avery just told me, which is why in that two-second window, the trio escaped.”
“How’s the copy coming?”
“I’ve got some ideas.”
“She’s got great ideas,” Avery confirmed as she came in. “She’s run some by me.”
“Just bits and pieces. I’d like to see a little more, get the feel.”
“You should go over now. Beckett, you should take her over now.”
“Avery,” Clare muttered, trying to disguise the shock.
“No, really. It’s empty. It’s got to be easier and more productive to look at it without the banging.” She smiled, winsomely. “Don’t you think?”
“Sure.” Murphy deserted Beckett to join his brothers in a three-player game. And now he didn’t know what to do with his hands. “Yeah, sure.”
“I’m interrupting, and I have the boys.”
“We’ll watch them. I’ll get their pizza ordered.” Avery made a shooing motion. “This way we can run your ideas by Hope when she drives up tomorrow. Let me have your seat, Beck, and no charge for the beer. I’ll finish it.” She picked it up, took a sip, smiled. “I’m not working tonight.”
Out of choices, Beckett got to his feet. “Okay?”
“Apparently.” Clare shot Avery a cool look before she turned. “I’m going with Beckett for a few minutes,” she told her sons. “Avery, Ryder, and Owen are in charge. Behave.”
“Okay, Mom, okay.” Harry’s face was fierce as he focused on the screen.
She and Beckett walked through and out of the restaurant together. The wind streamed through her hair as she looked up at the clouds rolling in.
“Storm’s coming,” she said.
Chapter Five
Careful to keep a foot of space between them and his hands in his pockets, Beckett led her around the back of the inn to unlock the door.
The late summer evening had gone gloomy, so he switched on bare bulbs and work lights as they went. Glare and shadows, he thought, bare walls and concrete floors. Not exactly a seduction pit. She should feel safe.
“Do you want to finish up the main floor?” he asked her.
“I’d like to see some more guest rooms. Maybe we could go through the second level. I don’t want to stick Avery and your brothers with the kids for too long.”
“You didn’t stick. Avery volunteered.”
“Yes, she did, didn’t she?”
Beckett raised his eyebrows at the dark tone. “Is everything okay?”
