“She wasn’t saying no when I met her,” Austin snapped. He immediately regretted his words when Margie’s eyes narrowed again. He knew a well-deserved scolding was coming.
“Austin Jeffrey Anderson! That was unacceptable to say. It sounds like you’ve finally met a real woman, and you’re doing her an injustice by demeaning her that way. Don’t you dare let your pride run away with your mouth. I’m going to have to meet this woman.”
“I… I just meant that we hit it off in the beginning. Then she got scared, or something, and went running for the hills. I’ve been trying to talk to her for months, and now she just… Well, hell, I don’t know what she thinks or doesn’t think. I know she wants me. The air practically sizzles when we’re within a few feet of each other.”
“Sounds like you’d better step up to the plate and figure it out, because I already like this woman,” Margie said in a softer tone. He’d been forgiven for his outburst.
“I’ll keep working on it.”
“Good.”
“Can we please get some work done, now?” he asked. He found it ironic he was asking his employee if they could work.
“Yes, I’ll go ahead and stay. The reason I came in here in the first place is there’s a problem at the shipping yard. Some items have come up missing, and then this morning a fight broke out,” she said, immediately resuming her professional tone.
“Who’s handling it?”
“Dean’s in charge, but he called a few minutes ago, ready to explode. It seems Jack is causing trouble.”
“Crap, I should’ve known,” Austin grumbled.
“Exactly,” Margie agreed.
“I’ll head down there right away.”
Margie left and Austin stood up. He was almost grateful for the problem. At least it got his mind off his failing personal life.
He drove to the warehouse, blaring his music to try and drown out his own thoughts. It didn’t seem to be working, as nothing else was, either.
He was happy when he stepped inside and found his brother, Trenton, already speaking to their supervisor, Dean.
“Whoa, you look like crap, little brother,” Trenton said as he walked up.
“Thanks, and how are you?”
“Better than you, apparently.”
“What information do you have for me, Dean?” Austin asked. He decided the best defense was to just ignore Trenton. Maybe his brother would take the hint and let the subject drop.
“We had almost ten-thousand dollars’ worth of shipments come up missing. It wasn’t all in one load, but through four different vendors. I have my staff checking orders over the past six months, because apparently the person was smart. They’re taking a few items out of each order and I don’t think many of our clients have noticed. They must’ve gotten greedy, though, because they took enough out this time that we had complaints come in,” Dean said, his eyes blazing as he spoke.
Dean had worked for them for twenty years. Austin had no doubt he’d be on top of the situation until it was solved.
“What about the fight?”
“Jack got into it with a couple of other guys. Everyone has been on edge since we found out about the stolen goods, and someone made a comment that Jack didn’t appreciate, I guess. He’s being tight lipped right now. I sent the three men home for the day. That’s why I called you. I don’t want to throw out accusations…” he trailed off.
“It’s just us, Dean, and we trust you. Who do you suspect?” Trenton quickly asked.
“Well… I really don’t have any evidence at this point, but things are pointing toward Jack,” he said with hesitancy.
Dean was a good man. He didn’t want to falsely accuse anyone without proof. He knew each of the men who worked there, depended on their paychecks to support their families. He didn’t want to be responsible for an innocent man getting fired.
“We’ll do a thorough investigation before we throw out any hard-core accusations. I have a feeling you’re right, though. I’ve had my doubts about him the past year. Too many mistakes, too many accusations from the men. He’s been close to losing his job for a while now, anyway,” Austin said.
“Let’s go to the office and start going through the files,” Trenton said. They began walking through the plant together, getting stopped several times as employees asked them questions.
“Okay, now spill. What’s eating you?”
“Damn, Trenton, you’re in a mood.”
“My mood isn’t the problem. What’s causing the circles under your eyes?”
“None of your business.”
“You know, I’m not going to lay off, so you may as well tell me,” Trenton insisted.
Austin let out a long-suffering sigh. He loved his family, but sometimes they were a royal pain in the ass.
“Kinsey,” he finally said. His brother busted up laughing as they entered the small office. Austin felt like slugging him.
“Thanks, Austin. I needed that. With all this stress in my life, I can certainly count on you to lighten the mood.”
“Glad I could help,” Austin snarled.
“Okay, if brotherly love time is over, we have work to do,” Dean said, but Austin noticed the corners of his lips twitching. It looked like his love life, or lack thereof, was great entertainment for all the people around him.
It was times like this when he missed his mother the most. He could go sit with her and visit, let his worries wash away, and she wouldn’t interrogate him, or mock. She’d just be the person she always was.
Loving and understanding.
Chapter Five
“Joseph, I know you can hear me deep down inside. You deserve to catch up on your sleep, so you go ahead and rest as long as you need to. Just as long as you remember to come back to me,” Katherine whispered as she lay next to him in his hospital bed.
The staff had long ago given up on trying to keep her from him. They’d just adjusted a few of his monitors so she wouldn’t get snagged on anything.
“You’ve certainly earned some rest. You’re supposed to be retired, but you can’t keep yourself from butting into our sons business. I may not have been saying anything to you these last few years, but I know all about you meddling in our kids’ lives. I haven’t complained too much because I like the end results. How could I not? I now have three beautiful daughters, along with the world’s greatest grandchildren. Plus, we now have George back home and our family continues to grow. I wouldn’t be admitting any of this to you if you were awake, but I’ve never been happier in my life,” Katherine continued speaking. Her voice caught with her last sentence as tears slipped down her face.