In Too Deep

“I wanted to tell you about Leroy and Tanner.”

“You could’ve told me that last night and then slept in.”

She chuckled in that raspy, throaty way she had. “You distracted me last night. The last thing I was thinking about was Danny or your guys.”

“Glad I could be of service. Go back to sleep and stay out of trouble.”

“Could say the same to you.”

They disconnected, and he was still irritated by her recklessness. Even he didn’t know what the Cahills were capable of. They could easily get her fired and he didn’t want that on his conscience.

He went back into the building to get the crew started. He still needed to prove to Danny that he should be here. The fact that they had this easy-going job that would give him ample chances to talk to some of the older guys who knew his dad was a bonus. It wouldn’t be suspicious at all to be talking while assembling some bullshit furniture.

By the time four o’clock rolled around, he was more pissed off. The chairs this company had bought were beyond cheap, missing parts and containing instructions in every language but English. Not that a crew of carpenters should need instructions for basic chairs. The cubicle partitions supposedly snapped together, but when they tried to make the sections click, they more often than not cracked.

His idea of having this job done within a couple of days? Gone. The chance to talk to some of the older guys? Non-existent. He’d spent most of his day talking on the phone to the manufacturer, the client, and the office. He couldn’t wait to escape the site. Unfortunately, escaping to the peace and quiet of his house wasn’t in the cards either.

He walked into his living room and heard cursing and mumbling from the kitchen. After a day like today, he didn’t have it in him to deal with Declan. Then he heard a female laugh. Shit. He’d known, in the far back of his head, that if he invited one sibling into his house, they would all eventually make their way in. He dropped his keys on the table beside his recliner and went to see what his family was doing in his house.

“Nessa.” He nodded at his sister. “What are you doing here?”

She pushed away from the refrigerator where she’d been leaning. “Well, since you never invite anyone over, and Declan mentioned that he was staying here to work on your kitchen, I thought I’d stop by to say hi.”

Ronan looked at Declan who was hunched over a card table with a stack of papers and a ruler. “What are you doing?”

“Drawing you a diagram of the kitchen.”

“You know we mostly use computers for that shit, right?”

“Yeah,” Declan said with his usual snark. “But I don’t have a computer and even if I did, I’ve never used those programs. Once I have ideas you like, I’ll have the guys at the home improvement place do it on the computer.”

Ronan huffed. This project was getting bigger by the minute.

“I was just telling Declan that I think one of those prep islands would be a good use of the space in here. It’s just you, so you don’t need a big ass table.”

“What the fuck do I need a prep island for?” He crossed his arms and leaned on the doorframe.

“It’s a selling point. I figured you planned to flip it. It’s a lot of room for one guy.”

Yeah, it was. “I got a good deal on it. My original plan was to sell, but it’s growing on me.”

“Or...” His sister offered one of her trouble-making smirks. “Chloe is the kind of girl who probably cooks and bakes and stuff. She would probably really appreciate a prep counter.”

“You have a big fucking mouth,” he said, turning his attention back to Declan.

Declan shrugged. “You know Nessa. She’s nosy. She started asking all kinds of questions about what you do with your time.”

“No comment, dude. That’s all you gotta say.”

Nessa, ignoring the conversation between him and Declan, sidled up to him. “So what’s going on with Chloe? I never would’ve thought she’d act on her bad boy desires.”

“What?”

“Come on. I’ve seen that girl at some neighborhood bars. She’s always checking out the guys that look like...”

He stared down at his sister, waiting for her to finish. He waved his hand when she didn’t.

“You know, guys who are rough around the edges.”

“So she checks out your dating pool.”

“Pretty much. The difference is, I’ve been in those waters a long time. She doesn’t fit.”

Maybe you don’t know her any more than I do. But he knew her much better after last night. He was beginning to think that Chloe wasn’t just visiting and exploring her wild side. Maybe she’d always been that way and people just didn’t see it.

“Are you dating her? Cleaning up your bad boy image?”

“She’s helping me with a project and we’re having some fun on the side. That’s all.” He pushed off the doorframe. “Besides, it’s not like her family would ever be okay with me dating their daughter. I’m hitting the shower.”

He walked away, hoping for some peace.

“Hey, I’m picking up dinner. You have a preference?” she called from the kitchen.

“Whatever you want is fine.” He texted Chloe that he wouldn’t make it tonight. Siblings.

As he scrubbed away the day’s frustration, he considered the information from Chloe and Tanner. If the Cahills were concerned about the guys on his crew, that must mean one of them knew something.

Wouldn’t they have said something by now if it was something obvious? He couldn’t imagine any of those guys intentionally keeping a secret like that. Not one that had to do with his dad.

That meant that someone knew something and they didn’t even know it was important.

Now he just had to figure out who and what to ask.