The Whole Package, page 25
Doug, who likely outweighed Reid by fifty pounds at least, turned with a frown. “Hey, don’t—”
Reid hit him, one solid blow to the jaw that sent the fucker down.
Then Cash forced his tired body to work and brought Andy to his knees with a swift kick between his legs.
“Damn it. No fighting,” Gavin growled. “No matter how much these assholes deserve it.”
Jim looked alarmed at the sight of the Griffith brothers bearing down on him, so he grabbed a ten-pound disk.
“What a pussy,” Reid snorted and showed no sign of backing off.
“Easy. His ass is mine,” Cash warned.
“His ass is no one’s,” Gavin tried again. “Damn it. Listen to me. Enough is enough.”
“Bullshit. We both saw that fucker hold my brother down with three hundred pounds across his chest!” Reid pointed to Andy, who whimpered on the floor. “And that dipshit helped.” When Doug tried to stand, Reid went over and watched, bristling with hostility. “Come on, asshole. Stand up. I dare you.”
“I’ll sue your ass,” Andy managed, still breathing hard.
Jim was texting someone. Cash shook his head. “Sorry. Are we boring you?”
“You’re going to be sorry. My cousins are here.”
Gavin threw up his hands. “Fine. Fuck all of you. Cash, Reid, I’m trying to help.” He whipped out his phone and called Mac, the owner. “Got a problem here. Need you and your fists now.”
“Yeah? You want to help?” Reid said to Gavin. “Call for an ambulance.” Reid rolled up his sleeves. “I’ll take this one. You get the cousins,” he told Cash.
Cash frowned. “Excuse me? This prick is mine.”
“I doubt that. He’s too small for you. Too easy. Look at him. He’s pissing his pants.”
“Fuck you,” Jim said and took a swing.
Reid ducked and waited. “That’s it? That’s all you got?”
Cash frowned. “Aren’t you supposed to be the one calming me down?”
“Why? Because you’re a special snowflake dealing with Mom’s death?”
Gavin groaned.
“No, asshole. Because you’re the rational one. I’m the crazy.”
“Look. I got grilled by Naomi’s mom all afternoon.” Reid ducked another wild swing.
When Jim tried to rush him, Cash stepped in, grabbed low, and flipped the guy over onto his back. “You’re lucky you missed those weights. Landing on them’d hurt like a bitch.”
Jim groaned and rolled to stand.
By now, more people had gathered at the doorway to the weight room. Two large bodybuilders entered.
“You guys Jim’s dickhead cousins?” Cash asked.
One of them frowned. The other sighed. “Not this again.”
Frowning guy walked to Cash. “You want some pain, motherfucker?”
Jim snickered as he rose, and Reid waited until he stood, then put him down again with a leg sweep.
“Damn it. I said he’s mine,” Cash snapped.
Reid huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Please. At this rate, I’ll be thirty-five before you actually do anything. I had a rough day; I need the release. What have you done except lift weights?”
Cash gaped at his normally even-tempered brother. So when the beefy guy swung, he made contact with Cash’s gut.
“Damn it. That hurt.” Cash returned the punch and took the guy down, wrestling style, into a headlock.
By that time, Mac had pushed through the growing crowd. “Gavin, get this cleared, would you?”
Gavin turned to the crowd. “Okay, everyone. Nothing to see here but two brothers arguing.”
“But what about—”
“Nothing to see, I said.” In a terrible impression of Obi-Wan Kenobi, he said, “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.”
The crowd dispersed.
Mac grunted as he knelt by Cash on the floor. “Cash, man, you break his neck, you’re in a world of hurt. He’s not the enemy, Marine.”
Cash and Reid swung equally amused glances at each other before Cash remembered Reid had annoyed him. He glared, then turned that look on Mac. “I’m not having a breakdown, Mac. This asshole is a bully. And those dicks tried to shove a three-hundred-pound bar down on my chest instead of spotting me. Not cool.” Cash held on a second more, feeling the jerk with no neck start to fade. He released him and pushed him away, then stood.
“It still hurts,” he complained, rubbing his sternum.
“Let me see,” Mac ordered, slowly getting to his feet.
Cash whipped off his shirt. “Happy now?” He glanced down to see a darkening bruise.
Mac swore under his breath. Then out loud. “Andy, Jim, and the rest of you assholes, my office. And if you think about refusing, I’ve got the cops on speed dial.”
Everyone limped out of the room but Gavin, who kept an eye on Cash and Reid.
Cash shoved his brother back. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Both of those guys had at least forty pounds on you.”
To Cash’s surprise, Reid shoved him back.
“Uh, guys…”
They ignored Gavin.
“Did you not hear me?” Reid barked. “I was grilled by Naomi’s mother. I also learned Naomi’s got to work with her ex on Jennings’s project. How the hell am I supposed to handle that?” He shoved Cash back again.
As much as Cash felt for the guy, he didn’t like being pushed. “Stop it.”
“Or what?” Reid huffed and put Cash in a wristlock before shoving him away. The sorry little bastard. Cash had shown Reid how to master that trick years ago. “And my brother, who’s supposed to be my best friend, refuses to talk to me. Fuckhead, she was my mother too!”
“Oh hell.” Gavin turned his back on them, standing in the doorway .
Cash winced, his wrist now sore. “Easy, genius. I’m sorry I’m not handling her death better. But damn, I don’t have someone to ball on a regular basis to help me handle my emotions.” He was better than this, but he found himself saying, “What? She not blowing you enough? You have to come to me to—”
Reid hit him with a left hook right in the face. Then he used some of that freaky jujitsu he’d learned in the Corps that Cash hadn’t been privy to and put Cash on his ass. Now on the wrong end of being choked out, Cash struggled to get free and not break his brother in half in the process.
“Apologize,” Reid growled.
“What the hell’s going on now?” Mac asked.
Gavin sighed. “It’s a brother thing. Let it play out.”
Mac grumbled and left.
“You guys are in so much shit,” Gavin warned.
Cash focused on his brother’s aggravation. He’d deal with Mac later. Lashing out at Naomi had not been a good idea. Plus Reid, that little shit, had grown strong.
But not as strong as Cash. He felt for a weak spot, broke Reid’s hold, then reversed the choke hold until Reid tapped the floor. Cash let him go, then wrestled with him a little more, exhausting himself until both he and Reid were spent.
He shoved his brother off him with a punch to his diaphragm. Then Cash stood and reached down to lift Reid to his feet. “Breathe, dumbass.”
“Shut. Up.” Reid bent over, trying to catch his breath.
“Man, you guys are ten times worse than me and my brothers.” Gavin sounded cheery. “Also, if you’re smart, you’ll head out the back door and avoid Mac for a day or two. I’ll talk him down.” He grinned at Reid. “Man, you surprised me. I thought you were the calm one.”
Cash dragged him out by his ripped shirt, ignoring Reid’s attempts to get free. “He has his moments. Hey, can you hold onto my bag for me? It’s in locker 17.”
“Sure thing, Cash. Now go.”
Cash yanked Reid with him down the hall and out the back. Since he’d kept his keys and phone on him, he didn’t worry about getting his bag back right away. He hauled ass to his car and shoved Reid against it.
“Ow. Fuck! You hit like a Mack truck.”
“Yeah? So do you. Finally manned up. Nice. Now what the fuck is your problem?”
Chapter 21
Reid wanted to be angrier, but he’d pretty much blown his wad in the gym. Seeing someone threaten his brother, he’d erupted. Then dealing with all the stress of loving a woman most likely unresolved about her ex, in addition to trying to figure out why his mother hadn’t loved him enough and why his brother was now avoiding him, it was no wonder he’d lost it.
“We should be helping each other through this. But you’re avoiding me. What’s going on?”
Cash sighed and took a step back. He studied Reid, then looked away. “I don’t know, man. I’m fucked up about Angela.”
No kidding. One minute, she was Mom. The next, Angela. And Cash didn’t know an emotional up from down on a good day.
“Talk to me. We’re it, Cash. You and me.”
“I know.” Cash reached up and gripped his hair, his arms bulging. He had to be cold in just his workout shorts and sneakers, his shirt still in the gym. The spring air grew chilly in the evening, and the sun had set an hour ago. “Shit. I’m freezing.”
“Get in. We’ll talk.”
Cash shook his head. “We’ll talk at home.” He got in his car and left.
Reid hurried to his vehicle parked out front and paused before he could be seen. Unfortunately, Mac was leaning against it. But so was Gavin, who caught Reid’s eye and coughed. “No, no.”
“What?” Mac growled.
“No, I know where Cash might be. He likes to hang at the steam room. I bet he’s back there. Oh hell, Mac. What if he’s on a tear with our older guys? Just what we need, our Marine vet talking shit about the other services.”
Mac swore up a storm and marched back inside.
Reid hurried to his car. “Thanks, I owe you one.”
“No problem. But I never saw you leave. You get me?” Gavin headed for the front of the building, yelling at a fictional Reid he supposedly saw inside.
Reid raced home, wondering what to do about Cash. And about Naomi.
The talk with her mother should have calmed him down. Kim seemed to like him. She’d filled him in on Naomi’s quirks after learning about all his own and didn’t seem to have a problem with his employment, which, compared to the rest of her family, looked pitiful.
But now he knew he was in love with a woman for the first time in his life. And he had no idea what to do about it. Naomi was independent, too smart for him. Beautiful… She could have any guy she wanted if she put in the effort. He had to wonder what she was doing with him.
He pulled into the driveway at home and hurried inside. Only to find Cash asleep, clearly exhausted. He had dark circles under his eyes and had lost weight. The poor bastard.
So Reid kicked at his leg and yelled, “Reveille! Reveille!”
Cash jerked awake and fell to the floor, which started Reid laughing.
“Asshole.” Cash gingerly sat on the couch once more and yawned. “What?”
“Explain.”
Cash stared from under hooded lids. “I think we might have different dads.”
“And?”
Cash blinked. “You knew?”
“Cash, Dad hated you for a long time. But not me. Of the two of us, I look a lot more like him. But you’re big, have his size. I wondered about it, but his name is on your birth certificate. And in Mom’s scrapbook.”
“It is?” The hopefulness in his voice had Reid hurting for him.
“You are so stupid.” He sat next to his brother and slugged him in the arm. Sadly, the blow did nothing. “Who cares if we’re half brothers or not? And I still don’t think that’s the case. If Dad wasn’t your dad, he’d have kicked your ass out years ago.”
“True.” Cash stared at the spot where Reid had hit him in the arm. “That hit sucked.”
“So do you. What a pussy. Boo-hoo, I might have a different daddy.” Yeah, he was acting cruel. But Cash needed a wake-up. “Look, I need you now. We’re in this Vets on the Go! thing together. It’s our future.”
“Man, I’m thinking Naomi might be your future. You don’t need me.”
Reid hit him again, and this time, Cash jerked back.
“Cut it out.”
“Then stop being a dick. I think I love Naomi. I don’t think she loves me back.”
“Yet,” Cash said.
“Yet,” Reid repeated and shocked himself by smiling. For the first time since his lunch with Kim, he felt good. “She’s gutted me and doesn’t even know it. I have to figure out this Tanner guy, where he fits with her. And then I have to outmaneuver her.”
Cash nodded. “Outflank her. Trick her into needing you.”
“She’s smart. She doesn’t need anyone.”
“Sure she does.” Cash snorted. “Or aren’t you any good at sex? Give her lots of orgasms and she’ll stay.”
Reid sighed. “We really need to work on your interpersonal relationships with the opposite sex.”
“You first.”
He nodded. “We get through Mom’s funeral Sunday. Then the workweek. And Jennings is having a major party next weekend. We should go. He wants to ask about the business. He’ll help spread the word.”
“Good man.” Cash rubbed his chest. They sat in silence. “So you really don’t care if I’m your half brother?”
Reid wrestled him to the ground and put his brother in a mock hold. Cash couldn’t stop laughing long enough to take Reid seriously, apparently, so Reid snarled, “Cut it out. I’m your brother, no matter what. Say it!”
“No matter what.” Cash tossed Reid off him as if Reid weighed nothing.
His brother really was a monster.
“Now stop being a pussy and deal.”
“Fine. Quit calling me a pussy.”
“I will as soon as you stop acting like one.” Reid waited for Cash’s assent before adding, “And speaking of pussy, I’m putting Heidi with you and Jordan next week.”
Cash groaned and lay flat on the ground. “Why me?”
“Because Tim threatened to quit if we pair him with anyone besides Martin anymore.” Reid sat on the floor, his back to the couch. “Or Hector. But that’s it.”
Cash sighed. “Fine.” He paused. “I’m sorry I said Naomi might not be blowing you enough.”
“Great.”
“I’m sure she’s blowing you just fine.”
“Stop. Please.”
“And I won’t stand in the way when you guys decide to live together and shit. I’m good with that.”
Reid heard the worry and groaned. “Slow down, okay? First I have to get the woman to admit she can’t live without me. That’s a tall order considering I don’t know if she even likes me past my dick.”
“Sure she does.”
“And anyway, that’s all moving way too soon. I barely know her.”
Cash opened an eye. “Really?”
“No. I know her.” And I love her like crazy. But I’m desperate to not let her know and scare her off. Not yet. But now he had to deal with not scaring off someone else he loved. “Look, dickhead.”
“Hey.”
“I’m never ditching you. Not for a woman, a man, a dog, nothing. I might fall in love. Hell, someday I might even have kids if hell freezes over. But you’re always my brother. And if my woman can’t handle that, she’s not the one for me.”
Cash closed his eyes, but Reid saw a tear escape before he wiped it away. “Yeah, right. You’ll be whipped. Mark my words.”
Reid heard the relief in them and smiled. “Whatever you say, Casanova. How is Jordan, by the way?”
He scrambled to safety when Cash caught his second wind and rushed after him.
* * *
The funeral service had gone as expected. Aunt Jane and Evan showed, though they both came for Reid and Cash, not to mourn for a woman who’d never been there for her sons. To Reid’s surprise, Naomi had shown up to offer her support as well. After the short service, where they’d placed Angela’s remains next to Charles’s, Evan and Aunt Jane left. Naomi had insisted on going home with Reid and Cash and had cooked them some meat casserole thing for dinner.
Reid had never had better. The home-cooked meal won Cash over. He couldn’t say enough good things about Naomi after that, and they had passed the evening quietly, watching television together before they retired to bed. Naomi and Reid stayed in his room, and Cash crashed on the couch, as usual ignoring his own bed.
Reid had slept—and only slept—with her, too emotionally drained for sex. Naomi, bless her, had understood. Though he felt like a weak wreck, Reid felt surprisingly better having her near. During the funeral and after, she was there for him. And watching her interact with Cash in the days that followed showed him how right he was to care for her. Naomi gave Cash attention without a fuss, treating him as a friend. She teased Cash, drew him out, and insisted he prove himself by competing in everything from video games downtown to drinking contests at their favorite bar.
It wasn’t just Naomi who helped. The entire team at work offered condolences. On Monday and Tuesday, Jordan stuck to Cash like glue on the Johnson job despite him trying to shake her. Heidi had been a godsend, more efficient and hardworking than either he or Cash had suspected. And the Jacksons treated Cash like their long-lost brother. Giving him the space, and arguments, he needed to get right again.
Reid felt as if his team was coming together, not just as coworkers, but as family. Hell, half of them hung around after work, just because.
By Thursday, he sent Mannie out with Jordan and Heidi, figuring that between the women, they could keep Mannie in line. He worked hard but seemed to go off track if not watched.
“I don’t know how much longer he’s going to work here,” Cash said to Reid Thursday afternoon as they caught up in his office. “When I took him out this morning, he took his breaks with some rough-looking guys. Not saying we’re not all a little rough, but I’d swear they were casing the house.”
