Everywhere and Every Way(65)

“It’s an open loft. Here, look.” He shoved the paper at Zach.

The man barely glanced at it, then shut his folder. Zach’s gaze held disgust as he looked up. “Never had an issue with your work before, Cal, but since your father died and those brothers of yours came back, work’s getting sloppy. Put in a beam or get me new plans to approve and I’ll come back.”

Morgan stepped forward with a smile. “I’m sure it’s just a paperwork snafu, Mr. Griffin,” she offered. “I can call the office right now and fix it.”

“Sorry, I’m done here.”

Cal moved toward the door to block his exit. “Zach, is something else going on? First off, you know my work and reputation. It’s obvious to both of us no beam is needed, and if I put it in, we’d block up the room for no reason. Here, let’s go over it.”

“I don’t need to go over it, Cal. You’ll have to call my office and schedule another inspection before you move any further.”

Morgan tried to keep calm, furiously running over the schedule in her head. “Okay, I’m sure we can have you back out tomorrow to fix this.”

His smile was pure mean. “Going on vacation for two weeks, so my office is closed. Maybe the first of the month I can get here.”

Cal shook his head. “Zach, we can’t lose that much time. I’m asking you to do me a favor here and work with me. Let me get Julie on the phone to find out what happened.”

“My assistant won’t be able to help. As for favors, keep them. Your brother has already done enough.”

Warning bells clanged loudly, but Cal was already ahead of her. “My brother? Who?”

The man struck as quick as a seagull snatching food. “Dalton. Seems he took a liking to my youngest daughter, Ashley. Also seems he’s a lying, cheating scumbag who promised her a relationship and took advantage. Does he think he’s too good for her? Maybe he gets away with that crap in California, but it doesn’t work in my town.” He threw his head back and glared. “Ashley’s a good girl. Spent all night crying her eyes out because she thought she was in a relationship. Makes me sick. Is that the type of man your brother’s become? If so, you can tell him to stay away from her or I’ll beat him to a pulp.”

Morgan gasped as the inspector marched past Cal and out the door.

“Zach, I’ll talk to him. I swear I knew nothing about it. I’ll set him straight. Don’t take his mistakes out on me or this project. It’s important.”

Zach grunted. “I like you, Cal. I always did. And I know the trouble you’ve been in since Christian’s death. But your company is called Pierce Brothers. He’s part of it now, and it’s time to take responsibility.”

“I can get another inspector,” Cal threw out.

“Good luck. I put in a few calls, and seems they’re all out on vacations, too.”

Zach left, leaving a shattering silence behind him.

Morgan was used to dealing with a variety of disasters on- and off-site, but for the first time, she didn’t kick into fix-it-now-or-die mode. Instead, she watched the emotions flicker over Cal’s face, slowly walked over to him, and tentatively laid a hand on his muscled arm. He flinched under her touch. “Are you okay?”

He let out a shuddering breath. “Yeah. I’m going to fix this.”

“I know. Do you need any help?”

A grim smile curved his lips. “Kicking my brother’s ass? Nah, I got this one.”

He reached for the cell phone.


The familiar smells of varnish, wood, and sawdust hit his nostrils. The music rose to his ears, his brother’s favorite wussy pop rock tunes Cal couldn’t stand, and he stood studying Dalton in the woodshed he’d converted into his own personal castle. The workbench was set up nearby with an elaborate console table, currently stripped down to the grain. He had watched his brother work many times before, and always held a respect for the way he was able to coax wood into something like high art, a beautiful piece for a person to treasure and pass down for generations. Dalton’s fingers danced over the flat surfaces, scraping the material down with a rhythmic precision that matched the tune. Dear God, was that One Direction? Cal winced with embarrassment for both of them. His father would’ve called him out for humiliation if he ever heard. They’d all had their turns under Christian’s blistering tongue, but Dalton would take it the hardest. The resentment in his gaze had slowly grown to epic proportions, until only their mother was able to soothe the angry beast. Now all they had was each other, and Cal doubted they’d ever mend fences with no peacemaker in sight.