Smooth Moves Read online

  “Come on, guys,” Jordan tried. “Why don’t you go get Buster and play outside and get messy? I think it’s going to rain.”

  Their eyes lit up. “Okay,” one of them said and ran away, followed closely by his twin.

  Judy blew her nose and ignored the situation with her children. “It was just so sudden. Mom was fine one day then gone the next.” A frail woman with soft, smooth hands that had likely never seen a day of hard labor, Judy possessed an air of gentility that made Jordan want to protect her. From what Judy had said, she’d grown up fairly well-to-do, married her attorney husband Gerald, and lived happily ever after since, caring for her family.

  “I can’t believe little Edith will grow up not knowing her grandma.” Judy patted her flat tummy.

  “Oh, when are you due?” Great. Jordan hadn’t realized the woman might be even more emotional due to pregnancy. Man, now she felt even worse for her uncharitable thoughts about Judy’s mothering skills.

  Overhead, thunder boomed.

  “In January,” Judy murmured. “Oh no. The rain’s here, isn’t it?”

  Which is what we tried to tell you before you insisted on us laying out your mother’s prized possessions on the front lawn. “Yes.”

  “We’d better hurry to get everything in the garage!” Judy had been adamant she’d wanted to organize the move, and to do so she’d wanted to see everything lined up together before the truck was loaded. Since the only way to do that was to move it all outside, the crew had accommodated her. Even though they’d all mentioned, more than once, the threat of rain.

  Judy and Jordan hurried outside to see the skies open up. Heidi, Hector, and Cash double-timed through the drenching rain to protect everything with tarps while simultaneously bringing in boxes and furniture into the crowded garage. They’d already moved at least half of the large items into the truck, so they’d have space in the garage to fit the rest. Jordan hoped.

  In the front yard, away from the mess, the boys and their dog played. Thank God at least the kids stayed away, frolicking in the growing wet.

  Cash swore and slicked his hair back, and Jordan tried really hard not to ogle the man. But the rain made it difficult to ignore the crew’s fine physiques—at least, that was her excuse.

  Hell, even grieving Judy gave the gang a second glance. Heidi had an attractive if cool exterior, a tall Nordic blond with a bodybuilder’s tone and striking bright-blue eyes. Hector was stunning, his dark skin defining his heavy muscle, his laughing eyes and wide smile a draw no matter where he went. His charming, open personality provided a nice counterbalance to Heidi’s brisk, no-nonsense approach.

  And then there was Cash. Part owner of the company, yet he worked alongside the guys as if just another employee. All too easily she imagined former Gunnery Sergeant Cash Griffith in uniform. Sadly, she’d noticed everything about the man from day one. Cash exuded leadership. Though what normally came out of his mouth was either crass, obnoxious, or rude, he made people laugh and somehow want to follow him. Hell, he annoyed her to no end, but she could see his natural fit for command.

  He had legs like tree trunks, a broad chest, and thickly muscled arms she’d dreamed of holding her more than once. His short, dark hair spoke of time in the military, kept trim but not buzzed short. And that stubborn jaw had tempted her more than once to punch it then kiss it better.

  Cash’s bright-green eyes seemed to be constantly on her, filling her with heat.

  As they were now.

  She pretended she hadn’t been staring at him so hard, and he snorted. The big, bad man who intimidated most others didn’t frighten her in the slightest. Because Cash was a protector at heart. He might swear, act gruff, and loom over everyone with that condescending smirk, but he was always the first in line to offer to help.

  And he hadn’t lashed out at the kids all day, when he’d had plenty of opportunity to do so. Especially now. She groaned. “Judy, am I seeing things, or did the boys just go inside the truck?”

  Judy frowned. “They were told not to do that.”

  Several times today. “Hey, Cash. The boys are—”

  “I see them,” he snarled. Apparently, he’d reached his limit. He stalked inside the truck, and she heard, “That’s it! You two, out, now. And take your dog with you. This is no place for kids.”

  Silence reigned for a moment.

  “You can get hurt if—”

  Something crashed, the dog bolted, and the boys screamed. Not a we’re-having-fun yell but the scared kind.

  Everyone rushed to the truck, and Hector, closest to the ramp, hurried inside first.

  “My babies!” Judy cried, but Heidi held her back from entering.

  Jordan gasped. Inside, Cash looked like Atlas, crouched and holding the weight of a large grandfather clock on his broad shoulders and upper back while one of the boys lay under him, frozen in fear.

  The other twin stood on a couch behind the overturned furniture, staring in shock.

  Hector rushed to pull the boys out while Jordan helped a visibly straining Cash edge the clock off his shoulder.

  “Why did the kids have to tip this thing over? Why not the lamp that weighs ten pounds? Oh my God. This is heavy.” She couldn’t believe he’d been holding it, crouched as he was, off the boy.

  “No shit, Sherlock,” he said through gritted teeth.

  Her own shoulders ached as she laughed. “Okay, okay. Don’t be so dramatic.” She paused then added the ultimate insult, “Nancy.”

  He laughed. “You’re such a pain in my ass.”

  “Ditto.”

  Then Hector and Heidi were there, easing the furniture and a few other skewed pieces back into place.

  Once everyone had exited the truck back into the shelter of the garage, Heidi glared at the twins, her accent growing thicker the madder she became. “I told you not to play in there. Nothing is strapped down yet. You could have been hurt.”

  The boys looked a lot more sulky than sorry, reminding Jordan of her own brother. Rafi, who’d taken money from her wallet. Rafi, who’d involved himself with a questionable bunch of teens. Rafi, who seemed to be on the verge of throwing his entire future away. Rafi, who needed a firm kick in his teenage ass.

  Sorry, Judy. This has to be done. Jordan stepped forward and grabbed each boy by the neck of his T-shirt, yanking him forward. She glared into their beady little eyes. “That. Is. It! If Cash hadn’t been there, one of you might have been seriously hurt. Or crushed.”

  “Or dead,” Cash said bluntly. “That clock weighs a ton, enough to crush a tiny little skull for sure. You ever seen brains leak out of your head, kid? It’s gross.”

  “Ja. And messy,” Heidi added, her face stiff.

  Hector pinched the bridge of his nose, and Jordan felt for him, sensing her own headache coming on.

  The twins flinched. Finally.

  She dragged them closer. “You will now thank Cash for saving your sorry little asses.”

  They stared at her with wide eyes. Judy blinked at her through tears.

  “And you will apologize to your mother for worrying her. She just lost your nana. She doesn’t want to lose you too. Look at her.” She shook them, not hard but enough to get their attention. “She’s worried about you.”

  Judy had been silently crying.

  The boys lowered their heads in shame. Jordan heard sniffles. If only it were that easy to get her brother in line.

  “We’re sorry, Mom.”

  “Yeah. We’re sorry.”

  Jordan nudged them toward Judy. “Now you go give her a hug. Then you stay with her. Because if you don’t, Cash is going to paddle your butts until you can’t sit for a week. And your mom won’t even mind.”

  Cash flexed his huge hands, and Jordan saw the boys’ fright. Heck, she wouldn’t want to be spanked by a hand that large either.

  Well… No.
No I wouldn’t.

  “We have a job to do. Judy, please go on inside and get dry. Watch some TV or play a game and try to relax. I’ll come get you when we’re ready for you.”

  “But—”

  “Now, Judy.” Jordan wore her military police face, the one that said I’m tired of fucking around.

  Judy swallowed. “Okay.” Before she went inside, she crossed to Cash and gave him a quick hug.

  He froze.

  “Thank you for saving Alex.”

  He mumbled something but didn’t move.

  She left with her boys and the crazy dog in tow.

  Jordan turned to see everyone staring at her. “What?”

  Cash, instead of seeming grateful, looked agitated. “Why the hell didn’t you do that at the start of our day?” He stomped out to the lawn, moving more items into the garage and continuing to swear.

  “Don’t mind him.” Hector held out his hand for a high five that Jordan slapped. “He’s just embarrassed we saw him being a good guy.”

  Heidi nodded then gave a sly smile. “I shall go and tell him how wonderful he is.”

  “Oh, good idea. Me too.” Hector laughed. “Thanks, Jordan. You really made my day.”

  She stared at the backs of her teammates and heard Cash swear at their many compliments. “I’m working with a bunch of wackos for sure.” But she laughed as she moved to help them.

  Jordan tried not to stare at Cash and his tight, wet clothes for the rest of the day.

  And failed miserably.

  Chapter 2

  The next day passed much the way Tuesday had, their stay extended at the Millers’ thanks to the rain. To Cash’s relief, the kids and the dog stayed well away from the property. They finished the job and split the team to cover more moves. For some reason, Reid had paired Jordan up with the new guy—Smith Ramsey, asshole extraordinaire.

  At the day’s end, Cash found his brother in the office. He had to bite back what he’d planned to say when he saw Reid was not alone. Instead, he took a seat opposite his brother, watching as a leggy redhead leaned against Reid’s desk. She sparkled with a vibrant personality and killer smile.

  He muttered, “Oh, it’s you.”

  Naomi Starr had been laughing at something Reid said and turned to regard Cash with a raised brow. “And hello to you too.”

  Cash gave her a weak wave, fuming as he stared at Reid. Normally he’d go off on the guy, but he didn’t want to throw any kinks in the works between Reid and his new girlfriend. They’d had a rocky patch a few weeks back, and Cash liked his brother actually having a life despite Reid being such a dick lately.

  Reid smiled back at Naomi, and Cash felt a pang at seeing how well the pair fit. Both smart and driven, dedicated to their work and to each other. Cash had a sinking feeling they’d end up getting married. He’d met a few of Reid’s old girlfriends, and none of them came anywhere close to Naomi Starr in looks, character, or that smokin’-hot body.

  “Anytime you want to stop leering,” she said, sounding coldly amused.

  Reid frowned. “Not anytime. Quit eye-fuc—ah, eyeballing her now.”

  Cash held up his hands in surrender, watching the lovesick pair.

  Naomi chuckled. “Nice catch, Reid.” She leaned down to kiss him, and Cash quickly glanced away, weird about catching a glimpse of her fine ass since she belonged to his brother.

  At the thought of a fine ass, Jordan immediately came to mind.

  No, no. Jordan isn’t attractive. She’s an employee. A moving buddy. Just some chick who works with me.

  More like for him, but Cash made a distinction with everyone. Working alongside the guys on a daily basis, he deferred to Reid on most business decisions, preferring to get his hands dirty as just another employee—one who owned a piece of the company pie, but a small piece.

  Naomi left the office, answering a call on her phone.

  Reid regarded him with a quizzical expression, younger by two years yet always acting so much more mature.

  “What?”

  “I’ve said your name twice already. You high or something?”

  Cash flushed. “Ass. You know I don’t do drugs.” The occasional beer, but that was as hard as Cash hit anything addictive. He prized being in control of himself. Growing up the way he had, he needed control to feel sane.

  Which brought to mind a conversation they needed to have, but one he’d been putting off. Fucking family drama. Even dead and gone, his mother continued to annoy him. “Ah, I, well… I need to talk to you about something.”

  Reid shook his head. “Let me stop you before you get started. Jordan and Smith work well together. Like you, he has a tendency to alienate others. Yet he’s worked well with her before.”

  “What?” Not the conversation Cash had expected.

  “We need everyone working this week. We’re tapped on time and jobs, and Bro, we are seeing a real profit.” Reid perked up, his gray eyes bright with excitement. Like Cash, he had dark hair and the Griffith good looks. But he didn’t have the breadth of muscle and height Cash had. No one would ever confuse them for twins, but they for sure looked enough alike to pass as siblings.

  “Yeah, that’s great.” Cash paused, rationalizing his need to avoid the uncomfortable topic of their mother with the more important here and now—the job. “But I thought the teams were my responsibility. I had them all planned out.”

  “They were. Until you kept pairing yourself with Hector or Jordan on the smaller jobs. We need our experienced movers with the newbies, just to make sure we can trust them. That way in the future we know they’re doing what they need to do when not supervised.” A good point. Then Reid ruined it by sounding dictatorial. “Spread the love, man. The only guys I agree should stick tight are Martin and Tim. I don’t know how they do it, but they’re our most effective unit.”

  “That’s because Martin talks for them both and Tim’s a workhorse. Bastard can probably lift as much as me.”

  “High praise,” Reid agreed.

  They grinned, then Cash remembered to be annoyed. “Look, I appreciate you doing all the office paperwork crap—”

  “Because you refuse to do it, and Evan hasn’t quite cut the cord with his job yet.”

  “—but you know the people side of Vets on the Go! is mine.” At Reid’s raised brow, he amended, “The people side as in who I work with, not the annoying customers.”

  Reid’s lips quirked, but he didn’t quite smile. “Speaking of annoying, maybe you and Smith should go out and get to know each other better.”

  “Now who’s high? I’ll kill the asshole if I’m near him for more than two seconds.”

  “Jordan doesn’t mind him.”

  Cash glared, not liking the reminder. “Jordan’s too nice for her own good.” Something he’d never thought he’d say. “Look, if we’re so busy that we all need to be out in pairs, you know it makes sense to pair me with someone I work well with.”

  Reid checked his notes. “How about Finley?”

  Finley, an ex-Navy Master at Arms, what the Navy called its military police, had a decent sense of humor and an affinity for magic tricks. Weird and mostly harmless. But he sure didn’t fill out a pair of shorts like Jordan. “Fine. I’ll go out with Finley, but if he tries pulling a quarter out of his ass, I’m done with him.”

  Reid chuckled. “Better his ass than yours.”

  “Which is what I told him the first time he tried to impress me.”

  Reid kept laughing until Cash pointed out that the stack of invoices on Reid’s desk hadn’t gone down any since the day before.

  “Yeah, well…” Reid studied the papers and groaned. “What else is new? Oh, and so you know, I’ll be at Naomi’s tonight.”

  Nothing Cash hadn’t already anticipated. Squelching the idea he was starting to lose his brother, he nodded and left. He jumped in hi
s car, having the perfect excuse now to get things done. Cash would go to their mother’s, and Reid wouldn’t be reminded of the old house and the issues that came with it, leaving Cash to clear out all of their mother’s things.

  At the thought, Cash drifted back to that dark place in his mind, hating the feeling but unable to make it go away. Worthless. A waste of space. Should never have had you, you damn sorry prick. You’re nothing more than a mistake. His father’s voice and his mother’s avoidance never failed to leave their impact, especially at thoughts of going home. Something he thought he’d never do again.

  Yet following the death of their mother a month ago, he’d learned the shocking, disturbing truth: their mother had left her property and everything that came with it to him, the same child she’d ignored for the past twenty-plus years.

  He and Reid still didn’t understand it. Even their cousin Evan, the decidedly brightest Griffith of the bunch, had no idea why she’d done it.

  For the first seven years of his life, Cash had been loved by Angela and Charles Griffith. He and Reid had shared an idyllic boyhood. Until something happened that to this day he still didn’t understand. He could remember the sun shining, a hint of lavender in the air, and the sound of a favorite cartoon in the background. Then the hatred in his father’s eyes and the immediate reversal of everything good in his life, including the gradual decline of Angela as she ignored the family more and more until Cash might as well have ceased to exist.

  Angela even ignored Reid, the golden child, lost in her soap operas, books, and television. The woman preferred fantasy over reality, and the shell of the mother she used to be literally hurt to remember.

  He and Reid had speculated about what might have caused the huge rift, though, come to think of it, Angela had never been too firmly planted in the here and now even before that traumatic day.

  Had it been a massive fight about finances? Secret debt? A secret baby? Unfaithfulness? That Cash and Reid had different fathers would make sense. Except they looked too much alike, and Charles had never thrown the question of Cash’s parentage in his face. His old man had called him every name under the sun. He’d been verbally abusive, at times physically abusive, and had never held back from telling Cash how little he mattered. Yet the old man hadn’t mentioned infidelity.