Chapter 21 Caleb #2
My chest tightened, but Ry and I both gave a barely there nod of agreement.
Tucker released us and brushed his hands together like he’d just finished an important task.
I blew out a breath. “He’s right,” I said to Ryder. “You are the boss, and what you say goes—in regard to the business. But not in my private life.”
Tucker nodded his approval and then stared down Ryder, who rolled his eyes and said, “I’m sorry. Not for my orders, but for being…insensitive.” His voice softened. “I don’t want either of you to ever feel like I’m flaunting my happiness in your face.”
“Oh, you are, but we don’t hold that against you,” I said.
“Like I said, you deserve this.” As for me and Emma, whatever was between us wasn’t up for discussion.
What happened in the storm stayed in the storm.
We’d both agreed on that, and Emma had silently reinforced it by not returning my calls or texts in the past two days, even when I’d jokingly texted am I still “Don’t Even” in your phone?
Ryder started to say something, but Ricky, our finish-carpentry subcontractor, burst into the room, looking furious. Grif was right on his heels. “Sorry,” Grif said to Ryder. “He refused to take a seat—”
“They’re gone,” Ricky interrupted, steam coming out of his ears. “All my tools, at least twenty-five K’s worth.”
“It’s okay, Grif, we got this,” I said, and when Grif nodded and left, I turned to Ricky. He could’ve been a linebacker in the NFL. I was a big guy, but he had two inches and probably fifty pounds on me.
And every pound of him got up in my face. “My trailer’s gone,” he spit out furiously. “Someone stole it from the job, and now every fucking tool I own is gone.”
Several times in the past year, we’ve had materials go missing, along with a few other small weird things like my truck tires being slashed on a jobsite months ago. And then there’d been that mystery truck speeding away from the Henderson job.
Either way, the renovations world was small, and the last thing we needed was for word to get out that we were having troubles.
On top of that, as good as Ricky was on the job, he was equally known for his loose scruples.
Had his trailer been stolen, or had he seen an opportunity for a payday? “Was the trailer locked?”
A muscle ticked in Ricky’s jaw. “What are you saying?”
“I’m not saying anything; I’m asking you a question.”
“Yes. Maybe.” Ricky hands fisted. “Fuck, I don’t know, it doesn’t fucking matter. No one but my crew and your people knew I was working here.”
I raised a brow, relieved Ry remained quiet, letting me handle this. Ricky was far less likely to try and fight me than my brother. “You think one of our guys stole your tools?” I asked calmly.
“I know it.” Ricky jabbed a meaty finger in my face. “I also know I was a last-minute hire and that no one wanted me there. So yeah, I think this is an inside job. So here’s what’s going to happen: You’re going to give me money to replace the tools, right here, right now.”
Ry and I exchanged a look, the tension between us gone for the moment.
It had always been that way. We fought among ourselves but were a united front against the world.
“That’s not how this works,” I told Ricky.
“I’ll head to the site now to take a look for myself.
If your trailer’s been stolen, I’ll make a police report, and we’ll each call our insurance companies and let them do their job. ”
“If my trailer’s been stolen?’” Ricky repeated, his voice low and menacing. “You don’t believe me?”
“Senior year of high school,” Ryder said casually, “you accused a kid of stealing your car. Turned out, you’d gotten drunk with your buddies and forgotten where you parked it.”
So much for letting me handle it.
Ricky stared at Ryder for a charged beat. “So what? We were stupid kids.”
“True.” I shifted, placing myself between my brother and Ricky, since the guy was quick to lead with a fist. “And as I said, if the tools and trailer were stolen, we’ll take care of it.”
Ricky lunged. I’d faced down my fair share of angry “enforcers” on the ice, but it had been a while. Still, I sidestepped the blow, then grabbed his other fist until he lowered it.
“Get out,” I said quietly. “Before we add assault to the situation.”
“You gotta be kidding me,” Ricky snapped. “Since when does a Colburn back down from and then cry about it?”
“I’ll meet you on the jobsite in twenty,” I said.
Ricky stared at me, eyes furious and spoiling for a physical altercation. “Fuck you. Fuck all of you.” And then he was gone.
Ryder scrubbed a hand down his face. “What are the chances he’s telling the truth?”
“Low,” Tucker said. “But not zero. Not when you factor in the other incidents.”
“Agreed,” I said. “The problem with Ricky is that it’s always a fight with him. He’s already causing chaos on the jobsite, always half-cocked at someone or something, purposely creating rifts. It pisses everyone off.”
Ryder looked grim. “Whatever happened, he’s gone, even if I have to buy out his contract and do the work myself.”
“You don’t have time for that,” Tucker said. “None of us does. We need another sub, like yesterday.”
I nodded. “Agreed. But no more messing around. If we get behind on this project, we’re going to accrue some hefty penalty fees.
” I looked at Ryder. “I know what you promised Hazel’s mom, but hell, man, we’re desperate.
Let me hire Hazel and her crew. I mean, unless you want to accuse me of sleeping with her too. ”
It was a low blow, and it hit.
“Fuck.” Ryder tipped his head back and groaned at the ceiling. “Fine. Hire Hazel. For this job only,” he warned. “We can reevaluate after it’s finished. But if she and Bill slow this job down with their personal shit, it’s on you.”
Oh good. One more thing on me…
***
The first thing I did when I got to the job was look for Emma’s car, but there was no sign of it. She had no reason to be here today, but it didn’t stop the pang of disappointment in my gut.
I understood the moment between us was over, she’d made that clear in the past few days, but it didn’t change anything for me. I still wanted to know she was okay, and more than that, I wanted to do something to lighten her load. Knowing how hard she was working, I figured I’d send her a meal.
Only, I had no idea where she lived. I texted Kiera, asking if she had Emma’s address, and her response was classic Kiera: Even if I did know, you’d still have to get it from her.
Fine. Whatever. I texted Hazel that one, I needed to meet with her ASAP, because I was done messing around. I was hiring her for the Henderson job even if I had to sit on her and Bill to get along. And two, ask if she had Emma’s address.
My phone buzzed with an incoming call. “I hate texting,” Hazel said. “What do you want to meet about? It feels bad. Is it bad?”
“Of course it’s not bad. I’m Caleb, not Ryder or Tucker.”
She laughed, and I asked, “Are you swamped right now with work?”
“I’m double- and triple-booked.”
I paused, surprised. “Really?”
“No.” She sighed. “I had a job lined up, but it fell through. I just didn’t want to seem like a loser.”
“We fired Ricky. The Henderson project is yours if you want it.”
Silence.
“Haze?”
“I want twenty percent more than you were paying Ricky.”
I smiled. “Done.”
“Well, hell, I should’ve asked for a thirty-percent bump.”
“Not in the budget,” I said.
“Maybe next time. Get me the plans and specs. I can start tomorrow, I’ve got a couple of guys who are good, and we’ll get the job done, no problem.”
That’s what I wanted to hear. “And Emma’s addy?”
“She told me she was staying with her great-aunt in Santa Rosa, but I don’t have details, sorry. I gotta go scream for joy now. See ya.”
I slid my phone away, the smile from hiring Hazel fading. Emma living in Santa Rosa didn’t compute. Santa Rosa was nearly an hour’s drive from here, and Emma had told me she lived close to downtown Star Falls.
With concern twisting my gut into knots, I pulled out my phone and brought up our text convo. Nothing.
The ghoster had become the ghostee.
Nothing I could do about that. The ball was in her court, and I wouldn’t press. But I would still try to feed her. So I quickly ordered an assortment of food to be delivered to her at the Henderson and Hall offices.
That completed, I got out of my truck and looked around. Two mornings ago, this place had looked like a cyclone had swamped it, but today it looked good. Still very damp, but good.
I was walking toward the door when Ricky pulled up, Ryder and Tucker on his heels in separate vehicles.
Bill was the caboose, only he hadn’t gotten the message to stay calm.
He was already red-faced when he got out of his truck and turned on Ricky.
“What did I tell you on day one? Lock your shit up at night.”
“I did.”
Bill narrowed his gaze. “You told Caleb you weren’t sure.”
“Well, I’m sure now.”
“I called our insurance rep on the way over here,” I said. “And the cops too. Our rep needs a police report.”
Ricky shifted nervously. We all knew he was allergic to the cops, and he looked about ready to break out in hives. “Someone better get back to me ASAP on this bullshit,” he said, turning away. “And in case you need it spelled out, I quit.”
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“You know where I had my trailer parked out back. No need for me to stay.”
“The police will want to talk to you.”
“Then give them my contact info.” And he was gone.
The rest of us walked around the manor to the back of the property, where Ricky had parked his trailer for the job’s duration.
The trailer—which had been here during the storm—was indeed gone. We all stared down at the mud where a vehicle—probably a truck by the tire tracks—had come in the back gate, reversed up to the trailer, and then taken off, trailer in tow.
Had it been the truck I’d seen racing out of here the other night? If so, what had he come back to the scene of the crime for?
I snapped some pics, then retraced my steps to the front of the manor.
“What are you doing?” Ryder asked when I crouched in the circular driveway.
“Good news and bad news,” I said. “Good news, Ricky’s tire tracks match the ones out back.
Bad news, so do mine and Bill’s, and hell, yours too.
We all have the same tires.” I looked at Ryder.
“I know Henderson and Hall initially didn’t want surveillance cameras on the job because of privacy concerns, but at the very least, we need two. One at each entrance.”
Ryder nodded. “Do it.”
Bill stirred. “I think you all know how I feel about this situation. And I’m trying hard not to say I fucking told you so about Ricky, but I fucking told you so.”
“Thanks for your restraint,” I said dryly. “And I’m already on it. I talked to Hazel about taking the job.”
Bill’s eyes lit with relief. “Good.”
Tucker, who hadn’t said a word, left the property.
Ry looked at me, and I shrugged. We both knew getting Tucker to talk was like bleeding a turnip. He’d tell us what was up his ass when he was good and ready, and not a second before.