Margie suddenly grinned, and he had to fight the damn blush that wanted to creep into his cheeks. She was far too smart to be working for him. She should be running for president. He saw the knowing look come into her eyes, and he felt his humiliation was complete.

“Oh my goodness. Did a girl actually tell you no for the first time. One did, didn’t she? Ha, that’s hilarious. Welcome to the real world, Austin Anderson,” she mocked.

“That’s not what happened,” he practically shouted.

“Oh yes, it is. You’re hooked on a girl and she doesn’t want anything to do with you, and you just don’t know how to deal with that. It’s about time. She may just be a keeper if she’s that smart.”

“She wasn’t saying no when I met her,” Austin snapped. He immediately regretted his words when Margie’s eyes narrowed again. He knew a well-deserved scolding was coming.

“Austin Jeffrey Anderson! That was unacceptable to say. It sounds like you’ve finally met a real woman, and you’re doing her an injustice by demeaning her that way. Don’t you dare let your pride run away with your mouth. I’m going to have to meet this woman.”

“I… I just meant that we hit it off in the beginning. Then she got scared, or something, and went running for the hills. I’ve been trying to talk to her for months, and now she just… Well, hell, I don’t know what she thinks or doesn’t think. I know she wants me. The air practically sizzles when we’re within a few feet of each other.”

“Sounds like you’d better step up to the plate and figure it out, because I already like this woman,” Margie said in a softer tone. He’d been forgiven for his outburst.

“I’ll keep working on it.”

“Good.”

“Can we please get some work done, now?” he asked. He found it ironic he was asking his employee if they could work.

“Yes, I’ll go ahead and stay. The reason I came in here in the first place is there’s a problem at the shipping yard. Some items have come up missing, and then this morning a fight broke out,” she said, immediately resuming her professional tone.

“Who’s handling it?”

“Dean’s in charge, but he called a few minutes ago, ready to explode. It seems Jack is causing trouble.”

“Crap, I should’ve known,” Austin grumbled.

“Exactly,” Margie agreed.

“I’ll head down there right away.”

Margie left and Austin stood up. He was almost grateful for the problem. At least it got his mind off his failing personal life.

He drove to the warehouse, blaring his music to try and drown out his own thoughts. It didn’t seem to be working, as nothing else was, either.

He was happy when he stepped inside and found his brother, Trenton, already speaking to their supervisor, Dean.

“Whoa, you look like crap, little brother,” Trenton said as he walked up.

“Thanks, and how are you?”

“Better than you, apparently.”

“What information do you have for me, Dean?” Austin asked. He decided the best defense was to just ignore Trenton. Maybe his brother would take the hint and let the subject drop.

“We had almost ten-thousand dollars’ worth of shipments come up missing. It wasn’t all in one load, but through four different vendors. I have my staff checking orders over the past six months, because apparently the person was smart. They’re taking a few items out of each order and I don’t think many of our clients have noticed. They must’ve gotten greedy, though, because they took enough out this time that we had complaints come in,” Dean said, his eyes blazing as he spoke.

Dean had worked for them for twenty years. Austin had no doubt he’d be on top of the situation until it was solved.

“What about the fight?”

“Jack got into it with a couple of other guys. Everyone has been on edge since we found out about the stolen goods, and someone made a comment that Jack didn’t appreciate, I guess. He’s being tight lipped right now. I sent the three men home for the day. That’s why I called you. I don’t want to throw out accusations…” he trailed off.

“It’s just us, Dean, and we trust you. Who do you suspect?” Trenton quickly asked.

“Well… I really don’t have any evidence at this point, but things are pointing toward Jack,” he said with hesitancy.

Dean was a good man. He didn’t want to falsely accuse anyone without proof. He knew each of the men who worked there, depended on their paychecks to support their families. He didn’t want to be responsible for an innocent man getting fired.

“We’ll do a thorough investigation before we throw out any hard-core accusations. I have a feeling you’re right, though. I’ve had my doubts about him the past year. Too many mistakes, too many accusations from the men. He’s been close to losing his job for a while now, anyway,” Austin said.

“Let’s go to the office and start going through the files,” Trenton said. They began walking through the plant together, getting stopped several times as employees asked them questions.

“Okay, now spill. What’s eating you?”

“Damn, Trenton, you’re in a mood.”

“My mood isn’t the problem. What’s causing the circles under your eyes?”

“None of your business.”

“You know, I’m not going to lay off, so you may as well tell me,” Trenton insisted.

Austin let out a long-suffering sigh. He loved his family, but sometimes they were a royal pain in the ass.

“Kinsey,” he finally said. His brother busted up laughing as they entered the small office. Austin felt like slugging him.

“Thanks, Austin. I needed that. With all this stress in my life, I can certainly count on you to lighten the mood.”

“Glad I could help,” Austin snarled.

“Okay, if brotherly love time is over, we have work to do,” Dean said, but Austin noticed the corners of his lips twitching. It looked like his love life, or lack thereof, was great entertainment for all the people around him.

It was times like this when he missed his mother the most. He could go sit with her and visit, let his worries wash away, and she wouldn’t interrogate him, or mock. She’d just be the person she always was.

Loving and understanding.

Chapter Five

“Joseph, I know you can hear me deep down inside. You deserve to catch up on your sleep, so you go ahead and rest as long as you need to. Just as long as you remember to come back to me,” Katherine whispered as she lay next to him in his hospital bed.

The staff had long ago given up on trying to keep her from him. They’d just adjusted a few of his monitors so she wouldn’t get snagged on anything.

“You’ve certainly earned some rest. You’re supposed to be retired, but you can’t keep yourself from butting into our sons business. I may not have been saying anything to you these last few years, but I know all about you meddling in our kids’ lives. I haven’t complained too much because I like the end results. How could I not? I now have three beautiful daughters, along with the world’s greatest grandchildren. Plus, we now have George back home and our family continues to grow. I wouldn’t be admitting any of this to you if you were awake, but I’ve never been happier in my life,” Katherine continued speaking. Her voice caught with her last sentence as tears slipped down her face.

Seeing her larger-than-life husband lying so still in the sterile bed caused a bigger ache each day he didn’t wake up. The doctors kept telling her the same thing – only time will tell.

If she heard that one more time, she may forget all about her southern roots of being raised a lady, and accidentally slap one of them.

She missed her husband.

She missed her best friend.

Another tear slowly fell as she gently stroked his face.

So handsome.

Even in his sixties, he was stunning, the most beautiful man she’d ever known. Her mind drifted as she remembered those early days and how close she’d come to walking away from him.

“Mom, are you okay?” Lucas asked as he stepped into the room. His brows were furrowed in worry. She didn’t want to upset the kids. She normally made sure to put on a positive mask so they didn’t stop living their lives. Joseph wouldn’t want that.

Everything he did was for his children. He wanted them happy and successful, not brooding or worrying about him.

“Oh, I’m fine, Lucas. I was just speaking to your father about the day we met,” she answered as she sat up slowly. It took her a few moments longer these days to get to her feet. Lucas rushed over to help her.

“I’ve never heard about how you met. Would you tell us about it?” Amy shyly asked.

“Bless your heart, Amy, but that’s a long story,” Katherine said with a smile.

“I want to hear, too,” Jessica said as she stepped inside the room with Alex.

“Agreed. I think it’s the perfect time to learn about the beginning of a great love story,” Emily added as she walked inside on Mark’s arm.

“I guess if you all insist…” Katherine hedged.

“Yes,” was chorused from everyone in the room.

“Well then, you’d better pull up a chair. This may take a while,” Katherine said with a fond smile of remembered times.

Her beautiful sons, and their wives, quickly sat down and then looked expectantly at her. She gazed at the couples who were still so in love with each other. Joseph had chosen well for his children.

“I fell in love with your father instantly,” she began.

The women sighed at what they expected to be a sweet romance. She couldn’t wait to shock them. Where did her boys think they’d learned to be such rakish rogues? She loved them all, in spite of their faults, not because of them.

“I fell in love with Joseph immediately. I was only eighteen years old the first time I met him. We were at a party, and he danced the whole night with me. I felt like the most special girl in the room. He had eyes only for me, which surprised me because he was so dang handsome. His glittering blue eyes, short dark hair, and stunning smile, combined with the custom made suit he was wearing, made him look like a prince. Every girl in the room wanted to dance with him, but I was the one he chose. I felt like a princess as he spun me in circles across the floor,” she said.

Katherine could practically hear the music playing as she remembered how that night had started.

“I’d never been in love before – but I fell that night, and I fell hard. We were inseparable for the next month. He showed up at my door with flowers practically every day, and it didn’t take me long to fall under his spell. When he kissed me, it was always magical, it still is today. I wanted to give him everything – including my innocence…”

“Mom,” Mark said with shock, his eyes rounded.

“You just hush up and let your mother tell her story,” Emily scolded her husband. She actually found it pretty endearing that he was actually blushing.

Katherine found it quite amusing shocking her son. How did he think he’d come to life. She quietly chuckled.