Page 108 of Junkyard Dog

“Nope.” Thomas pulled his phone from his pocket and set it down, swiping it to life and angling it to her. “See that? Cute little thing, isn’t he?”

She grinned at the photo of an angry baby, sitting awkwardly in a car seat. “Oh, he’s sweet! Grandson?”

“Yes, he is,” Thomas stated proudly, showing Alex. “I showed you him before.”

Alex nodded, looking over the picture. “He’s getting big. Walking yet?”

Thomas set his phone down and clasped his hands. “That’s the problem, Alex. He’s not walking yet. Or talking. But he will be soon. And I’m aiming to be around when it happens.” He settled back in his seat. “The problem we have here is I don’t want to be working my fingers to the bone anymore. I need someone to oversee the place. Someone who knows what they’re doing, knows the business enough to get by, and who needs the job.”

Charlotte met Alex’s eyes, the disappointment in them nearly breaking her heart.

Alex cleared his throat. “I suppose my documentation problem puts that out of my reach.”

“Well, no,” Thomas said, waving off Daniel when he walked by to check on them. “If we were to come to an arrangement, I could maybe see my way to paying you out of my personal accounts. Paying the taxes through my name. Of course, it would mean you’d have no social security benefits or medical coverage. May not mean much to you now, but it will when you’re my age.”

Alex glanced at her. “Yeah?”

“Definitely.”

He squeezed her knee and looked at Thomas. “I’d love to. When can I start?”

“We’re interviewing for the kitchen in three days,” he stated. “Your job is to stand behind me and look threatening. Weed out the criers. Weaklings would never survive a Friday happy hour rush.”

*

Alex eased offthe highway into the park, pulling over before he lost connection. “Nothing? A whole month and nothing? How’s that even possible in the age of the internet?”

Ryan sighed, muttering something under his breath about the grease stains on his walls. “Just dead end after dead end,” he replied, exasperated. “No social media, no digital footprint at all. Unless he’s operating under an alias, the guy has no online presence whatsoever,” he grunted, a loud bang echoing through the phone. “I’m going to kill your brother one of these days.”

“Do it.” He laughed. “What now?”

“Boots. Overalls. Grease. Dirt. I can see the path he takes through here, because it’s etched into the carpet.” Ryan’s voice became more muffled. “You should see this. I’ll take pics and send them.”

He glanced in his rearview mirror to ensure he wasn’t blocking anyone’s way. “At least he’s still holding a job.”

“He could be holding a job and living with you,” Ryan countered.

“Ah, yeah, no,” he muttered. “Charlotte’s actually moving in with me until we find a place on the edge of town.”

Ryan went silent for a moment. “A little quick, isn’t it?”

Grabbing his phone from the passenger seat, he switched it off the speaker. “We’ve discussed that. A lot. Hell, even Seph’s had her say. And it’s not like we’re eighteen-year-old kids.”

“How’s Charlotte dealing with the whole pantheon thing?” Ryan pressed.

He groaned and rolled his eyes. “Fine. Seph comes by every week for lessons, and to give her opinion on everything that doesn’t involve her.”

“That sucks.”

“It’s a small price to pay,” he argued, the temptation to hang up becoming strong. “I’m pulling into the park now, so I better go.”

Ryan exhaled loudly. “You two going to play fetch?”

He pulled his phone from his ear and looked down at the number for a moment. “Seriously?”

“She’s not still trying to feed you bagged dog food, is she?” Ryan’s voice had gone from mild annoyance to a hint of humor. “That smell was horrendous.”

He closed his eyes and groaned. “Please tell me Bo doesn’t know about that.”

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