Slow Dating the Detective

by Sue Brown

  “How did the interview go, Keenan?”

  “I didn’t get the job.”

  “But—” Karen started, but she jumped and stopped. Ramon had probably kicked her ankle.

  “I’m sorry, dear,” Julia said. “You can always stay here if you need to and use your place as a rental. It’s not like we don’t have the room.”

  Julia had never made any secret about missing a houseful of kids. She complained about rattling around in an empty house. Keenan and his siblings had all suggested his parents take the opportunity to downsize, but they had flatly refused. Where would the family meet?

  The last thing Keenan wanted to do was go back to live with his parents. “Thanks, Mom. But I’m okay at the moment, and I’ve signed up for temp work.”

  She didn’t look happy, but then Sarah asked her a question, and to Keenan’s relief, the conversation was shelved… for the moment.

  He caught Ramon’s frown. “What?”

  “You haven’t heard from Dan?” Ramon asked as quietly as possible.

  “No,” Keenan said shortly.

  “He said he was going to call you.”

  Keenan’s heart leaped, but then Dan hadn’t called, so what difference did it make? He shrugged as casually as he could. “I haven’t heard from anyone since the interview, and anyway, you know my reasons for leaving.” He’d explained them in great detail to Ramon over a beer the previous night. Ramon thought he was being oversensitive, but he understood Keenan had loyalty to his previous company.

  Nate glanced at him. “Between Gideon thumping you and you finding out who he was, I’m not surprised you left. You could have charged him with assault.”

  “Been there, done that.” Keenan pointed to his head. “Last time I lost everything. This was just a tap on the face. Although I’m waiting for the bruising to die down before I go to any more interviews. Can you imagine if I walk in like this?” He waved at his face, but Nate stared at him and didn’t look away.

  “You look fine to me.” Nate’s voice was like the rumble of distant thunder, and it made Keenan want to roll over and present his belly for a scratch.

  “I’m not sure future employers would agree with you.” He aimed for amused but was aware his voice was huskier than normal.

  “What are you going to do?”

  Keenan sighed. “Ask me again in a few weeks. I just need to get a job to tide me over.”

  They were interrupted by his mom’s call to clear the table. Keenan stood, and Nate went to get up too, but Keenan pressed him back down. “You’re a guest. House rule is guests get to sit, and kids clear up.”

  He and his sisters cleared the table with speedy and practiced efficiency. By the time the dishwasher was loaded and the pans washed, his mom had served up the dessert. She had made his childhood favorite—cherry pie served with whipped cream.

  Nate looked like he’d been presented with the winning lottery ticket when Julia put the plate in front of him. “I haven’t had cherry pie since I was a kid.”

  “It’s Keenan’s favorite,” she told him.

  He smiled at Keenan. “It was mine too.”

  There could have been no one else in the room as far as Keenan was concerned. Nate’s smile transfixed him. Then his nephew knocked over his milk, and Sarah started to fuss. Keenan focused his attention on his cherry pie, but he was basking in the warmth of Nate’s smile.

  Chapter 6

  KEENAN WASN’T used to a Monday morning without the prospect of a work week. He sat in his old navy terrycloth robe, which was way past its prime, and glowered into his coffee. What was he going to do with himself for the rest of the week?

  His face was still bruised, so he’d decided to buy groceries for a couple of days and treat himself to a Marvel movie marathon. Somehow that didn’t excite him as much as it had in the past. The thought of spending all week on his own just seemed isolating.

  “Get over it,” Keenan muttered. “You can deal with a few days by yourself.”

  He could think about the previous day and his time with Nate. Unfortunately Keenan’s fantasy of Nate taking him home for an evening of fun and fucking screeched to a halt when Nate, Karen, and Ramon had been called into work. From the looks on their faces, it was serious, although they wouldn’t talk about it. Nate had taken him to one side, and they’d finally exchanged phone numbers and the briefest of kisses. Then Nate was gone and so was much of the warmth of the afternoon. His mom switched on the radio, and they talked quietly. His family had years of practice not talking about their fears as they watched Karen go off to who-knew-what danger. Now Max joined them as they talked with one ear listening to the news.

  Keenan brushed his thumb over his lips, still remembering the feel of Nate’s mouth on his. He’d wanted so much more than a chaste kiss, but he would have to wait. Duty called. It occurred to him that if he got involved with Nate, he’d be waiting by the phone again just as he did with his twin sister, the radio on automatically. Did he want to go through that with a boyfriend? It was one of the reasons he’d never made a play for Ramon. But he’d met Nate before he knew he was a cop. He sighed and knuckled his eyes. He was jumping the gun. Nate only hooked up with a guy once. Stick with the fun and fucking. He didn’t need to start worrying about Nate’s welfare.

  His phone vibrated with a text.

  Lunch today. 1pm. Usual place. My treat. S

  His sister wanted to take him for lunch. That was nice. He texted to accept her invitation.

  Get up. Lazy bastard! K

  Thanks, Karen. I love you too. He sent her a suitably rude reply.

  Dinner at my place. 8pm. Love you. E.

  Was this a family intervention? Now Emma wanted to feed him? No, it would be takeout. She couldn’t cook. He accepted that too.

  Keenan, it’s your mom.

  Yes, Mom. I can see that.

  Come over tomorrow for lunch at 1pm. Pops and I need to talk to you.

  Keenan sighed. It was going to be one of those talks. He agreed with a See you tomorrow.

  Are you up yet? K

  He sent a Fuck off! and got a string of emojis back, most of which he didn’t understand. He was sure Karen just did it to mess with his head.

  He needed more coffee, and as he topped off his cup, his phone buzzed three times. It was getting ridiculous. He sat back in a huff and picked up his phone.

  Ramon: You should be hearing from Dan.

  Ramon: The new guy’s got the hots for you.

  Yeah, well, Keenan had the hots for the new guy too.

  Unknown number: Keenan, this is Dan Taylor about the bar job. Call me.

  Keenan pressed his lips together. It had been several days. If he was that concerned, why hadn’t Dan called him after Keenan bolted from the interview? Why text him now? He sighed and picked up the phone.

  “Cowboys and Angels. No, careful, put it there!”

  Keenan waited for a moment.

  “Hi, you still there?” Dan asked.

  “Dan, it’s Keenan Day.”

  “Great, I’m glad you called back. Are you free to come in this morning? Over there. Not by the restrooms. Jeez, do I have to do it myself?”

  “Is this a bad time to call?” Keenan asked.

  “No, no, just getting a delivery. Can you come in? Gideon wants to talk.”

  Why didn’t Gideon call me then? Keenan pushed away his waspish thoughts. “What time?”

  “Eleven?”

  “Okay.”

  “There! Over there! Christ, I have to go. See you later.” Dan disconnected abruptly, leaving Keenan with the phone pressed to his ear.

  Keenan shot a quick text to Sarah to say he’d have to postpone their lunch as he was going for a job interview and promised he’d call later to let her know how it went. The response was immediate.

  You’d better!

  The phone bounced onto the sofa as Keenan headed for the coffeepot. He needed a lot more caffeine if he was going to face Dan and Gideon Taylor with any form of equanimity.


  KEENAN TOOK a tentative step into Cowboys and Angels and waited for disaster to strike. He managed to get over the threshold without mishap. It was dark inside the bar after the morning sunshine, and it took a moment for his eyes to adjust. The previous time he’d been dazed and in pain, and he barely noticed the décor of the bar. It was plain dark woods and large views of Brooklyn. Ramon had told him Dan had updated the look of the place, but that mainly involved fixed furniture, which couldn’t be used as weapons against the bar staff. The place was mostly empty, with a few men sitting in the far corner playing checkers.

  Dan was behind the bar and waved him over. “Hey, come in. Take a seat.”

  Keenan went over to join him and slid onto one of the tall stools by the bar. “Morning.”

  A gray cat wandered through the bar, tail high in the air. It greeted a couple of men and ignored the rest. Keenan was ignored.

  “Drink?” Dan asked. “I’ve just made coffee.”

  Keenan was still buzzing from the coffee he’d drunk earlier, but he nodded and accepted the cup Dan pushed over a minute later, together with creamer and sugar. Keenan got the feeling Dan was either stalling or making nice before they got down to business.

  He stirred his coffee and decided to cut the bullshit. “Why did you call?”

  Dan made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle. “I want you to work here. I know why you left now, but I’m not Gideon, and C&A Holdings doesn’t own Cowboys and Angels.”

  “You’re married to Gideon.” That was close enough as far as Keenan was concerned.

  “And he gave me the bar when we got married. If anything happened to us, the bar would still be mine.”

  “You planning on getting divorced already, darlin’?”

  Keenan turned at the lazy drawl to see Gideon behind him. He blinked. This time Gideon was dressed in a suit and tie. He looked out of place in a bar where the clientele lived in plaid shirts and denim. Keenan knew little about good tailoring, but that suit looked as though it were made for Gideon. Despite his humble surroundings, the man was a millionaire, if not a billionaire. He might play at being blue-collar, but he was very wealthy. That didn’t make Keenan feel any better, and he had to force a smile on his face.

  “Not unless you beat up my new bar staff.” Dan gave his husband a pointed look.

  “It was an accident,” Gideon protested.

  Dan huffed and pointed at Keenan. “You make nice to Keenan. Then I can get on with training him.”

  Keenan blinked at him. “What?”

  Behind him, Gideon sighed. “Okay, okay. Keenan, let’s go talk over there. Dan, can I get a cup of your excellent coffee?”

  He pointed to an empty booth and started over there, not waiting to see if Keenan followed or Dan said yes. Keenan looked at Dan, who rolled his eyes, grabbed his cup, and joined Gideon in the booth.

  Silence stretched between them for a long moment. Keenan got the feeling Gideon was waiting for him to say something, but Keenan had sisters. He could outlast anyone.

  Finally Gideon broke the silence. “How long did you work at Johnson’s?”

  “Five years.”

  “You must have liked it there.”

  “I did,” Keenan agreed tightly.

  “What did old man Johnson tell you?” Gideon asked.

  Keenan didn’t pretend not to know what he was talking about. “He said they couldn’t compete against the big boys. They’d sold to a larger company who wanted to put their own people in place rather than use Johnson’s staff.”

  “And the larger company is owned by C&A Holdings.”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s true,” Gideon agreed. “We prefer to put in our own people. If a company is failing, we take out the problem and put in a new solution.”

  Keenan pressed his lips together. “These were people, not ‘problems.’” He held back the sarcastic air quotes, but only just.

  “Did they tell you C&A Holdings offers recruitment and retraining for all staff who lose their jobs? Thanks, darlin.’” He smiled at Dan when he appeared with his coffee.

  “Uh… no.”

  “I thought not.” Gideon looked grim. “It was part of the deal. Not every company takes us up on it because they offer their own services, so I didn’t think too much about it. That was my mistake.”

  Keenan sipped his coffee. So if the Johnsons had taken Gideon up on his offer, he still would have lost his job, but he would have gotten guidance, retraining, or something at the end of it. It would have sucked but it would have helped.

  Gideon picked up the mug and looked over the brim at Keenan. “You left because you felt disloyal to the company if you worked for me.”

  “Yes,” Keenan murmured.

  “You’re loyal. I like that. Dan likes that.”

  “But you think I’m cutting off my nose to spite my face.”

  Gideon’s lips twitched. “Am I that easy to read?”

  “If it were anyone else, I’d say the same thing. Ramon’s already said it to me.” So had everyone else. Keenan put his cup down and studied Gideon. “You also own most of Brooklyn.”

  “I wouldn’t put it like that.”

  But from the sharp glint in Gideon’s eyes, he definitely would.

  Keenan gave him a direct look. “I need a job. I can’t spend the next month trying to find a job with a company you don’t own. But you don’t own this bar. Dan just told me.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Then I come work here and you arrange for me to have recruitment advice.”

  Gideon stared at him for a long moment and burst out laughing. “I arrange for you to find another job so my husband has to find more staff?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’ve got some balls, I’ll say that for you. But I guess that was the offer.”

  Keenan raised an eyebrow. “Is that a deal?”

  Gideon hesitated and Keenan was sure he heard him mutter, “Dan’s going to kill me.” Finally he nodded and said, “It’s a deal.”

  Keenan relaxed back against the booth. He hadn’t been sure Gideon would agree. “Now I need to talk to Dan.”

  Gideon studied his face. “How’s your face?”

  “Sore. Thanks.” Keenan resisted the temptation to touch the bruising.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  Gideon did sound genuinely sorry, and Keenan took it at face value.

  “It happens. Don’t do it again, or my sisters and mother will kill you.”

  “You should have heard Dan,” Gideon grimaced. “You’d have thought I did it deliberately, from the way he carried on. He’d probably hand them the gun.”

  Keenan gave a wry chuckle. “You throw me out of a job and then punch me in the face. It wasn’t the best day of my life.”

  Gideon gave him a speculative look. “Did you know the Johnsons came to us? They were the ones who wanted to sell.”

  Keenan suspected as much because there had been rumors circulating in the company for months that Mr. Johnson was finding the business too much. He nodded and Gideon carried on.

  “Old Mr. Johnson wanted to retire, and neither of his kids wanted to take over. They came to me and asked me to buy out the company. I agreed.”

  “They give the impression you’d forced them to sell,” Keenan said.

  “I suppose in a way we did. They were an old-fashioned business and struggling to keep up.” Gideon leaned back. “With fresh management and staff, I think they’ll survive. They have a reputation for excellence. I could get you your old job back if you want.”

  “In security?” Keenan’s heart leaped at the thought.

  “In security. I did some checking. You had a good work ethic. Everyone liked you, and you weren’t an asshole.”

  “Thanks,” Keenan said dryly.

  “Welcome.”

  A thought struck Keenan. “So I didn’t need to make that deal after all. You were going to offer me my job back.”

  Gideon smirked at him. “I was, but
it was interesting to hear what you had to say.”

  Keenan had an idea why Gideon was such a successful businessman. He was a sneaky bastard.

  Dan came over, a determined look on his face. “Have you two sorted it out? I need Keenan to start his trial.”

  “Well?” Gideon raised an eyebrow at Keenan.

  Dammit. He’d promised to work for Dan, at least for a while. Keenan gave a short nod. “Sure. I’m ready.”

  He noticed the pleased look on Gideon’s face. He had gotten his way, and Keenan got what? A new job, he guessed. He followed Dan behind the bar.

  “I’ll introduce you to everyone later, and we can work out your shifts. There are a few rules. Obey those, and we’ll get on fine.”

  “Obey the rules. Right,” Keenan said cautiously. How many rules were they talking about? He was surrounded by men who loved rules. Perhaps he could persuade Nate to break his rules.

  “The first rule of the bar is if the beer runs out and you have to change the barrel, you clean the line,” Dan said, interrupting Keenan’s thoughts.

  “Okay.”

  “The second rule of the bar is leave Ariel to me and Gideon.”

  “Who’s Ariel?”

  “Gideon’s daughter. She’s… lively.”

  Keenan guessed that was code for a pain in the ass. “First, clean the lines. Second, Ariel is off limits.”

  Dan looked pleased. “You’re gay, yes?”

  “Is that a problem?”

  Dan rolled his eyes. “Hardly. This is not a gay bar. Guys don’t come in here to flirt with the bar staff. But there are still assholes who think Cowboys and Angels is turning into a queer bar. I hear them bitching. They get told to deal or get kicked out, and you don’t have to take any shit from anyone.”

  “I’m used to it,” Keenan said.

  “I guess you are. You probably know many of the guys who come in here.”

  “It’ll be good to see them again.” Some of them, anyway. There were a few guys who’d given Keenan a hard time after his accident, particularly in the early days when he was still struggling with his speech and coordination. He’d be happy never to see them again.

  “Okay, let’s get to work. Let’s see you pull a pint.”