“You know this isn’t your issue. You’ve done plenty by getting the materials here so fast.”
“I know, Alex, but if we’re doing this, we might as well jump in with both feet.”
“Are you sure you’re not doing this so Brice doesn’t flip out later?” Alex asked.
Gareth chuckled. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m not quite the rule follower in my family either. So if I don’t give a shit what my brothers are going to think about this, then I sure as hell don’t care about what your brothers do.”
“I bet you’d get along great with my kid brother, Dean. He’s a lot like you. Or at least he was until he met Tessa, his wife. Funny what family will do to a man.”
“Makes him weak?” he asked.
Alex shook his head. “Actually I think it has made all of us much stronger than we were before. Maybe not as fierce, which is also a good thing. But if it weren’t for the women we have in our lives, I’m not sure what we are doing in Tabiq would be taking place. It’s crazy, but they keep us . . . grounded, in a good way.”
Gareth had noticed that with Charles and now saw the changes in Dylan. Before Rosslyn, Charles could only see things one way, his. Had marriage opened him up to listening to others? He wasn’t sure. It wasn’t that Charles gave in, but at least he let you finish what the hell you were trying to say. And Dylan, well he seemed to be enjoying home-cooked meals and being home at night. Neither change was bad, just . . . different.
“You seem to be getting along with Brooke. Is it . . . serious?” Alex asked.
That was none of his business. He wouldn’t have answered his brothers if they asked. “I’m not the serious type.” That was all Alex was getting, and actually the truth. But there was no doubt Brooke was the kind of woman who deserved someone more . . . steady. Yet she had said several times that she liked her no-ties lifestyle. He assumed that meant in relationships as well.
“Too bad. I don’t know her very well, however Janet, Vinny’s wife, speaks very highly of Brooke. But if you’re not interested, I’m sure she will find someone who is.”
Gareth might not want a serious relationship, but the thought of her with someone else didn’t sit well with him either. “Oh there is no doubt she could do a hell of a lot better than me.”
“That’s exactly how I feel about Ziva. But for some reason, she loves me anyway. So what do you say we get back to work so I can get home to her before morning?”
“You do know you don’t have to be here,” Gareth said.
“Actually, I do. If anything goes wrong, this was my call. I don’t want anyone else taking the blame. Besides, you never know when I’ll need to know how to change a pipe in my own house.” Then Alex laughed. “Yeah, Ziva won’t ever let that happen.”
“Doesn’t trust you?” Gareth asked.
“She knows me too well. I have been known to lose my temper at things that break around the house. So now she makes me call a repairman. She said it’s easier to fix it than replace it when I’m done.”
“I wish you’d have told me that before you started to help. Should I double check your work?” Gareth joked.
“No. I didn’t say I couldn’t fix things. I said I don’t have a lot of patience with things that break. Guess that’s why I was great at ripping those fucking broken pipes out.” Alex laughed.
“Great. Now comes the fun part. We put it all back together.” If Gareth didn’t believe Alex could do it, he’d have told him so. It didn’t matter whose place it was, it needed to be done correctly.
They spent most of the night doing exactly that. But it was worth it. The guys Alex brought in were hard workers. Unfortunately not all of them spoke English. If there were questions, another interpreted for him. Surprisingly, this was one of the smoothest jobs he’d seen in a long time. The Tabiqian people sure as hell weren’t lazy and were eager to prove their worth.
It was almost midnight when he realized he hadn’t texted Brooke to thank her for dinner. He could do so now, but she probably was in bed. Her shift would start in a few hours, and if she was half as tired as he was, she was beat. His part of the repairs was complete, and tomorrow he would make it up to her.
For a guy who said I’d never stand her up, I seem to do it a lot.Valid excuses were still excuses.
“You saved my ass today, Gareth.”
“No. I’d say Brooke did. She was the one who called me when no one else knew how to shut off the water.”
“Brooke did that? Why is it I’m just finding that out now?” Alex asked.
“Probably because we had bigger issues to address.”
Alex looked at him and asked, “Are you still planning on leaving in a few days?”
“I am. Dylan is getting married and—”
“Wow. I didn’t know. It’s kind of crazy that we’re related but really know nothing about what is happening in each other’s lives. And really, I’m not sure that’s going to change.”