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"Who's the new guy?" Sady asked Matt as they met for the Knight Investigations company meeting. He ignored her question, shook his newspaper, and turned the page.
"I'd like you to meet my younger brother, Eric Barr," CJ Knight said with a smile.
Sady held out her hand as she studied CJ's brother. He had light hair, buzzed short, and green eyes like his sister. CJ was small and kept her gray hair cropped. "I see the family resemblance," Sady told them, making the siblings scowl.
From behind his newspaper Matt said, "Wrong answer, Morrow."
"She's right, and you know it," Harry came to Sady's defense. "Don't blame her for your genetics, CJ."
"I'm taller than the shrimp," Eric said with a chuckle.
"Not by much," came from behind the newspaper. Sady guessed Eric's height to be about an inch less than her 5' 9".
"You haven't changed any, Meadows." Eric spoke to the front page.
"I've grown since I was ten," came the reply. CJ slapped her hand through the newspaper, and it ripped down the middle. She grabbed both sections and wadded them into a ball.
"Wrong answer, Meadows," Sady snickered. CJ glared at Matt. He gave her a resigned look, then he held out his hand to Eric.
They shook hands grudgingly, and CJ said, "That's better." She threw the newspaper ball at Matt hitting him in the stomach. "Sorry. I thought you were watching," she lied.
CJ's husband Harry, looking like a bald angel with the patience of a saint, smiled at them. "Are you children ready for the meeting, or do we need a time-out first?" Mild-mannered Harry kept CJ on the ground and she kept order among the ranks.
"Please, can I be excused if they are going to act like children?" Sady asked. "I had enough babysitting when we watched the Davis children."
"We can’t mention that job in his presence," CJ warned as Harry's face paled. "Take a deep breath, Harry. Focus on your quiet place." On a recent job Matt and Sady watched two children while Harry and CJ guarded the children's mother, whose non-stop talking nearly sent the unflappable Harry over the edge.
Harry took a couple breaths and closed his eyes. "I wonder if he's going to hum or chant?" Matt whispered to Sady. Harry cracked one eye, and Matt continued in a louder voice, "Harry, if that works please let me in on the secret so I can make Amanda disappear." Amanda enjoyed making Matt's life miserable.
"Who's Amanda?" Eric asked.
CJ whispered to her brother, "Best not mention her name around Harry. Amanda... likes Harry, if you know what I mean."
Matt snorted, "Amanda likes most males, CJ. Please, let me be the one to introduce them!"
"She doesn't like you," Sady declared. He threw the newspaper ball at her with a snotty look. "Hey, that reminds me... how's Arch?" Sady asked Matt about his friend Tim Archer, who worked with them on their babysitting job.
"He hasn't spoken to me since you left us at the bar with Amanda. I think he's fled the country. That, or he's drinking himself into oblivion... or both. Actually, he hasn't forgiven either of us for Amanda."
Eric gaped at his sister. "And it's okay that this Amanda woman likes your husband?"
"I like my husband," CJ replied with a grin. "So how can I blame her?"
"I like Harry, too," Sady added. Matt and Eric shared a look of bewilderment. It was the only thing on which they agreed since entering the conference room.
"What can I say, guys?" Harry asked them with a shrug.
Matt cleared his throat and turned his head to mutter through his teeth. The room grew quiet and he flashed a shameless grin. “Okay, Handsome Harry. Can we get on with this meeting before the air becomes too toxic to breathe?"
"Don't be like that, boys. Harry can't help it if he was born with more charm than the two of you will ever learn in a lifetime," CJ said to Matt and Eric.
"We're on the clock," Matt reminded CJ. "And I'm not joining the fan club, so save your breath."
"I think we've gotten off track here." Harry brought the meeting back to order. "Eric is on vacation for a few weeks, so he's working with us while he's in Michigan."
"Are you an investigator, too?" Sady asked him.
"No, I make documentaries. I'm in between films right now, so I'm just along for the ride."
CJ was ready to bounce off the walls when the door opened with a bang. "You weren't starting without me, were you?" Amanda asked, strolling through the door like she owned the company. She looked around the table, spotted Eric, and took a seat next to him. Then she boarded her spaceship and proceeded to outer space.
After ogling him like a pastry in a bakery window she asked, "Ooh, who's the Swedish brownie?"
CJ introduced her brother to Amanda.
"Anyone heating the oven for your baking pan, handsome?" Amanda asked Eric.
"She likes you and wants to know if you're married," Matt interpreted. Amanda glared at him and smiled at Eric.
Eric took it with good grace and replied, "Not yet."
"Better and better," Amanda said, moving closer to his side. "CJ, how come you've been holding out? We could have been related by now."
Matt snickered, Harry covered a smile, and Eric eyes bulged with alarm.
Matt said, "Amanda took the shortcut on the learning curve with men. Ignore her and she might leave you alone. Or, better yet, she'll just go away."
"Dream on, Stubbles. Even with those crabby blue eyes you need all the help you can get."
Sady smiled. Amanda was often the cause of any crabby look in Matt's eyes. His eyes were a deeper blue than Harry's, but just as lethal. He was also tall, dark, and handsome... at least Sady thought so.
CJ’s agitation soared, and Harry rapped his knuckles on the table. Conversation ceased, and he waved his hand. "The floor is yours, CJ."
"I invited Amanda since she's on leave from her job. Plus, it evens out the numbers," she explained to them.
Interrupting CJ, Matt asked Amanda, "What kind of leave do you get at this time of year?" Amanda worked in administration at the university.
With a sniff she said, "Administrative leave, not that it's any of your business." Sady kept her eyes down. Amanda was on administrative leave... of the disciplinary kind. Her recent Vegas escapade, of questionable taste, made it to the internet. It also made it to the eyes of her boss, who wasn't excited about Amanda's internet debut.
CJ cleared her throat and Matt turned. "Evens out the numbers for what?" he asked suspiciously.
"The rooms, of course. Grab your winter gear because our next job is taking us north. To Hope Mountain Ski Lodge and Resort. They’ve hired us, and we will be their guests for a week."