“Thanks for doing this,” Cal told him as he ripped open the cardboard.

“I don’t mind.”

“Aren’t you still settling in?”

Walker shook his head. “It took me exactly two hours to move in to my apartment and unpack.”

“You had stuff in storage, didn’t you?”

“Not much.” No furniture. Just a few personal things he hadn’t wanted to lose. He’d had to buy a sofa, TV and bed.

“Do you like the place?” Cal asked.

“It works for now.”

His brother pulled out the sheet of directions and tossed them into the closet. “Why an apartment? You could have bought a house.”

“I don’t know where I want to live yet,” Walker admitted. Or what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. He’d thought he would stay in the Marines until he retired. Then one day he’d realized it was time for him to leave. “No point in getting something permanent until I decide on a location.”

“You’re staying in Seattle, aren’t you?”

“That’s the plan.” As much as he had one.

“Want to come work for me?” Cal asked. “As a major stockholder, you’d be welcome.”

“No thanks. Coffee’s your thing.”

Several years ago, Cal and his partners had started The Daily Grind. Their initial three locations had grown into a popular West Coast chain that was rapidly expanding across the country. Walker had invested his savings in the start-up and the risk had paid off with a large chunk of shares that had steadily grown in value. He’d never bothered to calculate their exact worth, but he wasn’t thinking about getting a job because he needed the money.

“Still looking for Ashley?” Cal asked.

Walker shrugged. “Regularly. I went through another three and haven’t found her. But I will.”

“I don’t doubt it. Oh, Penny said the new general manager at The Waterfront quit.”

“Figures.” The family restaurants were successful businesses, but keeping executive staff was impossible. Gloria Buchanan, matriarch of the family and all-around bitch, drove the most talented away. “Gloria’s not getting in Penny’s face, is she?”