Diesel knew better than to argue with him, but that didn’t mean he’d give in. He looked at Tracey, but before he could get a word out, she said, “I was just going to offer you up.” She rose on her toes and kissed him. “I’ll see you at two. Don’t let Biggs carry too much.”

Damn, he loved her. “Thanks, babe. I’ll make it up to you.” He gave her ass a swat, earning an eye roll that made him and Biggs chuckle.

Tracey pointed at Diesel. “I’m going to start saying goodbye to you by smacking your ass.”

Biggs laughed. As she climbed into her car, he said, “Your little gal doesn’t take any guff, does she?”

“No, sir.” It’s one of the things I love about her.

They headed inside, making their way through the main room to the kitchen. Biggs looked around as he pulled open the basement door. “I didn’t know the counters could shine like that. Did you fix that cabinet and put those doors on the pantry?”

“About a year and a half ago.” He’d also organized the cabinets and pantry. “No use having things if you’re not going to take care of them. I’m surprised one of the guys didn’t put them up for you.”

Biggs stroked his beard. “Guess they never come in the kitchen, either. With the second fridge in the meeting room, this room doesn’t get much use unless someone’s staying here. Did Tracey organize the pantry?”

“No. That was me.”

“Damn, son. Guess you had time on your hands.” Biggs opened the door to the basement, and they were met with a musty, cold scent. He flicked on the light and headed downstairs.

Diesel followed him down. “Who’s in charge of the annual maintenance of this place?”

“We all are. When something goes wrong, we fix it.”

“The kitchen tells me otherwise. You should put someone in charge of it, Biggs. This place will last a lot longer if it’s properly cared for. I’m sure Crow or one of the other guys can handle a once-a-year inspection and take care of the stuff that goes wrong. I’ve been changing the air filters every three months, but when I got here, they were in shit shape. When’s the last time you had the roof checked or the HVAC serviced?”

“I’m not sure.”

“I’ll come up with a system and get my arms around it.” Diesel stepped into the basement beside him. On the far side of the room, there were rows of precariously stacked boxes, some with open flaps, others crushed. Between stacks were old chairs and a coffee table with more boxes on them. Antlers from a deer head poked out from behind a tower of boxes, and off to the side were plastic containers overflowing with tinsel and holiday decorations.