Roman chuckled. “If you’ve already forgotten how I feel about you, maybe we should take the lunch we skipped and lock ourselves in the breakroom for an hour.”
“I just cleaned that table!” Kaige glared. “Make sure you disinfect it before I eat on it next. Or at least let me watch for my efforts.”
“That would just be torturing yourself. Unless Nola will be home sooner than usual.” James glanced at the clock. There were still a few hours left in the day, even for people who worked a straight forty-hour week, which none of his crewmates nor their entrepreneur friends at Hot Rods and Hot Rides did very often.
He figured business owners were the only people willing to put in a million hours a week to avoid working for someone else. And he didn’t blame them. After being, sort of, his own boss for so long, he didn’t think he’d do well taking orders from someone that wasn’t Mike or Neil or Dave or Devon. He had an awful lot of criteria for someone without a specific plan.
James wiped his hands clean, then sighed. He didn’t want to waste the peace that had come from doing something beneficial and familiar for a bit. “Well, I think I’m going to go check out Joe’s progress and offer to help him if he needs me, unless there’s anything else I can do for you all?”
“Nah.” Eli jerked his chin toward the expansion site. “I’m sure my cousin will be happy to have your eyes and hands on the job for a few hours. Just remember, our garage doors are open if you change your mind.”
James nodded and bumped fists with Carver and Roman as he passed them. “Thanks. All of you.”
“What’s going on in here? You assholes slacking off as usual?” Joe ambled into the garage before James could go out and find him. The rest of the Hot Rods gave as good as they got, but with the exception, maybe, of Eli, they didn’t know Joe as well as James did.
James saw the concern hiding behind his jokes.
“What’s wrong?” he wondered, and Eli paused, narrowing his eyes in Joe’s direction before stiffening up.
“Oh, nothing major.” Joe put his hand on James’s shoulder, which only worried him more. “Looks like someone stole a bunch of shit off Devon’s site. Vandalized some too. She wondered if you would come down to help her fill out a police report and an insurance claim.”
“Son of a bitch!” James wormed his hand into the snug pocket of his pants and withdrew his phone. He hadn’t heard her calls with the din of the mechanics’ tools and constant shit-talking around him. Maybe being away from her was the wrong decision. Not because she couldn’t handle herself, but because he wanted to assist if he could.
Eli stepped closer and dropped his voice, “Watch yourselves down there. I’m not sure everyone is quite as happy as we are that there’s such serious competition coming to town.”
“What’s that mean?”
Eli hesitated, and James’s heart stuttered. “The resort, the construction business, hell, even Giovanni’s projects—the tattoo shop and the build out downtown—it’s a lot of change for Middletown. Some people aren’t good at evolving, you know?” Eli frowned.
James did know because lately he felt like he might be one of them, though he was doing his damnedest not to be. And he certainly would never sabotage someone else over it.
“Let’s go.” James angled toward his car, then groaned.
“Would you mind catching a ride with Joe?” Bryce asked. “It’s going to be a bit before we can get to your poor little car and it’s really not the safest to be driving it in that condition.”
“Ohhh, really?” Joe put his arm around James and ruffled his hair. “What will you give me to keep me from sharing that tidbit with Devon and Neil?”
“A blowjob?” James asked hopefully. Not like he minded giving them, and his husband and wife would love watching.
Joe fist pumped, then said, “We’re out of here. Come on.”
Despite his calm exterior, he obviously didn’t like even an ounce of trouble brewing around the crew any more than James did.
“Someone will run your car over when it’s good to go,” Eli promised him.
“Don’t go out of your way. And if this means a late night, don’t—”
“We’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.” Alanso smiled. “If you feel the need to thank us, you can stop by again sometime to shoot the shit and we’ll put you to work, like Eli said.”
“Is that a job offer?” Joe’s brows climbed higher.
“I mean, he is probably the most useful of you Powertools lot. No reason he wouldn’t fit in as a Hot Rod, don’t you think?” Roman added.
James drew in a long breath and let it out on a deep sigh. “That means a lot, it does. But like I said, I have no idea where I’m going at this point.”
“Understand.” Eli nodded. “No pressure. You know where to find us if anything changes.”
“Thanks.” James crossed to him and hugged his solid middle. He was tall and built as sturdily as his cousin.
It made him chuckle when Eli was a bit awkward, not knowing exactly how to handle his affection, and patted him on the back a few times. This move to Middletown was going to be good for them all, James knew it would be. As soon as he figured out what to do with himself.
At least, no matter what, he and his family were surrounded by plenty of friends.
“Say the word if you want some back up at the site. We can be there in five minutes,” Kaige said with a subtle nod.
Joe drew James back from his cousin, then steered him toward his truck. “Come on. Let’s go help Devon before you get yourself in trouble with your husband and wife. I feel like these mechanics are circling you like sharks eying a tasty tuna.”
James couldn’t help but tease, “Are you kidding? Devon and Neil would probably chum the waters for that.”
A snort escaped Joe. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Let’s go help your wife so we can get home at a reasonable time and test out your theory.”
Now that was a plan James could get behind. He held up his hand and Joe high-fived him before opening the truck door, boosting him inside then shutting the door and rounding the hood. Some guys might be offended by Joe’s universal chivalry, but James wasn’t one of them.
6
James finished writing a sappy note on Devon’s napkin, then tucked it into her lunchbox just before she came into the kitchen. She kissed him on the cheek, but didn’t have time for one of her famous hugs before grabbing the travel mug of coffee he’d also prepared exactly as she liked it.
It had pissed her off to have to deal with the damage to the two by fours she would need for framing out the section of Bare Natural that was supposed to go up next week. Irritated her, but it hadn’t freaked her out as much as James wished it had. Or even a tiny bit as much as it had worried him. Something about the slash job had seemed awfully thorough. And even if it had been the bored hooligans she’d blamed, that didn’t mean they couldn’t very easily hurt someone by mistake on a construction site.
“Quit worrying. I’ve got this.” Devon was already heading for the door.