by Jayne Rylon
Kayla bolted to her feet, looking for something to wear even if it was her little black party dress, which seemed entirely out of place in their current reality. “I have to go back. I have to do…something.”
They all knew there was absolutely nothing she was going to be able to do to save Bare Natural, but no one was going to stand in her way either. Mike got to his feet and pulled on his jeans. But standing there, bare-chested and barefooted, he realized pretty damn quick that this was a turning point for them.
Because Joe couldn’t leave. And Kayla couldn’t stay.
So what about him? Kate? Devon, James, and Neil?
Where did that leave them?
Mike stood taller, taking charge when everyone else turned to him. He pointed at James. “You three with them. They’re going to need help and someone to drive. Kayla’s too upset and Dave should focus on her.”
Neil, Devon, and James were already getting dressed and searching for the small suitcase they’d packed for their weekend trip.
“And you?” Neil asked.
Kate looked to Mike too, worrying her lower lip between her teeth.
“We’re going to stay here and keep things on track with Joe and the Hot Rods project. Is that okay with everyone?” He looked around the room. Kayla hadn’t even heard him. Dave was focused entirely on her, wrapping her in a blanket when she began to shake uncontrollably.
“I guess it’ll have to be.” Neil blew out a breath and Devon tsked at him.
“Quit that.” She glared at her husband. “There isn’t a choice. Don’t make it harder on him. Yes, of course it will be fine. Do what you have to, Mike. We will too. No matter what happens, we’ll always be a crew. You showed us that last night. Things might be…different…for a while. Until we can figure this out for good. But we will do that. Right?”
“Yeah. Exactly.” Mike hugged her. “Keep the guys in line and let me know if you need anything, no matter how small, for the Powertools project or Bare Natural, okay?”
“You know I will.” She went up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Now, we better get on the road.”
There was a flurry of motion, people putting on clothes, even ones that might not have been their own, taking turns in the bathroom, and gathering the rest of their belongings. In under ten minutes, which was kind of a miracle for a group their size, they were marching out the door, one by one.
Dave escorted Kayla, who stumbled toward the van like a zombie, his thick arm protective as it curled around her shoulders and kept her tucked to his body. He opened the door and helped her inside. Her soft crying broke Mike’s heart as he stood in the driveway, still without his shoes.
Hugs were exchanged, Mike clinging to James until they were the last two holding up the group’s departure. He held on to the doorframe and leaned into the van as James settled into place. “Drive safe. I’m so sorry. So sorry.”
Not only for Kayla and Dave, but for each of them. For having to say goodbye like this and for having to split up, no matter for how long. It went against everything he held dear, and yet there wasn’t anything he could do to stop it.
“It’s not your fault,” Dave said quietly.
“I still hate it.” Mike took a deep breath, then said, “Call us when you get there.”
He shut the door, which rang with a finality that broke his heart in the still morning. The sun now peeked through the trees, about to go to war with the mist swirling around the trunks. It should have been a special day, a sacred one, and instead it was a nightmare come to life.
Devon—who was driving—gave them one final wave, then looked in the rearview mirror, backing out of the driveway and setting them onto the road home. Without him. Without Kate. Without Joe or Morgan or any of their kids.
Joe’s phone rang as half of their crew accelerated in the wrong direction, away from them. Every instinct Mike had urged him to charge after them even though he knew that wasn’t the right thing to do.
“Hey, Eli.” Joe’s voice was shredded, nearly as much as Mike’s guts from the events of the past half hour. His family had probably seen the news on TV, too.
“Huh? You haven’t heard? Then what are you calling me for this early?” Joe paused, then said, “You know what? It’s better if we come over. We’ll fill you in and you can do the same. See you in a few.”
Mike didn’t really feel like going anywhere, unless it was to chase down the half of the crew disappearing around a bend in the woods. But he figured he might as well stick with Joe and learn to rely on his friend’s family as if they were his own.
Right now, they could use all the help they could get.
14
Mike still couldn’t believe it had happened. The fire. The fracturing of Powertools.
But here he was, with Kate, Joe, and Morgan, while Neil, James, Devon, Dave, and Kayla were on their way home. This time for good.
Eli, Tom, and Ms. Brown fussed over the four crew members as they filled them in on the tragedy that had struck Bare Natural, and specifically Kayla. Her brother Gavyn was married to Ms. Brown’s daughter Amber. The more Mike thought about it, the more he realized they were really one big intertwined family.
He should have recognized that before. But in crises like these, it became obvious.
Ms. Brown made tea and coffee, and offered them breakfast, though no one had the appetite for it right then. Mike kept hearing Kayla’s wail echo through his memory and knew he’d have nightmares where she cried out and he couldn’t reach her, just like he couldn’t at that moment.
“Well, shit.” Eli ran his hands through his hair. “This is terrible timing but…”
Joe narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, why did you call earlier if you didn’t know about the fire yet?”
Eli looked to his dad, who nodded. “Go ahead. No reason to let bad news overshadow the good.”
“If you have something positive to talk about, we’ll take it.” Kate rested her cheek on Mike’s shoulder. He ran his hand up and down her arm. If he hadn’t had her by his side, this morning would have been far worse. So he concentrated on being grateful for that at least.
“All right. Giovanni must have stopped by after the wedding and stuck this in the door. I threw it on the counter when we got in because I was focused on other things.” Eli slid a packet of papers, ensconced in a black plastic sliding bar report cover across the table to Joe and Mike. “I hope you don’t mind, but I peeked at it after…you know…and I thought you’d want to see it right away. Honestly, I couldn’t sleep after I looked at it, but I waited as long as I could to call Joe. I figured if you were still knocked out you would ignore me.”
Joe opened the cover, then shut it. Then opened it again.
His jaw dropped before he handed the plan to Mike.
There, right at the top of the page, was a proposed budget of three point two five million dollars for Giovanni’s shop and a connected entertainment complex including a small tattoo-themed hotel, a couple restaurants, shops, an ink museum, and other attractions. Holy shit.
Their potential cut alone had a hell of a lot of zeros after it.
“We’d have to flip five years’ worth of houses to make a profit like that.” Joe pinched the bridge of his nose. “But I can’t do this. Not now. Not by myself. I’d need Mike as my partner, at the very least, to even think about accepting a job on that scale.”
“We can’t desert Dave and Kayla. Especially not now that they’re going to need so much help to clean up and rebuild.” Mike scrubbed his hand over his face. Why the hell had the perfect opportunity shown up at exactly the wrong time?
“Listen to me, boys.” Tom cleared his throat. “Sometimes we get so used to how things are, we don’t see how they can be different, so here’s an idea for you…”
Ms. Brown put her hand in Tom’s and smiled at them as if she already knew what he would say.
“Maybe the best way you can help Kayla and Bare Natural right now is to take this deal and make it work.” Tom shushed their obje
ctions. “Hear me out. I know she has insurance, but there’s going to be miles of red tape and it’s going to take time to sort through. Months before they can be up and running at the same capacity again. Next season if she’s lucky. The advance from this project would be enough to get them started. Hell, you could even afford to pay Dave, Devon, Neil, and James’s salary as Powertools to work on the reconstruction. And as good as you both are at construction shit, being able to give them that—the gift of time and financial independence while they’re healing and rebuilding—that might be the most valuable thing you can do for your friends.”
Mike felt the air whoosh out of his lungs.
Because Uncle Tom was absolutely right.
Kayla and Dave, along with James, Devon, and Neil, would benefit more than even Joe and him from the opportunity sitting there in front of them. All they had to do was accept it and work their asses off, together, to make the project a success. It wasn’t a given. It was going to require negotiations, long nights, a mountain of stress, and learning lots of new shit, but for the first time in a while…Mike felt a spark of excitement at the idea.
Tackling the challenge with Joe could be exactly what he needed to feel useful, and to help forge a way forward for the entire Powertools crew.
“Would you want to do that?” Joe asked Mike, as if afraid of the answer. “Come on board as the foreman of a new, much bigger operation?”
“No way,” Mike instinctively objected.
Joe’s face fell, Eli looked away, and Tom gathered Ms. Brown closer.
“What I mean is if we do this, we’re going in equals. Partners. Co-foremen.” Mike stared straight into Joe’s eyes. “You’re going to be every bit as responsible as me if this thing tanks.”
Although he knew it wouldn’t. Not if they teamed up like they had so many times before. This time on a much grander scale.
“Oh. Right.” Joe seemed shocked, but nodded slowly as a grin spread across Eli’s face. The garage owner clapped his cousin on the back. “Then you’re considering it?”
Mike couldn’t believe it, but he was. No, he’d already decided. So long as it was okay with Kate. “What do you think, babe?”
Her eyes were big as she looked up at him then around the room. He could feel her pulse racing in her wrist, where his fingers rested on her soft skin. “My scouting trip with Ollie last week was incredible. If you want to do this, I could maybe take a few gambles of my own. I think it could work. For everyone.”
“We have an extra bedroom and plenty of space.” Joe looked to her, an expression on his face that looked like Mike’s felt. Like he was stunned but thrilled things were falling into place even if they hated how it had come to be. A dazed sort of euphoria that had come with a hell of a steep price tag.
“Our kids would love spending more time together this summer.” Morgan smiled at Kate. “And you won’t have to go through your pregnancy alone. I’ll be here. Sally’s experiencing the same stuff too, and Joy and Amber have done it recently. You’ll have plenty of support.”
Kate put her hand on Mike’s and squeezed. She looked up at him and nodded.
“I guess it looks like we’re moving in…” Mike smiled at Joe and added, “…partner.”
Tom lifted Ms. Brown, who kicked her feet playfully, and spun her around, while Eli squeezed Joe’s shoulder. He looked across the table at Kate and Mike and said, “Welcome home.”
The only thing that could have made the moment better was if the rest of the crew was there with them. But Mike figured they were going to have to work on accepting that fate had other plans for them. No matter what happened next, things would never be the same again.
And that might be okay.
Kate turned to him, framed his face with her hands, and kissed him softly. “As long as we’re together, us and the kids, everything will be all right. And I think it’s going to be much better than simply okay in time. Maybe this is how it’s supposed to be.”
Mike decided to trust her because she’d never been wrong before. So he pulled Kate into his lap and wrapped her and their unborn baby in his protective hold, ready to embark on a new adventure.
If you’d like to start at the very beginning with the Powertools Crew, you can download a discounted boxset of the first six books HERE.
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Yes, know it says complete series but I wrote a seventh book more recently and haven’t gotten around to updating the boxset yet, sorry!
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You can find the seventh Powertools book, More the Merrier, HERE.
If you missed out on the Powertools: Hot Rods series, you can buy all eight books in a discounted single-volume boxset by clicking HERE.
To read more about the Hot Rides gang, starting with Quinn, Trevon, and Devra’s story, Wild Ride, click HERE.
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About the Author
Jayne Rylon is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has sold more than one million books. She has received numerous industry awards including the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Indie Erotic Romance and the Swirl Award, which recognizes excellence in diverse romance. She is an Honor Roll member of the Romance Writers of America. Her stories used to begin as daydreams in seemingly endless business meetings, but now she is a full time author, who employs the skills she learned from her straight-laced corporate existence in the business of writing. She lives in Ohio with her husband, the infamous Mr. Rylon, and their cat, Frodo. When she can escape her purple office, she loves to travel the world, avoid speeding tickets in her beloved Sky, SCUBA dive, hunt Pokemon, and–of course–read.
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Also by Jayne Rylon
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EVER & ALWAYS DUET
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POWERTOOLS: THE ORIGINAL CREW
Five Guys Who Get It On With Each Other & One Girl. Enough Said?
Kate’s Crew
Morgan’s Surprise
Kayla’s Gift
Devon’s Pair
Nailed to the Wall
Hammer it Home
More the Merrier *NEW*
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POWERTOOLS: HOT RODS
Powertools Spin Off. Keep up with the Crew plus…
Seven Guys & One Girl. Enough Said?
King Cobra
Mustang Sally
Super Nova
Rebel on the Run
Swinger Style
Barracuda’s Heart
Touch of Amber
Long Time Coming
POWERTOOLS: HOT RIDES
Powertools and Hot Rods Spin Off.
Menage and Motorcycles
Wild Ride
Slow Ride
Hard Ride
Joy Ride
Rough Ride
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POWERTOOLS: RETURN OF THE CREW
The original crew is back with more steamy menage stories!
Screwed
Drilled
Grind
Pound
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MEN IN BLUE
Hot Cops Save Women In Danger
Night is Darkest
Razor’s Edge
Mistress’s Master
Spread Your Wings
Wounded Hearts
Bound For You
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DIVEMASTERS
Sexy SCUBA Instructors By Day, Doms On A Mega-Yacht By Night
Going Down
Going Deep
Going Hard
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STANDALONE
Menage
Middleman
Nice & Naughty
Contemporary
Where There’s Smoke
Report For Booty
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COMPASS BROTHERS
Modern Western Family Drama Plus Lots Of Steamy Sex
Northern Exposure
