I rush over to fill the travel mugs. "Absolutely!"
Oh no… Did he hear all that?
13
KELLAN
Driving has always helped me think. The trees zooming by on both sides and the chunky rock outline of the mountains in the distance helps me to process things.
Like the uneasy look in Jenna's eyes just after she ended that phone call. She was so tense her hands were literally trembling. I hated seeing her so uncomfortable, but she clearly didn’t want to talk about it. What’s a guy to do?
I slow down, pulling over to mark a particularly gruesome “Yikes” level pothole at the edge of the road. While I'm stopped, I take a sip of coffee.
I didn't mean to eavesdrop Jenna’s conversation. But if “Gallagher Computer Services” is her stepfather, and she was sarcastically promising to get my company to buy equipment from him, it's easy to put two and two together. I hate that Brad is trying to use her.
I meet up with my brothers, and we get a bunch of planning done at Kai's house. Our cousins from the other side of the mountain have always implied that since we aren’t construction experts, we’re less manly than they are. Luckily, none of us has ever given a damn about that. But I’m glad that Bear and hisbrothers have suddenly taken over as foremen on the pothole project. That’s a natural fit.
We’ve already purchased safety gear and clothing for dozens of men and three women from Pinesley who are eager to work on this project. Equipment is on the way, and the first crew will be doing some testing tomorrow. It’s also been discreetly established that we’re going to be paying every crew member much more than we need to, calling it “overtime” and “danger pay”. Anything so we can get more cash in the hands of people who genuinely want to work.
We're almost finished when I gather up the coffee mugs and bring them to the kitchen for another round.
Kai comes in to give me a hand, then catches my eye. "Something's wrong." His voice is low. "Anything I can help with?"
I start to tell him that everything's fine, then hesitate. We don't always divulge every single stressor in our lives, but this feels worth sharing. I quickly fill him in on how I've started dating Jenna and how she doesn't get along with her stepfather but now he’s pressuring her to talk me into buying equipment from him.
Kai shrugs. "We do need a bunch of new computers for the school. Why not order through him? We always try to support small businesses and family and friends, right?"
"Yyeahh…but it sounds like he's trying to coerce her. She didn't sound like she wanted toat all." I take another sip of coffee, nearly burning my tongue. "It's easy for us to forget how rough some people have it. Huge companies can order in bulk and offer us better deals. But if we can afford to pay more, why not help the little guy, right?"
Kai sighs. "But if he's being a pushy ass, you don’t want to reward that kind of behavior."
“Exactly.”
He claps my shoulder. “I say, always put your lady in charge. It worked for Dad, right? When in doubt, he always offers Mom a couple of options and lets her choose.”
“Damn. You’re right. Thanks.”
I follow him back to the dining table. “Which of you has the list of computer stuff we need for the school?”
“That would be me,” Kaden says. “Why?”
“Can you flip it to me, please? I want to get a quote from an acquaintance.”
We wrap up our meeting, then I forward the equipment list to one of our assistants, asking them to get a quote from Gallagher Computer Services and to message them from an email address that can’t be traced back to our company.
First, I need to confirm that they can even provide what we need. If they can, I’ll put the decision in Jenna’s hands.
If I can manage to convince her that we’re right for each other for the long haul, I’ll be happy to put decisions in her graceful hands for years to come.
14
JENNA
I’m having a blast driving around back roads through the beautiful countryside in Kellan’s huge new Jeep.
The only thing that puts a damper on my mood is that conversation with Brad. What is he going to do if I ignore him? I have zero intention of asking Kellan for a favor to my family.
I pull slightly to the side of the road, marking a row of small potholes. Just as I’m checking the time, a text pops up from Kellan.
