My hunch had been right. If the guy didn’t want to wait for the crew to get back, he probably wanted more work done than what he’d paid for. Probably thought he could intimidate the rookie into doing what he said.
Ben was made of tougher stuff than that. Must take after his mom.
“The issue,” I said calmly, “is that if it kicks back wrong, it takes your garage roof with it. Or the fence. Or the power lines. And then your five-minute shortcut becomes a very expensive insurance claim.” I gave the tree another look. “And I don’t know about you, but I’ve never met an insurer eager to pay someone for a bad decision.”
“You’re making this more complicated than it needs to be.”
“Yeah? Let me simplify it.” I tipped my head toward the garage. “Nice roof. Be a shame if a tree fell on it.”
The man crossed his arms. “I’ve dropped trees before, smart-ass.”
“I don’t doubt that,” I replied. “But this is the type of thing that needs to be done right. And right means a full crew with proper tools and rigging.”
“I already paid for tree removal,” the homeowner said. “I expect the tree to be removed.”
“And it will be,” I said. “By the full crew.”
The man and I stared at each other, me standing shoulder to shoulder with Ben. The homeowner’s face reddened as Ben fought hard to look older than eighteen.
There was no way in hell Ben was touching that tree. I’d take him out of here myself if the homeowner didn’t knock it off. Brody shouldn’t long though, Wildrose Bend wasn’t a big place.
Just as I thought that, the rumble of an engine sounded, and I turned to see Brody’s old truck pull in behind my Wild Timber Homes one.
Brody approached at a fast pace, eyebrows drawn low over his eyes. Levi wasn’t far behind. We all knew each other just from being in the same industry.
“Ben, don’t touch that tree. Wyatt, what are you doing on my job site?” Brody barked.
“Let’s talk over here,” I said, gesturing to my truck. “Before your customer decides I’m the tree-cutting police.”
“Come on, rookie. Let’s get these branches cleaned up,” Levi said, guiding Ben away from the homeowner, and back to where they’d dropped the tree.
“Wait a second, what about my tree?” the homeowner said, his voice calmer now that he was facing three grown men rather than a teenager.
Brody held up a hand, a gesture that invited no argument. “Let me handle this.”
He and I walked over behind my truck to talk out of earshot.
Brody planted his feet, hands on his hips. He was a big guy, always in flannel like I was. A long, dark braid hung down his back, a nod to his Indigenous heritage.
“The homeowner was trying to push Ben to drop that tree by the garage, and he didn’t know how to handle it.”
Brody craned his head around to look at the tree I was gesturing to, and his lips pursed.
“I know, he called me while I was driving back.”
“Guy was being an asshole.”
Brody cursed. “Glad the kid didn’t do it. That’s not an easy drop.”
I nodded. “I know. The kid didn’t want you thinking he couldn’t handle things, but he also knew he shouldn’t do a dangerous job. Which, frankly, puts him ahead of about half the grown men I’ve worked with.”
“I’ll talk to him about it. I don’t want someone on my crew to think they can’t talk to me.” He glanced back toward Ben, watching him for a moment with a thoughtful look that didn’t match the usual grumpy-bear vibe. “Kid’s solid. Just green.”
I nodded.
“How did you end up here?”
I looked down at my work boots, kicking at the dry dirt. “He called his mom for advice and…I was with her.”
