one
. . .
Cutler
“Damn, business is booming.”I took a long pull from my beer and leaned my elbows on the counter of Four Clovers. The wood was warm from the afternoon sun, and the salty breeze drifting in from the bay carried the smell of grilled shrimp and fried cheese. From where I sat at the bar at the far end of the property, I had a clear view of the whole container park: the wide grassy courtyard in the center, dark wood picnic tables scattered across it, and the ring of food trailers circling like a bright, colorful horseshoe. Laughter and the hum of conversation rolled across the space, blending with the low thump of country music coming through the speakers.
“Summer has arrived, boys, along with all the tourists.” Brody leaned over the bar and waggled his brows.
He owned the Down by the Bay Container Park—this whole open-air setup of trailers, turf, and string lights that had somehow become the town’s hottest hangout, especially on warm nights like this when the air buzzed with heat and everyone seemed a little more laid back. He owned the bar, Four Clovers, where me and my boys met up weekly.
“Well, let me tell you what else has arrived with summer,” Phoenix grumped. “All the damn teenagers who don’t know how to handle their booze while they party down by the beach. These assholes don’t have the decency to put out the damn bonfires that they start. We’ve gotten a call at the firehouse every fucking night this week.”
Brody laughed as he looked at his brother. “Dude, do you not remember doing that exact same thing when we were dumb-ass teenagers?”
“No. I never fucked around with fire, hence the reason I’m a fucking firefighter now.”
“It’ll calm down in a little bit,” I said, clapping him on the shoulder. “It’s the beginning of summer break, so they just got out of school. I found a bunch of teens partying behind that property I’m working on for my family.”
“Yeah, I heard you scared the shit out of them,” Brody said with a laugh.
I shrugged. “I had a little fun with one of the cocky little shits who tried to tell me that his father owned that land, which was obviously not true, seeing as my family owns it.”
“Good. Those fuckers need to learn some respect,” Phoenix hissed before rubbing his face. “I swear this town is growing too damn fast. I don’t like it.”
Phoenix and Brody grew up here, and we actually met when I was a kid living back in Magnolia Falls. My dad loved to bring me out to Blue Sky Lake, as they had the best hikes around, and it wasn’t too far from home. And then I’d decided to go to college not far from here, and we’d been friends for a long time now.
“Stop complaining. It’s good for business.” Brody held his fist up for me, and I gave him a pound. He was right. ROD Construction was booming, and I had more jobs than I could handle at the moment.
“I agree,” I chuckled. “And at least it’s not boring at the firehouse right now.”
Phoenix rolled his eyes. He was a grumpy fucker, but I loved the dude.
“So, you leave tomorrow for Paris, right?” he asked, knowing I was relieved as hell that Gracie had finally agreed to let me go help her pack up and get her ass back home. She’d come live with me and work here for a few months until she took her new job back in New York.
Gracie Reynolds was my best friend. I’d even go as far as to say that she was my better half, because I didn’t really do serious relationships, so she was my girl.
Always has been.
Gracie and I met when we were young, and we’d grown up together. We shared secrets and inside jokes that no one else understood and spent many summers together with our families. She was the person I counted on the most to tell me the truth, even when I didn’t want to hear it. And she was the only person who could drag me out of my own head when life got messy. We’d never dated, never crossed that line—but she was hands down my person.
My girl.
“Yep. I leave in the morning. I’m glad she finally decided to call it done there. I hated that fucker, and I’m glad she kicked his ass to the curb.”
I’d hated Gabriel, the guy she’d moved to Paris with, from the first time I’d met him. He oozed arrogance, and I never felt like Gracie was herself around him.
“Gee, we couldn’t tell you hated the guy at all,” Brody said with a laugh. “Have you ever noticed that you don’t like anyone she’s dating?”
“Listen. She deserves the fucking moon. That dude was an arrogant asshole. I don’t know what she was doing with him.”I took the last pull from my beer and set the bottle down. “But I’m glad she finally agreed to come here and stay with me. She doesn’t make it fucking easy to help her.”
I was looking forward to having my girl back in the same country and on the same time zone. And the fact that she’d be staying with me meant we’d have a lot of time together, which I was looking forward to.
I’d missed her.
“She’s always been independent, and she’s got her pride. You’ve got to let her figure things out on her own sometimes.” Phoenix shrugged. “You can be a bit of a bull in a china shop when it comes to Gracie.”
He wasn’t wrong.
