“Um.” I squat down beside him. “Are you playing with me?”
He smirks. “Not playing with you. It’s going to be easier to take the tire off if we remove the lug nuts.”
“Wait a second.” I get back up and move away from him. “Is this when you tell me to go and look in the trunk for it, and then you hit me over the head and murder me?”
He stands. “I’ll get it, and you can watch me.”
“That doesn’t make it better,” I retort as he walks to my trunk. “You could use it to knock me out.”
“Let me guess,” he leans into the trunk and comes out with the tool in his hand, “you watch murder mysteries.”
“I’m neither confirming nor denying that. But I will say I’m probably seven steps ahead of you if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“I’m going to take that as a yes then.” The musk of his aftershave floats past as he walks by me and kneels down again next to the tire. I make my way back to his side gingerly, squatting down beside him, and only when he finishes loosening the lug nuts do I speak.
“I’m Collins,” I finally tell him.
He looks over at me. “It’s nice to meet you, Collins.” He uses his jeans to dust off his hand before putting it out to me, and this time I shake it, not knowing this handshake will change my life.
CHAPTER ONE
THEO
NINE WEEKS LATER
I tap the steering wheel to the beat of the music coming out of the radio, my mind on autopilot as I make my way over to the office. I pull up and see my cousin Caleb’s truck is here already. I park behind him, leaning over to the passenger seat and grabbing the box of donuts from Ms. Maddie—the best donuts in town.
As soon as I get out of the truck, my ears fill with birds chirping and a lawn mower rumbling in the distance. The smell of freshly cut grass lingers in the air. The sun already shining down from the cloudless sky is another sign it’s going to be a nice day. I can’t help but grin.
I walk up the concrete path to the front of the building, climbing up the steps that lead to the big black-bordered door with the CW Construction logo shining in gold on the frosted glass in the middle, the phone number under it. I came to Montgavin to help Caleb finish a few jobs since he was getting more contracts than he knew what to do with. I planned to go back home, but the jobs kept coming in, so many that I stayed in town. At first, I would stay at the local motel, but then I got sick of eating out, so I started renting an apartment, so it could be more like home. When Caleb moved in with his girlfriend, Sierra, I moved into his house and just paid him the rent, so I could at least unpack my bag. Finally, I caved and decided to officially live here. When I admitted as much to Caleb, he made me his business partner. He would not take no for an answer, but we agreed I would be a silent partner.
When I turn the brass handle of the door, the chimes sound from the bell on top of it. I look to the right, where we converted the living room into the reception area. It’s now our business manager Mikaela’s office. She appointed herself with that title, which is just another way to say she’s our receptionist, secretary, and accounts payable and receivable assistant. Caleb would have agreed to any title she wanted to give herself because we know that without her, we can’t run this business. Her desk sits empty, but her footsteps approach from the back kitchen, and she appears with a coffee cup in her hand.
“Good morning, sunshine.” I hold up the donut box in my hand. “I come bearing gifts.”
“Is that so?” She tilts her head to the side, and the bun on top of her head flops. “That’s what you bring me after being gone a full month?”
“These are special donuts,” I walk to her desk and put them in the middle of it, “because they are all yours. You don’t have to share with anyone.”
She huffs out as she walks around me and behind her desk, putting her coffee down on her coffee warmer and then sitting in her chair. “Is this to pay me back for fielding all of your calls this month?”
“Yes.” I move back to sit in one of the chairs that are set up in front of her desk. “I’m sorry that I left you scrambling.”
“That’s putting it lightly.” She snorts.
My cousin, Caleb, emerges from one of the bedrooms he converted into offices.
“Holy—” he blurts, stopping in his tracks when he sees me. “I was not expecting you until next week.”
“Work got done faster than we thought.” For the past month, I’ve been helping my sister, three states away. Her house flooded, and she was eight months pregnant. I just couldn’t let her move into a rental or bring the new baby to that house. “It was all-hands-on-deck. Your father sent out two shifts to make sure it got done. Anyway, I’m here for the morning meeting.” I smile at him and then turn to Mikaela. “What’s going on?”
“So, does that mean you’re back now?” She picks up her coffee cup and takes a sip.
“That means I’m back, baby,” I joke as she rolls her eyes. “Where do you want me to go?” I look over my shoulder to the great room, where there is a round table with four chairs. It’s where she takes meetings with new clients to get an idea of what they need before sending in Caleb to give them a quote. I get up from my chair and walk over to the three whiteboards lined up next to each other. One has all the jobs we are working on now, with each crew at each site. The second one has the next jobs coming up, and the third is the waiting list. My eyes scan the list, and I see it’s doubled since I’ve been gone.
“I’m going to go and get started at the barn,” Caleb says. Mustang Creek Ranch has been around for about ten years, and they have tripled in size since opening. They run one of the best equestrian therapy farms in the area, and the property they just bought to expand has a red barn that needs to be demolished and rebuilt. We’ve been working on it for a couple of months and finally got a new roof on it. “We’ll catch up tonight.”
I nod as he heads out and then look over at Mikaela. “So where do you want me to go?”
