Page 77 of My Three Hometown Hard Hats

Sienna nervously looks between me and my brother.

“Unless you want to see a live orgy, I suggest coming with me,” Grayson says, holding the door open for her.

“Grayson,” I shout at him. To which he just closes his eyes like he’s praying for patience.

“Fine,” Sienna mutters under her breath, making her way to the door.

As they move to my brother’s truck, I hear her mutter something about needing several drinks after being forced to be in a car with him.

I don’t know what the hell’s going on with them, but it’s sure entertaining to watch.

I’m breathless after a few dances with each of the guys. Brooks and I leave the dance floor hand in hand.

“You want some water?” he asks as I sit down at our table along the edge of the room.

“Yes, please.”

He presses a kiss to my forehead before moving toward the bar. I look around for my other two guys, finding them talking to Will Kingston in the corner of the room.

My attention is jolted to my other side when a man aggressively sits down in the empty chair beside me. Instinctually, I withdraw to the far side of my chair.

I haven’t been back in town long enough to pay too much attention to local politics, but I’m pretty sure this is the mayor, Kevin Sheridan.

He looks out at the people milling about, but his voice is a sneer when he speaks. And the words are directed right at me.

“Are you planning on staying in my town?”

His town? What the actual fuck?

When I don’t respond, he continues, “This is a wholesome small town that thrives on tourism. Anything that taints that pure small-town image will hurt this community.”

Where is he going with this?

“Your relationship with three men is certainly tainting our image.” He sneers the word “relationship” like what the four of us have together couldn’t possibly be that.

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

“That’s really none of your business,” I tell him.

He leans in closer, but this time I stand my ground, staying right where I am. “Oh, but it is. This ismytown now.”

“Oh, get off your high horse, Kevin,” an aged voice says.

Martha and Louise walk up to our table, glowering down at the middle-aged man beside me. I might have imagined it, but I swear he retreated into himself for half a second when he saw them.

Good, you dick.

“You’ve only lived in this town for a few years, and it most definitely is not yours,” Louise spits out at him. “For some unknown reason, you won the election, but that doesn’t mean you know anything about this town or the people who live in it.”

“Hadley grew up here and is more a part of this community than you’ll ever be,” Martha adds in. “She’s in love with three men. Who cares? If you do, then maybe the problem is you and this isn’t the town for you, sir.”

The way she says “sir” is so condescending, I want to give her a high five and a hug all at the same time.

He grumbles words that I frankly don’t care to decipher as he pushes away from the table and toward the exit.

“Thank you,” I tell the two older women. They are both town gossips for sure, but seeing their smiling faces daily was a big part of my childhood.

“Don’t mind a word that man says,” Martha says, rolling her eyes.