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CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

brOOKS

I pushed the safety glasses against my face as I cut through another piece of wood.

The smell of sawdust filled my nose as the early morning sun beat down on my back.

I wasn’t supposed to be working on the house, thanks to her ex causing a hissy fit and making bogus claims about the permits, but I wasn’t going to let some rich assholes stop me.

Harlow wanted her house back. She deserved it, and she was going to get it.

I wiped the sweat off my brow and stepped back. Finn’s beat-up old truck rolled to a stop in the driveway. He climbed out and slammed the door with his boot. “Why the hell am I still doing manual labor in my thirties?”

I flipped my glasses to rest on the brim of my hat and started to help him unload the shrubs from the truck bed. “You’re the boss now. Don’t you have a crew who can deliver for you?”

“Yeah, but seeing that the work permits were tangled up in red tape, I didn’t want to get my guys involved.”

I set the arborvitae down next to the fence. “I appreciate it, man. I’m sorry to drag you out so early.”

He pulled a brown tarp back over a few bags of mulch. “Molly told me that her dad tried to sink the deal.”

Of course she did. Those two told each other everything.

I wiped a bead of sweat off my forehead. “Yeah, that was one hell of a meeting.”

He leaned against the truck and kicked a rock down the driveway. “So, what’s the deal with you two? Are you still playing house, or is it something else now?”

I walked over and leaned on the tailgate. “We crossed that line a long time ago. This is as real as it gets.”

“That’s what I figured.” He took a sip from his travel mug, looking amused. ”I also heard you were moving up the wedding date.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Yeah, no sense in dragging it out. We have too much riding on this.”

Finn folded his arms and watched me carefully. “Molly said she plans to put down some roots and start a business here.”

“She is.”I couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across my face thinking about it.

He nodded, but I could tell he still had concerns. “I hope for your sake she doesn’t screw it up this time.”

“She’s trying, Finn. We both are,” I said, adjusting my cap to block the sun from my eyes. “It feels different this time.”

He shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m rooting for you two.”

I laughed because I knew how hard that was for him to admit. “Thanks, man.”

He clapped me on the back. “Just don’t ask me to hand deliver anymore shrubs. My ass is getting too old for this.”

“Hey,” I called out as he approached his truck. “Do you wanna grab a beer after work later?”

“You buying?”

“Yeah, I think you earned it today.”

He opened the driver’s side door and grinned. “I’ll meet you at the pub at five thirty.”

The stones bounced off the metal of his truck as he peeled out of the driveway.

I understood where his concern was coming from, but it was a relief that he was finally coming around. Not just for me but for Harlow, too.

I turned around to face the house and exhaled. Harlow didn’t know that I had ordered the shrubs. They were a little something extra to help make this house feel more like a home again.

I went back to work feeling lighter than I had in a long time. My life finally felt like it was headed in the right direction for a change. Maybe Harlow and I would get it right this time, after all.

It was a Wednesday night, so thankfully, the pub wasn’t too busy. Finn and I found Tuck and Hayes in their usual spot at a high-top by the window, they each had a cold beer in their hands.

“How’s it going, loverboy?” Hayes called out and slid a stool my way. “What took you guys so long?”

“I had to stop at the hardware store and pick up a couple bags of sand. The soil in front of Harlow’s front porch wasn’t very well drained.”

“Tell me again why you are working without an active permit and risking getting fined by the town?” Tuck asked as I slid onto my seat.

I picked up a cold beer from the bucket. “Because she wants it done, and I’m not letting that asshole slow us down.”

Finn wiped off some of the condensation from his beer. “Molly has been making some calls, trying to find a loophole around the permits.”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “I hope she does. This bullshit is the last thing Harlow needs right now.”

My brothers leaned back in their chairs, staring at me in a way that made my skin itch. “What?”

“You guys really are fucking, aren’t you?” Hayes asked without a hint of teasing in his tone.

“You better shut your mouth,” I snapped.

Hayes’ jaw dropped. “Holy shit. You totally are. I mean, I assumed when I stopped by and she was only wearing your shirt, but…”

The vein in my forehead pulsed. “Hayes, I’m warning you. I don’t want to fight you, but if you don’t shut your mouth, I will kick your ass from here to Schenectady.”

He snapped his mouth shut. Smart man.

Tuck leaned forward. “Are you going to tell us what’s going on with you two, or are we supposed to keep guessing?”

“We are trying to work things out,” I admitted, rolling my beer bottle between my palms.

“What does that mean, exactly?” Hayes asked carefully.

Finn threw an arm around my shoulder and grinned like a goof. “They cleared the air and talked about their feelings.”

“And then you fucked?” Hayes asked. I pinned him with a glare while Tuck kicked him in the shin.

“And you wonder why I never call and invite you to do anything,”I muttered. Sometimes it seemed like my little brother was a twelve-year-old kid trapped in a grown man’s body. Either that or he was just a weirdo.

“Wait a minute.” Tuck’s gaze alternated between Finn and me. It was sharp and assessing. I called it his cop stare. “He knew before us?”

Hayes let out a dramatic gasp. “Dude, we are your flesh and blood. How could you?”

“Okay, first of all, he only found out today when he dropped the shrubs off. He figured it out just like you two geniuses.”

Tuck leaned forward, resting his hands on his legs. “I knew it.”

Hayes slapped me on the back. “She’s always been it for you, man. If you’re happy, then we’re happy.”

I kicked my legs out. “Yeah, but it’s not just about how I feel.

There is still so much we have to figure out.

It feels like everything is moving a million miles a minute.

It would be nice if we could take some time to breathe a little, work on all the things we needed, but time isn’t on our side.

The wedding has to happen in order for her to obtain the title for the house, and I want Marty to be healthy enough to see us get married. ”

“Sounds like you are overthinking it,” Hayes said, shifting his weight. “She makes you happy. Focus on that.”

I ran my thumb over the neck of my bottle. “I am happy, Ionly wish we didn’t have the pressure of the wedding hanging over our heads.”

A part of me thought we should wait. Give us some time to adjust and iron out all the wrinkles, but the other part knew time wasn’t on our side.

Tuck leaned back in his chair. “I understand this feels rushed, but you’ve loved her forever, even when you pretended you didn’t. I’m starting to think you’re more afraid of it working out than not working.”

I shot him a look. “You think so, huh?”

He scratched the side of his cheek. “I don’t think, I know. You don’t want to ruin something that’s starting to feel real again.”

I chuckled. “Since when did you become so poetic?”

He shrugged. “I might have read a few of Mom’s romance books that she kept hidden in the bathroom when I was on the toilet.”

I shook my head while they all chuckled.

My back was facing the door, but when Finn glanced over my shoulder, I noticed his grin fade from his mouth.

“Ah, fuck.”

I turned around to see who walked in, and there he was. Mr. Trust Fund Snob himself. He looked like he just stepped off the golf course in his yellow polo and khaki pants.

My fingers tightened around my beer. He should have been long gone by now, but I guess he was still poking around.

He made a beeline straight to the bar. “I’d like a Macallan, neat.”

Ryan glanced at me and back at him. “Sorry, we’re all out.”

I coughed into my hand to cover my laugh.

He pulled out his wallet and took out a hundred-dollar bill. “Then I’ll have whatever top-shelf whiskey you have.”

“Sorry,” Ryan said, polishing off a glass. “I’m not serving you.”

Baz slapped his hand on the counter. “Why the hell not?”

A few heads turned. He was drawing attention.

Ryan smirked. “Because I don’t serve assholes.”

The beer I’d been drinking came spraying from my nose and mouth. Finn ducked his chin into his shirt to quiet his laugh while my brothers sat silently watching.

“You can’t refuse me service,”he snapped, acting as if his rights were somehow being violated.

Ryan seemed unfazed as he turned to stack the glasses. “I can and I just did.”

Baz straightened his shoulders, like he was gearing up to protest. “I want to speak to the manager.”

Ryan threw a white dish towel over his shoulder. “You’re looking at him.”

Finn laughed into his beer.

“I have every right to be here.”

Ryan leaned across the counter. His eyes met mine briefly. “No, you don’t. You’ve been sniffing your dirty nose around town, stirring up trouble.”

As if he could sense me, Baz turned and locked eyes with mine. “Really?” he snapped.

I stood up slowly and calmly, even though every muscle in my body was pulled tight. “This is the type of service you get once you start pissing people off. No one wants you here.”

“I’m a paying customer. I want a fucking drink!”

“You heard the man, he said no.” I shook my head, stepping closer. Finn and my brothers were right at my back. “No one in this town is impressed with you or your money.”

“What the fuck do you know about money? You hit nails for a living.”

I smirked. “That’s not the only thing I’m hittin’ lately.”