Grind (Powertools The Original Crew Returns #3)- Jayne Rylon Page 0,1

the mountaintop.

Kayla concentrated on filling her lungs again without choking, then separated herself from Dave, pushing to her feet. She wiped her shaking palms on her jeans and said, “I don’t know how, but I’ll find a way to bring it back. To put it right. To make it again like it was before.”

“Kayla, we’re in this together,” Dave reminded her, standing too and resting his hands on her shoulders, squeezing lightly.

“Whatever you need, we’re here for you,” Devon echoed. Neil and James nodded their agreement.

While their immediate and steadfast support should have reassured her, instead it only caused some of her uneasiness to creep back in like the insidious smoke that wafted all around, filling every breath with a reminder of what had happened, and the hurdles she was going to face. “That’s what I’m afraid of. I don’t want to drag you all with me on some impossible mission when you have opportunities to do more, make something new for yourselves instead.”

For nearly two decades, the Powertools construction crew—made up of Dave, Devon, James, Neil, and two of their best friends, Joe and Mike—had worked together day in and day out, building their own business from the ground up. Recently, Joe had taken a chance a few states away to help his cousin expand Hot Rods, the guy’s classic car restoration garage, and the living quarters for its mechanics. They also happened to be in a poly relationship not so different from the one Kayla and Dave shared with the crew.

One thing had led to another, and soon their foreman, Mike, had also been approached with a new business opportunity, overseeing the construction of a tattoo shop and tourism destination that could become the Midwestern version of Gatlinburg if he played his cards right. Each member of the crew could step up and run their own crew if they wanted, expanding their empire and transitioning into work that paid better without taxing their bodies as much as they got older. There was enough work, and they were skilled as hell.

Would it be selfish of her to take four of their team members and keep them for herself?

Dave was first to cut her off and keep her from going farther down that road paved with guilt and self-doubt. “Hey, you remember after my accident, I felt the same way? Like I was a burden or some shit? And what did you tell me over and over?”

He used his grip on her shoulders and turned her so that she had to look at him instead of the embers, which used to be her vision come to life. A place where they and others had been so damn happy. But it hadn’t always been that way.

Kayla thought back to the dark times Dave was talking about, which seemed much less scary now that they’d passed and she and Dave had put their troubles years behind them. “That if you gave up I’d never forgive you.”

“Right. And what else?”

“That you could get back what you’d lost, even if it didn’t look quite the same. That we would work on it together and get a little stronger every day. That life would be worth living again.” Kayla got a little annoyed at herself even as she said it, because she remembered how scared she’d been then for him and worried she might be making him equally as afraid now.

She didn’t do self-pity. At least not usually.

“Exactly.” Dave drew her into his arms and surrounded her in a warm embrace. “And that’s what we’re going to do. You and me and…”

He trailed off then, peeking over her head at Devon, James, and Neil. Just because they’d always been best friends didn’t mean that she expected them to sacrifice their careers and their futures for her dream. Not even Dave could, or should, make them promise more than they were willing to give on their own.

This, Bare Natural, had been the only thing holding Dave, Kayla, and the rest of the crew in their hometown. With the developments cropping up in Middletown, maybe they would see this as an omen, the push they needed to make a permanent change.

Kayla wouldn’t blame them one bit if they decided this was where their paths diverged.

Devon stepped forward then ducked under Dave’s arm, so he was hugging them both. Devon might be petite, but she was fierce and determined as hell. Whatever she committed to, her guys would go along with it. Hell, more like they’d likely feel