glanced over, or attempted to, but it was like she could feel his stare. Every time, she turned her head to meet his gaze.
“I swear, I’m fine.” She squeezed his hand where their fingers were entwined.
“It’s okay if you’re not,” he told her again.
“No one’s expecting you to have it together right now,” James added from the front passenger’s seat. “If you can’t tell us when you’re struggling, who are you going to admit it to?”
“Okay, fair enough.” Kayla sighed. “I’m a hot mess. But I feel better heading out here. You were right. It’s better to go somewhere we can actually do something and be around the rest of the crew. Counting the seconds waiting for something to happen back home was driving me nuts.”
“Me too.” Devon peeked into the rearview mirror, taking her eyes off the road only long enough to flash them a grin.
“Morgan said she and Devra made us an awesome picnic lunch. Joe and Mike gave their imposter crew the afternoon off so we can goof around.” Neil did a fist pump from the other side of Kayla.
Dave snorted. “Don’t let the guys working on the Hot Rods expansion hear you call them the imposter crew.”
“Yeah, we need to get used to the fact that we’re not going to be Mike and Joe’s crew members anymore. We’ve been replaced by younger, studlier people.” James turned and stared out the window, not as amused as the rest of them.
Dave narrowed his eyes, hoping that wasn’t going to be an issue. He glanced over at Neil, who shrugged, but even he wasn’t as jovial as usual.
Life was messy lately, that was for sure.
Kayla seemed to sense the tension, too. She patted Neil’s knee and leaned her head on his shoulder. They rode in relative quiet the rest of the trip, the radio keeping them company as the miles rolled past.
But as soon as they pulled into the parking lot of the Hot Rods garage, everyone perked up. It would be impossible not to be excited when friends began streaming from the open bays, Tom and Ms. Brown’s cabin behind it, and the construction site where Mike and Joe were overseeing the expansion of the mechanics’ home base.
Dave squeezed himself out of the van, hopping a bit as his bad leg protested being cramped up for hours. Kayla slid beside him and wrapped her arm around his waist instinctively. He did the same to her, both of them stronger when they had each other to lean on.
Bryce was the first one to reach them, his dog Buster McHightops close behind. He was one of the few people who made Dave feel normal-sized instead of some overgrown hulk. Especially when he crouched down, wincing at the zing in his thigh in order to ruffle Buster’s ears. They’d once been as black as his owner’s hair but now were streaked through with gray. He could relate. “Hey, old man, how are you?”
“Don’t be insulting my husband like that,” teased Kaelyn, Bryce’s wife, as she joined them.
“Oof. Thanks a lot.” Bryce was laughing, though, when he turned and grabbed her around her middle, swinging her in circles and tickling her until she cracked up.
Behind Bryce and Kaelyn, a mini-Bryce emerged with a wriggly puppy in his arms. Buster was doing his best to live forever, but it was clear the family was having him train his legacy. “Hi, Mr. Dave! Have you met my puppy yet? Professor Puddinpop is brothers with Nathan’s puppy. Isn’t that cool?”
Dave’s heart gave a happy lurch at the mention of Joe’s son, who carried his DNA. He and Kayla had decided they loved spoiling their friends’ kids and sending them home more than having their own, but he wouldn’t lie—knowing he’d passed on a bit of himself to someone else had always given him a bit of a warm glow. Especially since he’d been able to help Joe and Morgan achieve their dream of being parents.
“Professor Puddinpop? Did your dad help you pick that out or does excellent taste in dog names run in the family?” Dave chuckled as he petted Jett’s very excited little pup too.
“He came up with that all on his own.” Kaelyn beamed at their son, then held her hand out to their daughter, who had an awful lot of her mom’s strength and determination for a kid who was only four or five.
“Mom says our next pet can be a cat and I get to pick its name.” Kinze held her