Drilled - Jayne Rylon Page 0,31
with Nathan, Klea, and the rest of the kids?” Landry asked.
“Of course.” Mike stroked his hair, loving that for a little while longer he leaned into the touch instead of dodging it. “Just don’t go too far into the woods and make sure you eat something decent before you dig into the desserts, okay?”
“I’ll watch him, Dad.” Abby looked over her shoulder, already angling toward Nathan, where he held his puppy, who was sporting a navy blue bowtie, on a leash. “Come on, Landry.”
“Thanks, Abby.” Mike wished he could hug her, but she was officially past the stage for public affection.
Kate had gone off to assist Morgan with last-minute details and who knew what else, so Mike wandered over to Joe, who stood by Eli, Uncle Tom, and a couple of the Hot Rods and Hot Rides guys. One by one the rest of the crew trickled over too, expanding the circle of friends more and more. They’d been shooting the shit for a while when Kason ambled in their direction, his arm slung around some guy’s shoulder. He should be careful or his husband and wife—Wren and Jordan—were going to get jealous. Kason was the lead singer of the country band that Kyra played drums for. Both Kyra’s new husband, Van, and Kason’s husband, Jordan, managed security for the group when they were on tour. At least when Jordan wasn’t also working on “security” matters for other private businesses and gray areas of the government.
Mike didn’t know all the details, and sure as hell was smarter than to ask.
Kason, however, knew everyone. Or at least lots of people with more money than Mike would ever dream of making in his lifetime. So when he steered this guest right between Mike and Joe, it was pretty obvious it wasn’t for a casual introduction to a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend.
“These are the guys I was telling you about,” Kason said to his buddy before lifting his chin in Mike’s direction. “This is Mike, the foreman of the Powertools crew, and Joe, who’s heading up the renovations and new build at Hot Rods that you were drooling over. Guys, this is Giovanni, a buddy of mine who’s retiring from the entertainment business with a whole lot of capital and some ideas for something to keep him busy in his old age.”
“It’s a pleasure. Nice to meet people who actually work for a living instead of standing on a stage and collecting panties and briefs, like this asshole.” The guy laughed and then stuck out his hand. “And if it doesn’t make me as bad as him, talking about work at a party like this, I’d love to hear what you think of my plans and see if maybe you think a crew like yours could pull them off.”
Mike looked at Joe and raised a brow while Dave nudged him in the ribs. He wasn’t going to assume the lead, not here, not when Joe was establishing himself in a new role, and not when he’d been trying to tell his best friend that chances like this were right under their noses here in Middletown.
Joe shrugged one shoulder. “I’m always interested in big ideas and helping bring them to life.”
Mike tried not to break out into a shit-eating grin as Dave threw in a good word for his buddy too. It was then he realized that no matter what it meant for each of them personally, they wanted the best for each other. And even the others could see, this had the potential to be a big deal for Joe.
But what about the rest of them? Could it work for them too?
“I’m thinking of building something kind of outrageous. I mean, I might be leaving show business, but it’ll never leave my blood.” He crossed his arms. “A tattoo shop. Not the hole-in-the-wall kind. The sort we see out in L.A. A destination studio. Middletown is big enough, plus with all the resorts around, who wouldn’t want to book a spot and stay for a weekend getaway? Plus, well, I’m hoping to lure my daughter—who’s a pretty popular artist—out here to the middle of fucking nowhere, as she likes to call it, with me. So the flashier the better, you know?”
“Joe did the designs for Hot Rods himself. He’s focusing on our living quarters first since my wife is pregnant, but you should see what he has drawn up for a garage upgrade and retail space addition.” Eli clapped Joe on the shoulder, and Mike could