Drilled - Jayne Rylon Page 0,4

a strangled groan that made Mike sure he’d thought that was a possibility earlier in the day.

“Look. Maybe I can come out there for the weekend. Go over your plans and help you do a safety review with everyone. Would that help?”

“I don’t know if it would improve my skills magically, but it would make me feel better. To know I’m not missing something simple that’s going to get one of these guys maimed at least.” Joe sighed. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, of course. I want to come. We were all heading that way in a week anyway for Kyra, Ollie, and Van’s party. Maybe I’ll just stay. Let me talk to Kate about it and make sure she’s okay by herself with the kids for a few days and then I’ll call you right back.”

“See. Even now you’re covering my ass.” Joe shook his head, but the glimmer of relief in his tone was reward enough.

“I do enjoy doing that from time to time.” Mike figured if dirty jokes didn’t make Joe loosen up, nothing would.

Fortunately, his friend gave a halfhearted chuckle. “Come out here, save it, and you can do whatever you want with it. Deal?”

“You know I’d do this no matter what. Just because you fucking left us doesn’t mean I don’t care anymore.” Mike hadn’t meant to sound so bitter, but maybe part of him had been stung and even a tad jealous. The Hot Rods project was a big deal. Hell, with their reality show, it would probably land Joe a million new jobs that could keep him in Middletown for the next decade instead of only the summer. For a split second, Mike wondered if he should convince Joe to come home instead of helping, but no, that was selfish and he was a dick to even think it.

Joe groaned. “I’m an idiot, I know. Thanks for standing by me anyway, Mike.”

“Always. I’ll call you in a little bit. Go check on your crewman, and try to cut yourself a break.”

“I will if next time you have some problem like this, you lean on me too. You shouldn’t have to shoulder this shit by yourself. I’m sorry I was too ignorant to realize you’ve been doing it all this time. Or to take advantage of handing the stress off to you. Your job sucks, you know that?”

“Only sometimes.” Mike felt something in his chest ease. “But I’ll take you up on that. Thanks. Talk to you soon.”

3

Mike was glad to see the kids had gone to their rooms when he wandered back into the kitchen. Kate, however, was cleaning with a ferociousness that could only mean she was trying to alleviate some of her tension. He could think of better ways to do that for her.

He crossed to her, took the washcloth from her hand, and set it aside before gathering her into his arms. She smelled like sunshine and summer, just like she had the first day he’d rescued her from falling off a roof. Not so different from what Joe had wanted to do for his crewman earlier.

“It’s going to be okay.” Mike hugged her.

“Promise?”

“Yeah. A worker fell from the second story.”

“Shit.” Kate looked up at him with wide, worried eyes. The fear of heights had never quite left her after her near miss.

“He’ll be all right. Busted his leg but got off pretty lucky, to be honest.”

“What about Joe?” she asked, still not relieved. The bond between the Powertools crew ran deeper than the professional connection between the construction workers. They were a unit, had been for damn near twenty years now.

“His ego might be more shattered than that other guy’s leg.” Mike stroked his fingers through her hair until she melted against him. “Would it be okay with you if I went out there this weekend? Maybe for a few days, or even until you guys come out for the wedding stuff? To double check him on his plans and his procedures so he feels more comfortable?”

Kate hesitated, which actually surprised him. She was always the first to offer to help someone out. Of course, he hadn’t forgotten about her acting a bit weird earlier either.

“If not, that’s okay. I’ll figure out another way.” Mike started imagining how they might do things over video conference and screen share, although he understood that Joe needed someone to hold his hand more than he needed any of that other shit. He was a solid construction worker and had decades of experience.

It was only