Grind (Powertools The Original Crew Returns #3)- Jayne Rylon Page 0,36

share it with me.”

“Thank you for giving me another chance.” Gavyn stood and crushed her in a hug that she returned with interest.

“I’m glad the universe gave us both this opportunity.” She stepped back and asked, “Do you have a pen?”

He blinked, then took one from the drawer of the side table. Kayla whipped out the paper that had been crumpled in her back pocket, signed it, and said, “I have to go send this to the insurance company and get this project rolling.”

“Tell me what you need. Anything, Kayla, and I’ll do it,” Gavyn promised her.

“I just need you to love me.” Her voice distorted as she told him the truth.

“I do. So very much.”

“I love you too, big brother.” Before they both could break down, she stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, then headed for the door. “Tell your wife and son I love them too. And that Dave and I will be coming over for dinner sometime very soon.”

“I will, and I can’t wait.” Gavyn was smiling wider than she’d seen in a while when she looked over her shoulder, waved, then started making her new dream a reality.

13

Dave walked beside Kayla as they climbed the stairs to Uncle Tom and Ms. Brown’s house beside the Hot Rods garage. He would stand by her side whenever she asked, and even if she didn’t. “You’re going to do fine. This is practically family, okay?”

“That makes it harder.” She squeezed his fingers where they were intertwined. “I don’t want them to say yes out of pity or some shit, you know?”

“They respect you too much to be anything but fair,” Dave reassured her as they knocked on the door.

Joe was already inside with his cousin Eli and Eli’s dad, Tom. It was crowded around the dining room table but Ms. Brown; Eli’s husband and wife, Sally and Alanso; and Joe’s wife, Morgan, were all waiting for them.

Ms. Brown and Tom greeted them with wide smiles and wider arms. Dave and Kayla took the empty seats on the other side of Joe then made small talk while Tom offered them some of the goodies Ms. Brown had baked earlier that day.

Dave knew better than to turn down one of her amazing chocolate-chip cookies. He’d already stuffed an entire one into his mouth when Tom asked Kayla, “So what is it you wanted to talk about?”

She peered over at Dave, who smiled encouragingly, or at least he hoped that was the vibe she got despite his lips being covered in gooey chocolate and crumbs. A soft laugh and a shake of her head broke her tension before she faced Tom directly and said, “I want to buy the land by the lake and develop it as the site for my new, expanded resort.”

“Ah, man.” Joe sighed. “Morgan and I were really looking forward to keeping that view all to ourselves, but it’s probably selfish of us to monopolize a spot as pretty as that.”

“You can say no.” Kayla meant it, but Dave also knew she’d gotten her heart set on her new vision. And truthfully, it made a hell of a lot of sense to capitalize on the potential of that tract of land.

“No way,” Morgan responded.

Joe agreed. “What you’re saying makes a lot of sense. And we’d gladly give you anything we have to set you up right. Besides…this is my dream too, to have the whole crew here with me. One I never imagined I could make come true. It’s worth having a few extra neighbors to win this big.”

“Does that mean…” Tom shushed his nephew so Kayla could explain.

“Yeah. After meeting with the insurance company, I’m ready to throw in the towel. Due to the way they had to fight the fire and scar the land to keep it from all falling into the lake in the valley, it’s not going to be possible to build there for a very long time.”

“I’m so sorry, sweetie.” Ms. Brown handed her another cookie.

Kayla picked at the chocolate but didn’t eat it. “Thanks. It’s hard to shake the sense that I’m giving up, in a way—”

“Nah,” Eli chimed in. As the owner of Hot Rods, he’d had to make plenty of his own difficult calls through the years. “You’re making a sound business decision. Plus, does this really mean that the entire crew would be moving to Middletown? For good?”

Kayla glanced at Joe and Morgan, who were nearly giddy, staring at each other with tears in their eyes as