Mine to Keep (NOLA Knights #3) - Rhenna Morgan Page 0,103
the only emotion she could drum up was peace. As if the house was nothing more than a symbol of the past she’d finally accepted and had chosen to release.
Two men she didn’t recognize filed out of the front door that’d been propped open, both of them hefting big boxes and headed for the U-Haul. Despite the January winds whipping around the place and making the mid-sixties late afternoon feel more like mid-fifties, they were both in T-shirts and long gym shorts and looked like they could lift pretty much anything they needed to.
Kevin showed a few seconds after them dressed nearly the same, a lamp in one hand and a good chunk of hanging clothes gripped in the other. He noted her watching as soon as he reached the U-Haul and jerked his chin up in greeting. “Hey, Bonnie. Thanks for coming.”
God, he sounded and acted so much different these days. Lighter. Less angry and urgent. As if the near year since their father had died had slowly lifted an ugly veil off him.
He handed off his burden to one of the two guys stacking stuff in the trailer and ambled across the street, an easy, contented smile on his face. “You finish up the paperwork?”
“Yeah, I got it.” She pulled the thick stack of legalese out of her hobo bag and handed it over. “You sure you want to do it this way? You could always list it and sell it to a family.”
He took the document signing over the property to a real estate company intent on revamping the whole area and shook his head. “Nah.” He turned and studied the house, a calm albeit sad certainty entering his voice. “It needs to be torn down. This whole damned place needs a fresh start.”
A fresh start.
Like the one she’d been given.
Like the one Kevin was working his way through.
They stood in silence, Kevin taking in every detail while Bonnie marveled at the difference in her brother. The torture he’d suffered from Rossi’s goons had done a lot to knock loose all the stubborn, stupid ideas he’d grown up with. The final blow had come when Roman had beaten out of Rossi that Jennette was, in fact, a loose end that had been permanently silenced.
Nothing like having two deaths on your hands to make you reevaluate and rebuild your life.
Bonnie dipped her head to the two guys heading in for another load. “Who are those guys?”
“I work with ’em. They started a few months before I did.”
Started meaning the construction job Roman had given him on one of his crews after Kevin had healed enough to move without thinking he was gonna die. “They newbies in the biz like you?”
“Oh, no. They had a lot of experience, but they helped me out.” He nodded to one of them when they reappeared with another load. “They’re good guys. Didn’t even want beer or pizza for helping me out.”
“Dude. That’s not good. That’s awesome.”
“Yeah,” he agreed with a chuckle. “My life’s got a lot of that lately.” A somberness crept onto his face. “I’ve got you and Roman to thank for that.”
“Oh, no. I’m not takin’ credit. Roman, yes. But not me.” She’d chosen to stay mostly on the sidelines and watch and wait. Better that than to risk witnessing her brother falling back into his old behaviors again.
But with Roman’s help, Kevin had come a helluva long way. He’d started at the very lowest rung of the construction business and was working his way up. Through every step of it, Roman had mentored him. Guided him the same way he did the other guys who’d not had a great start in life. Had kept him focused and reminded Kevin what his life could be like if he did things different this time.
“Come on,” Kevin said. “You and I both know he’d have never done this much for me if it hadn’t been for you.”
“Actually, you’d be surprised how many people he’s helped.” Her included. In the past eleven months, she’d spent countless hours apprenticing with Mr. Frannelly. Learning not just the craft of jewelry making and design, but helping him run his business which left Chana more time to volunteer at the synagogue. A total win-win for everyone. In between it all, she’d started the business program at Tulane and helped out at each of the André’s locations, making sure the bartenders stayed up to snuff and didn’t short customers on drinks.