Page 1
Chapter 1
Knox
Ihaul the bags out of the back of my pickup and stifle a yawn. I get up at five o'clock in the morning Monday through Friday, but I sleep in on the weekends, so an early Saturday is not my idea of a good time.
I'm not an early bird and I have no interest in catching the worm. Breakfast should be an all-day option as far as I'm concerned, so the early mornings were a real point in the “con” column when I found myself getting into a career in construction.
But I've adapted and I'm always on time, which is fifteen minutes early if you follow my grandpa's rules, and I do. The job and my workday start bright and early, but part of that deal is that I get to sleep in on the freaking weekends.
Except today.
The DP Construction crew is helping with the annual Duhring Park Fall Festival, and I have been volun-told to help set up. My boss Jameson is fair and I get paid well, so I am doing what I can to make it clear I am a team player. Even if it means sacrificing my morning.
"Hey, Knox." My co-worker Emmett's voice greets me as I walk to the main tent. I nod in response.
"Shit, you look as thrilled to be here as Max," Hayes says, elbowing Max in the ribs, and the latter swats at him in irritation. I've never seen Max anything but friendly and chipper, so it's good to know I'm not the only one who struggles with mornings on the weekends.
Max glares at Hayes who grins back at him. The original four guys on the crew grew up together, so it's a real family feel at work, which suits me.
"Glad you could join us, Knox," Max grumbles.
I look pointedly at my watch and then around at the group. Emmett rolls his eyes and Hayes grins. Jameson crosses his arms.
"He's early, Max," Jameson grumbles, taking a sip from his steaming travel mug. Jameson is the owner of DP Construction. He gave me the job based on a recommendation from my aunt, and I am incredibly grateful. I think I've finally found a place where I'd like to stay put.
I'm a hard worker, but I like variety. I moved here ahead of my twin brother, Ryder, who is going to start up at DP in January. Jameson would love to hire him now, but Ryder has to finish out a large commercial contract first. In the meantime, I found us a rental in a cabin up the mountain. It's tiny and cheap, and it will allow us both to save up.
Emmett hooks his thumb towards Max and smiles at me apologetically. "This guy managed to show up thirty minutes early for the first time in his life, and he's been acting like the rest of us are late."
"That's because some asshole told me we had to be here an hour before I needed to be." He glares at Jameson who shrugs.
"And you were only half an hour early. You do the math."
Only these guys could make the morning better. I glance at Jameson, who winks at me and I hide a grin. He comes across as a hard ass, but I think he might actually have a heart of gold. And, because I have every intention of keeping this job, I plan to thoroughly impress my boss with how much energy I put into today. Especially since his lovely wife, Naomi, is best friends with Violet, who organizes the entire festival. At the same time, man, I would love to crawl back into bed right about now.
Archer claps me on the back as I stifle another yawn. "We'll try to get you an easy job today, Knox."
Archer joined the crew last fall, so he didn't grow up with the rest of the guys, but he's been around awhile. He's tried to get me to go fishing with him on the weekends, but fishing equals early mornings, so we meet up at McGurdy's bar on Sunday afternoons to watch a game instead.
"No worries, I'm good. Put me where you need me," I say with a grin.
"We love to hear that, Knoxy." The voice of my Great Aunt Betty has me grinning wider, although she prefers that I leave the "great" part out. She says it makes her feel like she's got one foot in the grave.
"Morning, Auntie," I say, giving her soft cheek a kiss.
Betty is my mom's aunt but is only ten years her senior. My grandma Deb and Betty are also ten years apart, so Betty was more like a big sister to my mom growing up. She says Betty always had the tiniest bikinis and the dirtiest jokes. I've never seen her swim, but the second part still holds true. She's kind of an unofficial town mayor and knows everyone. She's the reason I decided to come to Duhring Park.
Aunt Betty pats my shoulder and greets the others, but I step back, assessing her warily. There's something about her smile that has me nervous.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" I ask her and then glance over at Max, who suddenly has an equally large grin on his face. Emmett also appears to be trying to hide a smirk. When my eyes dart to Jameson, he grimaces and shrugs.
"Sorry about this, Knox, but you know your aunt."
I whip my head back to Betty who is holding out a t-shirt to me. I take it cautiously and unroll it. The DP Construction logo is emblazoned on the front, but it doesn't look quite right.
My eyes are still a little bleary from lack of sleep, if I'm being honest, but are those... dicks?
"Uh, Aunt Betty." I squint, making sure I'm seeing it right. In place of walls in the house logo are two enormous cocks sticking straight up. The tagline under her version says, erecting your fantasies one stud at a time.
