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CHAPTER24
BECKETT
“Babe,I’m going to Taco Loco!” I called toward the back of the trailer as I opened the front door. “Be back in a few!”
Wes had been hunched over his laptop ever since we got home from work, and the man needed to take a break and eat. The town hall meeting about the parks projects the city was doing as part of their five-year strategic plan,Stop Granville Shrinkage, was coming up fast and we had promised Tucker we’d have plans ready for him to review a few days before that.
We were a little behind, given that we’d opted to spend most of last weekend in bed rather than doing our homework.
I stepped out the door and stopped short to see Andi standing in our driveaway. Colt’s decades-old tan pickup was in the driveway, the man himself behind the wheel.
She smiled tentatively. “Babe, huh?”
Heat flooded my face, and I knew with my stupid fair complexion, she’d see the blush, so I ducked my head, which probably did little to hide that I was embarrassed. “I was, uh, just trying it out.”
“It’s sweet,” she said.
I glanced up, uncertain. “Did you, uh, want a taco? I could pick up extra if you want to stay for dinner.”
“No,” she said quickly, and my heart sank. “Colt and I were just on the way to the grocery store, and I wanted to stop and apologize for my reaction the other night.” She bit her bottom lip. “I was caught off-guard.”
“Of course you were,” I said. “You don’t need to apologize. But will you come in so Wes can hear this too?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“Ask Colt in too,” I said. “He doesn’t need to sit in the truck.”
She hesitated a beat, then turned and waved Colt toward us. He opened the door and stepped out. “I don’t want to intrude…”
“Just come in, Colt. You’re part of this crew now.”
Only a small smile flickered across his face, but Andi lit up at the words, so I knew it was the right move.
“Okay, yeah,” he said. “Thanks.”
Andi and Colt followed me inside, and I excused myself to go fetch Wes. He had to get dressed so I made Andi and Colt some ice water to kill time.
“So, uh, work’s going good, huh?” Colt said, awkwardly breaking the silence.
“The park project is pretty much done,” I agreed. “Winter is coming on. Things will slow down a lot.”
He nodded, a little furrow forming between his brows. “This will be my first winter with the crew. Will, uh, there be enough work?”
I’d gathered from what Colt had said in the past that he needed the work. “There will be for you,” I said. “Logan will have to move on.”
“Oh.”
“We pick up work with snow removal, storm cleanup, and hanging Christmas lights. There’s always some tree trimming and removals to be done. It won’t be crazy busy, but we’ll keep you afloat.”
Colt took a sip of his ice water. “Okay, cool.”
Wes joined us. “Hey, I didn’t know we were throwing a party.”
Andi laughed nervously. “Surprise!”
“It is a surprise,” he said seriously. “You seemed pretty uncomfortable when you left the other night.”
She scoffed. “Well, yeah, I saw my brothers naked.”
