AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Nathan didn’t look much more impressed with me than Wes. “See that you do. You’re already going to be late.”
“And whose fault is—”
I opened the door and dragged Wes outside before he could finish his sentence and make the situation worse.
“Do you really have to wind him up like that?” I demanded as I stomped toward the pickup.
“He was overreacting,” Wes said, “so yeah. He needs to chill.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one he’ll cut loose.”
“C’mon, Beck, that’s not true.”
I huffed and threw the keys at him. “You’re his son, the one who’ll inherit Potter Landscaping when he retires fully. Me? I’m just the spare stepkid, as dependent on him for a job as anyone else in the company. He can fire me, Wes.”
I got into the truck, and after a pause, Wes joined me. As he started the engine, he glanced sidelong at me. “He’d never do that.”
“He might. You heard him. This bullshit is a bad look for the business.”
Wes scoffed. “Whatever, we prune bushes and lay sod. People don’t care if we fucked around in Vegas. They care that their yard looks great when we’re done.”
I shook my head. “It’s not always that simple.”
“It is,” he insisted. “And even if it’s not, do you really think I’d let him fire you? Over my dead body, man.” He held out a fist. “Bros first and forever, right?”
I reluctantly smiled and tapped knuckles with him. “Right.”
But inside, I wasn’t so sure. Nathan had been angry, and judging by his glares, most of that anger had been directed toward me.
CHAPTER4
WES
“Hell yes, I love big equipment!”
“Ah, that explains why you married Beck, then!” Luke, one of our longtime crew members, called out with a shit-eating grin on his face.
Beckett and I had just rolled up to the empty lot adjacent to Beaver Hole Park, a trailer attached to the back of our pickup to haul off brush and limbs. Our crew had already assembled, and a Bobcat and cherry picker were on site so we could begin moving dirt and removing trees to clear the way for a larger green space.
Luke’s joke was probably going to be the first of many, but Beckett and I had discussed how to handle the guys on the way here. I was a shit liar, and we both knew it, but so long as the idea of our marriage remained a big joke, it was unlikely anyone would suspect the truth. And there was nothing I was better at than trash talking with some friends.
“Aww, are you jealous, Luke?” I said with a mock pout. “Sorry, but I don’t know if lumberjack is really Beck’s type.” I looked to Beck. “What do you think?”
“Yeah, not really my type,” he agreed. “I’m not into beards.”
I resisted the urge to scratch at my stubble, wondering if I should have made time to shave this morning. Not that it mattered what Beck thought, because we’d already agreed that what happened in Vegas would stay there.
“I’m not a lumberjack,” Luke grumbled, crossing beefy arms over a broad chest. It was too hot for flannel, but come winter, he’d definitely be rocking the complete look that went with his bushy beard. “And I’m not interested in Beck.”
“Just my equipment,” Beck said, his dry humor hitting the mark as it always did.
The guys all busted up laughing, and Luke flipped us all off, face red.
We’d neatly diverted the topic from our marriage until fucking Colton piped up.
“This marriage thing isn’t true, right?” he asked, face scrunched with a look of disgust. “Andi said it was just a big joke, but it’s not really funny.”
Andi was my baby sister and his girlfriend, and pretty much the only reason he was still on this crew after more than one fuckup.
