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“C’mon,” Ryder said with a snort. “Of course it’s fucking funny! They’re taking bros before ho’s to a whole new level! It’s an epic fucking prank.” He high-fived me. “You guys are legendary.”
“Gross,” Colton muttered loud enough that we heard him.
I opened my mouth to tell him where to stick it, but Beck clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention. “All right, you’ve all had your fun. We need to get to work.”
“And I call dibs on the Bobcat,” I said.
“Aw man, you always take the best jobs,” Luke complained.
“Just for that, you get to go for a ride in the bucket,” I said. “I’m sure trimming those trees from the top down under the heat of the sun will be a walk in the park, right? After all, you’re our lumberjack.”
Luke grumbled, but everyone knew he was the best man for the job, including him. He did the majority of our tree trimming and removal jobs. Not just anyone could hop in the bucket and safely go to town on an 80-foot bur oak tree.
“What about me?” Colt asked.
“You’re with me,” Beckett said. “Just because we’re starting on the park project doesn’t mean all our other work stops. I’ll be taking a crew out to cover our residential jobs.”
Colt pulled a face, no doubt wanting a turn at the bigger machinery—or at least at the more exciting project. “You mean mowing and weed-eating and boring-ass shit.”
Beckett’s face grew stern. “I mean our bread-and-butter as a company. Big projects may be more exciting, but they don’t keep us in regular paychecks.”
Colton turned to me. “Isn’t this your call to make?”
“Beck just made the call, so obviously not. Get your ass in gear unless you’d rather go home without pay.”
He winced. “Nah, man, I need to work. I was just making sure.”
Bullshit. He was a little weasel who was trying to put Beckett in an awkward position by turning to me for guidance.
We ran our crews pretty informally. While I technically had stepped into my dad’s shoes when he stopped leading the work crews, Beckett and I had always shared the responsibility and every one of these guys knew it.
Ryder stepped forward. “Where do you want me, Beck? I’ll mow the shit out of some yards for you.”
He was a good guy, showing his support for Beck so that Colt’s little stunt wouldn’t further undermine his authority.
Beckett nodded. “Thanks, Ryder. I’d love to have a reliable second on our residential jobs today.”
Colton huffed, but he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut this time.
We directed a few more of the guys to their assignments for the day. Then the group broke up to get to work, some of them heading for areas of the park, while others went to the trucks that towed our mowers and other equipment for more routine work.
I stopped Beckett as he turned away, feeling a flicker of guilt. “Hey, man, if you want to stay here and have me go…”
He snorted. “Please, you love big equipment. We all heard it.”
“Doesn’t mean I should hog all the fun. I wasn’t thinking…”
Beckett always had been the more responsible of the two of us. He looked at the big picture beyond the fun of operating a Bobcat for a day or two. That’s why we made such good partners. I loved the job, loved being outside and working with the guys, even when it was sweaty-balls hot. I couldn’t imagine sitting in an office all day, even the management office for Potter Landscaping.
Beckett was different. He had a sharp eye for design, and he could turn the ugliest spaces into magazine-worthy with the right freedom to combine his knowledge and creativity. He’d incorporate native plants, raised flowerbeds, and paving paths to create beautiful spaces, and I’d happily follow his instincts any day.
We had a plan from the city for the park—a rough blueprint of where park features needed to be located—but we had plenty of wiggle room on how to beautify the area and I knew Beckett would make us look great.
“Just do a good job today,” Beck said. “You know what’s more important than big equipment, right?”
“What’s that?”
“Knowing how to use it.”
