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I chuckled, my voice dipping low as I replied. “I know exactly how to use it, and you know it, Beck.”
Our words had taken on a second layer of meaning, and Beck’s face—already flushed from the heat of the sun—seemed to grow brighter, the cute spray of freckles across his cheeks even darker than usual.
“Uh…good. I should…”
“Yeah, go, man. I’ve got this.”
“Don’t think you get to have all the fun with Beaver Hole though,” he warned.
“Don’t worry, man, you can have all the bush.”
Snorting a laugh, he rolled his eyes and turned away, breaking into a jog toward the pickup where Ryder already waited.
I watched him go, probably smiling like an idiot, thinking how damn lucky I was to go to work with my favorite person every day. Colton was an immature dick who wanted to play games, but I knew better than anyone that I couldn’t do half the job I did without Beck’s brains to match my brawn.
* * *
BECKETT
We’d nearly finished mowingand edging Emily Rafferty’s yard, the smell of fresh-cut grass and my own sweat heavy in the air. It was noon, and the sun was beating down from directly overhead, blazing across the back of my neck.
Only the coppery-colored tan I’d gained from months of summer work would save me from burning.
I caught Ryder’s eye and nodded toward the yard next door, which belonged to Iola Fletcher. The grass was getting a bit tall and the boxwood shrubs in front of her porch a bit scraggly.
Ryder gave me a two-fingered salute and loped toward the backyard, where Colton rode the riding mower. The kid was a brat, pure and simple. He’d complained so much today that sticking him on the mower, the least labor-intensive of the jobs we did, was the only way to shut him up. Ryder had looked as if he was ready to do murder, and I couldn’t have that on my conscience.
It all made a good distraction from thinking about my situation with Wes. For the first time since waking up married, my chest had loosened enough for me to take an easy breath,
We’d have to get through dinner with our parents—most likely Andi would also be there with popcorn to watch the show—but life was already beginning to feel a little more normal.
Wecouldgo back.
Even if I always felt that pull toward Wes, I was strong enough not to give in. Our lives as brothers and friends were more important than any sexual attraction. I just had to remember what was at stake.
Colton arrived at my side, shirtless.
“Beckett, why is Ryder saying we’re gonna do Iola’s yard?” he complained. “She’s not a client, and I’m dying for a break.”
You’re dying for something…
“Colt, put your fuckin’ shirt back on,” I said.
“But it’s hot.”
“I don’t give a flying fuck, man. It’s unprofessional, and I doubt Emily or Iola want to see your pasty-white chest.”
I wasn’t surewhatAndi saw in him. He was an okay-looking kid, but not nearly good enough to make up for his crappy attitude.
“Geez, fine.” Colt grabbed the tank hanging from his back pocket—also not the approved Potter Landscaping T-shirt the rest of us wore—and tugged it over his head. “No need to flip out.”
“You should be thanking me,” I said. “You want skin cancer?”
He huffed and rolled his eyes. “Okay, Dad.”
I weighed the satisfaction of making Colton mow Iola’s yard against how much his moaning and groaning would annoy me. In fairness, Iola wasn’t a client. This was strictly a gesture of kindness, so I let him off the hook.
“Go cool off in the truck. I’ll mow Iola’s yard.”
