Drilled (Powertools: The Original Crew Returns Book 2) Read online

  Drilled

  Powertools: The Original Crew Returns, Book 2

  Jayne Rylon

  Happy Endings Publishing

  Copyright © 2020 by Jayne Rylon

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or shared in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means—including email, file-sharing groups, and peer-to-peer programs—without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  If you have purchased a copy of this ebook, thank you. I greatly appreciate knowing you would never illegally share your copy of this book. This is the polite way of me saying don’t be a thieving asshole, please and thank you!

  If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Refer to the don’t-be-a-thieving-asshole section above for clarification. :)

  V2

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-947093-17-1

  Print ISBN: 978-1-947093-18-8

  Cover Design by Jayne Rylon

  Editing by Mackenzie Walton

  Proofreading by Fedora Chen

  Formatting by Jayne Rylon

  Contents

  About The Book

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Discounted Boxset - Powertools

  Discounted Boxset - Hot Rods

  Discounted Boxset - Hot Rides

  Claim A $5 Gift Certificate

  What Was Your Favorite Part?

  Jayne’s Shop

  Listen Up!

  About the Author

  Also by Jayne Rylon

  About The Book

  The original Powertools crew is back in a brand new series!

  Starting over is never easy. Especially when it means leaving your friends and lovers behind.

  An accident on the Hot Rods construction site draws Mike to Middletown. Not to assume his role as foreman, but to help his best friend, Joe, learn the ropes. It’s his turn to be caught off balance when his wife delivers shocking news.

  The rest of the Powertools crew join them to attend a wedding at their friends’ motorcycle garage, Hot Rides. The night could change everything—both personally and professionally.

  Because while celebrating their friends’ new commitment, it’s nearly impossible to deny the strength of their own complicated bonds or the fact that they’re evolving. Their marriages, their friendships, and their futures hang in the balance.

  At the end of the festivities, who will stay and who will go?

  This is a standalone book set in the Powertools universe. All your favorite Hot Rods and Hot Rides characters will be making appearances as well. Some come make new book boyfriends or hang out with old ones.

  Additional Information

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  A complete list of Jayne’s books can be found at www.jaynerylon.com/books

  1

  It happened in slow motion.

  Joe barely kept his temper during a phone argument he was having with a supplier over a messed up delivery. Part of his team stood by on hold. They’d been interrupted by the phone ringing while revising their plans due to yet another issue that had cropped up that morning. As Joe glanced away, praying for sanity in the midst of the chaos that came with managing the construction of the Hot Rods’ home extension, he saw it about to happen.

  One of the new guys framing the roof picked up a pneumatic nail gun and yanked on the air hose. Right about the same time as one of the other workers—it looked like Adam from where Joe was standing—attempted to straddle a larger than usual gap between two studs with a truss balanced on his shoulder. Instead of planting on lumber, Adam’s boot got tangled in the whipping hose that snaked across his path at precisely the wrong moment.

  It was something that never would have happened in the Powertools crew. Joe and the guys, and Devon, knew each other in and out. They worked seamlessly together, like a well-choreographed dance troupe. Each of them moved in time with the others whether they were working on a construction project or screwing around together. Literally.

  Sleeping with your partners gave your work relationship a whole new sort of intimacy, he supposed. The crew were always aware of each other and fit together seamlessly, which he realized right about then he might have taken for granted after nearly two decades of friendship. He was an idiot for leaving. For thinking he could recreate that overnight and handle being in charge—especially of a job of this scale.

  “Look out!” another one of the young guys Joe had hired to work on this special project, away from his regular crew, shouted the warning but it was too late.

  First Adam jerked, then he lost control of the load on his shoulder. A timber rained onto the ground floor of the site. Each inch it travelled downward took ten beats of Joe’s racing heart. It clipped one of the other crewmen, who was at least wearing his hard hat, before clattering to the cement slab that made the foundation of the building they were erecting. Unfortunately, Adam’s wind-milling arms couldn’t keep him in place.

  Joe lunged forward as if he could reach the guy and snatch him from midair although he was watching the horrific scene unfold from at least fifty feet away. And when Adam crashed into the ground, landing shin-first on top of the wood he’d dropped, everyone on the site let out a collective groan in response to the sickening crunch.

  Already in motion, Joe disconnected his call but kept his phone in his hand as he sprinted toward the injured man.

  “Ah, fuck.” Adam rolled, clutching his leg. “Fuck!”

  Joe was relieved that the lucky bastard was able to curse at all. He could easily have broken his neck or damaged his spine or punctured a lung with a broken rib. Any number of other things. Hell, he still might have even though he could shout.

  Joe slid across the remaining ground between them as if he were stealing home at the Powertools annual cutthroat summer barbeque softball game. He put a hand on Adam’s shoulder and held him in place gently yet as firmly as he could. He kept the other man from rocking or trying to get to his feet out of sheer instinct.

  “Hey. You’re gonna be okay. Stay still until we can get someone out here to check you out. Just a few minutes, I promise.”

  The rest of the guys circled around, watching as Joe dialed 911 and relayed information about the accident and their location to the emergency operator as quickly and efficiently as possible. He hovered over the wounded worker, inspecting him for signs of visible trauma. Blood trickled from his fattening lip. Adam’s eyes started to dilate and glaze with pain.

  It reminded Joe of those times when Dave had been recovering in the hospital after his accident, many years in the past. He’d never forget this same cold feeling of dread taking up residence in his gut. And just like he had done then, he put on his bravest face and lied through his clenched teeth.

  “You’re okay, Adam. You’re good. Help is coming. Everything’s going to be fine.”

  About that time, a booming voice shouted, “Hey, cuz, what’s going on?”

  Eli.

&nbs
p; Shit!

  Not only had Joe allowed one of his crew to get hurt, now his cousin and one of the men he respected most in the world was going to witness his epic failure. He wouldn’t blame Eli if he changed his mind and hired a new foreman to build his home. It was becoming more and more apparent that Joe was way out of his league. This was Eli’s future house, the place he would bring his baby to in a few months. He’d want it to be perfect, not haunted by the ghosts of construction accidents or full of flaws caused by his family’s poor management abilities.

  Eli parted the ring of shocked workers and crouched down on Adam’s other side, without looking in the least ruffled. He took one look at Joe’s face, which was probably whiter than spray foam insulation fresh from the can, and said, “Ambulance on the way?”

  Joe nodded, unable to speak.

  Eli squeezed Adam’s shoulder gently, then stood, already off to assist. That’s what a true leader did, while Joe felt frozen inside. “I’ll meet the paramedics out by the street and bring them back. Hang in there, buddy.”

  Things started happening really fast then, making up for the time warp that had stretched the instants it took Adam to drop from the sky. Soon people were crawling all over the spot like ants on a piece of hard candy. Paramedics, cops, Uncle Tom and Ms. Brown, the rest of the Hot Rods… Hell, the star of Hollywood’s latest blockbuster might have been there too, but Joe wouldn’t have noticed.

  He stuck by Adam’s side until they loaded him in the ambulance and would have ridden along except the guy who’d yanked the hose came up beside him then. “Mind if I go instead? It’s my fault. I…I’m so sorry. I totally understand if you fire me. I can’t believe I did this. Adam…hurt…because of my dumb ass.”

  Joe didn’t respond, unsure of what the hell the right protocol was in this situation. Mike or even Eli would have known what to say. He had no clue how to strike the balance between stern reprimand and reassurance.

  As he debated, Adam shrugged one shoulder and said, “I know you didn’t do it on purpose. Yeah, Cole, I’d appreciate it if you’d come along. If that’s all right with the boss. And, Joe, please don’t can him. It wasn’t only his mistake. I should have been paying better attention.”

  Joe looked between the two, his eyes narrowing as he caught a spark of something awfully familiar between them. He’d fucked up a bunch already, but he didn’t want to interfere with whatever was happening there on a personal level. “Yeah, of course. It’s Adam’s call. I’ll drive over to see how you’re doing as soon as they’re done with me here.”

  Adam winced as he shifted on the gurney. Cole was there, adjusting his pillow before saying something Joe couldn’t make out. The ambulance squad settled into place, too. Just before the driver shut the back doors, Adam called, “Thanks, foreman.”

  “For what?” Joe nearly fell on his ass.

  “For keeping me calm. And getting help so fast.” He let his head fall back then. “And for doing the right thing with Cole. Thanks for giving a shit.”

  Eli came up behind Joe and put his hand on his cousin’s back as the doors were closed and the vehicle’s sirens drowned out any chance Joe had at formulating some kind of response.

  After the flashing red lights disappeared around a bend in the wooded forest road and the siren had faded to a dreadful wail, Eli asked, “You okay?”

  “Me? I didn’t just take a header off the fucking roof.” Joe punched his palm. “I should never have let them be doing both of those tasks at the same time.”

  “Did you tell them to?” Eli wondered.

  “No. But I wasn’t paying enough attention. I didn’t see it until it was too late. What the hell am I doing here?” Joe looked to Eli, tugging the hair his fingers were now tangled in.

  “Hey, calm down. This is what you have insurance for.” Eli squeezed Joe’s shoulder. “Accidents happen. Construction is dangerous work.”

  When Joe still didn’t say anything, Eli lowered his voice and asked, “You do have insurance, right?”

  “Yeah. Yeah, of course. But we’ve never had to use it before at Powertools. And here I am having to dig out the policy already.” Joe swallowed hard. It was the foreman’s responsibility to look out for the crew, and he’d failed. Big time. It was only his second week on the damn job and he’d already shown that he wasn’t cut out for it.

  And that was even before he factored in the supplier drama, and the issues implementing the designs they’d drafted. What the hell had he been thinking when he’d told Eli he’d do this and moved his entire family several states away from everything they’d ever known on the hope that he could pull this off?

  “Hey. That guy is going to be fine.” Eli lowered his voice as he came around to Joe’s front and braced his hands on Joe’s shoulders before shaking him a little bit. “You can beat yourself up later. Get out there, talk to your crew. Reassure them and then think about what could have prevented this. Make some new policies and ensure the guys follow them from now on. This is how you get better.”

  “Yeah. Yeah. That sounds good.” Joe nodded. Why hadn’t he thought of a plan like that? Probably because he was just a worker bee who’d never intended to be the one in charge.

  That was Mike’s job, and he was doing a piss-poor imitation of it.

  One thought reverberated in Joe’s mind. The one that he’d drilled into his head by repeating it constantly as the responsibility he’d taken on for his cousin Eli began to overwhelm him.

  You’re not a foreman. You were never meant to do this. You’re not good at it and someone’s going to get hurt…again…maybe worse next time because of you. There’s still time to bail. To go home.

  “Whatever you do, don’t let them see you freaking out,” Eli cautioned. “When you’re done, come to my office. And we’ll do that together. Then I’ll drive you over to the hospital, okay?”

  Was this what Mike did? Did he vent to Kate or pace his office alone at night when the burden of being in charge got too heavy? Joe felt like a bastard because he’d never even considered that possibility when he went home to his family and slept like a baby.

  Even now, Eli was teaching him how to remain in control, because he didn’t have the faintest clue about how to be the example Mike had always been for them.

  “Okay, right.” Joe swiped his hand over his mouth and tried his best to get it together. The men milling aimlessly around the job site deserved that much from him at least.

  “You got this.” Eli watched him go.

  So Joe straightened his back and channeled Mike, thinking of what he was going to say to his crew. And then how he’d admit his fuck-up to his own foreman later that night.

  2

  Mike kicked off his boots, then walked through his kitchen to kiss Kate, who was helping Abby and Landry with their homework. His wife was pretty much a superhero, juggling her own interior design and antique restoration business along with managing their family.

  “Want me to cook dinner?” he asked as he ruffled his son’s hair and gave his daughter a quick one-armed hug before she could object. Teenagers. Ugh.

  “Can we order food instead?” Landry asked, looking up from his math workbook with such a hopeful look that all Mike could do was laugh.

  “Yeah. I mean, I’d vote for pizza over my lame attempt at grilling any day too.”

  “You make great barbecue chicken thighs,” Kate looked up, then winced. “But I’m not very hungry, so maybe takeout isn’t a bad idea.”

  She avoided Mike’s stare when he looked over to scan her as if he could see any illness zooming in the air around her head like neon-green cartoon germs. Too many times lately, Kate had begged off dinner and even his offer of breakfast in bed last weekend. Was she sick? Or was what he had offered her that much worse than she was used to since Joe wasn’t around to cook for both their families? The other guy had often made himself at home in their kitchen or on the grill when he and Morgan and their kids would swing by to spend the evening together with Mike and his family.

>   Except Mike’s best friend had ditched them and moved a few states over to Middletown in order to be closer to his family, especially his cousin Eli. The Hot Rods garage owner was expecting a child and needed some help expanding their living quarters beyond the second story over their business.

  “Everyone good with pepperoni?” Mike asked as he brought up a food delivery app on his phone.

  “Yeah!” Landry fist pumped and even Abby nodded with a small smirk. He’d take that. She’d been out of sorts since Joe’s son Nathan had left for the summer. The two of them were maybe even closer than Mike and Joe or Morgan and Kate, who’d been best friends since elementary school.

  For a blissful hour or so everything was fine. Normal. Happy.

  “This was a good idea, kid.” Mike gave Landry credit where it was due as he polished off another slice of pizza.

  They were laughing as Abby ignored them and focused on her phone instead. Kate shot him a warning glance, but Mike shook his head no, subtly. Hell, their daughter was probably texting Nathan. So he left her alone. One meal in peace was worth a hell of a lot to him these days.

  “Dad?” Abby asked around a mouth full of gooey cheese, surprising him.

  “Yeah?” He looked up and the last bit of crust became awfully hard to swallow. Fine lines creased the perfect, smooth skin between her eyebrows. They were even more pronounced than they would have been otherwise since she’d recently become obsessed with watching videos online about shaping and makeup and all sorts of things he wasn’t ready to deal with in regards to his baby girl just yet. Kate permitted her to test out stuff in the house, but it was still a shock to see her looking so damn grown up. And now, worried. “What’s wrong?”