Pound (Powertools - The Original Crew Returns #4) - Jayne Rylon Page 0,1

like artistic decorations instead of like battle wounds as they did on his car. They’d had to invest in three separate vehicles now that James, Devon, and their husband, Neil, needed to get to their individual construction sites each day. He’d much preferred it when they’d shared a ride for all the years they’d worked on the same crew together.

Despite his foul mood, James perked up at the sight of Devon. She was sexy as fuck for a pixie of a woman—who made him seem almost normal-sized since he was miniature compared to the rest of the hulking, studly men on the crew—and tougher than he’d ever attempt to be. Despite her diminutive frame, she hopped out of the truck without bothering to step on the shiny chrome running board, as he would have.

A cloud of dirt puffed from her construction boots, making James even mopier. She’d been doing sweaty things, bossing people around and being capable in charge and he hadn’t been there to see it.

Neil pulled up a moment later, lurching to a stop faster than was wise on the other side of James’s relatively micro-mobile. James might as well have been at the bottom of a canyon between their two behemoth pick-ups.

Out of place.

No longer a pea in their threesome pod. Instead he felt like a turtle trying to cross a highway. One that was about to get flattened. He wished he could pull his head inside his shell and hide, but that wouldn’t save him from the reality barreling down on him.

This wasn’t going to work. He simply couldn’t do it. His guts knotted.

When Devon realized he wasn’t getting out of the car, she rounded the hood and tapped on the window. “You okay?”

No. No, I’m not.

James nodded. He forced his ten-ton arms to unbuckle his seatbelt and somehow summoned the power to open the door before swinging his legs out.

Neil was there, laughing, to scoop James up and toss him over his shoulder like a sack of cement. “A hard day at work, huh?”

James grunted, though he didn’t squirm out of Neil’s hold. Not when all he wanted was to get closer to the other man. He hugged Neil’s back as if there was any chance his husband would drop him.

“I have to admit, I never gave Mike enough credit,” Devon chimed in as they approached the house, still blissfully unaware of James’s rising panic and despair. “Being a foreman takes a lot of mental energy, to handle the management part of it all and then be a member of the crew in addition. It’s a lot.”

“Whew. It really is.” Neil groaned. “We owe him a turn being in the center of attention next time the whole crew gets together.”

James didn’t argue with them. Not when he could hardly lift his head. Then again, this had never been his dream. Worse, he wasn’t sure what had been. He’d sort of fallen into the crew, following along with his friends, and he was willing to admit now that being with likeminded partners had been the glue that had kept him there, not some burning desire to build shit or work with his hands.

Calluses had never truly been his style.

“It’s rewarding too, though.” Devon’s excitement perked James up a little. No matter what, he was glad that she was happy in her new role, pumped about the added responsibilities. “Today we broke ground on the site for the spa at Kayla’s resort. I can already see how it’s going to blend into the woods with the stone façade and the gorgeous beams we chose. I love knowing that when we turn it over to her, it will be everything she’s always wanted, and that I created it. I made it happen.”

Neil nodded, the side of his face rubbing against James’s hip. Now that helped him feel a little better. “I totally get what you’re saying. Mike and I met with Giovanni today. We showed him several options for the tattoo shop and the entertainment complex. Mike is going to oversee the whole project, but with Giovanni’s particular interest in the tattoo shop it looks like that’s where my focus is going to be. The man knows exactly what he wants. That’s going to make it a challenge to meet his expectations.” Neil cleared his throat.

“You’re going to do great,” Devon reassured him. James had no doubt she was right. While Neil wasn’t always the most serious guy outside of work, he was a perfectionist when it came