Page 2 of Ruby's Strength

“You ever work construction before?” Aubree asks and surprises me.

I nod. “Before I enlisted in the Air Force I was on a crew for a few months.”

She eyes me skeptically for a long minute. “How about I make you a deal. Bring a package to Cole Majors. Tell him Aubree sent you. Now I’m not saying he’ll give you a shot, because he’s a hardass, but you can give it a try.”

Ms. Molly places a paper bag in front of me and winks. I open the bag and find not only a huge sandwich but a bear claw and a chocolate muffin as well. When I raise my eyebrows at her, she grins.

“A growing man like you needs his sustenance, especially if he’s going to be working out in this cold.”

I smile at the feisty woman and look back to Aubree who’s waiting on my response. “Thank you, Aubree. I’ll take you up on that offer.”

She gives me a warm smile and loads a couple of boxes up with some of the baked goods in the display case then sets them in front of me. “Cole is my husband and is a fair man. If he gives you a shot, don’t blow it. I wouldn’t call him forgiving.” She tells me before releasing the boxes into my care. “You’ll find the guys working about five miles up the road from here. Go up the hill and when the road forks, make the right and follow it down. You’ll see them working on an old farmhouse. The trucks will say Major Construction on them. I’ll tell him you’re coming.”

“Thank you again, Aubree. How much will it be?” I ask looking at my breakfast.

“On the house. If I’m right, we’ll be seeing each other quite often.”

Nodding, I get up from my seat at the bar and head toward the door with all of the goodies and my coffee. I’m almost out of the door when Aubree asks, “What’s your name by the way?”

I stop and think for a moment. I’ve been Hollis for so long, all of my superiors calling me by my last name. It’s time for a change, and I’ll start with my name. “Everett Hollis. People used to call me Rett when I was younger before I joined up.”

“I’ll tell him to expect a Rett then. Have fun!”

After loading everything in my truck, I start it up and go the way she told me. I shovel the food into my mouth, barely tasting the sandwich before taking my time on the muffin and bear claw. The bakery might look frou-frou as shit, but their food is delicious. I’ll definitely be seeing them more often. I spot the farmhouse easily and pull in behind the trucks. Three men are talking around one of the vehicles. Grabbing the boxes of goodies, I head over to them. “Cole?”

“You must be Rett?” The tallest and biggest of the three asks. I nod. “You ever work construction before?” He asks eyeing me.

“Yeah, right after high school, before I enlisted in the Air Force.”

“When did you get out?” Cole asks me.

“A few weeks ago. Listen, man, I was in for sixteen years and have a load of experience in tactical operations, but you don’t need that. I can swing a hammer and have no trouble working hard day after day.”

“Why didn’t you finish your twenty years if you were so close?”

I shrug dismissively. “Some things went down that I’m not proud of. My people got hurt, and I should have protected them better. I didn’t deserve to be there leading another unit. I need something different, to get my hands dirty, and my mind off of what happened. If you don’t need my help, I’ll be on my way and find work somewhere else.”

“Easy brother, we do need another set of hands around here. There isn’t anyone else in these parts hiring for the kind of work you’re searching for. We’ll take you on, probationary. Prove yourself, and we’ll make this position more permanent.”

“Thank you,” I say and hold out my hand to Cole. His firm grip is almost too strong, but he lets go quickly.

“These are my brothers Gabe and Slate,” Cole says motioning to the other two guys. We shake hands. “We all own the company together with our sister Ruby. She runs the office and will handle your new hire paperwork. We can do that later this afternoon though. We need to get started since we’re already behind.”

“Sounds good, tell me where you want me.”

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