Page 2 of From Grumpy to Forever
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Don’t tell me you got fired again.”
“Actually, I quit.” I glared at him. “And I’ll have you know, I didn’t get fired from the job up at the Carlson condo units either.”
“Oh, right.” Gray didn’t even bother to hide his smirk. “I suppose you quit that one, too. It had nothing to do with Asher telling you it wasn’t okay to be rude to the guests?”
I didn’t bother to answer him because he wasn’t entirely wrong. Although it was more of a mutual understanding between Asher and me. Still, Grayson’s comment pissed me off.
“Listen, Reid. I know you don’t like it, but the tourists are here to stay.” Grayson moved around the counter and started to walk down the aisle toward the plumbing fittings.
Against my better judgment, and my lack of interest in listening to a lecture, I followed him.
“And whether you see it or not, it’s good for the town.”
He wasn’t wrong. A fact that pissed me off even more. The Carlson family had done a lot to build up the tourism industry in Trickle Creek, effectively saving the town from ruin after the old mine closed and so many jobs were lost.
But it didn’t mean I had to like it.
“You know,” Grayson looked at me while he reached into a box and started restocking a bin of parts, “maybe instead of fighting it, you should try embracing the change. You could do really well here if you stopped fighting with all your potential clients.”
“But they’re all such assholes.”
Grayson shot me a look and leaned past me to greet the new customer the bells over the door just announced. “I’ll be right with you.”
He dropped the part he was holding back in the box and looked me in the eye. “You know the other perk of all the new faces in town?”
“What’s that?”
Grayson wiggled his eyebrows and chuckled as he gestured with his head toward the front of the store. “A lot of those new faces are beautiful women.”
Instinctively, I turned around. My gaze landed on the firm, round ass of Grayson’s new customer, bent over looking at something on a bottom shelf. My long-dormant dick twitched to life. “Fuck me.”
My brother laughed. Before he walked past me, he turned. “You know the best part, Reid?”
“What’s that?”
“If they’re new to town, they don’t know what a grumpy asshole you are yet.”
Chapter Two
Avery
The hardware store smelled like sawdust and paint, and I had absolutely no idea where to start. The small bag of tools I’d collected over the years of apartment living looked more and more pathetic by the second.
And more than a little inadequate for the project I’d just signed on for. I probably should have been even slightly more prepared, or at the very least, I should have considered that I’d need more than a hammer, screwdriver, and miniature measuring tape, all with pink and purple flowers on them.
Yes, flowers. The set was a gift from my best friend when I got my first apartment: “In case you need to hang a picture or do a little home repair.”
I don’t think Carrie had renovate an entire rundown inn in mind when she’d given it to me.
Just thinking of my best friend’s shocked reaction when I told her I was moving to Trickle Creek to take on the old project made me laugh as I scanned the aisles of the shop.
Row after row of tools and materials that I only barely recognized stretched out in front of me. I had no idea where to start.
Truthfully, I’d probably need one of everything. But for now, I needed whatever tool would help me actually get inside the old inn—and my new home.
“Can I help you find something?”
