Read Broken Ground: (Broken Series Book 1) for Free Online Page B

doubt about it.
    "Point taken. Yes, I work with my hands for a living despite what was expected of me and I love every minute of it. Maybe she is the same. No judgement. I was just fucking with you."
    Spencer's face fell a bit when he realized how Brant had taken the comment. Brant wasn't known to joke around often and had truly meant no offense. Something about being as smart as he was also left him ill-equipped in social situations. It was that trait in particular that had been the foundation of our friendship. Being so much younger than everyone else in college, he'd stayed to himself and tried to focus on his courses. For the most part, he was invisible.
    Then, in our third year, Spencer and I were paired with him for a huge project. We'd sneaked into the lecture hall late, hiding at the back so we could nurse our hangovers in relative obscurity, and ended up sitting beside Brant. When we were assigned in groups of three according to our seating, Brant became our third.
    We learned more from working with him on that assignment than we learned in the entire rest of the course. He was fucking brilliant.
    When some of the frat guys started hassling him a few months later, Spencer and I stepped in. He was younger, smarter, and quiet by nature, which made him a prime target. I was still in my barroom brawler phase so it worked out well for everyone. Except maybe the frat brothers who got their asses handed to them.
    From that day on, it was the three of us. We spent the next year planning a business, and the year after graduation we made it happen. That one for all and all for one shit wasn't just something you read somewhere. It was something we were and are.
    Brothers.
    Spencer reached toward the small table that held our drinks — along with an assortment of garnishes that no man in his right mind would add to booze this good — and flicked a lemon slice at Brant, laughing to break the tension. "Suck it, asshole."
    Brant calmly placed the fruit in his mouth and bit down, making a disgusting slurping sound before flipping Spencer the bird.
    I cleared my throat and waited for their attention. "We came here to celebrate, boys. I say it's time we get to it." I raised my glass, the ice orb clicking against the side. "To another job well done." They raised their glasses in salute and we took a deep drink to commemorate the occasion.
    Spencer added, "To the next job. Well, jobs. May they go just as smoothly as the last."
    The pleasant burn of my aged bourbon was somehow tempered by the thought of the upcoming project. Oh, the build would go great despite my intense desire to avoid it. Our work was never anything short of spectacular. That wasn't my vanity talking. It was a fact.
    This time, though, no matter the budget, the cost would be a lot higher.
    Maybe higher than even I could have predicted.

    SUNDAY MORNING FOUND me and Ali out picking berries before the dew had even evaporated, tasting a few along the way and chatting agreeably. There was no awkwardness, no wary distance. We just fell into step with one another like it was the most natural thing in the world.
    It was disturbingly exhilarating.
    It took three trips to get all the berries in the truck. We settled into a companionable silence as we carried the last batch toward the parking area, each enjoying the morning sun before the heat settled in and made the day miserably hot. As we stood at the rear doors and loaded the berries in the back seat of my rig, Ali reached down and plucked up a handful. Occupied as I was with strapping the flats of fruit in on my side, I was startled when an enormous, blood-red berry was suddenly right in my face, held there by small, delicate fingers. I glanced up at Ali. She grinned at me playfully and held it up for me to taste, almost daring me to eat from her hand.
    Challenge accepted.
    Not taking my eyes off hers, I wrapped my lips around the plump flesh, slowly biting down and savoring every sun-warmed drop of juice. Her hand shook