Pick Up Speed (Heroes To The Core #5)

Chapter 1

Buzz Off

Lawson Malssum breathed in the clean Vermont air and decided maybe he hadn’t been a complete dumbass.

Or maybe he had.

As a mechanic who loved restoring old cars, he was used to the thicker air of the cities—the good old smog and carbon monoxide smell that accompanied his love of vehicles.

Now, he’d moved to a farm where he could probably count the vehicles that passed the property during the day on one hand.

Lawson shook his head and stepped off the farmhouse porch. Apple trees grew in every direction. These were the apples that had lured Lawson’s brother Knox to the farm. In turn, Knox had enticed their sisters Jolie and Amber to give farm life a shot.

The three of them and another pair of friends had found partners and happiness here, living on the four-hundred acre property. He wondered how big that was in Boston blocks.

After arriving late the previous night, Lawson slept in this morning. Everyone else was doing whatever they did to get the apple farm up and running. He imagined the chores were endless now that spring was doing its thing.

Lawson figured Knox and Thea worked at the Worminator, and he wanted to check that out in person at some point. His brother had found a woman whose fondest dream had been a compost facility for the farm. It made Lawson smile. The two of them were perfect together.

He could also head to the pond where his sister Jolie and her partner Ford were probably letting out their ducks and working on whatever spring duties involved cleaning up a stagnant pond and preparing it for the season.

Amber and Gray would be at the other farmhouse. The No Phailed Apples Inn would open in a few weeks. Or maybe they’d be working on the gigantic garden area where Gray worked his magic on the plants to make it enticing for the inn’s guests.

Nash, Olivia, and their two kids could be anywhere. Probably at the cider cabin, which they planned to turn into a full-sized house over the season, or inventing new cider flavors to try.

All busy. All happy with partners.

Lawson didn’t want to think about that part. His luck in finding a partner sucked big time.

His encounters had been with women who thought he should push himself to be more than a simple mechanic, women who wanted his money or his body. None of them wanted him.

And he wasn’t thinking about that anymore. After Gloria had dumped him for not wanting to open his own restoration shop and be someone like her father, he needed a break. From women, from his life.

Then the garage where he’d worked burned to the ground. The cops figured it was kids who’d been torching local businesses as an initiation into one of the local gangs. Jackasses.

He needed a change, so he’d packed up his stuff, shoved it in his ’72 Chevy truck, and moved from Boston to Vermont.

He felt bad about leaving Ricky, but it would be months before his boss could reopen, and he’d likely need a new spot.

Lawson could be replaced. According to Gloria, mechanics were a dime a dozen. She’d wanted him to build an empire so that he wouldn’t have to get his hands dirty.

Getting his hands dirty was the very best part of his job.

Lawson mentally kicked his ass. No thinking about Gloria or Boston. He was in Vermont now, and it was time to determine his next steps.

Knox had given him a set of keys to all the buildings on the farm. The closest barn was full of vehicles waiting for Lawson, but he needed to get his head out of his ass first.

Heading to his truck, he searched the boxes he’d brought until he found his latest toy. He’d only had the chance to use it once, and there hadn’t been many spaces in Boston where it had been okay to use.

Here, he had four hundred acres to explore, and no one to bother. Grabbing the box, he headed to the space between the farmhouse and the inn. Gray was indeed working in his garden across the drive, but Lawson wouldn’t bother him.

The snow was gone, but the land wasn’t nearly as dry as it had been in Boston. Knox and his sisters had sent photos of their first winter at the farm. The amount of snow had made him laugh and remember their days of growing up with Fox after their parents had died in a car accident.

Their grandfather had taken them in and worked his ass off to ensure they had everything they’d needed, including love and emotional support.

He’d been a hell of a man and an excellent grandfather to them all.

As the second oldest, Lawson had tried to help like his older brother, Burke, did. But it had been hard for a thirteen-year-old to do more than mow lawns and fix the neighbor’s lawn mowers and snow blowers.

He’d been so damn proud when the local mechanic had agreed to let Lawson clean up behind him in exchange for letting him watch the magic of the mechanics in action.

He’d always loved machines and engines. Taking them apart and putting them back together was a better version of the jigsaw puzzles he and Fox had finished.

The memories lifted his mood, and Lawson grinned as he looked around for a dry space to set up the drone.

The gardens and the area where the gang had set up a hockey rink were soggy messes, but there were a few benches set up along the rink’s edge, probably where they’d changed into skates.

Lawson wondered if he’d be here once the snow started to fly. He hoped he could make a go of things. He needed to support the farm and bring in some income as well. Knox figured keeping the farm’s machinery in shape would be a full-time occupation, but Lawson wanted something else. Something more.

He wasn’t an expert in farm machinery, not yet anyway, but he imagined neighbors might appreciate a nearby mechanic

He might even set up a restoration shop in the barn. That would be a dream come true. Local junkyards and fields had to full of old vehicles he could buy. He’d love to spend time bringing cars and trucks back to life, and polishing them until they gleamed.

For now, he opened the box and put the drone together. Because he wasn’t familiar with drones, and it had been months since he’d flown it, he skimmed the manual for the basic commands.

Then, he connected the drone’s camera to the app on his phone, allowing him to watch what the drone saw in real time.

It would be a great way to get an overview of the farm and its layout. Much faster than walking four hundred acres.

Grinning, Lawson sent the drone up, and flew a few laps around Gray’s garden area.

He played with the direction, velocity, and altitude commands until he was sure he had solid control. Then he sent the drone over the farmhouse and into the orchard.

He spotted himself on the bench and then explored the surrounding area. He circled the equipment barn, which would be his domain, and then he sent the drone out of his range of vision.

More trees. So many trees. He zoomed in closer until he could see the buds that should blossom any day now. It would be a pretty sight.

Sending the drone higher, Lawson spotted a larger barn. This was the harvesting barn where they would separate and clean the apples. A large cold room at the back was full of apples they’d harvested last fall. Apparently, they tasted as fresh as the day they’d been picked.

Moving on, Lawson sent the drone to find the next building. The task would be more difficult once the blossoms were out.

It took him a few seconds to recognize the Worminator, where his brother and Thea were indeed working. When they looked up at the drone, he waggled it from side to side in greeting. Sure enough, Knox waved back.

Lawson realized he was grinning like a fool. His previous sour mood lifted away with the drone. This was going to be fun.

He zipped the drone upward again to search for the pond next. And then the cider cabin.

Then he’d bring the drone back. By then, he’d be ready to check out his barn.

Maybe he wasn’t a dumbass after all.

Arms full of plant pots, Dani Richards twirled in the spring air as she made her fourth trip out to her field. Vermont was warming up nicely, and her bees would be happy. They weren’t the only ones.

Dani loved the various seasons in Vermont. In the winter, she spent more time in her metal art workshop, which she loved, but there was nothing like spring. Nothing like the joy and hope of rising temperatures and sunshine.

Not even the mud could get her down. She wore rubber boots and a dress that reminded her of her great-grandmother. Frannie B had been the most interesting and encouraging person during Dani’s youth.

The older woman had been bold and sassy.

She defied the expectations of prim and proper, especially in an era that hadn’t encouraged women to be brave.

Frannie B was from an age when women hadn’t hyphenated their own names after marriage.

She’d done it, anyway. She’d built a cosmetic business from nothing, and had taken great pleasure in shocking the establishment with her goals and gumption.

It took Dani years to believe she had enough gumption to set her own goals. Some days, she still wasn’t sure she had enough.

But thanks to Frannie B, Dani had her own home, businesses, and joys, far from her family’s rigid expectations. She had no desire to be the vapid, dutiful daughter who married to support the family business.

A shudder ran through her despite the sun and encouraging warmth of the day.

She wrapped Frannie B’s sweater around her.

The cozy wool showed its age, but Dani hoped it would last many more years.

She’d bought similar warm and chunky sweaters, but there was nothing like wrapping herself up in an original from Frannie B.

Dani tramped through her backyard and into the fields and forests beyond. Back in New York, her fifty acres would cost millions, and be clogged with people and pollution.

Dani preferred sharing the forest and the quiet joy of Vermont with her dog and bees.