Chapter 5

“Looking good, buddy,” Jonas said when Brody had an impressive amount of weights in the air over his head.

Somehow, that simple affirmation from one of his new friends and co-workers meant more to Brody than he could explain to himself, and he was a bit overwhelmed. Still, he managed to return the bar to its holder, and huff out a brief “Thank you” to Jonas.

Brody took a quick shower, then sat down at the table with the rest of the men—feeling really, really good about his job choice. A feeling that lasted all of fifteen minutes until his cell phone rang, and he looked at the caller-ID. “Excuse me, guys, I have to take this call,” Brody said, and hurriedly left the table. He stepped into the relative privacy of the weight room before he answered the phone. “Hello.”

“Hello,” the somewhat strained voice of Mary Ann said into his ear.

“How are things in Iowa?”

“Forget Iowa. What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Whatever do you mean?”