“That’s typical of teenagers, I understand.”
“Yes—but Brad knows I expect him to be on time.”
“It must be difficult being responsible for a teenage brother. Does he usually follow your rules?”
“He hasn’t given me much trouble so far. An incident or two. Some backtalk. No open rebellion yet.”
“Still, I bet you’ll be glad when your mother comes home.”
Mac didn’t know her mother, of course. Having Lucy home wouldn’t make much difference. She let others take over—usually Sharon. As for Brad—well, Sharon worried about what would happen when school started again. It had been at school that Brad had hooked up with the wrong crowd in the first place. She wasn’t at all sure Lucy could do much if he got into any more trouble. Lucy indulged, she didn’t discipline.
“So what’s the penalty for being half an hour late?”
“I haven’t decided yet. I’ll probably take his video game away for the evening. Maybe TV, as well.”
“Mmm. That’ll show him,” Mac murmured.
Sharon shot him a suspicious look. Was that an implied criticism? He was the one who’d said all teenagers did this sort of thing. Did he expect her to ground Brad for life?
The door opened and Brad rushed in, red-faced and panting. “I’m sorry I’m late, sis. Jimbo ran out of gas and we had to—”
The jumbled words came to an abrupt halt when he spotted Mac. He froze practically in midstep. Sharon knew he was startled to find someone else in the shop after closing time, but she couldn’t imagine why his cheeks suddenly turned beet red and his face drew into a sullen scowl.
“Brad, this is Mr. Cordero,” she said, rushing to fill in the strained silence. “Mac, my brother, Brad Henderson.”
“Nice to meet you, Brad.”
His gaze on his shoes, Brad muttered something incoherent.
Sharon lifted an eyebrow. Her brother was sometimes awkward, but rarely outright rude. “I’m not sure Mr. Cordero heard that, Brad.”
Mac shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I’ll clear out now. I just wanted to give you my new address.”
“Thank you. I’ll probably come out to the site tomorrow to take pictures upstairs. It’s safe to do that, I presume?”
“As long as you stay clear of the workers. I expect to be there most of the day tomorrow. I’ll see you then.”
She smiled at him. “See you then.”
He looked for a moment at her smile and then raised his eyes to hers again. She had the strangest sensation that she had just been virtually kissed. Her lips actually tingled.
The man really was making her crazy.
Mac turned toward the door then. “See you around, Brad,” he said as he passed the teen.
Brad didn’t reply.
“You were rude to Mr. Cordero, Brad,” Sharon chided when the door clos
ed behind Mac. “I doubt he heard a word you said.”
“I don’t like him.”
She was surprised by the growled response. “What do you mean? You only just met him.”
“I don’t care. He seems like a jerk to me.”
“Honestly, Brad. You shouldn’t form judgments about people without even getting to know them. Mr. Cordero is a very nice man.” Even as she said it, she was aware of how insipid the word nice seemed when applied to Mac.