I really couldn’t keep up. All I had accomplished at our place was to repair the sagging porch and fix the leak in the roof. I planned on a new one this summer and fixing up the outside, updating it a little. But I had no time at the moment.
“When does he arrive?”
“He should get here on Friday.” I ran my hand over the back of my neck, the muscles sore after a long day. “I have to find out if he can stay over the bar for a while.”
When Chris had told me he’d been laid off, I convinced him to come this way and give it a try. I knew he’d love it here, and the work was plentiful. He decided I was right—it was now or never, and he arranged to be here within a week. He sublet his furnished apartment to someone new, and he would be arriving much the same way I did—all his belongings in a suitcase and a few boxes. He was bringing his tools and his truck, which would make things much easier for us both when he got here.
Eleanor frowned. “I was thinking about that. Patrick and I wondered about offering him the room over the garage. It’s basic but has its own bathroom. That way, he’d be close to you, and you could travel together.”
“That’s incredibly generous of you, Eleanor. You don’t even know him. Are you sure?”
She nodded. “If he’s a friend of yours, then it’s good, Sebastian. He can pay us in trade.” She winked. “I’m sure I have enough odd jobs around here, he can work off his room and board.”
I threw back my head in laughter. “How easily I’ve been replaced.”
She shook her head. “Nope. I will pay you for your work as always for the big jobs. But things like the creak in the stairs and the sticking windows upstairs? The boy can work for his dinner.”
I kissed her cheek. “He’ll be happy to, especially when he tastes your cooking. I’ll warn you, though—the man is an endless pit. You’ll be lucky if he doesn’t eat you out of house and home.”
“Duly noted.” She clapped her hands. “Now, when are you going to do your kitchen?”
I huffed out a huge sigh. “I have everything but the countertop. I know what she wants. I just have to order it. I need to figure out a way of getting her away for a few days and surprising her. With Chris here, and Finn willing to help, we can knock it out in a day and rebuild in three. I’ll move the one wall for the laundry room behind it the way I planned, but the rest is easy.”
“Patrick wants to help.”
“Um…”
She laughed at my expression. He was terrible when it came to home renos. “Maybe you can put him on errand and trash detail. Barbecuing the meals.”
I chuckled. He did barbecue well. “That works.”
“There’s a craft show in Calgary in two weeks. It’s a two-day event. I could take Maggie and add in a play or something. We’ll visit Connie, too. We could leave on Thursday morning, and I can drag it out until Monday night. Maybe even Tuesday if I invent a side trip on the way home. Would that work?”
I nodded eagerly. “That would be amazing.”
“Okay, I’ll bring it up at dinner. You act surprised and supportive. I’ll handle the rest.”
I beamed at her. “Sounds like a plan. Thank you, Eleanor.”
She patted my cheek. “That’s what families do, Sebastian. Help one another.”
I smiled, feeling grateful, as I watched her leave the room.
It was great to have a family.
I walked into the bar on Thursday to a spectacle playing out for all to see—Chris, on his knees, begging the “fair Mandy” to marry him. She was another server here and had become a good friend to Maggie. I liked her a lot.
I met Mandy’s somewhat confused, but not-quite-pissed gaze with a smirk.
“He belong to you?” she asked.
Before I could answer, he was on his feet, swinging himself around, his arms spread wide. “Sebastian, my man!”
I took a step back in shock. How was it possible he’d gotten even larger than the last time I saw him? His arms resembled tree trunks, and he wrapped them around me, lifting me from my feet and squeezing all the air from my lungs.
“I’ve been waiting for you!”
I gasped for air after he set me down on the floor. Then he slapped my back so hard, I had to grab the nearest chair in order not to fall flat on my face.
Chris, of course, laughed. “I forgot what a girlie man you were.”
I shook my head, unable to help the grin on my face. “Listen, you idiot, I told these people you were a nice guy! You’re screwing it all up.”