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“Nolan,” I say, raising my hand. “What would you really do?”
He chews his lip, thinking for a few seconds. “I’d ask if you were cool with it?”
I sigh. “Okay, now what if we were talking about Jake’s sister, instead?”
He grins. “I would strike the idea from my mind and never let Jake get a sniff of what I was thinking.”
I laugh, tapping the table a few times as I nod. “Yeah. That’s probably what I’d do, too.”
* * *
Caroline’s bed and breakfast is picking up in activity by the day. She has three families checked in and two more set to arrive today. When I show up, it’s a couple hours before noon, the snow hasn’t quite melted yet, but it probably will, and Andi is out front in a red sweater and jeans.
She spots me pulling up in my truck and waves with a big smile. It’s an arm-over-the-head, jumping wave and a huge smile, actually. I dip my chin beneath the sun visor, wave, and shut off the truck. Then I catch myself smiling and wipe that shit from my face.
I need to be cool. Be under control.
Yeah, Andi is infectious and fun to be around. Yeah, I’m pretty sure there’s more than a little mutual attraction. But yeah, she’s also Jake’s sister. That’s supposed to matter. Bro code, and shit like that.
“New sweater?” I ask as I climb up the porch. I was planning on not talking to her unless I had to, and I’m already failing at that directive.
“You like it?” she spreads her arms and dips one knee, posing for me.
“Yeah, sure,” I say, staring at the board that has needed replacing on the steps for a few months now. Maybe I’ll finally take care of that today.
“Jake took me out early this morning. Got some more variety. She lifts a hand to the side of her mouth and lowers her voice. “I’m gonna pay you back before him.” She winks and smiles.
“I wish you wouldn’t try to pay me back,” I say. “I really don’t mind. Actually, I’d rather you save the money to get a place of your own. Or you could let me find you someplace to stay.”
Her expression falls a notch, and I hate how quickly I’m wanting to take back my words just to make her look happy again. “If I’m causing that much trouble for you, I could ask Jake to help me figure something out…”
I hesitate. Don’t say it, Jesse. Don’t fucking say it. “No. You’re not trouble. I just thought you’d want to be someplace with more privacy. I doubt you want to be sharing a cabin with a bunch of smelly hockey thugs.”
“You guys all smell great! I’ve loved being at the cabin. It’s like a vacation with a bunch of big brothers I never had.”
I sigh. “Yeah. Well, take your time.”
I head inside to see if Caroline has what I’ll need to repair the porch step. She’s serving brunch to a couple of older folks hanging out in her kitchen. It looks like some kind of tiny sandwich.
I move past her to the storage closet and find the drill and nails.
She eyes me. “Finally going to fix that porch step?” Caroline has on a white sweater with a giant red fuzzy ball in the center of her chest. There’s a cartoony eye on each of her boobs, and a huge curved smile across her belly.
The old man nods, chewing and swallowing his bite of the tiny sandwich. “I was going to mention it. That step will give out sooner or later. Someone could get hurt.”
“Yeah,” I say. “I’m on it.”
“Weird,” Caroline says. “You’ve been making excuses when I ask you. I guess if you get to watch Andi decorate the porch while you work on it, things are different, huh?”
“It’s not that,” I say.
“The cute one who played checkers with me?” The older woman asks. “She’s just a doll. She’ll make a fine wife for somebody.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” I say. “I think she might have more of a future in track and field.”
The older folks give me a confused look and Caroline folds her arms, scowling at me.
“What?” I say. “I thought it was funny.”
