He grins, and walks right up to me, wraps his arms around me, and lifts me off the ground. Not hard to do, considering he’s at least a foot taller than me.
“When Mila called me and said you’d just walked out of the bakery, I had to get my ass down here and see you for myself.” He smiles down at me gently. “How ya doin’, shorty?”
Tears threaten to fill my eyes at hearing my old nickname come out of his mouth. Stupid emotions. I give Ethan a watery smile, and he pulls me back in for another hug. This time I take notice of his warmth, and the solid planes of muscles pressed up against me. His hand rubs circles on my back that he probably means to be comforting. All it makes me want to do is arch into his touch. But that feels so strange, seeing as it’s Ethan, so I pull back. These unfamiliar feelings must be a result of exhaustion and emotional overload. That has to be why he makes me think of the man from my dream.
Ethan’s eyes widen as he looks around and takes in the disaster that is Oceanside Resort. “You’ve got your work cut out for you. I haven’t been here in awhile; I had no idea it was still this bad.”
He comes over to stand by me, and together we look down the row of beachfront cabins.
“It’s a mess, Ethan,” I say, my low voice betraying my emotion. He takes me by the elbow and propels me toward the first cabin.
“Okay, we can fix this. We’ll get a work crew together and —”
Before I can warn him about that cabin’s residents, Ethan pushes open the door. This time, the critters inside are angry enough from being disturbed twice that they flee, scurrying out the door with an angry hiss.
“Holy fuck!”
Ethan leaps back, stumbling down the stairs and banging his elbow on the way down as two raccoons run past him.
I start to laugh. I can’t help it, the sheer insanity of Ethan, big, strong, manly Ethan, being frightened by a pair of raccoons has me wheezing, I’m laughing so hard. He stands there breathing heavily for a minute, then he, too, starts to chuckle. Eventually we’re both laughing out loud. Only now, mine is a mixture of amusement and pure hysterics over what a massive pile of shit my father left me.
Eventually I calm down and drag in a ragged breath. “Ethan, what the hell am I going to do?” I whisper.
He walks over, gingerly rubbing his elbow. “I don’t know, Summer. But we’ll figure it out.”
Hearing Ethan say the wordwedoes something to me. For the first time in a long time, I don’t feel alone.
2
Ethan
When my sister said Summer Harris was back in town, I was excited to see the girl who was so close to Mila, and spent so much time with us that she felt like a second little sister to me. I felt like a part of our family had come back home. Nothing could have prepared me for the beautiful woman I found instead.
And now that woman is dealing with the loss of her father and the inheritance of a total dump. And I want to help. I can still remember one of the last times I was there to help Summer, back when we were kids. It was the year she moved away, so she was ten and I was twelve. Mila and Summer were up in the treehouse in our backyard while I mowed the lawn. For some reason, Summer wanted to climb down, but when she got part way down the ladder she fell. She was always a tough kid, so when she started to cry, I came running. Her arm was bent funny, so I held it in place while Mila ran for help. I remember her little body leaning against mine, and her tears making my T-shirt wet. I guess I’ve always wanted to protect Summer, to take care of her. There was never anything more than friendship between us back then, but I remember the pride I felt because she turned to me for comfort.
Being the one to comfort her now is different. Much more than friendship. This version of Summer, with strong curves, small delicate hands, and a quiet inner strength is confusing my memories of her as a kid.
I shake my head to try and get those ideas out of my brain. This isn’t the time, or the place, or the woman for that line of thinking. Instead, I clap my hands together and put my game face on. “Alright, what do you say we finish taking a look around? You happen to be standing next to Dogwood Cove’s all-around handyman. At your service.” I finish with a bow, earning me a laugh.
“So, are we just going to ignore the fact that you were terrified by a couple raccoons?” she says.
I narrow my eyes at her, taking in the mischief dancing in hers. “Yes. Yes, we are. That’s never to be spoken of again.”
“Fine, you can pretend to be Mr. Giant Lumberjack, not afraid of anything, watch me chop down this tree…” She mimes wood chopping with her hands as I fight back a chuckle. “But I know the truth now. Woodland creatures freak you out.” She nudges me in the side, and I want her to stay there but she doesn’t. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”
She’s teasing, but there’s something more. If I wasn’t so stuck on the fact that Summer is my little sister’s best friend, and therefore totally off-limits for me, I would swear she’s flirting.
“Tease all you want, Summer Harris, but you need me and my lumberjack skills if you want to get this place cleaned up.” I fold my arms across my chest, adding an extra flex to my biceps. When her eyes flit over to my arms, I almost give myself a mental high five, then catch myself.Fuck. Sister’s best friend, man. Stop it.
“Okay, I accept your offer. Lead on, show me what kind of mess I’m in.” She gestures toward the rest of the cabins, and we set off.
Several hours later, we’re both covered in dust, and there’s a grim determination covering Summer’s face. I grab a couple bottles of water from the cooler in my truck and take them back to where she’s sitting on a rock overlooking the water. From here, it’s easy to see the appeal of the place. The waves are breaking gently at the shore, seagulls are crying in the distance. It’s beautiful. But behind us is a fucking shit show of massive proportions.
“The good news is, everything seems structurally sound. The biggest job will be cleaning up the inside of the cabins and the main building.” I start, handing her the water. “Obviously some windows need to be replaced, a fresh coat of paint, a few repairs to railings and steps, but the actual renovation work doesn’t seem to be too extensive.”
“No, but the cleanup alone could take weeks. And money,” comes her reply. The dejected tone in her voice hits me hard. She’s a friend in trouble, and I want to help.
I wrap my arm around her shoulder again. She leans into me willingly, her head going to rest against my side. She smells good, peppermint and something else, something girly. And she feels even better, like she belongs by my side. But that’s a strange feeling to have, and she must feel the same way because she suddenly sits up and shifts away from me slightly. “Shit, I’m sorry Ethan. You don’t need me whining and moaning to you again.” Her hand lifts up and scrubs over her face, covering her eyes. I reach over and pull it down, making her look at me.
