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“Okay, first, you’re building a pool for Katy? I didn’t even think you noticed the kid, let alone liked her enough to buy her a pool. Second, does Abby know about this? Is she okay with it? Third, what do you mean when you say ‘we can do laps’? You don’t plan to share the pool, do you?”
Flynn wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. “You offend me. Of course I notice the kid. She’s always here, poking her tiny nose into my business. She negotiates like a shark. You can’t get anything past her.” He grinned with pride when he remembered her skills. He liked to think he’d played a part in helping her develop them. “She negotiated for the pool. It’s a bribe to make her behave while Abby’s family is around.” He took another swig from the icy bottle. “Plus, she needs to pretend we get on. Trust me, the pool is the least of it. She wants a pony as well. At least Abby knows about the pool. I’m not sure how to break the news that I’ve ordered a pony. Maybe after her sister leaves.”
Without a word, Harry got up, opened the cupboard above the sink that held Flynn’s medication and proceeded to put the bottles of pills onto the counter.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
Harry cocked an eyebrow at him, a move he’d obviously stolen from Lake. “I’m checking your meds. Either you’re overmedicating or something here is reacting badly with something else, because everything you just said was insane.” He started counting pills.
Flynn let out a sigh. “Knock yourself out.” He’d only find there were more pills than there should be. Flynn was trying to cut back on the pain meds. He didn’t like the fuzzy way they made him feel. They impaired his thought process, and he couldn’t help thinking they were at least in part to blame for all the things he’d let slide recently. Only partly to blame, though. The rest of the blame for his poor decision making was all on him.
“Okay.” Harry finished counting. “It isn’t the pills. What’s going on, for real?”
“For real.” Flynn made no attempt to hide the fact he was fast losing patience. “I’m bribing the kid next door to help her mother, because I feel bad about causing problems for Abby. And I thought while I’m forking out for this bribe, I may as well go the whole hog, make it a decent-sized pool, put it along the fence we share so we can share the pool too. It isn’t rocket science, although you might have grasped it a whole lot faster if it was. It’s no big deal. You wanted me to grow up.” He spread his arms wide. “Well, welcome to the grownup version of your big brother.”
Harry did a great impersonation of a fish. “This is you being a grownup?” He stared at Flynn for a minute or two before he burst out laughing.
Flynn flipped him off before opening his laptop to Google pool builders. Pool diggers? Pool providers? He’d figure it out.
He was deep into his search by the time Harry stopped laughing. Flynn looked over to see his red-faced brother wiping his eyes. And that was when the duck quacked. Flynn stared at the screen, hoping Harry didn’t notice.
“Was that a duck?”
Come on, Flynn demanded skyward, give me a break here. I’m trying!
“It’s nothing. Probably some ducks under the van again. It happens. I live beside a stream.” Flynn kept on typing, two-fingered, at his keyboard. There was another quack.
“Sounds like it’s coming from inside.” Harry headed towards the back of the van, where Flynn’s bedroom and bathroom were situated.
“Just leave it,” Flynn called after him. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”
Too late. Harry opened the bathroom door. Flynn could do nothing but watch as Harry stared into his bathroom. It took his brother a minute to process. Then, eyes gleaming, grin wide, he turned back to Flynn. He pointed into the bathroom.
“There’s a duck in your shower. She’s floating in a baby bath with the cutest little bandage on her wing.” Harry started to laugh again. “Friend of yours, bro? You holding out on me? I thought you said you weren’t seeing anyone?” He doubled over in hysterics.
Flynn did his best to ignore him, while he picked out the perfect pool to share with Abby and the kid.
14
“Football is a simple game; twenty-two men chase a ball for ninety minutes, and at the end, the Germans win.”
Gary Lineker, former player for England’s national team
Abby was making animal-shaped pancakes for breakfast when a huge rumble shook the house. For a second she panicked, thinking there was another problem with the mine. The last time the earth shook, the mine had collapsed—taking her business with it. She rushed to the front door, threw it open and tripped over her feet at the sight.
There were trucks, diggers and an assortment of equipment heading to the spot in her garden that lay beside Flynn’s land. And standing beside their shared fence was Flynn. Arms waving directions to the trucks. A guy in work gear stood beside him holding a large sheet of paper and a clipboard. Another guy was pinning little sticks into the ground and stringing a line between them.
Abby felt steam come out of her ears as she stalked towards them, with Katy on her heels.
“What’s going on?” she demanded as soon as she was within speaking distance. “Who are these people? Why are they on my property? What are you up to?”
“Surprise!” Flynn threw his arms wide.
He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt in army green, over a pair of grey cargo shorts that came to his knees. The shirt was tight across his chest, which was more than
a little distracting. It was criminal he could look so good while being so unreasonable. Everything—his intense eyes, sexy grin and broad shoulders—made her mouth water. And distracted her from her anger towards him. She narrowed her eyes at him. Did he know he had such power over her? Oh my goodness, she hoped not. The man would be a devil with it.
“Surprise?” She stopped in front of him, put her hands on her hips and glared.
