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Chapter Nineteen
"I told you;you don't have to help with this," Holly said as Randy started unloading supplies from the back of his truck. She had taken him back to his place a few days ago, and then he'd driven back with some clothes and other things he wanted while he stayed there.
And when Holly had discussed wanting to spruce up a few cabins that sat along the beach, which were only a short walk from the main inn, Randy had jumped at the chance to help. She wasn't sure what had gotten into him but figured he had his own reasons. She didn't want to pry.
"Gotta keep myself busy," he said with a smirk, hoisting a ladder from the back of the truck as if it were made from paper. Holly let out a low whistle, and Randy's grin broadened. Clearly, he really hadn't let himself go at all! There must've been something in the water around this place. "Besides, you may be Miss Perfect, but something tells me you don't work with your hands very often."
Heat rushed to her cheeks as she pursed her lips. Ever since their chat on the boat, Randy liked to teasingly call her Miss Perfect. That alone didn't bother her, but he was right about her not having spent much time working with her hands.
She knew all about how to fix up a house. You couldn't be a real estate agent and not know what work a place needed to be able to sell for top dollar. And sure, when she had first gotten started, she had done some of the work herself to save a bit of money. But it had been years since then. More recently, she had crews she'd worked with that could handle anything and everything. All her houses had been put on the market at top-dollar.
But it was justlike riding a bike, wasn't it? She was certain she could handle the basics of sprucing the cabins up. It wasn't like she was going to completely remodel them. She just wanted to get the easy stuff out of the way, so Jason and Paul's crews didn't have to deal with minor stuff.
With the inn's finances still in flux, she could only afford to pay them for so much. And if that meant she had to get out there on a ladder with a paintbrush or a screwdriver, then that was what she was going to do.
Though truth be told, she did appreciate Randy's help. She just didn't appreciate him teasing her about it.
"Awe, don't pout at me," Randy teased, winking at her. It was strange, the two of them joking around like they were kids again, but Holly kind of liked it. It was a new start for the two of them. "You said this one's empty for two days, right? Then I'll get the ladder set up and work on the exterior, and you can head inside and start touching up the paint in there. How's that sound?"
It certainly sounded faster than doing it all herself, that was for sure!
So she took one of the smaller buckets of paint and a couple of different sized brushes and used her master key to unlock the cabin. The interior didn't look all that bad. It was clean, at the very least, but there were a good number of places where the paint was faded or chipped just from years of wear and tear.
Nothing some good old-fashioned elbow grease wouldn't fix, though!
She had purposely worn an old pair of jeans and a t-shirt she had pilfered from her brother, just, so she wouldn't have to worry about getting paint all over herself. With her hair tied up in a tight bun, she was ready to get to business and breathe some fresh life into the cabin.
Holly wasn't sure how long it took before she had finally finished touching up each of the rooms, but she was dripping with sweat by the end of it. And that had been inside with the AC running! She could only imagine how her brother was faring outside in the sun!
Gathering up her supplies again, she headed back outside. Randy was around the back of the cabin now, and while Holly was sweating, he was drenched. At some point, he had taken off his t-shirt and draped it against one of the window sills to dry, leaving him shirtless in the sunlight.
If Randy was looking to find himself a new woman, all he had to do was keep working around the inn like that! Holly thought with a laugh. She doubted very many of the women on the island, locals or otherwise, would turn down a well-muscled man who was good with his hands!
Randy must've noticed her watching him. He shouted down to her, a teasing lilt in his voice. "See something you like, sis?"
Holly rolled her eyes. She wasn't going to go there. Instead, she just returned his smirk. "Just wondering if that life insurance policy Mom had taken out on all of us was still valid. I'm pretty sure falling off a ladder was one of the covered provisions."
Randy's laughter echoed around them. He finished the last spot he was working on and then headed down the ladder to join her on solid ground once more. "Just remember, Mom had one of those policies on you, too. And after going through the divorce with Patty, I've had lots of time to consider various ways to make a death seem accidental!"
"Oh, please." Holly waved off his comments with a flip of her hand. "We all know you would never harm the hair on a woman, Randall Archer. I'm pretty sure Dad more than drilled that into you growing up!"
Randy pouted. With his brow scrunched up and lips pursed, he suddenly wasn't a forty-two-year-old man anymore. He was the bratty eight-year-old who would always complain if he got left out of anything the girls were doing. "Yeah, that was totally not fair. You three could wail on me all you wanted, and he never said a word. But if I dared get you back for any of it? He tanned my hide from one end of the island to the other!"
"And here you thoughtyouwere Dad's favorite. You may have been his only son, but there's nothing quite like the bond between a father and daughter!" Holly reached out and playfully shoved her brother. When he shoved her right back, she stared at him, mouth hanging open.
"It's a good thing Dad's not around to spank me then!" Randy's laughter filled the air, and Holly had the sudden urge to dunk her brother in the ocean like she had done so many times growing up. She had done it to all three of her siblings actually-- more times than she could count.
"Well, if you don't mind putting your childhood revenge on hold, we've got one more cabin to work on today. Number three checked out this morning and the new guests won't be here until late tomorrow night, so we've got just enough time to get it looking good for them."
Randy let out a dramatic sigh as he shook his head. "And here I thought I had come back home for some rest and relaxation. Now I've got my big sister cracking the whip again. What did I get myself into?"
"Keep it up and I'll really crack the whip!" Holly threatened.
The two of them took their time loading everything back into Randy's truck. Then they each grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler back there and chugged it down. While Holly didn't want to dawdle, she also didn't want either of them collapsing from heatstroke or something.
Besides, it wasn't like the touch-ups needed to be done right that very second. From what Natalie had told her, the new guests weren't due to arrive until at least eight in the evening. That gave them plenty of time to work on it today, then have it dried and aired out for the guests by tomorrow.
When they finally did make it over to Cabin Three, they divvied up the duties the same way again. Holly offered to take the outdoor work this time, but Randy wouldn't hear anything of it. Despite his earlier teasing, he was still too much of a gentleman to let his sister be the one melting in the Florida sun.
