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Adele was wearing her usual uniform—dark coveralls over a white T-shirt—and she had her hair scraped back into a ponytail.
Safety goggles sat on top of her head like a headband, and her work boots were bright pink. My sister was a conundrum.
She was tall and strong and feminine. She spent all her time working on machines or working out—hell, her biceps mademejealous—but she always had freshly manicured nails, and she had a thing for jewelry. Today she was wearing a pendant necklace and gold hoop earrings.
Never a slouch, she was a fierce competitor on the local lumberjack competition circuit and an accomplished gardener. Her tiny cottage was surrounded by perfectly maintained flower gardens rarely seen in Northern Maine.
Because my sister lived up to no one’s expectations but her own.
I scanned the shop, marveling at how efficient and organized it was. One wall was covered with whiteboards, and every task for the day and week was laid out with assignments, parts needed, and time estimates.
She had four employees here and two who rotated up at camp, and she was known for running a tight ship.
All tools were stored carefully and labeled and inventoried in complex spreadsheets she spent her weekends obsessing over.
This was her kingdom, and she was the queen. Every employee at Gagnon Lumber knew better than to get in her way. Occasionally, I came down here and made a coffee so I could inquire about orders or repair costs or replacing tire treads.
If it was a big conversation, like end-of-year budgets, I brought donuts. Feeding her crew usually softened her up.
I stood off to the side, checking my emails. I knew better than to interrupt. She ignored me as she walked the space, sipping her latte while she chatted with Tony and Amelia and helped them inventory parts.
When she finally returned, she gestured for me to enter her office.
Unlike the shop, it was pure chaos. Paper everywhere, random chargers on the floor, and a long-dead plant on the windowsill.
On her desk was a framed photo of her and Dad at her college graduation from U Maine. They were both beaming, matching slightly crooked Gagnon smiles on full display.
Adele and I had always gotten along. Maybe because we were the two in the middle, but from an early age, we understood one another.
Henri was the responsible, honorable son who’d spent every waking moment of his life with my dad before he passed away. Remy was fun and charming, and even at thirty, he was still my mom’s baby.
Adele and I, we were sort of stuck in the middle, but we were there together.
She was smart and prickly and had never tolerated bullshit.
And I would have liked to think I was similar.
“Are you here to yell at me about expenses again?” she asked, sitting in her desk chair and tipping back.
“No. Actually, you’ve been keeping your expensive taste in check recently.”
She threw a pencil at me. “You told me to cut back on the expensive tools. You’re Mr. Business over there with your fancy shoes and expense reports. I’m a grease monkey.”
I threw the pencil back at her. “You are an accomplished electrical and mechanical engineer. Or did you forget? Miss Phi Beta Kappa?” I pointed to the graduation photo.
She shrugged. “Whatever. Tell me what you want and let me get back to work.”
I half turned and kicked the door closed. “Parker arrives tomorrow. I wanted you to know. In a day or two, once she’s settled, I figure we can all meet with her.”
She closed her eyes and savored her coffee before responding. “I was really impressed with her during our phone call. She’s sharp. Knows her stuff.”
I raised my coffee cup in a mock salute.
“I’m going to say this once, then I’ll drop it. I’m not stupid. I can’t imagine what she actually costs, and I know you’re paying her bills, so thank you. Henri may be too proud to accept the help, but this is too important to let pride get in the way. Hopefully one day I can repay you.”
Her words hit me like a blow to the chest. It wasn’t often that my siblings opened up like this, and Adele, of all people, was not one to express her gratitude so openly.
Unsure of how to respond, I settled on a tense nod. It meant the world to me that she saw what I was doing, how hard I was working, and appreciated it. Finding Parker, convincing her to take the case, and now getting her here, letting her live in my house, pretending to be her boyfriend, was a lot. And I was scared shitless.
