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“Dock repair.”
“Finally getting around to it?” William asked.
“Maybe if he wasn’t daydreaming about Leah, our boy here would have fixed that dock already,” Noah said.
“Seriously considering finding new friends right now, Noah.” Dakota shook his head at his buddy.
Noah put his hands up. “Right. Deliveries. I’m going.”
Once Noah left, Dakota and William headed to the warehouse where they met up with Ginger who was running after a stick one of the employees threw for her. Though Dakota hadn’t wanted to run or work at the sawmill full time, good people worked there, and he still loved the smell of freshly milled lumber. Logs were harvested, stripped of their bark, measured up for most efficient cutting, sliced, stacked, stored, sold, and shipped at Brenton Sawmill. It was a process that happened again and again. A process that kept Maplehaven squarely in the black.
Dakota found the wood he needed, William helped him cut the boards to the lengths he wanted, and they loaded the boards into his truck he’d parked by the big warehouse doors. They worked in silence as was usually the case, but as soon as the last board had been loaded, William turned to Dakota.
“So... do you like Leah too?”
Dakota rubbed his temple, a slight headache coming on under the inquisitions of Noah and his father. “How did I know you weren’t going to drop this subject?”
“Thirty-three years of this perfect father-son relationship we’ve got going on?” William clamped a big hand on Dakota’s shoulder.
“Perfect? Ha! You sure you know what that word means, old man?”
“Yeah. It means I ask you a question and you give me an honest answer.” His father folded his arms across his chest and pierced him with his blue eyes.
Dakota adjusted a board in the bed of the truck, fiddling with it really. There was no getting out of answering William and he’d know if Dakota was feeding him a lie. That quality had made it damn hard for the Brenton children to get away with anything, and it seemed the power of that skill had not diminished over the years.
Dakota raked a hand through his hair. “Who wouldn’t like her? I saw what a great teacher she is when I took her class on that trip. She’s got an amazing way of relating to her students.”
William frowned and shook his head. “I wasn’t asking if you liked Miss Greenstead, the fabulous teacher. I want to know if you like Leah, the beautiful and kind woman.”
Dakota hesitated, but if he ever wanted to make it back to Birch Peak Adventures to fix that canoe dock today, he’d have to answer his father. “Pretty sure I do.”
“Dammit.” William pounded his fist on a stack of nearby pressure-treated wood.
Dakota jumped at the noise. “Not the response I was expecting.” He opened the driver side door of his truck and let Ginger hop in before getting in himself. What was this entire conversation about if William didn’t approve of Leah? And why wouldn’t he approve? Hadn’t he said he liked her?
“Don’t be silly. Of course I’m happy you like her. You two have the potential to be an awesome match.” But his father’s stern facial expression and rigid posture didn’t mirror those words.
“Then what’s with thedammit?” Dakota asked.
William huffed out a breath. “Your mother predicted this connection between the two of you the moment she met Leah. She’s always right.”
“Well, don’t tell her she’s right yet.”
It was too early for confirming predictions. What started out so right could always go so wrong.
“Hell, she isn’t going to hear she’s right from me. I stopped saying those words years ago. Had to say them too often. Got tired.” William stretched then put his hands on the driver door where the window was opened all the way. “You need any help with that dock?”
Dakota shook his head. “Nah, I’m going to see what I can get done before I have tours later and all day tomorrow. Columbus Day weekend is always so busy. Whatever I don’t get to today, I’ll finish on my day off on Wednesday.”
William pushed off the door and clapped his hands together once. “Come by on Tuesday night this week for dinner.”
“Why? So youandMom can bug me about Leah?” He gave his father a smile. As much as his parents loved to be in his business, he wouldn’t have it any other way. Knowing his family cared about him and wanted him to be happy fueled Dakota. He didn’t know what he’d do without his parents and sisters.
“Bugging you is the price you pay for eating your mother’s fabulous cooking.”
“Fair enough.” Dakota started the truck. “See you later.”
William nodded and headed back to the sawmill’s main office as Dakota backed up his truck. After ten minutes, he pulled his truck over to the canoe dock at Birch Peak Adventures and unloaded the boards with Ginger overseeing everything. If he wanted to get anything accomplished on this project, he’d have to hustle. He’d wasted more time than he’d intended to getting grilled by Noah and his father. Luckily, no one else was around this early.
