He smiled, almost reaching out to wipe a smudge of dirt from her nose, then stopping himself because what the hell?
“Gabi, I guarantee you that by the time you’re alone with those girls in your tent tonight, they will be too tired to give you any shit at all. Eight hours of manual labor will do them in. Guaranteed.” He put down his tool belt and stood back up. “You know, I’d have thought you’d be the first one to want them put through as much hell as possible, given that they got you sent here, instead of Bermuda.”
“Barbados.”
He shrugged. “B-something.”
She paused like she wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure if she should. Then she went ahead. “Just to be clear about something, I’ve let you be in charge this morning because—well—I’ve never built a bathroom from scratch. But despite what you’re telling them, I’m not turning them over to you long-term or anything.”
“Good. I don’t want ’em. And you only agreed to trust me for the day … so far.”
He saw a tinge of pink color her cheeks, and for a moment, he didn’t know if it was anger, embarrassment, or fear that put it there.
“I’m sorry,” she finally said. “I do. Trust you, I mean. I just pretty much suck at it.”
He laughed, and this time he did reach out to wipe the dirt from her nose. “We can work on that. But first, we’ll spend the afternoon making these girls regret they messed up your vacation, okay?”
She started to speak, but he put up a hand to stop her. “In a perfectly safe, nonthreatening sort of way.” Then he winked. “They might even accomplish something, if we’re not careful.”
Chapter 11
Early the next morning, Gabi settled into one of the Adirondack chairs beside the dock, reveling in the muted beauty of the sunrise, even though her back was screaming in pain from all of the lumber-hauling she’d done yesterday.
“Morning.” Luke’s voice came from behind her as he strode onto the sand, then sat down in the matching chair. “Sleep well?”
He looked just-showered delicious, not at all like he, too, had suffered through hours of manual labor just yesterday, even though he’d carted far more boards than she had. Meanwhile, she’d made do with a lightning-fast dip in the lake, one that had done nothing to ease the pain she was suffering from yesterday’s exertion.
“I slept perfectly, thank you.” If she was careful not to shift her weight right now, he’d never see her grimace as every muscle in her body screamed for mercy.
He looked at her, his eyes tracing her face slowly. “Bullshit.”
“Yup.” She bit her lip as she crossed her legs slowly. “You wouldn’t happen to stock Advil here, would you?”
“Oliver might have some. Not sure.”
“Speaking of … stocking things, I have a group of teenaged girls. We thought we were coming to a fully functional camp. I’m going to need to go into town and get … stuff, sooner than later.”
He nodded, putting up a hand. “We definitely don’t have stuff.”
“Does this mean you’ll unlock my battery?”
“Happily. But I’m not sure I’d take a fifteen-passenger luxury van into downtown Echo Lake. Between the hairpin turns and the crap parking, you’d be making a call to your insurance agent when you got back.”
“It was the only vehicle Priscilla was willing to spare for the summer. I didn’t have other options.”
“I suppose I could let you borrow my truck.”
Gabi pressed her lips together, picturing the truck that looked held together by no more than duct tape and a prayer. Would the thing even get her to town?
He looked over. “She’s not pretty, but she runs.”
Gabi felt a tiny laugh bubble out at his words, but when his face went suddenly steely, she swallowed her laughter, realizing he thought she was laughing at the truck itself, not the fact that he sounded like a character from The Beverly Hillbillies.
“I’m sorry to laugh. You just sounded like—I don’t know—a crusty old man sitting on his porch with his ancient hound dog at his feet and a shotgun across his lap.”
“Nice.” She could see him trying not to smile, and the steel melted a bit from his cheekbones.
“I’d be grateful if you’d let me borrow your truck. Thank you.”
Since the tiny town was beyond Camp Echo, Gabi hadn’t actually seen it on the way up here the other day. All she knew from checking on her computer back at Briarwood was that its main street wandered along the Abenaki River, which eventually dumped into the lake.
“What kind of stores do you guys have in town?”
“One grocery, one drugstore, one quilt shop, six antiques places that open in the summer, and a few small restaurants. There’s a Mexican place on the river, a new pub on Lake Street, and there’s Bellinis—Piper’s place.”
“She owns a restaurant?” How in the world did she have time to work here at camp?
“Doesn’t own it. It belongs to her aunt and uncle. She and her cousin Molly do most of the waiting tables, though, when they’re not working their other full-time jobs.”
Gabi nodded. “Busy.”
“Family.”
He let the word land like it had all the weight it needed, like there wasn’t any question that Molly and Piper would spend their off hours racing around a restaurant on tired feet, because … family.
She wondered what it would be like to feel like that about her own family.
And then she wondered about his.
“How about you, Luke? Where’d you grow up? Where’s your family?”
Like a curtain at the end of an opera, the muscles in Luke’s face contracted, then relaxed as if they’d practiced the bland look he passed her way.
“Long story. So … we gonna finish up that bathroom today? You going to let me have your heathens again?”
Gabi swallowed. Okay. Not talking about family. “You really want them?”
He shrugged. “That depends on you. You agreed to trust me for one day. That ended last night. But we’ve got a bathroom partly built, and we’ve got a bunch of teens who could use some work to do. You’re stuck here, and I’m stuck with you. We might as well make the best of it, right?”
“Nice. You really think they can do it? Build an actual—building?”
“You saw them yesterday. Once they got done being miserable, they actually started to cooperate. Not on purpose, but they did. They’re a quarter of the way done, and they’re motivated. If they do get it done, then no more outhouse. I say we let them keep working on it. And I’ll agree to keep supervising, on one condition.”
“If I say yes, you have to keep supervising. I have no idea how to build a bathroom.”
“Exactly.”
“But I don’t like conditions.”
“I know. But I do.” He smiled. “And here’s mine—you need to work with me, not against me.”
Gabi spun toward him, trying not to wince when the action tweaked her tender ribs. “How am I working against you? I helped all day yesterday.”
“I know. But you’re still trying to protect the girls from the big, bad handyman, and you really need to let them do what needs doing in order to get this thing built.”
“Are we talking about power saws? And their propensity to eat inexperienced fingers? Because I stand by my opinion on that one. The most complicated tool these girls have ever used is a straightening iron, okay?”
He laughed. “Well, how are they going to learn, if you don’t let them try? You can’t protect them from everything.”
“That’s my job, Luke. And if I do nothing else this summer, I do need to bring them all back in one piece.”
“They’re not going to lose pieces by picking up a power tool or running some simple wiring.”
“Have you been to an ER lately? They totally could.” She felt her chin jut out stubbornly, and she put a hand up to hide it. Dammit.
“Well, we’ll never find out, if you keep stopping them from doing the things I’m askin
g them to do. You said you’d trust me.”
“When I agreed, there was no mention of power tools.”
His face grew serious. “They could gain a lot more than they’ll lose, Gabi. Let go a little bit and trust me to keep them safe. This is good for them. I guarantee you.”
She paused for a long moment, processing what he was saying. Was she being overprotective? Then she sighed, blowing out a long breath.
“How far away is the nearest hospital?”
He touched her hand gently, then pulled back quickly, like he hadn’t meant to reach out in the first place.
“It’s close enough.”
“How long do you think it’ll take to finish the bathroom?”
“Depends on whether you allow the use of power tools.”
She sighed. “Fine. But no saws. Nothing with blades. I mean it.”
“Fair enough.” He smiled, but she saw him try to swallow it. “So how about you head into town this morning and get what you need, and I’ll hang back here with the girls?”
She eyed him suspiciously. “No blades.”
“Trust me, Gabi.” He put up his hands. “Nobody’s going to get hurt here.” Then he got up and headed up the pathway, and Gabi tried—but failed miserably—not to follow him with her eyes.
Once he was out of sight, she turned toward the lake, watching the mist rise, hearing a pair of loons calling to each other from the eastern shore. She touched her hand where his fingers had just been, and took a long, shaky breath.
Oh, somebody was going to get hurt here, all right.
She was dead afraid it was going to be her.
* * *
Luke swore as he closed the screen door of his cabin behind him. Why in God’s name had he just touched her? Again?
Thing 1 and Thing 2 jumped up from their dog bed and headed his way, their tails wagging so hard they almost tipped over. He crouched down to pet them, feeling guilty about how much time they spent in his cabin, rather than out roaming. But he’d quickly found out that their curly fur was no match for the brambles that surrounded the open area of the camp, and he’d also quickly discovered their propensity for disappearing into the woods. Between the four-legged critters and hawks that also roamed and soared over these woods, he’d decided the dogs were safer staying inside most of the time.
Thing 1 stood up on her hind legs to deliver her version of a kiss to his chin, and he laughed as he pushed her gently back down.
Then he stopped, remembering how much the camp boys had always loved Duke. He’d watched that old Lab nose his way into more than one tent over the years, and he’d watched boys who couldn’t trust affection from any human hug that dog silly. Could these pups have the same thawing effect on Gabi’s girls, maybe?
“Guess what, ladies?” He grabbed their leashes, making them yip and turn circles. “Enough lazing around living the high life. I’m putting you to work.”
He headed out the door and down the pathway, not at all sure what he was going to actually do with them, but to his knowledge, there wasn’t a woman on earth who could resist a pair of puffball puppies … even four teens who played at being far more inaccessible than they really wanted to be.
Yeah, maybe he was having trouble getting Gabi to fully trust him, but with his two mini-team members in tow, he should have a chance of getting through to her girls.
* * *
“Oh, not possible. He does not have—are you kidding me?” Two hours later, Gabi stopped short on the pathway, then fumbled to rebalance the grocery and drugstore bags that threatened to fall out of her arms.
The man had puppies.
Puppies.
Had they been here all along, and he hadn’t let the girls near them? Or were they some sort of new trick he’d devised in order to elicit cooperation?
“Cute, huh?” Piper came up behind her, reaching for one of Gabi’s bags.
Gabi turned. “Are they his?”
“Yup.”
“Really? Poodles?”
Piper smiled. “They’re bichons, actually. He had a black Lab that passed away a while back. And after an appropriate mourning period … well, someone decided he could use some puppies.” Piper shrugged. “It was inspired, really, if I do say so myself.”
Gabi watched Sam pick up one of the dogs and cuddle it under her chin. She wondered if the girl had ever had a dog, in any of the homes she’d lived in.
“Let me guess. You got him the puppies.”
Piper widened her eyes. “I know nothing. They appeared on his back porch one morning, he said.”
Gabi laughed. “No offense, Piper, but I’m not sure you have a future in the theater.”
“Really? Didn’t fly?”
“Nope.” Gabi shook her head as she watched the little scruffy pups hop around Luke’s feet. “Why … bichons?”
“It was fate, really. Old Mrs. Devereaux was moving to senior housing, and couldn’t take them with her. Young Mr. Magellan was in need of canine therapy. Match made in heaven, I decided.”
Gabi laughed as she turned toward the dining hall, Piper on her heels. “I’ve got ice cream in here. Better get it put away before it melts.”
“I see Luke let you drive his truck?”
“Yes, and I should probably apologize to him in advance for all of the tongue-wagging it seemed to induce downtown.” Gabi shook her head as she pictured all of the widened eyes and elbow-jabbing she’d seen as she’d puttered through Echo Lake.
Piper shrugged as she opened the door for Gabi. “Small town. Everybody knows what everybody else drives. And when a new hottie shows up in the Camp Echo limo, it’s going to crank up the rumor mill. I’m sure I’ll get an earful at Bellinis later.”
“Well, as long as you paint me taller, blonder, and bustier, I’m good with the rumors. G’ahead and start a few.”
Piper laughed. “Sorry, honey. You’ve been spotted. Your stats and prospects are already being debated up and down Main Street.”
“Stop it.” Gabi mock shivered. “You’re scaring me.” She started to open a yogurt, then swore as it spewed onto her shirt. “Okay, next question. Any idea where I can do laundry?”
“Luke will tell you he washes his clothes in the lake.”
Gabi sighed. “I was afraid of that.” Then she paused. “Does he?”
“No. He hates the feel of line-dried clothes. He takes his to the next town up. There’s a decent Laundromat there. But I’ll tell you what—if we work it right, maybe we can convince Luke to let you sneak out and come do it at my condo over the weekend.”
“Condo? With walls? Indoor plumbing? Be still my heart.”
Piper laughed. “I’d invite you for a sleepover so you could have a real bed, too, but I don’t think Luke would forgive us for abandoning him with the girls for that long. But you could take an actual hot shower while your clothes are in the dryer.”
“It’s a deal. And also, I love you.”
Gabi walked closer to the window, watching as Luke gave instructions to the girls, and with a minimum of grumbling, they carried them out. To her utter surprise, on the cement platform, there now lived a wooden framework that looked like it might, just might, turn into a bathroom.
Eve said something that made him laugh, and the way he tossed his head back and let that laugh out just grabbed at Gabi’s heart. He pointed at Eve like she’d gotten him good, and Gabi put her hand to her chest as she watched Eve turn away, a small smile on her face.
Huh. He was getting to them. He was … getting them.
“He’s good.” Piper came up behind her, handing her a cup of tea.
“I … can see that. We might actually have a bathroom here before too long.”
“Not what I meant.”
Gabi nodded slowly. “I know. But here’s what I can’t figure out—how does a camp handyman get this … good?”
Piper looked at her, and Gabi saw a dozen different answers cross her face before she shook her head the slightest bit.
“That’s for hi
m to tell, but … don’t ask him yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because.” Piper looked out the window, watching Luke. “He won’t answer you.”
Chapter 12
Two days later, Gabi stepped out of the dining hall just after dawn, hands gratefully clutched around a mug of Luke’s coffee. She walked down the pathway toward the beach, passing the bathroom shell, and as she’d expected … hoped … Luke sat in one of the chairs, his hands around his own coffee mug.
She stopped, studying him before he saw her. He had on his standard T-shirt and jeans combo, this time with a Red Sox hat turned backward, and she swallowed hard. She’d always thought she liked clean-shaven men best, but apparently she’d never spent much time with someone who rocked a five o’clock shadow quite so well.
“You going to stand there all morning, or come sit down?” He didn’t move a muscle besides his mouth—just kept sipping his coffee and staring out at the lake.
She took a deep breath, heading to the empty chair and sitting down beside him. “Thanks for making coffee.”
“Can’t start my day without it. Noticed you can’t, either.”
“No, I can’t. And I think you’ve already converted me to your brand.”
“No-brainer.” He shrugged, smiling. “Girls a little tired?”
“More exhausted than I’ve ever seen them, yes.”
“Amazing what a couple of days of hard labor can do, hm?”
She sipped her coffee, not sure how to answer. Yes, working them till they were bone tired every day was an effective way to prevent them from having the energy to bother getting into trouble, but her worry was that she wasn’t sure it was one that would stick with them after they were done here at Camp Echo. Dorm life at Briarwood was hardly comparable. As soon as they were back there, she was afraid they’d fall back into the same routines, the same lulls, the same petty conflicts.
He looked over. “You don’t agree?”
“I agree that it’s working currently.”
“But you don’t think it will continue to?”
“Have you ever heard of the honeymoon period, Luke?”
He smiled. “Enlighten me.”
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