by Zoe York
“Of course.” Bailey gave a fierce nod. “I’m on Team Catie.”
“We don’t need teams. We’re all on Team Pine Harbour.” It was a bit of a line. Catie didn’t really believe that Will shared her vision for the town. Not exactly. But his vision for the town probably aligned with hers in at least a few ways, so she could work with that.
“Sure, but if it comes to fisticuffs in the street…” Bailey giggled. “I’m high on French fries, I’ll see myself out.”
“Another slice of pie, honey?” The waitress pointed to the display stand. “There’s one more.”
“Box it up and I’ll take it home.” Catie slid off the stool as Bailey paid her bill. “I’m going to help Frank clean up.”
“Go home,” he barked through the window. “Get some sleep and don’t let that Kincaid boy bother you.”
“He’s a thirty-eight-year-old man, not a boy, and you shouldn’t be listening to private conversations.”
“Then don’t have them in my restaurant.”
Catie grinned.
As they walked to their cars, Bailey resumed the conversation. “Seriously, good luck with Will. And if he proves to be too much to handle, there’s no shame in changing your mind. You’ve got a lot on your plate. Two jobs, volunteer commitments…you don’t need to manage a man child at the same time.”
“He’s not a—” Catie cut herself off. Will didn’t need her to defend him. “It didn’t help that I had a long day of work first.”
“Maybe you need help in the shop, then.” Bailey got a gleam in her eye.
Catie laughed. “I don’t think I can afford you, Ms. World Domination.”
“No, I don’t want another part-time job. But is there anything that could be offloaded? Summer break is around the corner. I bet there will be lots of students looking for work.”
Catie thought about that idea as she drove home.
When she first moved to Pine Harbour and opened her salon, there wasn’t enough foot traffic or repeat customers to cover the mortgage on her store and her house. It had bothered her that she’d let her optimism uproot her from the city, where she’d thought she’d never be able to have her own salon and a home, only to land back in Pine Harbour and still need her real estate license—something her mother had helped her get into—to make ends meet.
Although this time she wasn’t just paying rent on an apartment and a chair in a salon. This time she was investing in herself, and she had to admit, she liked dabbling in real estate on the side. The challenge Bailey had given her tonight, for example. She loved the spontaneous project of digging into the history of a property and crafting the right offer pitch to take to the owners.
And now, both her businesses were stable and she was doing well.
Bailey was right. Catie needed help. Someone who could clean up while she was with clients, and who could answer the phone and fill in appointments, so she wasn’t constantly getting back to people and spending an hour tidying at the end of each day. The problem was, she was so used to doing it all herself. Truthfully, she assumed that she would always have to go it alone. But she liked the idea of hiring a high school student, someone who she would be helping in return. She’d never forget that Frank gave her a chance when she was just a kid, and the hours she spent working at the diner made it that much easier to get out of town the second she graduated high school.
Her street was quiet, most houses already dark for the night. Across the road, Frances Schmidt’s living room light was on, but it turned off as soon as Catie got out of her car. Was she just as much of a creeper as her neighbour for noticing?
She let herself into her tidy little bungalow. Once upon a time, this had been a rundown rental property, and the landlord had given them a deal on the first month’s rent because Catie’s mom had agreed to clean it herself. It was their home for thirteen years, rented the whole time, until Catie moved to the city—and Suzanne followed not long after.
Catie rubbed her chest and made a face at the wave of feelings. Maybe she should eat the second piece of pie now instead of saving it for breakfast. She wandered into the kitchen, with the oversized butcher block island. It was the first change she made after she bought the house.
As sometimes happened when she was alone in her kitchen, that first weekend visit back to Pine Harbour rolled through her mind. She’d come up to fulfil a promise to her mother, only to discover while at Mac’s for lunch that the house they had once rented was for sale—and at a price she could afford.
It had been a sign.
It was small and simple, but it was hers.
She’d meant for it to be a weekend getaway place, but only a few months after she took possession of the house, the storefront she now used as her salon was listed.
Another sign, Frank had said. That one was more of a stretch, financially, especially after she gave notice at the salon in the city.
Somehow, suddenly, she had become a Pine Harbour full-time resident again. There were a few nosy questions about her return from people like Frances, but most of Catie’s own generation didn’t question her reappearance.
It had been a good three years. For the most part, she hadn’t looked back. It felt right to be back in Pine Harbour, in a bittersweet way. Right, but there was still a lot to do before it felt like the home her mother once imagined for her five-year-old daughter.
She ran a hot bubble bath and sank into it, thinking about Bailey’s advice.
Climbed into bed thinking about Will Kincaid and their stupid feud.
The next morning, she put a sign in the window at the salon, then snapped a picture and posted it on social media, too. Catie Berton was officially hiring part-time help for the summer.
High school students were encouraged to apply.
Chapter Five
Will went out of his way to not be on social media, because in a small town, there was a slim-to-none chance of avoiding seeing what his students were doing on the weekend, and they all benefited from him just not looking in the first place.
And yet somehow, by Saturday morning, no fewer than six separate people had told him that Catie was looking to hire a high school student for the summer. His brother Josh, Bailey Patel, his sister-in-law Isla, Olivia Minelli, and both Frances Schmidt and her daughter Ashley, who had just graduated from nursing school, and was suddenly everywhere Will looked.
He replied to Josh, Bailey, Isla, and Olivia with his thanks. He left the messages from the Schmidt mother/daughter duo unread, and didn’t feel bad about it. The two of them needed to learn that he wasn’t accessible to them like that.
Will prided himself on his ability to draw clear boundaries—especially with mothers who had decided Will might make a good son-in-law.
He wouldn’t. He had his hands full with his own family.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to get married. He always had, but in the future.
Of course, now he was well and truly into whatever theoretical definition of the future his 25-year-old self might have had, and he still hadn’t met the right woman yet.
When he did, though, it wouldn’t be someone who brought her own family drama to the table. It would be someone like him, with healthy boundaries and a focus on their career.
It was easier to describe who it wouldn’t be. Anyone like Ashley Schmidt, who was sixteen years younger than him. He wanted someone his own age, someone gentle and calm. A balm to come home to at the end of the day.
His mind flipped immediately to another definitely not example. Catie Berton. It occurred to him that she might be hiring a high school student to make a point or get back at him for the awkward training session two nights earlier. Not that hiring one of his students made sense as retribution, but nothing that had gone on between them made any sense.
Not only was she a strong example of what he didn’t want in a partner, but her very existence as a thorn in his side—a complete and utter distraction—made the thought of trying to date utterly impossible.
He
pulled out his phone and added figure out Catie’s motives beneath email Catie back about the business club and tell Sam to apply for a job at Catie’s salon. She had her own sub-list on his to-do list, and Will didn’t like that it was growing.
The sound of propellers cut through the still early morning air, and he glanced up at the sky. After watching Seth’s float plane circle around to land, he sent Josh another text message.
Will: He’s here and I’m sitting across from your garage, wake the fuck up.
Josh: *hits snooze on the brother texts*
Will: Seth needs to be back here by nine to pick up his passengers.
Josh: I need a shower.
Will: Fine, meet us at the diner.
He met Seth on the dock, then followed as his brother popped into the marina office, where August Howe, January’s sister, was yawning over a cup of coffee. One of her kids, Summer, had a steaming cup of what Will was assuming was hot chocolate, and waved at him. “Hi, Mr. Kincaid.”
He leaned against the counter. “Helping your mom this morning?”
Summer nodded solemnly. “She says I can work for her this summer.”
“That’s exciting. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t started my training yet.”
Seth glanced over from where he was signing papers. “Maybe you’ll help my passengers check in.”
“You’re the pilot who’s going to be flying out of here?” Summer gave Will’s brother the once over.
Seth nodded his head sideways. “And Principal Kincaid’s brother. My name is Seth.”
“I’m Summer.”
“Nice to meet you. What grade are you in?”
“Six.”
“Ooh, good grade.” Seth grinned. “All right, I’ll be back in an hour and a half. If they show up early, Summer, you’re in charge.”
As soon as they were outside, Will spread his arms wide. “Uh, is there something you want to share with the class? You’re going to fly out of the marina now? I thought today was a one-off charter.”
“Turns out there’s some demand for flights from the area. And…” Seth shrugged. “August can use the rent. So we’re going to test this out. I’ve opened my schedule for three times a week for the summer.”
“That’s awesome.” Will grinned. “Motivation to get my Duster road-worthy. You can drive my truck while you’re here.”
He was slowly restoring a vintage two-door Plymouth coupe with his brothers. It was one part lifelong dream, two parts brother bonding fuel.
But Seth shook his head at the offer. “I’m not going to be here long enough to need wheels. I’ll be here more frequently, but just like this. A few hours at a time. I can hang at Josh’s garage if nobody else is available for coffee or whatever.”
Will didn’t bother pushing the conversation around Seth moving home. Josh had moved home after more than a decade in the States on the racing circuit. One day, Seth would come back for good, too.
It didn’t pay to put any pressure on them. Every Kincaid had to find their own path, and it took each of them a different length of time. “At least we get to have breakfast together more often.”
“Family bonding time. Priceless.” Seth smirked, but it was true.
Their relationship, the five brothers, meant absolutely everything to Will. He knew it did to each of his brothers as well. They all showed it in different ways, and needed different levels of attachment, but when push came to shove, it was always a brother who would be there. Even when you just needed someone to reflect back to you that yeah, you were being a jerk.
They were the first ones to arrive at Mac’s. They snagged the corner booth that was big enough for five grown men to sprawl out in, and ordered coffee.
“How’s school? All the munchkins restless for summer break?”
Will snorted. “The munchkins, the teachers, and the growling teenagers, too.”
“Do you have any plans? Want to hitch a ride to a fly-in lodge one week?”
“Can’t. I’ve committed to helping train the new Search and Rescue Team trainees.” He made a face. “Although that’s turned into a shitshow, too.”
“Why?”
He hesitated. Adam, Josh, and Owen had all razzed Will about Catie in the past. But Seth didn’t know about any of that. He gave his brother a brief, objective overview. “She’s a pain in the ass. Constantly wanting to fix shit that isn’t broken. But I should be able to handle her better than I do.” He considered the situation as a whole. “It’s possible I was a jerk to her. And now we’re teammates, and it’s awkward.”
“Are you asking for advice?”
Will wasn’t sure, but he didn’t like the surprised tone in Seth’s voice. “Why do you sound so shocked?”
“Because you’re the one who gives advice.” Seth shrugged and stroked his jaw. “What would you tell one of your teachers?”
“To leave personal stuff at the door, and deal with each other as professionals.”
“There you go.”
“But—” He cut himself off.
Seth’s eyebrows lifted in blatant curiosity. “But what?”
“Nothing.”
His brother narrowed his eyes.
Before it went any further, they were saved from that debate by the arrival of their three other brothers.
“What'd we miss?” Owen asked.
“Will has woman problems—”
“Seth doesn’t want to move back to Pine Harbour—”
Owen reached between them and grabbed the menu. “Never mind, I don’t need to know.”
Adam nodded in agreement and waved to the waitress.
Josh snorted. “You traitors. Just because you’re both happily married now doesn’t mean you’re above gossip. We clearly missed some good stuff.”
“Is it good gossip, though?” Owen shrugged. “If it’s the same old, same old, I’d rather order.”
“And if you wanted to be in on the conversation, you could have caught a ride with me,” Will pointed out, eager to jump on the Owen’s Stomach Saves the Day and Ends the Conversation train.
Josh snorted. “Hard pass.”
They all ordered, then Seth filled the others in on his new business plan.
“That’s great. We’ll get to do this more often,” Adam said. “And Will can harass you about moving back home.”
Josh nodded. “Will just misses having us crashing at his house.”
“Will is sitting right here.” The subject of their joking started to give his brothers the finger, but two of his students walked through the door and he converted the gesture to shoving his hand into his hair. “And I already pushed the issue earlier, which I tried to tell you all when you showed up.”
“But the more important issue is that Will’s empty house reminds him that the only woman who gives him any attention is his nemesis,” Seth said.
Fuck.
The conversation around the table came to a screeching halt. Josh narrowed his eyes. Adam leaned back against the booth and crossed his arms over his chest. And Owen leaned in, which was the most dangerous of all—Owen going into Dad Mode with a ready lecture.
Will much preferred it when he was the one with the ready lecture. “My house does not feel empty.”
“So you’re not denying that Catie is your nemesis?”
“Wait,” Josh growled. “The woman problems Will is having…we’re back to Catie again? What’s going on?”
“We’re not back to— There's nothing going on here.”
Seth looked at Josh. “I didn't know that we had covered Catie before. Why don't you fill me in on what you know and I will tell you—”
Will cut him off. “You won't tell him anything. I asked for your advice in confidence.”
Owen frowned. “Why are you asking for advice from him? Why wouldn't you come to me?”
Adam thumped himself on the chest. “Or me. I'm great with women.”
“You're a child,” Will barked.
“I�
��m a married man. I'm 30 years old.”
“In the context of the five of us, you’re the baby. I'm not coming to you for advice. I'm not coming to anyone for advice. I didn’t even ask Seth, it just sort of— I will sort out the Catie problem myself. Thank you. We don't need to talk about this again.”
“So there is a Catie situation.” Josh narrowed his eyes. “Is this still about how she didn’t think you were hot enough for the bachelor auction? Your fee-fees are still bent out of shape because you like her and she doesn’t like you?”
“Wait, you like this woman?” Seth shook his head. “Come on, man.”
“It’s complicated.” Did he like Catie? He was attracted to her. And he liked how much she cared about Pine Harbour when her laundry list of things that needed to be changed weren’t dumped on his own to-do list. He liked her earnestness. But he didn’t like… Other things. None that he could specifically name at the moment, but there was a very long list of individual moments where she had annoyed him in the past, and there were certainly common threads to be found between those moments. But he didn’t want to dwell on them, which is why he couldn’t precisely name her egregious faults. “And it’s a moot point, because she doesn’t like me. It takes two to tango.”
“You sound like a sixty-year-old when you say shit like that.”
“That’s part of my presentation to the kids about boundaries and respecting the fact that no means no, and I don’t like you means no, and silence means no.”
“It takes two to tango. I’m starting to see why you’re struggling to connect with the high school kids.”
“Fuck off.”
Josh pointed at him. “There you go. That’s more their language.”
“Let’s get back on topic.” Seth was enjoying this way too much. “Will likes Catie—”
“Will does not like—” he tried to interject, but it didn’t sound true, and his brothers didn’t believe him anyway.
“—and he wishes he could have a do-over on their recent encounters.”
Oh. Yeah, that part was very true. He nodded. “Somehow, I’ve turned into this grumpy shithead around her.”
Owen scowled at him. “Being a grumpy jerk isn’t attractive.”
