“Does she need anything for the night? I’d be happy to take her a bag while the rest of you have dinner and rest.”
She shook her head, touched that he was offering even more assistance. “She said she has everything she needs for tonight. She’s going to sleep in her clothes and she can get a toothbrush there. Have dinner with us, instead. We’ll be eating late, around eight-thirty, so I’m going to rush home and shower first. I’m still wearing my swimsuit under my clothes.”
He nodded. “I’ll do the same. What can I do to help you close up in here first?”
An hour later, they sat with the rest of the family over plates of ribs, potato salad and corn on the cob. Though the food was enjoyed, the overall mood was a bit somber, despite the general relief that Steven would fully recover. They’d all had a major scare and it would take a while for that shock to pass. Looking around the big table that held all her family except for her mother, brother and two cousins, Shelby acknowledged silently that she was far from ready to let go of any of them.
“He’s going to be off work for at least a month,” her dad said to Bryan, looking grim.
Bryan nodded. “We can get by with the summer help, put off a few projects until he’s up and around again. Only thing I’m concerned about is that roofing project on Cabin Two. Need to get that done before the next big rain. We were lucky the rain last night was a light one. The materials are supposed to be in tomorrow, and we were going to start on it Saturday, try to finish it up this weekend. Don’t think I can do it by myself. We might just have to hire out that job so we can get it out of the way as soon as possible.”
“Let me help,” Aaron offered, to no one’s surprise by now, Shelby thought. “I’ve got nothing pressing to get to for a few days yet. I worked construction a couple of summers in college, so I know how to lay shingles. I always liked working with my hands.”
It was also no surprise to Shelby that it took him less than ten minutes of arguing to convince them. Even to almost make them think they were doing him a favor to let him help.
“Have you ever considered politics as your next potential career pursuit?” she asked him with a laugh when she drove him to his cabin in a golf cart after dinner. They both knew he could easily have walked back, but they’d taken advantage of the excuse to spend a little more time alone.
“I have no interest at all in politics,” he assured her. “Why?”
She parked the cart in his drive and smiled at him. “You are one smooth talker. By the time we left, you were practically thanking everyone for letting you help around this place. And they were buying it!”
“They did say they would refuse to accept a dime from me for my stay here,” he pointed out. “I’ve been fishing and swimming and been fed ribs—I’m having a great vacation, and I even enjoy working with your family. I’d say I’m getting the better part of the deal.”
Definitely a slick talker, she thought, stifling a smile. “You might not think so when you’re up on that roof at high noon Saturday.”
He shrugged. “I spent one whole summer doing construction work in a year that set heat records, with temperatures over a hundred nearly every afternoon. And I still liked the work just fine. A weekend roofing project will be a piece of cake after that.”
“I know Uncle Bryan really appreciates your offer to help,” she said more seriously. “He didn’t seem too worried about putting off the other big projects until Steven’s back on his feet, but they’ve had this roofing job scheduled for weeks.”
“I’m just glad your brother will be okay.” He climbed out of the cart. “Would you like to come in? I bought some herbal tea in town yesterday. My mom’s an herbal-tea junkie, and I’ve gotten in the habit of drinking it in the evenings.”
She paused only a moment, deliberating the wisdom of going inside with him, then slid out of the cart, almost defiantly stuffing the key into her pocket. “I like a cup of tea in the evenings myself.”
Aaron was already digging in his pocket for his own keys, but he suddenly hesitated. “This won’t cause problems for you with your family, will it? Coming inside with me at night, I mean.”
She laughed in disbelief. “Aaron, I’m twenty-five years old. I don’t have a curfew, nor do I answer to my parents about where I spend my evenings.”
He chuckled in response to her defensive tone. “Okay, just checking.”
“Besides,” she muttered, following him inside, “Lori still lives at home and who knows where she’s been spending her weekends lately. She says she’s hanging out with college friends, but I’m not sure.”
His face averted from her, Aaron tossed his keys on the bar. “You think she has a secret boyfriend?”
“I think she’s hanging with a questionable crowd,” she admitted. “She doesn’t introduce us to her friends and she’s been acting...well, differently lately. Part of it I think is just the natural process of separating herself from family, growing up, establishing her own identity. But I still worry.”
Filling the teakettle, he spoke over the running water. “Could be if you confronted her she’d say pretty much what you just told me. She’s over eighteen, too old for a curfew and doesn’t need family approval for her friends.”
Shelby made a face. “You’re absolutely right, of course. I was being hypocritical, wasn’t I?”
“You were being concerned about your sister,” he corrected, taking a box of tea from a cupboard.
They carried their cups to the couch, settling side by side on the cushions. Shelby set her cup on the low table in front of them with a long sigh. “What a day.”
Setting his steaming cup next to hers, he turned toward her, his expression sympathetic. “It has been a long one, hasn’t it?”
Thinking of all that had happened since her alarm had gone off that morning, she murmured, “You could say that again.”