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  Axel relaxed. He looked cocky again. “Nah, I can have the likes of him evicted.”

  There was something about the way he said it that made her suspicious. “What do you mean the likes of him? Did you try to get me evicted?”

  He pulled at his blankets, not meeting her eyes.

  “You did, didn’t you?” She wanted to smack him, surprised by how angry she felt.

  “Sheriff Brickle wouldn’t boot you off my place, said he’d talked to your mom and you’d only come to help and I should listen to you.”

  Her hands balled into fists again. “You old bastard, that does it!”

  “I told you when you came I didn’t want you.”

  “And I should have listened.” She turned on her heel to stomp away. She was done talking to him, done with him period! He could sit and rot in this house for all she cared!

  “Hey, where you goin’, girl?”

  “Home! I’m not getting anywhere with you.”

  He actually sounded upset. “Don’t be like that. You just said it. When Sylvie gets here, I might rather be in a home than be stuck here with her and Kurt.”

  “Then call Sheriff Brickle and see if he can help you.”

  “Girl! Come on back here. You’re the one who knows all that stuff. You’re the one who’d make sure I like where I end up.”

  She was throwing two of the rotisserie chickens in the freezer, along with most of the fancy bread loaves. She hesitated. That’s why she’d stuck around—to see how things went when Sylvie showed up. Okay, not the whole truth. To see Keagan, too. She pressed her lips together. She wasn’t sure any of it was worth it.

  Axel said, “Come on. You want to see them paint the house, don’t you?”

  “I had wanted to.” She slammed the refrigerator door and walked to the sun porch to glare at him. She hugged herself, trying to squeeze away the anger. Damn, Axel could irritate her. She took a deep breath. “I’ll stay until Sylvie comes. Then you have to decide—stay with her or get help.”

  He didn’t argue. He gave a quick nod, then looked at the clock. “You made some meatloaf, didn’t you?”

  She glanced at the clock, too. After five. “Give me a minute. I like mashed potatoes with meatloaf. They’ll take about half an hour.” She needed to do something to work away her negative energy.

  He nodded again. Kurt squirmed. No, he wouldn’t. He would, she just knew it. Karli pressed her lips together and stalked to the refrigerator. Yup, just as she suspected. The foil had been messed with and a slice was missing. She came back to the sun-room and stabbed her finger at Kurt a second time.

  He threw up his hands. “I’ll never get into your suppers again! It’s just that I love the damned stuff. Yours was perfect with the ketchup glaze.”

  She snorted and flounced back to the kitchen to start the potatoes. If she got started with Kurt, it would get ugly. Better to leave it alone. Her mom made the same exact combination every time she made meatloaf, always serving it with mashed potatoes, green beans, and an apple pie. Why she’d gone to the bother, she didn’t know. She went to the dining room table where she’d left more shopping bags. She pulled out the pie she’d bought in town and slid it into the oven to warm with the meatloaf.

  Half an hour later, she put the food on the dining room table and called, “If you want to eat, you have to come out here.”

  She almost regretted not letting them eat in the sun-room. The laptop was better company, but the more Axel moved, the stronger he’d stay. Supper was almost done when Brad knocked at the front door and delivered a loaf of pumpkin bread and a loaf of zucchini bread from Maxwell’s bread shop.

  “Maxwell and Steph—they work together—thought these would make an easy breakfast for you.”

  “They will. Tell them thank you, and thanks for delivering them.”

  Brad took a deep breath, inhaling the aromas of the food. “If I weren’t meeting Keagan at Chase’s tonight, I’d try to wheedle an invitation for supper with you. I’m going to Chase’s tomorrow night, too. Want to come?”

  She shook her head. She’d use the house as an excuse. “Everyone’s coming to scrape on Saturday. I’m going to call it an early night on Friday.”

  “Gotcha. I’ll try you again some other time.”

  He didn’t sound too let down. His curly blonde hair was still a little damp, as if he’d showered after work, and a woodsy cologne drifted to her. He looked like he was ready for a little fun. She watched him hurry to his truck. Since he hadn’t scored with her, he’d move to the next girl, and he’d probably get lucky.

  Chapter 22

  On Saturday, a small army of townspeople showed up to work: Tyne and Daphne came in his Jeep, Joel and Miriam brought a small keg of beer; Harley, Chase, Keagan, and Brad lugged hammers and nails. Keagan opened the door of his SUV and pointed to the back seat. “Ian and Tessa supplied the food—chicken enchiladas with shredded lettuce on the side.” Hands reached in to help him carry the foil pans to the kitchen. Then everyone got to work.

  So many people here offered so much kindness, Karli felt overwhelmed. When she started to tear up, Keagan reached to comfort her, but Brad hugged her first. He squashed her to him, a little too close for comfort.

  “It’s all right, hon. Mill Pond helps each other out.”

  Hon? Where the hell did that come from? She sputtered, irritated, but swallowed her protests. Keagan had taken a step back and gave her a look. He clearly thought she’d succumbed to Brad’s charm. Damn the man! Damn both of them!

  Keagan started to his SUV, his expression closed. “Let’s get to it!” He’d brought a stretch ladder and Brad had another one. Joel and Harley had two regular ladders, so they decided that Keagan and Brad would scrape the highest clapboards. Tyne, Harley, and Chase would work from the bottom of the clapboards up, and the women were in charge of the shutters and trim.

  When Karli dragged the paint cans Keagan bought to the barn to work with Daphne and Miriam, Miriam snickered. “Brad grabbed his chance to feel you up. Pun intended. That man’s hands can do a full body search in less than two minutes.”

  Daphne lightly sanded a shutter and passed it to Miriam. “Let’s hope he’s not that fast at everything.”

  Karli grunted, still annoyed, but the women were funny. She pried the lid off a paint can. “Now Keagan thinks I’ve slept with his roommate.”

  Miriam finished dusting another shutter. “Does it matter?”

  “A little, I don’t like it when guys get notches on their bedposts they didn’t earn.”

  Miriam blew out a breath and dipped her brush in the sage green paint. “I teach English. I see that all the time with high school boys.” She chuckled. “Guess that says something about Brad.”

  “He lost points with me today.” Karli opened another can while Miriam and Daphne slathered generous strokes of paint across the dry boards.

  It was almost forty degrees outdoors, and even inside the barn, it was still plenty chilly. When they finished a shutter, they took it outside and leaned it against the barn to dry. By noon, Karli was starting to feel the chill down to her toes. “I’m freezing.”

  “So am I.” Daphne rubbed her hands up and down her arms.

  Miriam cleaned her brush and said, “Let’s break for lunch before I get frostbite.”

  They only had two sets of shutters to go, so Karli nodded. When they stepped outside, the men were coming down from their ladders, and Karli was surprised by how much they’d already gotten done. The front and both sides of the house were scraped. They only had the back of the house to go.

  She walked down the drive a little to look at their progress, and Keagan came to look, too. She sighed. “When I first saw this place, I thought a strong kick could knock it over.”

  “It could make someone a good home.”

  They walked toward the front porch together and she wanted to
tell him that she wasn’t interested in Brad, but that would sound dorky. He’d give her a look as if he didn’t care one way or another, and she’d feel awkward.

  When they got to the kitchen, people were already dishing up. She made a plate for Axel before she got one for herself, and when people went to the dining room to eat, Kurt came and dished up two enchiladas for himself, then joined Axel in the sun-room.

  Tyne saw him and shook his head. “Does that guy help out with anything?”

  “He didn’t come here to work,” Karli said. “He came to inherit.”

  Keagan sniffed. “He’ll be lucky if Axel didn’t leave everything to the wrestling federation for all the hours of entertainment they’ve provided him.”

  Karli tried not to laugh. “I could see Axel doing that just to annoy everyone.”

  Chase looked at Karli. “You’ve sure been nicer to him than he deserves. How long are going to stay here? Don’t get me wrong. We’re glad you came.” He looked at the freshly painted rooms. “This old place looks a thousand times better.”

  She shrugged. “I told Axel I’d see how things go when Sylvie comes. Then he’ll have to decide if he wants to risk having her and Kurt take care of him or if he wants some other help.”

  “Fair enough,” Miriam said.

  Brad looked sad. “Then you probably won’t be here much longer.”

  “I might stay for Thanksgiving.” She motioned toward Keagan. “He was nice enough to invite me to his family’s get-together. Since my parents won’t be home, I’d have someone to celebrate with if I stick around.”

  “That’s still some little ways away.” Chase nodded. “Until then, I’ll send you some barbecue this Wednesday. Then you won’t have to cook that day.”

  “Do you work on Thanksgiving?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “The bar’s closed.”

  “So is the microbrewery. Joel and I are going to my parents’ place.” Miriam looked at Tyne. “You’ll probably be cooking your ass off for one of Ian’s special resort packages, won’t you?”

  Tyne shrugged. “It’s part of being a chef. Daphne’s going to her mom and dad’s, then we’re celebrating as a couple on Sunday night after all the guests check out. We’re ordering in pizza. The inn’s pretty dead the next week. People stay home and eat light to recover.”

  They sat around the table and caught up with each other a little longer, then people threw away their paper plates and headed outside. Axel called out, “Boy! Keagan! I need you.”

  Keagan frowned and went to the back room. “What’s up?”

  “My remote won’t work.”

  Karli had hovered close by in case something was wrong, but Keagan took the remote and punched a few buttons. “Your batteries are dead.” He looked at Kurt. “Why didn’t you help him?”

  “I’m not his maid. Besides, I don’t know where to find batteries.”

  Keagan went to a kitchen drawer and came back with new ones.

  Kurt frowned. “You sure know your way around here.”

  “He should,” Axel said. “He’s been stopping in to help me the last few years.”

  Kurt’s brows rose. “Might as well put on an apron and nurse hat.”

  Keagan picked up both men’s plates to toss in the kitchen. “I’d rather help out than sit on my ass and do nothing.”

  “I’m tired of you taking potshots at me!” Kurt lunged to his feet, hands balled into fists, and Keagan spun to face him. Six-one, with lean whipcord muscles, Keagan looked intimidating. Kurt sat back down.

  Karli blinked. Keagan was as nice as he could be, but no one had better push him too far. She liked him even more.

  He turned and saw her behind him. “Is there anything else we need to do?”

  Hmm, she heard a bit of a temper. She decided to sidestep his foul mood. “No, I was just going to get the picture you showed me. I thought the others might like to see it. It’s in a drawer upstairs, isn’t it?”

  He nodded and started back outside. She got the picture and joined him.

  After Karli, Daphne, and Miriam finished the shutters, they went to help with the house. Tyne had to leave at one thirty to cook at the inn, so they took his place. Two hours later, the scraping was done. Keagan moved his high ladder to the back of the house and looked at her. “The paint’s dry on the shutters. You women did a good job on those.”

  Her heart did a silly thump at his compliment.

  “Most of us are going to skip church tomorrow morning and show up here to paint. Can you stand us first thing in the day?”

  Could she? She’d fix breakfast for him every morning if she could get him into her bed. “I’ll fix stacks of sandwiches for lunch, nothing fancy.”

  The “nothing fancy” assuaged him and he nodded. “See you tomorrow then.”

  The men packed up and left. She hugged her arms around herself. Yes, she was chilly, but she was also happy. Keagan would be back in the morning.

  Chapter 23

  Early Sunday morning, truckloads of men showed up again. Ladders rimmed the old house, and the crew armed themselves with spray guns and got straight to work. There wasn’t anything Karli could do to help them, so she busied herself dusting and straightening the house. Axel actually got himself into his wheelchair and rolled out in the kitchen to see what she was doing.

  “There must not be anything good on TV on Sunday mornings,” she said, teasing him.

  “I heard you opening and closing doors, thought you were baking.”

  “Baking? I was wiping down the cupboards.”

  He let out a long breath. “I can’t remember the last time I had a cookie.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “There’s not much in this house to bake cookies with.”

  He gave a grim smile. “I don’t need chocolate chips. They don’t agree with me. But you always have peanut butter around, don’t you?”

  She’d just bought some, but she didn’t have her favorite recipe with her. She reached for her phone, looked one up, and pretty soon, Axel was stirring. He licked spoons and licked the empty bowl. Soon, she and Axel were dropping dough onto baking sheets. He even talked her into oatmeal and raisins.

  When the men came in for sandwiches, they grabbed warm cookies, too. After they ate and went outside, Axel tugged at his messy hair. “Don’t suppose you know how to cut hair.”

  Karli snorted. “They didn’t teach us any barber skills in nursing school.”

  “Do you think you could trim it up a little?”

  She bit her bottom lip. “I could try.”

  When she finished, it wasn’t the best, but she had to admit, Axel looked better. When she dusted off his shoulders, he yawned. “Might be time for me to watch some football.”

  She wheeled into his room and helped him into bed. The TV came on, and she went to the kitchen to clean up. When she looked out the window an hour later, it looked like the men were finishing up. She pulled on a hoodie and went to see.

  Keagan’s ladder leaned against the roof of the front porch. When he saw her, he called, “The paint’s already dry up here. If you bring me the shutters you painted, I’ll put them up at the two windows.”

  She gave him a thumbs-up and almost ran to the barn. He’d asked her, not one of the others, to help him. She hurried to grab a pair of shutters. When she got back, he’d come down for them and jammed a screwdriver and screws in his jeans pocket. Then he scurried up to the porch roof and stood on that to work. Karli squirmed. The porch roof slanted downward and didn’t look safe to her.

  “Be careful,” she said.

  He gave her a look. “I’ve been balancing on a ladder to paint the peaks all day. I think I’ll survive this.”

  She went to get the shutters for the second window and climbed a few rungs to hand them to him. Once he’d finished installing them, he started down. He’d reached the groun
d when Karli noticed someone’s paint brush lying on the roof. She scrambled up the ladder to reach it and then carefully retraced her steps. Before she reached the bottom, though, two strong hands lifted her and set her on the ground. Keagan’s touch sent heat through her fleece hoodie.

  She turned and found herself toe to toe with him. His solid chest was eye level. She looked up at his strong jawline, his lips. She sucked in her breath and tilted her head, staring up into his cobalt-blue eyes. She could smell his scent—clean and manly. His gaze burned with intensity. Her lips parted. One more inch and she’d be pressing against him.

  “Good, that’s where I left it.” Brad reached for the paint brush.

  Keagan gave his head a slight shake and stepped away.

  Karli pushed back a scream. Damn it! Was Keagan’s friend always going to ruin any special moment she had with him?

  People began putting tools and equipment away. Keagan stuck his head in the house and yelled, “Axel! Want to see how it turned out?” He went inside to wrap the old man in a blanket, put him in his wheelchair, and roll him out to get a full view.

  Axel’s expression softened. “Just like when Mom was alive.”

  When people started to their vehicles, Karli tried to think of a way to keep Keagan with her a little longer. “I didn’t get a chance to ask you, but could I come to your studio again? I’d like to order some plates to take home with me and another set as a present for my mom.” She really did want the plates, but more than anything, she’d like some time alone with Keagan.

  “Sure, any time.” He gripped the wheelchair handles to push Axel back into the house.

  She’d overheard Brad tell Tyne that he had to work Tuesday night. She looked at Keagan. “What about Tuesday?”

  Brad looked disappointed, but Keagan nodded.

  Chase turned to say his goodbyes and winked at Keagan. “Have you looked at the Yeagers’ place east of town? It’s about the right sized property for a house and studio, isn’t it?”