Chapter Fourteen
Fourteen
GRAYSON STOOD WITH HIS HANDS on his hips, staring up at the roof of cabin one, like somehow the answer of how to pay to have it repaired would slide off the aging shingles.
His phone buzzed in his pocket and he knew, even without looking, that it was the same unknown number that had been calling and leaving messages all day.
Levi’s dad climbed down from the ladder, pulled off his hat to push back his salt-and-pepper hair, then put it back on.
He walked toward Gray as he did this. Steven Bright, owner of Bright Builds, had helped the Kellers out a lot in the last year since Levi and Jilly had gotten serious.
Gray appreciated him, but there was only so much kindness a person could accept without feeling like they were taking advantage.
Steven had given them discounts on building the pergola Jilly loved, the tree house for kids up one of the trails, fixing and extending the dock, not to mention a half dozen other little things.
At one time in his life, Grayson didn’t worry about money.
He hadn’t gone into his marriage broke, but he sure as hell had come out of it that way.
Things were a lot better now, but little extras, like new roofs, put a kink in things, for sure.
“Bad news, son,” Steven said. “Some of those shingles are rotted all the way through. I know you were hoping a few could be replaced, but I think it’s going to have to be the whole roof.”
Beckett always accused him of jumping to the worst-case scenario, but this was why. Because in his experience, fixing anything in life was rarely simple.
Gray dropped his arms with a heavy sigh. “Your guys don’t do that, right?”
Steven shook his head. He grabbed the measuring tape he kept hooked to his jeans and fidgeted with it like he couldn’t stay still. “’Fraid not. But I know some people, so we’ll get you a discount.”
“I can’t ask you to do that, Steve. Not again.”
The older man smiled and Gray saw hints of Levi in his eyes. “I’ve known you since you were a kid, Gray. Now we’re family. Don’t be an idiot.”
Grayson laughed, his shoulders loosening. “Yes, sir.”
Steven nodded, looking pleased with himself. “I can do a temporary fix just in case there’s rain, but I think you’ve got a few weeks before you have to worry about that. Let me talk to a buddy and I’ll call you tomorrow. I’ll send one of my guys over to put some covering on it for now.”
Gray turned toward the dock. “I appreciate that. We’ve got guests checking in the day after tomorrow for a week. I suppose I could say it’s good timing.”
He walked Steven to the dock, thanked him again for coming out to look.
As he watched him back up, turn the boat, and drive away, Gray moved things around in his head.
The roof could be fixed by the end of the summer.
He had a line of credit on the lodge and they were turning a pretty decent profit.
He just hoped to have enough of a cushion so he wouldn’t have to go into debt to make repairs.
It’s only the third summer. Give yourself some time.
When his phone buzzed, again, he pulled it from his pocket and glanced at the screen: UNKNOWN. Gray swiped his thumb to accept.
“Hello.”
“Hi. Is this Grayson Keller?”
“It is.” The sound of another boat filled the air just as the rumble of Steven’s motor disappeared.
“This is Jesse Yang. I work for UWatch Streaming Services. I spoke to your sister-in-law, who said she’s in charge of social media and marketing for your lodge. We’d really love to set up a meeting to discuss a collaboration that could be very lucrative for all parties.”
Well, if that didn’t just dangle a dollar-sized carrot right in front of his freaking face. Gray took a deep breath, let it out the way Ollie had taught him. That kid was always teaching him stuff.
“I’m going to stop you there,” Gray interrupted the guy’s spiel. “Thank you for your interest, but I’m telling you, I am not interested. I won’t be interested in the future and I want you to stop contacting me and any of my employees.”
“Mr. Keller, I don’t think you understand—”
“Jesse. I understand what I want. What my goals are for my business. None of them include reality TV or trite ways to make a buck. Please stop phoning.”
Gray hung up as his stomach growled loudly.
There weren’t enough hours in a day sometimes.
He’d taken a group of hikers up to the summit this morning and they’d wanted to stay up there for a while, which put him behind on his list of things to do.
Now, it was almost dinnertime and lunch felt like days ago.
His boat came into view: Jilly driving, Presley and Charlie sitting in the second row of seats.
Jilly turned, eased up next to the dock.
Gray headed that way to help out. He did his best to shake off the phone call and silence the voice in his head that kept chanting easy money.
Nothing he’d truly wanted ever came easy.
If his heart raced a little at the sight of Charlie, that wasn’t something he could control.
He was working hard to focus on things he could control.
“How was the venue? Everything set?” Gray asked as he secured the boat, then helped his sister out.
Presley popped out of the boat with a surprising amount of grace considering that just a few years ago she’d never been on one. When he’d brought her to Get Lost Lodge that first day, he was positive she’d puke over the side, but she’d proven herself tougher than he could ever have imagined.
Reaching out a hand for Charlie, he braced himself for the flickers of heat that came with her sliding her palm against his. Bracing didn’t help. Warmth seeped into his skin just from that simple touch.
“The venue was perfect. I’m so excited. They walked us through the day, showed us where the girls and I can get ready, and answered all of my questions,” Presley said.
Grayson smiled at Charlie, squeezing her hand before letting it go and turning to Presley. “I went to a party there once, back before the family started renting it out for events. It’s a beautiful place. It’s going to be amazing.”
“I’m so hungry,” Jilly said, already starting to walk along the dock toward the lodge. “The venue is awesome, Gray, and it gave me some ideas for what else we could add here.” She looked back at him over her shoulder.
Unless what she wanted to add was a roof, the answer would have to be no for now. “Charlie, did you have fun?”
She nodded. “I did. I’m going to head to the cabin.” She turned to Presley and smiled. “Thank you for inviting me to go with you.”
Presley gave her a side hug while Jilly smiled at her from the cobblestone path. “We’re so glad you could come with us. Did you know Bernie is doing the service for us?”
Charlie’s jaw dropped open, surprise widening her beautiful gaze. “No. He didn’t tell me. He speaks of all of you so fondly, but he never mentioned that.”
“We’re pretty fond of him, too,” Grayson said.
A strange expression hovered in her gaze, making Gray want to reach out and pull her into a hug.
With a deep breath and fast exhale, she smiled. “He was right about all of you. You’re a special bunch.”
“Join us for dinner,” Jilly said. “I promise Levi will make something delicious.”
“I’ve intruded on more than enough of your day. I have some reading to do. But thank you,” Charlie said.
Presley and Jilly exchanged a look Gray didn’t understand before his almost sister-in-law fell in step beside his sister and they waved goodbye.
Gray closed his eyes. “Subtle, ladies.”
They giggled as they continued walking and he had to laugh, sending a sideways glance to Charlie. “How about I walk you to your cabin?”
Charlie started walking, pulling her large canvas bag farther up on her shoulder. “I can see the cabin from here. I hardly need an escort.”
He walked beside her anyway. “Did Jill and Presley take you anywhere else?”
She nodded, her gaze on the ground in front of her. “We went for a delicious lunch at Pete’s, then we stopped by Beckett’s Bikes so I could see that. The town seems like something out of a movie.”
“It has its moments,” Gray said, loving when people started to fall for his hometown. He’d been away from it long enough to know that he was happiest here.
“Jill and Presley are so friendly and kind. Everyone knows them and it’s clear how adored they are.”
“Smile is bigger than it seems, especially outside of the main core. Both of them are social and work on events that bring the community together, so between the two of them, it probably seems like they do know everyone.”
They stopped in front of Bernie’s cabin. “It was nice of them to invite me. It was … fun.”
Grayson arched his brows, pushed his hands into his pockets. “Why does that seem like something you don’t have a lot of?”
“I should be offended that you said that, except I didn’t realize until today how true that is.
I had a few friends in LA, but seeing how those two interact, I know that I’ve never had that kind of closeness with another woman.
Other than my mom, but sometimes you don’t want your mom as your best friend, you know? ”
Gray laughed, interested in the fact that she’d used the past tense, had a few friends.
“My mom and Jilly are pretty close. It’s not always a bad thing.
I was just thinking the other day, I hope Ollie doesn’t grow out of loving it here.
I’m pretty sure, other than Beckett and Levi, she’s my best friend. ”
A soft, almost wistful, smile graced Charlie’s face. “She’s a solid choice. Hanging out with your sister and Presley today made me realize I’ve been missing out.”
Gray leaned in enough to catch the hint of her shampoo.
It made him crave things and think about things he’d been missing out on.
Like the feeling in his stomach when he stood this close, the way his body both tensed and relaxed.
“Everyone needs friends. You teach psychology. You obviously know the importance of close connections and bonds for mental health and happiness.”
Charlie’s gaze lit up with nothing short of delight.
“Look at you, sounding all professional. I do, in fact, know a lot about that. But it’s not always easy to put everything into practice, even if you know you should.
Haven’t you ever gotten so caught up in getting through your life, you forgot to live it? ”
Stepping forward, he put a hand on her arm gently. “I have. What I learned is, whether you’re living it or getting through it, having someone you can lean on and turn to is more important than I ever could have imagined.”
Maybe it was the way the sun hit her, but it looked like her eyes went glassy. “I’m realizing that.”
“A bunch of us are going to Brothers’ Pub later tonight. Do you want to join us?”
She shook her head, stepped back toward the stairs. “Thanks, but I have some reading I need to do and I’m prepping my classes ahead of time. I’m not up for a big crowd tonight and from what Jilly and Presley said, that place is pretty popular.”
He was rarely up for a big crowd but they all tried to go to the pub regularly in hopes of supporting both brothers, Liam and Leo, who shared a business but didn’t speak.
Gray had a list the length of his arm to attend to, calls to make, and he really needed some dinner, but he wanted nothing more than to spend more time with Charlie, to make time for her so he could get to know her better.
“Can I take you to dinner tomorrow night? A real dinner, not up in the woods? There’s an island about twenty minutes from here that has a few exceptional restaurants.
They’re smaller than restaurants on Smile and I rarely visit them, so I promise you it’ll feel less like I know everyone than it did with my sister and Presley today. ”
He watched the indecision play out on her face and his heart hammered against his rib cage, waiting for her answer. Nothing wrong with getting to know someone who made it easier to breathe and made his insides light up like fireworks. No big deal.
“My life is messy.” She held his gaze. A warning?
He didn’t like messy, but really, how bad could it be? Her uncle was a sweet old man who made all of their lives better. He had a feeling Charlie was harder on herself than she needed to be. “I’ve been there. Sometimes stepping away from it all helps.”
Taking a step backward, up onto one of the steps, she arched a brow. “That’s what my being here is.”
Gray grinned, wondering if he still had what Beckett used to teasingly call his charmer smile. “I’ll let you drive the boat.”
She laughed, the sound squeezing his lungs. “I’ve never driven a boat.”
He’d suspected that. “Then it’s time to learn something new. One dinner. Away from everything and everyone else.”
It felt like forever in those few seconds before she slowly nodded. “Okay.”
Two syllables. Such a simple word but it felt powerful. Hopeful.