Chapter Two
Jacob
My sister knew how to throw a party.
And somehow, in the process, wrangle twenty-two of our closest friends and family to help.
Our parents, Linda and Wayne, our aunt Bertha and Uncle Keller, and their three kids. Fortunately, cousin Bradford stayed away.
Asshole.
Wally and Felix, of course, and their mom, Christie.
August and Julian from the arborist company.
Isaac, the harbormaster, and Ben, an elementary school teacher who worked with Felix. Actually, Felix had probably asked them. Or Josie had. I was never sure about these things.
My sister’d also seen fit to invite my on-again, off-again girlfriend Izzie. Would’ve been nice if Josette had asked, seeing as Izzie and I were currently off. Still, Izzie had come with her friend Vanna who was always down for a good time. Demolition while wearing inch-long fingernails and three-inch heels probably wasn’t happening.
My crew had also shown up voluntarily.
Darah, my electrician, oversaw the demo of the walls.
Agatha, my plumber, supervised the removal of old fixtures.
Niall, my general construction guy, monitored the removal of flooring.
And Curtis, my drywall guy, made certain everything removed wound up in the right bin.
Truthfully, almost nothing could be recycled, and that broke my heart. I hated adding to the landfill. That being said, my job as a contractor meant overseeing plenty of trips to that place.
I eyed Felix’s neighbor, Seth, heading up the driveway wearing a tool belt.
Neighbor was a relative term—the RCMP officer’s property was a good half-mile down the road. Still, he’d spotted us and offered to help since today was a day off for him.
I figured having a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in our mix would keep the afterparty tame.
The cop was gorgeous—six feet, blond hair, hazel eyes, and muscular frame.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed, as Izzie attached herself to him immediately.
Poor guy. Should I warn him? Nah, he seems like an adult.
Plus, maybe they’d make a good match. God knew Izzie and I didn’t.
A nudge to my shoulder pulled me from my reverie.
“He’s pretty cute.”
I turned to find Julian, with his dark-auburn hair and soft-brown eyes. “Who?”
“The guy who just arrived. The one your ex is fawning over.”
“She’s not fawning.”
Except she kind of was.
“He’s a neighbor from down the road. Seth…something. An RCMP officer.”
Julian sighed. “Well, he can arrest me anytime.”
I bumped him. “I’m pretty sure he’s straight, and aren’t you in a committed relationship?”
“I’m allowed to look.” He pressed a hand to his chest. “August isn’t a jealous man.”
“And if he looked?”
Julian’s eyes narrowed.
I guffawed. “Oh God, you’re so transparent. When’s the wedding?”
“Early fall. August wanted to wait a year after his sister’s passing. I thought we might honor her final wishes that he be happy, but he wanted to be respectful. Whatever, we’re practically living together.”
“Practically?”
“Well, he’s got a nicer house, I think, but he loves spending time at my place. I’ve suggested he rent his place out and move in with me.” Julian glanced at the gorgeous Black man examining a tree near the house. “We’re fiancés, right? That would mean living together isn’t a sin.”
August had the cutest butt. But I was pretty sure pointing that out to Julian wouldn’t earn me brownie points, and since he was the guy who’d trim and fell any trees August deemed needing to come down, I’d keep my mouth shut.
Plus, I wasn’t really out to my family. Oh, Josette had inklings I was bi, but she kept that to herself. I wasn’t sure how my parents would react, anyway. My mother went on and on about how Josie and I needed to marry, buy homes, and settle down. Not necessarily in that order. Knowing Mom had grown up in poverty and using that knowledge to excuse her pushiness proved trying at times.
I didn’t have the inheritance that Wally and Felix received. And, given the choice between having the money or my dad, I’d pick my having Dad around every time.
Wally and Felix stood off to one side as Wally pointed at part of the porch.
Huh.
I hadn’t noticed the sagging. In my notes, I had it as sturdy. I added it to the monumental list of things that needed to be fixed.
My mother kept hinting she wanted everything finished so Felix and Josette could marry in late August.
Seriously? The height of summer in British Columbia? In the middle of wildfire season, when we might be blanketed by smoke? Better during autumn. Like around Thanksgiving. The second Monday in October. Cooler. Slight chance of rain. If they kept the wedding small enough, they could do it in the great room of the house.
But no. Mom and Christie wanted a huge wedding with all the frou-frou stuff.
Josie seemed to be on board.
Felix? I couldn’t get a read on him. I couldn’t ever get a read on him. He seemed excited enough about the house, trepidatious about the repairs and all the people traipsing through, and generally a cheerful guy. He loved his job—I knew that much. He loved his mother and brother—although he didn’t always seem to understand them.
Nor they him.
Felix was a gentle soul. Quiet and introspective. Loving and kind. No one ever got left behind when he was around. Even as children, he’d always ensure everyone got their fair share.
Wally wasn’t a bully or anything like that…just not as considerate. More like a bull in a china shop.
Yet he did the most meticulous landscaping with precision and care. Almost in contradiction to the rough-and-tumble sports guy he was. He loved his rec hockey, but he’d also played football and lacrosse in high school.
Felix, to the best of my recollection, had never played any sport.
Wait…no, he’d been a figure skater before his dad died.
I wracked my brain, but couldn’t remember why he’d stopped. Grief? Money?
Nope, wouldn’t come to me.
But he’d been good. I remembered that much.
Julian nudged me again. “August is waving us over.”
All those inner ruminations had me no closer to understanding my best friend’s younger brother, but I dutifully followed Julian over to his fiancé. “What’s up?”
August pointed to a tree. “That one’s in really rough shape. I think a strong wind will fell it. Frankly, I’m not sure how it’s still standing.”
I winced. “How much?”
He met my gaze. “There are a dozen or so other trees that’ll require trimming. I can give you a discount—”
I held up my hand. “That’s not fair.”
“Well, Wally gives me good referrals, and Josette promised to look over my house and make some recommendations on updating the décor.”
Julian tilted his head. “Really?”
“Well, if I’m going to rent it out, it should—”
His sentence was cut off midstream as Julian tackled him and engulfed him in a bear hug. “Oh my God, that’s so awesome. You’re moving in with me. Finally.”
I smiled at my friend’s enthusiasm.
While he’d been out of the closet for practically his whole life, August had only emerged when his sister passed. Word filtered around Mission City, as it often did, when he’d come out. Some speculation passed through the rumor mill questioning if the two men had been together beforehand, but I knew August had decided to come out and had proclaimed his affection for his employee around the same time.
They’d been inseparable ever since.
I cleared my throat. “Okay, so, a discount?”
Julian vibrated happiness. His grin was so infectious. “I’ll happily volunteer my time. Like, as a wedding gift.”
“Uh, I didn’t realize you were that close to my sister and Felix.” I also wasn’t aware their impending nuptials were common knowledge. Although I supposed since they’d been thrust together since before they could sit up unaided, most people probably knew about this promise.
August offered a more-measured enthusiasm. “I’ll offer up my services as well. Wally’s a good business associate.”
More connections. Sometimes I marvelled at how small Mission City felt even though the population recently hit forty-thousand. We clung to the small-town moniker. Close enough to Vancouver to be useful, but far enough we were still a distinctive community.
I eyed the trees. “Well, why don’t you share the good news with Felix and Josette? Not that the tree needs to come down,” I quickly amended. “But that you’re willing to donate the work as a wedding present.”
“Their wedding is in what, two months?”
“Yeah.” I removed my hat, wiped my brow, then plopped it back on. “God, I hope this heat has dissipated by then.”
August slapped me on the back. “You keep wishing that. The rest of us will plan accordingly.” He eyed the backyard.
The grass went back about thirty feet before the wilderness began.
Pretty damn rustic.
“They thinking of holding the ceremony here?” August looked around. “The tree canopy would be decent if you have it in late afternoon.”
“Yeah, but the bugs.” Julian shivered.
Both had valid points. “I’d thought maybe inside.”
“The house doesn’t have AC, right?”
“We’re installing it.”
August clapped me on the back. “You’re a good brother.”
“Yeah. The house has good ventilation, so they’ll only need to run it on super-hot days. We’re also installing solar panels on the roof and geothermal heating.”
Julian whistled. “I’m not even going to ask what that all costs.”
I was grateful he didn’t.
Felix thought I was doing this at cost.
I wasn’t. I was footing a decent part of the bill myself. I wanted my sister and her new husband to have the very best. They were making this a forever home. I intended to make it the best house possible.
“Hey, Jacob.” Darah waved out one of the guest bedroom windows.
A bedroom that would be perfect for a child.
My niece or nephew.
I waved back. “On my way.”
With a quick nod to August and Julian, I headed inside.