Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Kinsley
Shep and Hudson worked through the morning. I got started on editing the video while I sat on the patio, coming inside to switch the load of laundry and to check the battery on the phone. I thought it was sweet when Hudson asked Shep about dating, and he got all growly about it.
I wondered which woman would convince Shep to abandon his playboy ways. I had a feeling the viewers were going to love the brothers arguing with each other.
I made sub sandwiches and set cheese and grapes on a platter for everyone to share. When I poured the lemonade, I finally heard their heavy footsteps on the stairs.
"Why don't you wash up and then head outside?" I asked when Shep appeared in the doorway. I was trying to avoid getting the dust from cutting the tiles all over the kitchen.
They both washed their hands in the kitchen sink while I moved the serving dishes outside.
I'd already set the table with dishes and silverware.
Today, the sun shone brightly, reflecting off the water and creating a glare.
I'd opened the umbrella over the table and brought out a fan to counter the heat.
"Thanks for lunch," Hudson said as he sat at the table.
I set the glass in front of him. "I appreciate you coming over to help out. I don't have any experience tiling bathrooms."
"Not many people do," Shep said easily as he grabbed a fistful of chips from the communal bowl and transferred them to his plate.
I sat across from them. "I started editing the video while you were working. The first one with Maya is so cute."
"You're letting Maya do the work?" Hudson asked, genuinely curious.
"I said she was my assistant." Shep pulled up a picture on his phone of Maya in her hard hat wielding the hammer.
He picked up his sandwich. "I can't believe you let her help you with the demo."
Shep placed his phone on the table next to his plate. "She wore the safety equipment and listened to my instructions. She's a good helper."
"We're always with her when she's working," I added.
Hudson considered Shep carefully. "You two are close."
"She's my little buddy. I like teaching her things."
"He even sings her a song about brushing her teeth to encourage her to brush. It's really sweet. I'm fairly sure I have a video of it here somewhere—" I began to pull out my phone, but Shep reached across the table, stopping me with a hand on mine.
With a sharp shake of his head, Shep said, "Hudson doesn't want to see that."
"I can assure you that Hudson does want to see it." Hudson took a large bite of his sandwich.
I smiled as I tried to wiggle my hand free from Shep's grip. "It's an adorable video."
Shep squeezed my hand. "It's really not."
I frowned. "How do you know? You haven't even seen it yet."
"I was there, remember? Lived through the experience, and I'm confident no one needs to see that video."
"Maya loves it. She plays it when you're not here and she needs to brush her teeth."
Shep removed his hand as his face softened. "She does?"
"It's her favorite video at the moment. I would have sent it to her father, but I doubt he would have played it for her. We keep things fairly separate." I set the phone down, not wanting to embarrass Shep in front of his brother even if I thought the video was sweet.
"How is your relationship with her father?" Hudson asked.
"Dalton has a lot of drama around his ex, Oakley," Shep added.
I waved a hand. "We've gotten to a good place. We understand our parenting styles and stay out of each other's way."
"Did it take a while to get to that place?" Hudson asked, taking a huge bite of his sub.
"It wasn't easy. I wanted him to keep the same schedule at his house to prevent meltdowns when Maya came back to me, but it was a losing battle. My attorney said he can do whatever he wants at his house as long as she's safe. And I'm not worried about that." I popped a grape into my mouth.
"What kind of a dad is he?" Shep asked, his expression vulnerable.
"I don't know how he is with her, but I suspect he's not always present. The reason we broke up is that he didn't want to be that involved with raising her. He felt like I could do the job better so he didn't need to help with bath time or when she was sick."
"That's messed up," Hudson said, and Shep nodded. "I can't imagine not wanting to be involved."
Shep was involved with Maya. He cooked her breakfast, helped her brush her teeth, and taught her things. He was a good role model for her.
"When you have kids, you'll know what to do," Hudson said.
Shep rolled his shoulders back. "Who said I want kids?"
"I think you'll make a wonderful father one day, if that's what you want. I'm fairly sure there were red flags about Derek that I missed. But then again, we hadn't exactly planned on having Maya. It just happened."
Shep's shoulders stiffened. "It shouldn't matter if you planned for her or not. You're still a parent."
"I've found that it's easier to lower my expectations when it comes to Derek. Maya gets to see him, and he's there for school events. That's about it. I handle the day-to-day, the doctor visits, illnesses, school, and I wouldn't want it any other way."
Hudson raised a brow. "Surely, it would be easier if you had someone to share in the parental burdens?"
"I wouldn't want to hope for something that might not happen. Since Derek left, it's been easier for me to assume that most of the parenting falls to me. Derek only sees her every other weekend and doesn't deal with the daily stuff, homework, friend struggles."
"There's nothing wrong with hoping for a partner in life," Hudson said gently.
I smiled. "I just talked to Elena about getting back out on the dating scene. The only problem is that most guys don't want to date someone who has a child."
"The right person won't mind. I saw how Blake took to Lilliana. I've seen it happen," Hudson said.
It was too much to hope for and then be let down.
I remembered what it was like when I first started dating.
Maya was two, and I watched as the men lost interest when I talked about myself being a single mother.
It was either not tell them and block any chance of a real relationship, or take myself out of the dating game.
I'd done the latter, but Shep was making me think there were good guys out there.
"The island is small. I know all the eligible single guys. "
"What about a tourist?" Hudson offered.
Shep stuffed the rest of his sandwich in his mouth, then chased it down with the lemonade.
"And then what? He moves here?" I asked lightly. The more I thought about getting back out there, the worse it seemed.
"Elena went to our high school, but I didn't know her back then. It was only when we met again and she was doing a story on our family that we connected. So you never know when you're going to meet someone," Hudson said thoughtfully.
"So you're saying I could have a connection with someone I've known my entire life?"
Hudson shrugged. "Or it could be someone new. But you have to be open to it."
"I have been closed off to the idea of dating anyone.
" That was probably why no guys had expressed interest. I put off a don't get close to me vibe.
Then there was the issue of being too exhausted to do more than work and be Maya's parent.
I didn't have the time and space to date like Derek. Not that I'd want things any other way.
We finished off our sandwiches, then picked at the grapes and cheese while we enjoyed the breeze coming off the water. This really was the ideal location for a home, but it was bigger than anything I could ever afford.
I tipped my head to the side. "What's on the schedule for the afternoon?"
Hudson sighed. "Tiling, tiling, and more tiling."
"Do you enjoy doing the work yourself, or do you prefer having a crew do it?" I asked them.
"I prefer to be busy, so I don't mind getting my hands dirty."
I wondered how else Shep got his hands dirty. Why was everything he said so hot?
"I'll come up and hit Record on the video, but I'm going to work out here this afternoon."
"Stay cool," Hudson said as he cleaned up his plate.
I reached for his plate. "I can get that. You're already doing so much for us."
"I don't mind," Hudson said as we followed him inside.
They headed upstairs while I placed the lunch dishes in the dishwasher.
Tonight, I'd be alone with Shep, and I wasn't sure how to act. He'd mentioned making dinner together, but what would we do after that? Would we watch a movie in the media room or sit outside on that amazing rooftop deck?
I was interested in getting to know Shep without Maya underfoot, but I was worried about my reaction to him. Would he guess that I'd been secretly lusting after him?
I couldn't risk him finding out. I should excuse myself to my room and say I'm editing more video. Under no circumstances should I be alone with him.
I went outside with my laptop, setting up under the umbrella that gave me a view of the pool and the ocean.
The sound of the water breaking on the shore kept me company while I watched the videos of Shep and Maya demoing the bathrooms. I wasn't sure how much footage we would need, so I broke it down into smaller clips, intending to use them on social media as teasers.
I sent the first few edited versions over to the group chat for the girls to see what everyone thought.
I continued scouring the film for other moments that viewers would connect with, whether it was Shep describing the design choices, instructions on how to do something, or cute interactions with Maya. There were a lot of those.
When I finally checked my phone, I had dozens of texts responding to the clips, ranging from these are amazing to I had no idea Shep was so good with kids. The thing was, he'd bonded with Maya in the office long before I softened toward him.