enough to roll a shoulder under it. The weight settled heavily and she braced the beam with both hands, adjusting her stance to suit.
“Okay, let’s go,” she said.
They walked along the side of the house and into the garden, passing her father and her brother-in-law, Jacob, on their way to collect their next load.
“That’s my girl,” her father said approvingly, slapping Mel on the backside with his work gloves as he passed.
Mel grimaced and concentrated on where she was putting her feet. She would never admit it out loud, but there were times when she really, really wished she was a different kind of woman. The kind who was more than happy to kick back and watch men do the heavy lifting because she couldn’t possibly measure up. The thing was, she could measure up, and she’d never been content to let others do for her. She wasn’t about to start now—especially when the men in her family were giving up their weekend to help her. The least she could do was toil by their sides.
Harry led the way past Tea Cutter Cottage and into the clearing that would soon become her new garden. A dozen railway ties were already lined up to one side and she and Harry added theirs to the stack.
“Couple more trips should do it,” Harry said.
“Yep.”
Mel placed a hand on the small of her back and stretched. Her arms were aching, and her thighs felt a little shaky. And it was barely midday. She was going to be in all kinds of pain by the end of the day.
Harry had already started walking to the front and she trudged after him. They passed her father and Jacob coming the other way, a tie on their shoulders. Mel couldn’t resist mimicking her father’s gesture, slapping his butt with her gloves.
“That’s my daddy,” she said.
He barked out a laugh. “You’ll keep.”
Mel was still smirking when she rounded the house, only to stop short when she realized Harry was talking to somebody, and that somebody was Flynn.
An absurd rush of pleasure hit her as he turned to face her.
“Hey,” she said, grinning like an idiot. “Didn’t think I’d be seeing you this weekend.”
“Like I was saying, she was right behind me,” Harry said dryly.
“Hey,” Flynn said. “Sorry to barge in. I forgot about your working bee.”
He was smiling, but it didn’t reach his eyes and she realized he was upset. Deeply so.
Then she remembered he’d had his meeting with his parents today. The one where they discussed his father’s future care.
She glanced at her brother. “I’m going to grab a glass of water. I’ll be out in a tick.”
She didn’t wait for Harry to respond, simply caught Flynn’s eye and gestured with her head for him to follow her into the house.
The moment they were safely inside and out of her brother’s hearing, she turned to face him.
“What happened? Did your father have a bad day?”
“Nothing. Nothing happened. I just—” He shook his head. “Sorry. I don’t even really know why I’m here. I got in the car and the next thing I knew I was turning off the freeway.” He turned away from her, almost as though he was about to leave.
Mel caught his forearm. “Flynn.”
He stilled, then some of the starch went out of his spine. His blue eyes were dark with pain as they met hers. “I don’t know if I can handle this, Mel.”
Her grip tightened on his arm. “You can. You will.”
He shook his head again.
“You’ll do it, Flynn. Moment by moment. That’s how you get through the bad stuff. One day, one moment at a time.”
He started to say something, then he stopped and lifted his free hand to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Fighting tears, if she had any guess.
She acted completely on instinct, closing the distance between them and wrapping her arms around him. He was unresponsive for a long beat, as though she’d taken him by surprise, then his arms went around her in turn.
Her breasts were pressed to his chest and every breath she took was filled with the smell of his aftershave but there was nothing sexual about their embrace. She was offering him a little comfort, and he was accepting it. It was as small and simple as that.
After a few seconds his arms loosened and she took a step backward. Flynn didn’t quite meet her eyes and she reached out and gave him a gentle shove on the shoulder.
“Don’t,” she said. “It’s okay