Let It Be (Butler, Vermont #6) - Marie Force Page 0,6

have something else to do.

“My friend who told me about your project said it wouldn’t matter that I don’t have any construction experience,” Linc said.

When Joseph started the engine, AC/DC’s new song, “You Shook Me All Night Long,” came blasting out of the radio. Smiling, Joseph turned down the volume. “Your friend was right. We’ll teach you what you need to know and rough up those soft hands in the process.”

Linc laughed at the teasing jab that was delivered in the sweetest Southern accent. “I’ve been in school my entire life, or at least that’s how it seems.”

“Now it’s time for some life skills.”

“That’s the idea.”

“We work six days a week from sunup to sundown, but Sundays are all yours. We have almost seven miles of white sand beaches here in Gulfport.”

“I read about that and can’t wait to check it out. I can see myself spending a lot of Sundays there.” Some of his favorite summers as a kid had been spent at the Jersey Shore with his grandparents, who’d had a summer home there.

“We’ve set up a campsite for the volunteers. It’s nothing fancy, but it has everything you need.”

“I’m sure it’s great.”

“When we realized we were in danger of missing our deadline to keep our federal funding, one of my partners suggested we put out a call for volunteers to the colleges. We really appreciate y’all coming.”

“I appreciate you keeping me from having to spend the summer at home under my father’s thumb.”

“It’s a pretty strong thumb, is it?”

“You have no idea. He’s waiting for me to finish school and come into the family business.”

“Which is?”

“Commercial real estate.”

“Sounds exciting.”

Linc laughed. “Not so much, but it pays the bills.” The company was enormously successful, thanks to his father’s vision and hard work. However, as the date got closer for Linc to join the company’s executive team, he felt more and more trapped in a life of someone else’s design.

“And that’s what you want to do?” Joseph asked.

“I’m not exactly excited about it, if that’s what you’re asking, but that’s the plan.” All their plans had changed when Hunter died, and his father turned his sights on Linc as the new heir apparent. What Linc wanted didn’t seem to matter, but since he didn’t have a viable alternative, he’d gone along with his father’s plan for him, albeit reluctantly.

“Huh,” Joseph said.

“It’s okay to say what you really think.”

“Then I’ll just say life is short. You should do what makes you happy, not what’s expected of you.”

“I couldn’t agree more, but I’ve yet to find anything that makes more sense to me than the family business.”

“Maybe you haven’t been looking in the right places.”

“I suspect that might be the case, which is why I jumped at the chance to spend the summer somewhere I’ve never been, working on something meaningful.”

“The work you’ll do here will mean so much to so many. We have a hundred and fifty families who were displaced by the storm lined up to get the first group of new houses. Many of them will be first-time homeowners, and they’re so excited.”

“It’s a wonderful thing you’re doing.”

“I think so, too, but it’s turned out to be far more stressful than we expected due to the rigid deadlines that come with federal funding. It’s giving me gray hair.”

Linc figured Joseph to be in his late thirties, and sure enough, he had a few grays in his otherwise dark hair. “It’ll be worth it in the end when those families are happily settled.”

“Keep telling me that.” Joseph hooked a left onto a dirt road that led to the campsite where a bunch of tents had been set up. “Y’all have your own tents, but you’ll share the bathrooms,” he said, pointing to a building to the far left.

In another large tent with open sides, a group of people bustled about.

“Food,” Joseph said when he saw Linc looking at the larger tent. “My wife, Keisha, and several of the other wives are in charge of feeding the volunteers. Keisha also runs the business side of things for my company, while taking care of our kids.”

“You all are busy.”

“You have no idea. Come meet my bride and the others.”

Lincoln got out of the truck and followed Joseph into the tent. “This is Lincoln Abbott from Pennsylvania by way of Yale. Linc, this is my wife, Keisha, our daughter, Jasmine, my business partner, Desmond, his wife, Charity, and their daughter, Shanda.”

Linc shook hands with the adults and bent to say hello to