tightly. “One day?”
Some of the tightness left his jaw, and she saw the traces of a smile return. “One day.”
Just then, Gabi heard the girls grumbling their way toward the beach, complaining about the heat and the cold and their hair and the food … until she lost track of all the things that were already wrong with the morning. It was barely dawn, for God’s sake.
She glanced over at Luke, who had his eyebrows raised, an amused expression on his face as he looked at her. It pretty much hit her from head to toe and everywhere in between. She shook her head and picked up her mug, lifting it toward his in a mock cheers.
“Luke? They’re all yours.”
Chapter 10
Luke stood up, and Gabi did the same. Madison and Waverly immediately sat down in the chairs they’d vacated, but Luke pointed at them, hooking his thumb.
“Sorry, ladies. Sitting’s for later. And from here on out, these chairs are adults-only.”
Madison rolled her eyes and sighed before she stood up, but Waverly just popped up like she’d been hooked with a crochet needle.
“All right.” Luke reached into his back pocket for a piece of paper, unfolding it as he looked at each of them. “Today we launch Operation Echo.”
Silence greeted him. Since they hadn’t gotten beyond “one day,” Gabi had no idea what he was talking about. Obviously the girls didn’t, either.
“I’ve got a list of the projects that need doing, and I’ve gone ahead and prioritized them, but I wouldn’t mind some input before we get started on them.”
Madison crossed her arms. “Gabi? What is he talking about? Are you, like, renting us out or something? Because of one little skunk? Seriously?”
Luke shook his head. “No rent. She gave you guys to me for free.”
A sharp intake of breath made Gabi laugh, but she didn’t ease their minds by arguing with him. She’d said yes for today, but he was making it sound like she’d okayed them as his work crew for the rest of the summer.
For some reason, she was totally okay with that right now.
“What kind of projects?” Sam’s pose matched Madison’s.
“The work kind of projects. Building, painting, cleaning—you know. Projects. We needed a work crew for the summer. Instead, Briarwood sent you. Maybe there was a mix-up and maybe there wasn’t, but that’s where we’re at. You’ve had almost a week of vacation here in paradise, but today we get serious. I’ve got a list of stuff to do, and you four have nothing to do. It’s a perfect match. You can be my work crew.”
Five minutes later, the girls were seated at the picnic table outside the administration cottage, their arms crossed, their faces grim as Luke tacked down four copies of the list he’d made. He handed each of them a pencil.
“All right. This is the stuff that needs doing before the end of August, but I’m going to let you help figure out what order we do it in.”
“Gosh, thanks.” Madison rolled her eyes. “And how did we end up your slaves, anyway?”
“I prefer work crew. And you don’t have to vote.” Luke shrugged. “But if you don’t vote, you don’t whine. Got it?”
She narrowed her eyes, but she kept her mouth shut for once. He paused for a long moment, waiting her out, but finally decided she was going to stay quiet, so he continued.
“I figure we’ll work out a reward system. We get the work done, we get to play.”
“Play?” Sam snorted. “We’re not five.”
“Just an expression, Snarkasaurus. If we get the stuff done that needs doing, then we can take a break and do the fun stuff.”
Eve sighed, her expression bored. “And what exactly is the fun stuff?”
Luke smiled. “There’s a big lake, a big mountain, and a big forest. We’ll figure it out as we go. You’re in paradise, girls. The fun never ends.”
Madison scanned the list, landing her finger on an item halfway down the page. “You can’t be serious. You think building a new bathroom is the tenth priority on this list? Behind repairing the dock?”
Luke shrugged. “You disagree?”
“Are you kidding? A bathroom—with an actual toilet—is definitely top priority.”
“Everybody else agree?” The other three girls nodded as Luke pointed to each of them in turn. “Gabi? How about you?”
Gabi rolled her eyes, trying not to think of how many types of insects she’d seen in the outhouse over the past week. “A bathroom would be nice, yes.”
But wait a minute. There was no way they could build an