pang of guilt as she pictured the list of things he was supposed to be getting done right now.
“Are you sure you really have time to keep doing this? With them, I mean?”
“Why? You want them back?” He smiled. “Because just say the word.”
“I just feel guilty. You have a huge list of stuff to get done. And before you say it, I know you don’t necessarily like that list.”
“I don’t.”
“An-nd you said it.”
He shrugged. “It’s true. But on that list is a new bathroom, with showers. So I’m still getting stuff done that needs doing. I’m just getting a little more help with it than I expected.”
“Is that how you’re seeing it?” Gabi pictured the pile of bent nails the girls had collected last night when they were done. There was no way this bathroom-building was going faster with her girls involved.
He took a deep breath. “It’s all good, Gabi. Let’s finish the bathroom, and then we can figure out the next steps, okay? I’ve got work, and they need work. Match made in heaven, yadda yadda. And you and me?” He waved his index finger back and forth between them. “We’re not the worst team ever, right?”
Chapter 15
Four hours later, Gabi was about to dunk Luke and the girls all in the lake. All morning, he’d sat in a lawn chair outside the new bathroom. All morning, he’d sipped his coffee and read the newspaper. All morning, the girls had gotten closer and closer to killing each other.
He’d handed them the plumbing plans after breakfast, pointed them to the parts, and told them they needed to figure out how to plumb the shower. When Gabi had flipped out—just a little bit, mind you—about torches and soldering and the like, he’d given one of those long-suffering sighs he was so good at, and had then pointed at the pile of plastic parts.
“No metal. No fire.”
“You’re having them build a plastic shower?”
He’d put his hands up in the air, exasperated. “You prefer fire?”
So now an entire morning had gone by, and the girls were at each other’s throats. Gabi’d taken a short walk just to get away from the sniping, but now she was back in the clearing, heading for Luke.
“How are they doing?”
A squawk from inside gave her all the answer she needed, and she winced.
He sipped his coffee nonchalantly. “It’s alpha-dog day.”
“What do you mean?”
“They’re sick of working cooperatively. Today they’re all trying to be in charge at the same time. It’s not going well.”
“Even Waverly?” Gabi felt her eyebrows rise.
“Nah. She’s just trying to align herself with whoever’s in charge at the moment. Tough morning for her—it keeps changing.”
Gabi looked at him, the picture of relaxation. “You seem awfully amused by this. And unconcerned about your endless list of things that need doing.”
He shrugged, looking back down at his newspaper. “It’ll get done. This is important for them to work through.”
She paused at his words. How did he know what needed working through? And why was he willing to give up his entire day to it, anyway?
She shook her head to clear it. “So how’s the actual plumbing coming? Are they making any kind of progress?”
He looked up. “Desperate for that shower, aren’t you?”
“Yes. And don’t think it hasn’t occurred to me that you must have a perfectly good one in your cabin, because you keep showing up just-showered-fresh, and it’s driving me nuts.”
She felt heat rise in her cheeks as the words came out, and she turned away. Yeah, it was driving her nuts, because when he came in with his hair all damp and his body smelling like the piney outdoors, all she wanted to do was touch the nape of his neck, where the dark waves met skin. All she wanted to do was press her body against his, to see if the muscles in his chest were as strong and solid as they looked. All she wanted—
“Gabi?” His amused voice broke into her totally inappropriate daydream. “You lusting after me? Or my shower?”
“I’m not lusting after any—”
Just then another shriek rose from inside, but this time it sounded like elation, then pounding feet.
The four girls poured out of the doorway, smiles on their faces. “Luke! We’re ready! It’s ready!”
He looked up. “You sure?”
“Yes! Turn on the water!”
Gabi smiled, their enthusiasm contagious. “You guys really figured it out?”
“Yup!” Eve wiped her hands on her shorts. “Piece of cake.”
Luke pushed up from his chair, headed for the water shutoff. “All right. I’ll turn it on.