He put an arm around her shoulders and laughed. “Shelby, babies are like puppies, there’s no such thing as an ugly one.” He put his cigar in the ash can. “I’m going to head home.”
“I’m not needed here anymore. Want some company?” she asked him.
He gave her shoulders a squeeze. That was exactly what he needed—someone soft, warm and safe. This young woman had an uncanny ability to make everything in his life feel right. Good. “You bet I do,” he said.
Fifteen
Jack Sheridan must have been more serious about needing room for his family than Luke realized. The day after Brie’s childbirth, he showed up in the morning with Paul and six men in three pickups. It was the sound of the trucks arriving that brought Luke out of cabin two. As the men clambered out, he grinned. “Looks like a barn raising.”
“Might as well get it done. Show us what and where,” Jack said.
First Luke showed them Art’s cabin, which was finished. Luke was no decorator, but it had all new furnishings, appliances and fresh paint. Art had a new queen-size bed, a table with four chairs and a large chair with ottoman and reading lamp. There was a new stove and microwave, a small refrigerator that slipped under the kitchen counter. It boasted wooden blinds on the windows and a patterned area rug. Art was all stocked with dishes, glasses, sheets and towels; in the large bathroom were a small washer, dryer and closets. All the men walked through, poking around, nodding.
“Luke, this came out real nice,” Jack said. “You did a fine job here.”
“I’m no professional, but they’ve come a long way since we bought ’em.”
He showed them a partially finished cabin—new baseboards, paint and appliances, but that was as far as he’d gotten. Then he showed them an unfinished cabin. The appliances sat in the middle of the room, uninstalled. Blinds that he ordered were still in long boxes, ready to be hung after painting, area rugs were rolled against the wall and cans of paint were stacked next to a couple of folded tarps.
“Looks simple enough,” Paul remarked. “Two days. Maybe four, if we need extra supplies.”
“Four days?” Luke repeated, stunned.
“It’s all moving and cosmetic. We’re kind of fast.” He grinned. “We do this a lot more than you do.”
“Since there have only been one or two painters here, there are only the two tarps,” Luke pointed out.
“Not a problem, we came prepared, even brought some baseboards in case you didn’t have enough. Now, if you’re not worried we’ll screw it up, this might be a good day for you to go over to Eureka and set up a pickup for that furniture and get anything else you might need for these cabins.”
“Leave you working?” he asked. “I couldn’t do that to you.”
“Wait till you see my family. And the Valenzuelas,” Jack said. “Go. Buy sheets and towels.”
Luke thought about this for a very short time—he had other important errands in Eureka. It was high time he plunged into an investigation of Art’s job and group home there. He had to know the man’s past in order to help with his future. Buying sheets, pillows, towels and dishes wouldn’t take any time at all. “You sure? Can you keep an eye on Art in case he gets a little excited with all the people? Sometimes he’s too much help, you know.”
“Sure, he’ll be fine. Where is the good man?”
“If he’s not here, he’s at the river.” Luke grinned. “I’m not getting so much help since I bought him that rod and reel, but the freezer’s full of fish. I have a feeling some of it’s going to be coming your way at the bar.”
“We never turn down handouts,” Jack said, hefting a ladder out of the truck.
As Luke stood and watched, they all started hauling tarps, ladders, toolboxes, brushes and rollers out of the truck beds. He wandered down to the river and found Art.
“Hey, Art,” he said. “How are they biting today?”
“Okay,” he said, throwing out a line and slowly reeling it in.
“Jack and Paul and some men have come to work on the cabins.” He laughed at the way Art’s head jerked toward him and his eyes lit up. “I’m sure they’d want you to help out if you feel like it.”
“Do they want me to?” he asked, pulling in his line.
“Sure, but you’ll have to let them tell you what they need the most help with. Huh?”
“Okay,” he said, grinning happily.