Faith had to grin at that. They did seem to have a huge presence that extended beyond their large physiques. It brought to Faith’s mind the irrational thought that the wedding would be another excuse to see Kieran again, but she pushed that thought away as quickly as it came. She had no business thinking anything of the kind.
Lacie rummaged around in her purse for a bit, extracted a small notepad, removed the attached pen, and jotted something down. “I tend to be a bit disorganized, sometimes,” she explained apologetically. “I find that if I don’t write it down, I sometimes don’t remember until it’s too late.”
That was something with which Faith could empathize. She had a similar notebook in her bag, though hers was filled with as many sketches as it was enumerated lists and notes. Sometimes an idea struck at the oddest times and if she didn’t capture the gist while it was fresh in her mind, it was harder to reproduce later on.
“Shane is so organized, poor guy. My disjointed brain drives him crazy sometimes.”
Faith chuckled at that. Shane did seem to be the type to be exceptionally well-prepared for any situation, but in a competent, good way. She hadn’t detected any of the less desirable anal retentiveness so many control freaks had.
Faith didn’t realize she’d voiced her inner thoughts out loud until Lacie bellowed a laugh. She felt the heat rushing into her cheeks when the men’s heads snapped up suspiciously with the instinctive knowledge that such a full-hearted sound could only come at their expense.
Thankfully, they hadn’t heard exactly what she’d said and Lacie didn’t seem at all offended.
“Thanks. Shane is... well, let’s just say he’s everything I could have hoped for and then some.”
Faith smiled, feeling genuinely happy for her. She couldn’t find it in herself to begrudge the other woman a happy ending, not when they were so obviously in love.
“Kieran’s a good guy, too,” Lacie pointed out.
“They both seem very nice,” Faith said carefully. As much as she liked Lacie, she didn’t know her well enough to sense if there was any hidden meaning in that last statement. She’d been on the fix-up list so many times she’d become a bit paranoid. People generally meant well, but once they found out she was young and single they felt obligated to “help”. Sometimes she felt like she had a bulls-eye tattooed on her forehead. So far Lacie had not shown any signs of gossipy nosiness, just natural curiosity. And she had been nothing but kind and helpful, so Faith decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and take the statement at face value.
“I still can’t believe how much you’re doing for us. With your help, we’ve already accomplished more in one morning than Matt and I could have in a whole week.”
More like several, Faith added silently, given how long it would have taken to be able to afford all those supplies. The shingles and lumber alone would have put her back several hundred dollars, not to mention all the nails and screws and tools they would have had to buy or borrow to get the job done. She had her trusty collection of secondhand tools that she’d managed to collect over the years out of necessity, but it sure as heck didn’t contain portable laser miter saws.
“I’m glad you’re letting us help,” Lacie countered. “Most people wouldn’t appreciate us barging in and taking over like that. You must think we’re terribly pushy.”
“Not at all,” Faith was quick to reply, but an inner part of her squirmed. If it had been anyone besides Lacie, Shane, and Kieran, she probably would have been a bit more bothered than she was. She was normally a very private person, and did not accept help easily. It was nearly impossible not to like Lacie, however. And the appearance of the two men who seemed to know what they were doing was just too good to pass up.
“And we do appreciate it,” Faith said sincerely. “Matt’s been in seventh heaven all day.”
Faith had given Lacie the perfect opportunity to ask about Matt’s father, but she didn’t. That raised her yet another notch in Faith’s opinion.
“I think the guys are enjoying it, too. They can’t wait till their nieces and nephews get a little older.”
“Big family?” Faith guessed as Lacie directed her toward the town proper.
“You could say that. There are seven Callaghan brothers. Five of them are married with kids, but the oldest isn’t close to being ready to use a power saw just yet.”
Faith performed a few mental gymnastics. Seven brothers, five married, and one engaged. Lacie spared her the embarrassment of asking. “Kieran’s the only remaining eligible bachelor.”
Faith hated the little flutter she felt beneath her ribcage at that disclosure. She was not interested. And she was glad she wasn’t interested, because she knew she had the equivalent of a snowball’s chance in hell of catching the eye of someone like Kieran. Even her uninterested, don’t-need-a-man self couldn’t help but admit the man was a walking, talking fantasy. Gorgeous, strong, kind, good with kids ...