“I don’t know.” He opened the bottom drawer of her desk and pulled out a yellow ball, then tossed it down the hall for Charlie. The little dog raced after it. “Something from the Máa-zib, maybe. This town was founded by a group of powerful women. There’s the festival where the guy gets his heart cut out. What if we did a ladies’ weekend around that? With a bike ride and an afternoon of shopping. Maybe some spa stuff. We could approach the businesses in town to co-op with us.”
Fay nodded slowly. “That could be fun. It wouldn’t have to be around the festival, although that’s great. What about bachelorette weekends?”
He grabbed a pad of paper from her desk and started making notes. “That would work. We could do packages or something. Include meal vouchers.” He looked at her. “What about more couples stuff? A romantic sunset kayak for two with a picnic? Ana Raquel has her food truck all summer. She could put together the food and wine. We already have blankets and kayaks. We’d give a quick lesson for the novices, send them out with a map and GPS locator.”
Fay grinned. “Unless they don’t want to be found.”
“They’ll want to be found eventually. The food will run out.” He chuckled as he wrote.
“I’m impressed,” she added. “Usually when you want to make changes, you’re only interested in going faster or making the ordinary more dangerous. This isn’t like you.”
“I want to mix it up,” he said, when what he was thinking was that this was Shelby’s influence. She’d forced him to do “girl things.” While he’d resisted at first, he had to admit there was value in having a conversation. In learning to listen and offer encouragement without offering advice. He would always prefer doing over sitting, but there was a time and place for both.
“Women either influence or make all family vacation decisions,” he continued. “I need to keep that in mind.”
Fay petted Charlie. “Our little boy is all grown up. I’m just so proud.”
*
THE HELP EMERGENCY RESPONSE OPERATIONS, or as it was known in town, the HERO office, was designed to handle a crisis. There weren’t a lot of unnecessary touches. The walls were covered with maps of the surrounding forests, the desks had state-of-the-art computers and the command center looked capable of a space launch.
Shelby had always felt a little intimidated when she visited her brother at work. He rescued people and saved lives—she made cookies. Not that the comparisons were new. After all, he’d been a world-class athlete before heading up the town’s search-and-rescue organization, while she’d, well, baked cookies.
Kipling smiled when he saw her and pulled her close for a hug. “How’s my favorite sister?” he asked when he released her.
“Good. How’s my favorite brother?”
“Tired. Happy, but tired. Tonya’s sleeping longer between feedings, but we are weeks from her sleeping through the night.” He waved Shelby into a chair and sat behind his desk again, swiveling so he faced her. “It’s great.”
“You like being a dad.”
“It’s the best thing ever. She’s so tiny and perfect. I never thought I could love anyone this much.”
Shelby thought about all the women that had paraded through her brother’s life for years. As he’d gotten older, he’d started to settle down, but he’d always had a wild streak. Until he’d met Destiny.
Theirs had been an unconventional courtship—with Destiny’s unplanned pregnancy first drawing them together before tearing them apart. In the end, they’d realized they were in love and wanted to be a family.
Shelby had watched it all from the sidelines. She’d hoped things would work out. Not only did she long to see her brother happy, she genuinely liked Destiny and Starr. Now there was one more Gilmore in the family.
“You’re surrounded by women,” she teased.
“I know. Isn’t it great? How are things with you and Aidan?”
Three days ago, Shelby would have pointed out—for the nine hundred and forty-seventh time—that she and Aidan were just friends. Only she wasn’t sure about that anymore. Making love had changed everything. She wasn’t sure of the consequences, but was sure they existed. With luck, they would all be happy ones.
“Excellent,” she said, thinking of the flowers delivered to the bakery that morning. And the way he texted her at least once an hour.
“Aidan’s a good guy. He was a bit of a player, but he seems to have changed his ways.”
“You’ve been checking up on him?”
“Of course.”
Which was totally what Kipling would do, she thought fondly. He’d always taken care of her. No matter what, her big brother would be there for her.
“You know about the bakery,” she said. “That I’m buying it.”
He nodded. “It’s going to be great.”
“I’m excited. Well, scared, too, but mostly excited. I’m working on my business plan. I’ve already met with a contractor to discuss expanding into the space next door. The landlord is holding it for me. If everything comes together, I’ll have the lease by the end of next week. Once Amber and I get the paperwork signed, I’ll be moving forward.”
Best of My Love (Fool's Gold, #20)
Susan Mallery's books
- A Christmas Bride
- Just One Kiss
- Chasing Perfect (Fool's Gold #1)
- Almost Perfect (Fool's Gold #2)
- Sister of the Bride (Fool's Gold #2.5)
- Finding Perfect (Fool's Gold #3)
- Only Mine (Fool's Gold #4)
- Only Yours (Fool's Gold #5)
- Only His (Fool's Gold #6)
- Only Us (Fool's Gold #6.1)
- Almost Summer (Fool's Gold #6.2)