“Yes, Miss O’Reilly. You know I like to go back to my maiden name in between husbands. It makes me more marketable. That’s Tiny there, in the red shirt.”
That’s certainly what Emily would have guessed. Tiny was six and a half feet tall, minimum, and wore a tattered Red Wings T-shirt with the sleeves cut off. Calling him Tiny put the ox in oxymoron. Next to him was a reed-thin wisp of a man with dirty-blond hair. Wide, rainbow-striped suspenders held up his pants, and Emily was glad for that because if those trousers of his fell down, well, she did not want to get a look at anything going on under there. Sitting on the step was a stocky man with jet-black hair woven into a braid who Emily recognized from childhood. That was Wyatt Greenwell, and next to him was a . . . wow. A young man, probably twenty-five or so, with shoulder-length wavy brown hair who would look right at home on the cover of a historical romance novel. She could feel the pheromones just pouring out of him. Shoulders and muscles and dimples, oh my! Sexual harassment was never, ever okay . . . but if she were to ever consider hitting on an employee, it would be him. She couldn’t, though, of course. Maybe she could steer him toward Lilly, though. He was age-appropriate, and really, someone needed to get a piece of that.
As Emily and Gigi reached the steps, Wyatt and the Adonis stood up, and another man, who’d apparently been lying down on the porch, lifted one hand to shield his eyes from the sun.
“What’s going on?” he asked, his voice rough and scratchy.
“Get up, Georgie. Boss lady is here,” Tiny said.
The prone figure rose and shuffled to the edge of the porch. Wearing baggy overalls and a white tank top, Georgie was slender, with blondish hair nearly shaved on the sides but long on the top and pulled into a ponytail. “Goddamn cramps are frickin’ killin’ me.”
Oh? Well, okay. Georgie was not so much one of the guys as she was completely and totally a woman. Emily was glad to see a female on the team. If the men accepted her to work with them, then they’d have an easier time accepting Emily, too. This was good news.
Suspender guy rubbed the back of his grimy hand under his narrow nose. “You know, Geo, if you got knocked up and stayed in the kitchen where you belonged, you could lie down on a nice soft sofa when Aunt Flo came to visit.”
“Go screw yourself, Garth,” the woman responded as the men chuckled, and Emily added create non-hostile work environment to her list of things to do.
“Boys and girl,” Gigi said, “play nicely. Not a one of you is so old that I won’t go tell your mother if you’re being rude.”
Each of them stood up a little straighter. “Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry, ma’am,” Garth answered.
Gigi nodded. “All right, then. If you don’t already know, this is my granddaughter, Emily Chambers. She’s a real ballbuster, so don’t go giving her any sass. We can find someone to replace you if you don’t work out on this team.”
Emily’s smile stiffened. She knew Gigi was not one for subtlety but had hoped for a bit more finesse with that ballbusting thing. Oh well. It was out there now.
“Good morning, everyone. I’m really excited about this project and want to thank you all for being a part of it. We’re going to take this poor old house and turn it back into a wonderful rental cottage. Let’s start with some introductions, shall we?” She walked up onto the porch, careful to not let her heel plunge into some crevice in the wood. Falling out of her shoe was no way to make a good impression.
“I’ll leave you to it then,” Gigi said. “I’m off to take my great-granddaughter to Fort Beaumont, and then we’re going shopping. You kids have fun.”
They all called out their goodbyes, and Emily was on her own with getting to know her new crew. She extended her hand to Tiny, and his paw nearly swallowed hers.
“Pleased to meet you, Tiny. I’m Emily.”
His eyes were pale blue with a nice twinkle in them, and she allowed herself to hope that he might not be such a menace after all. Maybe he’d be like the kind of grizzly bear that wanted to rummage through your camping cooler looking for snacks and not the kind of grizzly bear that was planning to kill you.
He took over with introductions, stepping into his role as foreman already. That was a good sign. “This here is Garth Reynolds, and that’s his sister, Georgiana,” Tiny said, gesturing toward Suspender Guy and Cramps Girl. Emily shook hands with Garth and resisted the urge to wipe her own afterward, what with his nose rubbing and all.
“Nice to meet you again, Emily,” Garth said. “You probably don’t remember me, but my family lives on Big Pine Lane. I was about nine when you hightailed it out of here with that visiting college fella. Big news that summer. Whatever happened to him?”
Excellent. That’s exactly what she wanted to talk about right now. “I married him, and then I divorced him.”
Garth’s sister stepped in front of him, pushing him aside with her hip. “Ignore my brother. I’m Georgie. Or Geo. Whatever. Do you have any ibuprofen? These cramps are a bitch.”
What Georgie lacked in charm, she made up for in . . . lack of charm.
“Um, I don’t think I have any ibuprofen, but you’ve reminded me I’d better make sure we have a first aid kit on site. Thanks.”
Georgie turned away and slumped down against the wall, and Emily smiled at Wyatt, reaching out to shake his hand.
“That’s Wyatt,” Tiny said.
“Hi, Wyatt. I remember you. How are you?” It was nice to see at least one familiar face on this crew. She’d been friends with his sister, and that made him an ally of sorts. Hopefully.
“Can’t complain, Peach. Uh, I mean, Ms. Callaghan. Or, uh . . .”
“You can call me Emily,” she said to the group in general.
Wyatt smiled. “Welcome home, Emily. I’m glad for the work. My sister told me to tell you hello.”
“Tell her I said hello back. What’s she doing now?”
“She’s a teacher. Moved to Manitou a few years ago, but she visits the island all the time.”
“Good. I hope I get a chance to see her this summer.”
Wyatt nodded as Emily turned to Hottie McSix-Pack. Damn. He really was distractingly cute. She felt like a snowman melting under his deep-blue gaze.
“I’m Matt,” he said, as he clasped her hand in both of his and gave a tiny little bow of his head. “Namaste.”
What? “Um, thanks?”
“The energy in this house is very sad, but I’m sure we can bring it joy. You were very wise to wear white.”
“I was?”
He nodded. “It calls forth the light. My spirit guides tell me you are just what this place needs.”
Hm. Interesting. Perhaps Matt could share some of his meds with Georgie to make her cramps go away.