“Not exactly. Your mother thought the rink would be delivered and set up, but that’s not the case,” I explained.
“I knew a guy that had one of these in his back yard. From what he said, they’re not hard to install.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Keegan walked over and handed her phone to Jacob. “I found a video online that shows how to set it up.”
We huddled around her phone and watched the short video while the driver unloaded the palette from the truck. “Well, I think we can handle that,” I mused.
Jacob gave me a pointed look. “Me and some of the guys will take care of the rink if you’ll make sure my mother doesn’t try to climb any more ladders.”
I turned to see Jacquelyn heading back to the shed she was painting. “I’ll do my best,” I promised and left them to it.
I wasn’t sure if Jacquelyn was trudging along because there was so much to do or if it was because she was trying to ignore what almost happened between us. Either way, I refused to let things become awkward. Picking up a paint brush, I dipped it in her can and started painting right beside her. “What kind of shop is this one going to be?”
Jacquelyn glanced at me out of the corner of her eye but continued to paint. “According to Gabby’s plans, this one is going to be the gingerbread cookie shop.”
“Where is Gabby?” I asked and quickly scanned the area.
“Ranger walked her back to the house so she could take a nap,” she laughed. “He was quick to volunteer, so I’m guessing he’s going to take one, too.”
“Speaking of, do you need to take a break? I know there’s still a lot to do, but you don’t want to overdo it on the first day.”
“Thank you, I’m fine for right now. I want to get this one finished. Then, I’ll take a break to order dinner and get everyone’s sleeping arrangements sorted.”
Having a houseful of unexpected guests spending the night would normally be a nightmare for the security staff, but I knew Jacob very well and knew that he would never invite anyone into his mother’s home unless he fully trusted them.
I also knew much more about the members of his club than he or any of them were aware of. Jacquelyn had me run checks on the club members when Jacob first joined to make sure he wasn’t getting involved in something dangerous. I was never able to discern if the club he decided to join was an outlaw club, but they seemed to be on the up and up for the most part. The only exception being that they handled some business in house when it was necessary.
“Whenever you’re ready one of us will escort you to the house while the others stay here and keep watch.”
She turned to me and smiled. “Thank you, Ronan, for everything.”
6
Jacquelyn
With the help from Jacob and his friends from the motorcycle club, we had all the buildings painted, the ice-skating rink set up, and more lights than we could count by the end of the second day. I knew they had their own lives to get back to, but I did convince them to stay the night and drive back home after a full night’s rest.
Gabby, of course, wanted to stay with me for the rest of the week. “Can I, Gigi? Please?”
“You’ll have to ask your sister and Shaky Jakey.” The nickname she gave Jacob tickled me to no end. At one time, he’d gone to great lengths to keep his worlds separate, but fate intervened and they collided anyway.
Gigi ran off and came back with Keegan a few minutes later. “It’s okay with us, as long as you don’t mind,” she said.
“Oh, I don’t mind at all, but I don’t want to disrupt any of your Thanksgiving plans.” I knew they were planning to come to my house for dinner on Thanksgiving, but I thought they might have lunch with Keegan’s grandfather or with the club members.
“Well,” Keegan said slowly. “Would it be okay if I invited Ranger to join us?”
“Of course, dear! You don’t even need to ask. Ranger is always welcome at my house.”
“Perfect,” she smiled. “That way, Gabby can stay for the week and still spend Thanksgiving with both of her grandparents.”
“For future reference, please extend an invitation to Ranger to any of our family holiday events. I apologize for not thinking of it sooner.”
She waved her hand dismissively. “Well, it’s not like you’ve had your hands full or anything.”
I laughed. “You can say that again.”
