“Well, thank you. I would appreciate it.” I give him a sincere smile.
Nick comes over with a broken shovel and rake. “New handles,” he grunts at Bay, and Bay nods.
Zander and Troy enter the side door as Bay loads up the tools in the Honda.
“Hello boys, how is everyone?” Zander asks. A round of goods and fines echo back. He looks over at me. “Are you doing alright, Summer?”
“Yeah, we finished with the stuff upstairs. I’ve got a box of Mara’s journals, a box of old seed catalogs and tools. The rest of the boxeswere seed-starting supplies. Bay plans to fix the rototiller and a few handles.”
“That’s great. I’m sure you’ll find valuable information in the journals. You should take those into the house. So, what is everyone doing now? Troy and I have the wedding figured out.”
Nick hops into the driver’s seat of the Jeep. Talkative guy, that one. E waves goodbye and gets in the passenger seat.
“Seb, you should go with them. I have more things to do at the office,” Troy tells him.
Seb looks at me with a frown until it morphs into a grin. “I’m coming in for a hug, Sunshine. Prepare yourself!”
Troy and Zander open their mouths to protest, but Seb already has his arms wrapped around me as he picks me up off the ground. I tense at first, but it doesn’t actually freak me out. I hold my hand up to Troy and Zander, who are heading my way, to let them know I’m okay. Looking around, I see E smiling at me, Bay shaking his head, and Nick has his eyes narrowed on where Seb’s arms are wrapped around me.Ok then.Seb places me down, jumping into the back of the Jeep. “Bye Sunshine! Call me later!”
Zander opens the garage door, and they drive off. Bay leaves for the Honda while Troy goes to his SUV. We all wave goodbye as Zander and I turn off the lights, close up the garage, and I carry the box of journals into the house.
“I’m going to unpack these onto a bookshelf in my room, if that’s okay?”
“Sure thing, Summer. I’m going to turn on some football,” he says as he heads over to the couch.
I walk back to my room, setting the box on the floor by the dresser. Opening it up, I grab each journal and check the date inside the cover. I line them up on the middle shelf from oldest to newest. I set the box beside the front door to take out later and tell Zander I’m getting a shower. Afterwards, he cooks us breakfast for dinner. We enjoy some eggs and sausage biscuits on the island.
“How are you doing after Hurricane Seb and the guys today?”
“I’m actually alright. Surprised I didn’t freak out when Seb hugged me.” The tension didn’t completely leave my body until he put me down, but it wasn’t half as bad as I would’ve expected.
“Me too, but I’m glad. He’ll be a good friend to you. He knows everyone at the school, and he’s very loyal.”
I nod. “So, what’s the plan for tomorrow? Do you need to work?”
“No, unless there’s a crisis. I asked the guys to come over on Wednesday to build the back deck railing. I’ve got nothing else planned. We can hang out here unless you’d like to go somewhere.”
Lying in bed that night, I go over all the changes today brought. I met a new group of friends, all of whom seem really nice, well, except Nick. I don’t have a read on him yet, whether he’s just quiet or has an issue with me, or he could just not like anyone. I was hugged by someone I hardly know, which was tense but nice at the same time. I have a feeling Seb will keep me constantly entertained.
Chapter 20
Zander and I spend Tuesday morning hanging out. I’m reading the driver’s manual while Zander watches sports on tv. I get a text from Seb asking if he and Gabby can come over, and after checking with Zander, I agree.
Hurricane Seb and his sister land about half an hour later. “Sunshine, I’m here,” he hollers as he enters the house. I look over my shoulder to see him and can’t help but smile. A beautiful girl is following behind. Gabby has skin a shade darker than her brothers, with long brown curly hair. She has bright hazel eyes and a dusting of freckles across her nose. She’s adorable. Seb comes over and drops down beside me. “Sunshine meets Gabs.”
“Hi Summer. It’s nice to meet you,” she smiles as she takes a seat in the middle of the couch. Gabby has a simple tank and shorts on, but has paired it with several necklaces and bangles, as well as dangling earrings, making it look more fashionable and refined than I could ever pull off.
“You too, Gabby. Thank you for the beautiful bedroom.” I give her a genuine smile in return, so appreciative of the work she did for a complete stranger.
“I’m so glad you like it. It was so much fun to design. Ordering the guys around was a bonus too,” she smirks.
“You don’t need an excuse to do that, Gabs,” Seb says as he rolls his eyes.
Zander and I chuckle at them. They seem like typical siblings. “So, what are you guys up to today?” Zander asks.
“Well, I wanted to meet Summer, and I was hoping she’d want to go shopping with me today. My cheer camp starts on Thursday, and I need to buy some new things before I go. I brought Seb as our chauffeur. I thought Summer could use some estrogen in the mix too,” she says, winking at me.
That’s so very sweet of her, but…large groups and shopping with strangers? “Um, I’m not great with crowds.”
