“Don’t chop off any limbs,” I suggested, and started back to the truck for the riding mower. “You’re part-time, so that means no health insurance.”
“Har har,” he called after me. “Got any actual tips?”
“You’ll be fine,” I assured with a wave. “One hedge at a time.”
He snorted. “Is that our motto?”
I paused and turned around to gesture at my shirt. “You didn’t notice?”
“Oh, damn.” He raised his eyebrows and looked down at his own shirt. “Now that one definitely went past me.”
“Always been this observant?” I teased as I climbed on the truck bed.
“I’ve been a little distracted,” he confessed. “Lately.”
“Well, shake it off, buddy. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
* * *
Halfway through the workday, my brother came around, ready to distract my new hedge-trimmer in the making.
“It was just a suggestion,” Leo was saying as I walked up to the two.
Nate shook his head, wearing a look of amusement on his face. “You’re trying to sound responsible, huh? That’s new. I guess I can respect the effort.”
“Am I not being responsible now? Showing up and doing more than swimming?” Leo questioned as he grabbed his elbow with one hand to stretch out his arm. He winced just a bit as he pulled on the muscle.
Nate laughed. “You’re going to need more than a day to prove that. It’s a nice start, though.”
‘Showing up and doing more’ was a phrase my brother often threw Leo’s way when we were in school. Sometimes, the two butted heads on how Leo seemed to coast through his classes with little to no effort. Nate would spend weekends trying to help him study for exams and write papers.
Both of them looked my way once I got closer. I raised an eyebrow at Nate, silently asking why he was here and not finishing up his route with Derek.
“Drink run,” Nate explained. He pulled iced water out of the cooler and tossed it to me.
“You and Derek ran out of water that fast?” I filled all the coolers this morning with a mix of bottled water and sports drinks. Usually, I rationed enough for the whole day.
“It’s a hundred degrees out,” Nate defended. “It’s plausible.”
I cracked open the bottle and took a few sips. “Maybe. But it’s more plausible that you’re trying to take a long break.”
Nate chuckled. “An extra five minutes of rest isn’t going to slow us down that much, kid. If it does, well, we have bigger problems.”
“Fine,” I gave in, needing a break myself. My overheated body was screaming for a moment of rest. Besides, if I stayed close maybe my presence would be boring enough to make them want to get back to work. “What are we talking about?”
Leo looked hesitant to speak up, so Nate shared,
“Annoyances back at school and on the team.”
I nodded, waiting for him to elaborate.
“Leo’s getting his first taste of the swim community politics,” Nate explained and then, looked at his friend for permission. “Should I shut the hell up? Or are you okay talking about this?”
Leo’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “It’s fine.”
Like me, Nate wasn’t convinced for a second Leo’s affirmative answer was a proper green light.
“Nevermind.” Nate shook his head. “I shouldn’t have brought it up anyway. What we really should be talking about is how you easily charmed Dad enough to be hired. We all know if it was Kira’s decision alone, you’d be going through a series of trials probably involving snake pits and quicksand.”
