“You get along better with her than Cal?” She pitched her brow at her half-brother.
“Cal and I get along fine.”
Foster looked up from his hand of cards but wisely refocused his attention on the game. He was smart to stay out of things. Too bad Camille was never good at exercising that same type of restraint.
“You and Cal do not get along fine, but I suggest you start. For Edie’s sake, at the very least.”
Josh looked at his sister knowingly. “I’m aware, and I’m doing my best.”
“Your best needs to get better.”
“I’m working on it, Camille. I really like Edie, and I know that this disagreement Cal and I have only adds stress in her life, which is exactly the opposite of what I’m trying to do.”
Camille put the bread knife down. “Edie is my best friend. You are my brother. I care about both of you, obviously, but my allegiance is to Edie. It has been for more years than I can count. So you need to try harder, okay? Because I’m not sure if you realize it, but you and Cal are pushing her away. And if you keep it up, in the end, you both are going to end up without her.”
Josh nodded, swallowing. “You know, I’ve never had a sibling pep talk before.”
Was that what this was? She hadn’t intended for it to be one but supposed that’s exactly what it came across as. “I am the older sister, after all. It’s my duty.”
“Well, I appreciate it. What can I help with in here?” Josh rubbed his palms together. “It smells so good.”
“You can set the table if you can get those two to relocate their game.”
“We’re almost done,” Skip piped up, eyes focused on his handful of cards. “We’re not going anywhere.”
“Then I suppose we’ll just have to wait and eat this delicious meal cold.”
“I’m just about to beat this youngin’,” Skip rallied. “Give me a minute.”
She pressed her hip to the counter, smiling. She would give him a minute. She would give the old man whatever he wanted considering he’d given her one of the greatest gifts her heart would ever know.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Edie blinked awake, the water droplet curving down her cheek and onto her pillow a rude wakeup call.
“What on earth?” Running her hand over her face, she startled when it came back quite wet.
Another drop plopped onto her forehead.
She bolted upright.
A leak?
How could her newly remodeled beach house have a leak already? Foster’s construction crew was top-notch, and she swore they’d worked on every single square foot of the place, making the once-neglected home practically brand new.
Eyes bleary, she scrubbed them with her fists and focused on the ceiling above her queen-sized bed. Sure enough, there was a damp section of drywall where a pool of water collected until a droplet broke free every few seconds. Another landed on her pillow, nearly missing her head.
Great. Just great.
The last thing she wanted to do was bother Foster with this, but who else could she turn to? She figured he’d like to know, considering he did all of the recent updates on the house. Witha big sigh of frustration, she rolled over to the edge of the bed to retrieve her phone from her nightstand.
It wasn’t too early for a call, but Edie still opted for a text. It would make it feel a little less like an emergency situation because it was far from one. She didn’t want to be a pest. She had another room she could crash in. No actual bed, but there was a blow-up mattress in the closet. She’d make do.
Even though she’d texted him the details about the situation, Foster responded immediately with a phone call.
“Hey Edie. What’s this about a leak?”
The trickles were coming down much faster now, a steady and consistent drip like a leaky faucet. She wedged the phone between her jaw and shoulder, searching for something to catch the falling rainwater. The closest thing was an empty cup on her nightstand, but that would fill to the brim quickly. Still, it was better than nothing for now.
