Chapter Twenty-Eight
HARPER
The pool deckgleamed in the midday light, the custom leaf-motif finish still crisp. Even a month ago, this place had been chaos incarnate—cracked tile underfoot, work crews tramping through puddles, my nerves wound tight enough to snap. Today, there was almost peace in the rhythm of progress. It was similar to the peace filling me.
The air carried the clean scent of new concrete, distant salt, and a hint of whatever Braden was cooking up at Tropical Hops. Where once demolition crews had trailed dust through my dreams, there was only the hum of a drill, a bird call, a half-buried laugh from the parking lot.
Around us, garden beds arched in half-complete curves where sandy soil waited for native shrubs and new palms. Out beyond the deck, Room Block One was once again underway, shoring crew hard at work and the whole renovation back on track with the infusion of cash, thanks to my wonderful, resourceful man. The white paint of thenew bungalows down at the end of the beach glowed in the afternoon sun.
Chase walked beside me, arm just close enough to brush mine every few steps, posture easy. He caught my eye as I stared out over the pool, offered a half-smile that made something happy twist in my chest.
We didn’t say much, surveying the cabanas and the sweep of the pool edge. There was too much to look at. Every so often, he’d rest a hand on the small of my back, slow and sure, the touch electric in its casualness.
“Feels different now, doesn’t it?” he murmured as we studied the final inspection sheet tacked near the pool bar.
“Like we finally turned the corner.” I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and glanced at him sideways. “Bet you never thought you’d be elbows deep in so much contractor drama.”
“Or living with someone whose idea of organization is a stack of three color-coded clipboards for every room.”
I bumped him with my shoulder, grateful for his teasing. “Like you’re any better. I’ve seen how you organize your side of the closet.”
The past few weeks had been a blur of moving boxes, early mornings, and late-night sorting—Chase settling in, us finding our rhythms in life and at work. It turned out blending households was a bit of a dance when one of you was a serial minimalist and the other could never part with anything Finn had ever colored. The sale of his house had proceeded without a hitch, and we’d obtained all necessary signatures to increase his partnership to thirty-five percent with the extra capital he was committing to the renovation.
My cottage was a bit cozier now, and my joke about buying a bigger place might become reality at some point soon. Especially since we’d had to put his gorgeousmahogany desk into storage for the moment. Too many good memories there to hide away in the dark.
The sharp edge of anxiety that had lived in me for too long, the perpetual hum that something else might go wrong, had finally faded to a manageable buzz. Even the clouds that gathered above the trees looked more decorative than threatening, and I could actually hear myself breathing again. Maybe that was just what relief sounded like—wind, hammers, and the burble of water on tile.
I let myself enjoy it, for just a moment. This improbable, hard-earned quiet. The truth was, Chase fit into our days so smoothly I almost forgot it was new. It was the way he squeezed into the kitchen, dodging Finn’s plastic trucks, or the way his laugh filled up spaces I’d never known were empty. Finn had accepted him without reservation, treating him like he was the best present on Christmas morning.
I didn’t realize I was smiling to myself until Chase leaned in, eyebrow arched. “You’re making that face again.”
“Which one?”
He grinned. “The happy one. Keep it up.”
The familiar sound of footsteps—deliberate, heavy, confident—saved me from replying. Austin appeared at the corner of the pool deck, hands shoved in his pockets, resort baseball hat pushed back, eyes sharp behind that ever-present dark stubble. I could tell by the lack of furrow between his brows that today was—if not a good day—a decent one.
He nodded to Chase, then to me, squinting at the pool and the just-laid sod. For a long beat, he took it in, arms crossed, expression as unreadable as ever.
“Looks sharp, Ashworth,” he said, low and just a little gravelly. “You kept the feel of the place but really broughtit into this century instead of last.” A rare compliment, handed out like a trust fall.
Chase’s ears went pink—subtle, but I knew. “That was the goal. Blend the new with the old. Appreciate it, man.”
Austin nodded, gaze flitting between us as if registering something about the way we stood a touch too close. But he didn’t comment. Instead, his eyes crinkled at the corners and a faint smile raised his lips, the closest thing to amusement you’d get from my younger brother.
He used to be so different…
I sighed and let the thought go. Austin was what events had made him, and we were all grateful he was still with us.
He looked my way. “Have you blocked Ben from your contacts yet?”
I rolled my eyes skyward even as I laughed. “Thinking about it. Who would have thought our big brother would be such a Chatty Cathy? A group text including the world’s biggestPASSnotification followed fifty exclamation points. Plus a selfie so blurry I had to squint sideways to confirm it was truly his grinning face.”
Austin’s mouth twitched, unmistakable pride in the set of his shoulders. “Aces the exam but still can’t hold a phone steady.”
Chase nodded. “I knew he could do it.”
I grinned, letting some of the old sibling mischief take over. “Now that Ben officially passed his EMT certification test, he’s waiting for the state paperwork to start at Dove Key Fire Department.”
