clothes—khakis and a navy polo shirt bearing a smaller version of the logo on the truck—and frowned. “I’m not a damn yuppie.”
“You look like one. All bosslike.”
“I am the boss. But I can still swing my own hammer.” Ryan looked past him at the lodge. “From the looks of things, I’m going to need to.”
“Told you it was getting rough.”
“You weren’t lying. Right now I’m starving.”
“We can drive down to the diner and grab a burger or something.”
Ryan scowled. “No shepherd’s pie?”
“Rosie’s…on strike, I guess you could say.”
“What do you mean she’s on strike?”
“We hired Andy Miller to do some odd jobs around the place.”
“Oh.” Ryan shook his head. “So no banana bread, either?”
“Nope.”
“This place is really going to shit.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Where’s Josh?”
“He wanted to get cleaned up. Takes the poor sucker a half hour to get up and down the stairs, so he might be a while, but we can head into town when he’s done.”
Ryan walked toward the steps, giving them a good looking over. “I heard the woman that runs the old diner now is pretty hot.”
“Yup.” His younger brother liked to push his buttons, and he wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of getting territorial. Or asking him how he knew about Paige.
“Also heard you struck out.”
So he’d been talking to Josh. “A swing and a miss maybe, but I’m still at bat.”
Apparently finished inspecting the stairs, Ryan turned to face him and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’ll be around a bit. Maybe I’ll get to know her and see if she’ll let me steal a few bases.”
“You take so much as one step toward first base with Paige Sullivan and I’ll break every bone in your body. And I’ll mess up your pretty yuppie clothes while I’m doing it.”
Ryan just laughed at him. “I knew it.”
“Knew what?”
“Forget it. I’m going to go rummage around the kitchen.”
“Like I said, we can head down to the diner and—”
“I don’t want to go into town. I’m tired and I’ve had enough of sitting in a truck. I’ll just make some sandwiches or something.”
Ryan made it as far as the front hallway before Rose came flying down the stairs. Mitch watched her hug his younger brother as though he’d been away at sea rather than in Massachusetts, growing more aggravated by the second.
Of course Rose fussed over Ryan. He hadn’t committed the unforgivable sin of offering a good man some honest work. And Mitch didn’t want Ryan anywhere near Paige. He knew Ryan had only been screwing with him, but his younger brother wasn’t bad looking, he was a nice guy and—unlike the rest of them—he was as steady and solid as a slab of granite. What if Paige was willing to break her no-dating rule for him?
It would be embarrassing, for one thing. Mitch would never live it down. And Ryan wouldn’t just romance Paige and move on. He wasn’t wired that way. Mitch loved women in the same way he loved cheeseburgers and the Die Hard movies and a good football game. Ryan loved in a forever and ever, amen kind of way, and Mitch had never known him to be casual about a woman.
“I made you shepherd’s pie,” Mitch heard Rose tell Ryan, and he followed them toward the kitchen.
“Mitch said you didn’t.”
“Mitch doesn’t know everything. Of course I made you shepherd’s pie. And there’s banana bread, too.”
“I told you I smelled banana bread and you said it was an air freshener,” Mitch said, trying not to sound too pouty.
“I lied,” she said, opening the oven door to show a huge glass casserole dish of shepherd’s pie.
“Is that all for Ryan, or do we get some, too?”
“Of course you can have some,” she snapped. “I’m not twelve.”
Biting down on the variety of smart-ass responses that popped into his head, he started setting the table while Rosie continued to fuss over the golden boy. He was almost done when Josh showed up and
“You look like one. All bosslike.”
“I am the boss. But I can still swing my own hammer.” Ryan looked past him at the lodge. “From the looks of things, I’m going to need to.”
“Told you it was getting rough.”
“You weren’t lying. Right now I’m starving.”
“We can drive down to the diner and grab a burger or something.”
Ryan scowled. “No shepherd’s pie?”
“Rosie’s…on strike, I guess you could say.”
“What do you mean she’s on strike?”
“We hired Andy Miller to do some odd jobs around the place.”
“Oh.” Ryan shook his head. “So no banana bread, either?”
“Nope.”
“This place is really going to shit.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Where’s Josh?”
“He wanted to get cleaned up. Takes the poor sucker a half hour to get up and down the stairs, so he might be a while, but we can head into town when he’s done.”
Ryan walked toward the steps, giving them a good looking over. “I heard the woman that runs the old diner now is pretty hot.”
“Yup.” His younger brother liked to push his buttons, and he wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of getting territorial. Or asking him how he knew about Paige.
“Also heard you struck out.”
So he’d been talking to Josh. “A swing and a miss maybe, but I’m still at bat.”
Apparently finished inspecting the stairs, Ryan turned to face him and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’ll be around a bit. Maybe I’ll get to know her and see if she’ll let me steal a few bases.”
“You take so much as one step toward first base with Paige Sullivan and I’ll break every bone in your body. And I’ll mess up your pretty yuppie clothes while I’m doing it.”
Ryan just laughed at him. “I knew it.”
“Knew what?”
“Forget it. I’m going to go rummage around the kitchen.”
“Like I said, we can head down to the diner and—”
“I don’t want to go into town. I’m tired and I’ve had enough of sitting in a truck. I’ll just make some sandwiches or something.”
Ryan made it as far as the front hallway before Rose came flying down the stairs. Mitch watched her hug his younger brother as though he’d been away at sea rather than in Massachusetts, growing more aggravated by the second.
Of course Rose fussed over Ryan. He hadn’t committed the unforgivable sin of offering a good man some honest work. And Mitch didn’t want Ryan anywhere near Paige. He knew Ryan had only been screwing with him, but his younger brother wasn’t bad looking, he was a nice guy and—unlike the rest of them—he was as steady and solid as a slab of granite. What if Paige was willing to break her no-dating rule for him?
It would be embarrassing, for one thing. Mitch would never live it down. And Ryan wouldn’t just romance Paige and move on. He wasn’t wired that way. Mitch loved women in the same way he loved cheeseburgers and the Die Hard movies and a good football game. Ryan loved in a forever and ever, amen kind of way, and Mitch had never known him to be casual about a woman.
“I made you shepherd’s pie,” Mitch heard Rose tell Ryan, and he followed them toward the kitchen.
“Mitch said you didn’t.”
“Mitch doesn’t know everything. Of course I made you shepherd’s pie. And there’s banana bread, too.”
“I told you I smelled banana bread and you said it was an air freshener,” Mitch said, trying not to sound too pouty.
“I lied,” she said, opening the oven door to show a huge glass casserole dish of shepherd’s pie.
“Is that all for Ryan, or do we get some, too?”
“Of course you can have some,” she snapped. “I’m not twelve.”
Biting down on the variety of smart-ass responses that popped into his head, he started setting the table while Rosie continued to fuss over the golden boy. He was almost done when Josh showed up and
Similar Books
