Page 40 of Hideaway Reunion

He shook his head. “I did more projects with groups during my military days,” he reminded her. He was sure he’d mentioned it at some point.

“Oh.” She looked a little put out about forgetting. “But Trent has a drone. Won’t that be safer?”

Brayden chuckled. “He already told me to wait.” He nibbled on her earlobe. “He’ll be back any minute with it.” He created some distance, hoping to get his body to behave before he walked back out into the sunny morning. “What about a pressure washer?”

“Yes! Sort of.” She turned toward a peg board mounted on the opposite wall. “Celeste bought some sort of hose attachment that’s easier to handle and still effective.” She grabbed a device that looked like a chrome wand and a handgun had a home-maintenance baby. “Here it is.”

Taking the item in one hand, he stepped outside with her. “Seriously?”

She grinned and kissed his cheek. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” A heavy machine rumbled to life on the other side of the trees. “Oh! That’s what I really came to warn you about. Bobby is bringing the backhoe over here to haul away some of the larger debris.”

“Through the forest?”

“No, no.” She shook her head. “He’ll drive it around.”

“And you’re okay with that?” Brayden was willing to be the bad guy and put a stop to this if that’s what she needed from him.

She nodded. “His plan got the full three-sister seal of approval.”

“Wow. That’s impressive.” The man had done a complete one-eighty on the Hargrave sisters and their Hideaway. Brayden appreciated a person who could admit they’d been wrong. “Here’s hoping he’s willing to speak up if necessary.”

She slipped her arm around his waist as the backhoe approached from the street. “Here’s hoping it doesn’t come to that.”

He pressed a kiss to her hair. “Agreed.”

Holding hands, they waved at Bobby as the backhoe lumbered past. After a quick detour to the deck, Brayden and Roni started down to the beach to help out.

“Cav is taking the debris to the construction site so they can haul it away once the limb is cut out of the office trailer.”

A generous offer. Brayden glanced at the backhoe’s tracks. “I hope y’all don’t need more than one or two trips or we’ll need to re-sod the lawn and level the sand again.”

She grimaced. “Yeah, but this way we’re not taking load after load to the dump.” Suddenly, she smiled, nudging him with her elbow. “Hey, Holly!” She waved as the Brookwell Bugle editor hurried forward.

“Good morning!” Holly greeted them both, walking in one of the grass-flattened tracks. “Glad the house is okay. This is an unexpected cooperative effort.” Holly raised her camera and took some quick snapshots. “I’m just coming from the construction site. That’s a dreadful mess. Was anyone hurt?”

“Not seriously,” Roni replied. “We’re all working to clean up this morning.”

“The neighbors said it’s quite the cleanup party.” Holly beamed. “Can I help while you fill me in?”

Roni glanced at Brayden, but this was her decision. She had to know he’d support her choice.

“We’ll take all the help we can get,” Roni said. “Obviously.”

She seemed reluctant to reveal that the Hideaway had hosted three members of the construction crew overnight. Brayden knew it wouldn’t stay a secret for long. All three men were too eager to sing her praises. That kind of thing always made Roni uncomfortable. She struggled to take a compliment on the best of days. She didn’t view her actions last night as anything praise-worthy. Taking in those men, in her view, was merely the baseline of being human.

Helping others came naturally, through the attentive way she and her sisters had been raised. Caring by doing was a core value. Before their dad had left his family and his practice to do whatever he was doing in Europe, he’d spent countless hours volunteering for various organizations. And their mother was the same with her dedication to a variety of charities, from local foodbanks to mission trips abroad.

“You think you’ll make it in time for the dance class?” Holly queried. Then she laughed as they reached the dunes and she recognized members of the dance club. Immediately she used her camera, then covered the lens to protect it from sand and debris. “Of course you will.”

“How is the rest of the island?” Brayden asked, hoping to put off the inevitable reveal of how they had all come to be working together out here today.

“Surprisingly healthy,” Holly replied. “A few shingles were blown off here and there. The palms have all been pruned by Mother Nature. Plenty of typical smaller high-wind debris on the roads. I stopped by Billings Nursery to find Jess and Nina on the phones, coordinating requests for chain saws and debris removal,” she continued. “They told me the only big issue was at Indigo Reef. Their husbands, Nash and Boone, are making their way over, but it’s not at the top of their list.”

“It shouldn’t be,” Roni said, sounding grumpy. “Don’t misunderstand. I mean, you know I’m not delighted with the developer, but I only meant it’s not a priority because no one’s displaced. The construction office is probably easier to replace than anything else out here.”

“I’m sure you’re right,” Holly agreed. “Probably part of the normal contingencies they build into their budget. But it’s a true wreck.” She lifted her camera and showed them the pictures she’d taken.

It looked even worse in today’s bright sunlight. “Total loss,” Brayden muttered. He pointed toward the trees. “You can see where the live oak took a lightning strike and changed the shape of the canopy. Last night that big limb looked like a can opener cutting through the trailer.”