Page 140 of Bodybuilders for the BBW

“You want to build a shelter here? We’re here to help.” I pressed a kiss to the top of her head, closing my eyes for just a second to breathe in her perfume. “We’ll always be here for you.” I pulled back for just a second. “If you want us to.”

“Told you it’d all work out.”

Her nanna stood there with a smug smile on her face, right as her husband emerged.

“So we’ve got another couple of visitors?” He looked us up and down. “You lot look like strong types. What do you know about feeding cattle?”

“Nothing,” I replied, “but we’ll learn. Whatever it takes to make this work, we’ll learn.”

Chapter71

Katie

Days later

“You’re making some progress.”

I looked up to see Nan had come up with a basket of food and then glanced at the sky. Sun was overhead, so must be lunchtime.

“We’d want to be.”

Rhys walked over, wiping his face on his shirt and that was a mistake. We’d been hauling stone bricks out of the undergrowth and cutting down weeds, which was hard, backbreaking work. Bronson was in his element, barking and then coming barrelling over when he saw we had company. He stopped at Nan’s truck though, dropping into a sit and barking at the passenger side door.

I soon realised why.

Mandie sat there, silent for once, until she opened the door.

“Brought you something to eat and…” Nan looked over her shoulder. “Another helper. Figured you could use another set of hands.”

Could I? It wasn’t my sister’s hands I was worried about, but her mouth. My hands went to my hips and she noted that as she walked over. For once she was acting almost chastened.

“Fellas.” She nodded to the guys and got a simple nod from them as they helped themselves to the thermos of tea. “So, this is going to become a shelter, huh?”

“That’s not why you drove down here.”

I’d gotten texts and missed call notifications from her, but by the time I got to look at my phone, I was usually too tired to reply. Well, that was my story, and I was sticking to it.

“Nope, it’s not.” Mandie looked the shed over, squinting slightly in the face of the bright sun. “This could be amazing. The stone is a great?—”

“Why are you here, Mandie?” I said, raising an eyebrow.

“To say sorry. You know me. Open my mouth and the truth bombs just drop out.” She tried to smile her way through that, but my steady stare had it faltering. “I was a dick. Not entirely off base?—”

“You know you’re ruining a perfectly good apology right now,” I said.

“Yeah?” She dared to smile. “I kinda thought I sucked at it.”

“That’s probably a more accurate way of putting it.” I grabbed a cloth and wiped my face. “Well, if we’re all about the unvarnished truth, let me hit you with some.” Her silence was about the best I could expect from my sister. “You treat me like I’m some kind of gimp because I don’t do things the way you do. Newsflash, most people don’t and it’s not because they’re too stupid to recognise your genius, but due the fact everyone does things in their own way.” She sucked in a breath to reply, but I cut her off. “That doesn’t make them wrong.”

“OK.”

Apparently, I had permission to continue.

“If you really want to help people, try listening first and passing judgement later, if ever. See if people actually want you acting as judge, jury and executioner.”

“Heard.”

Her tight voice made clear how much effort it took to keep quiet.

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