Page 123 of The One With the Mountain Man

I set my hands on her shoulders. "I've got this. You need a day to just be Karis, so please enjoy yourself."

Her eyes strayed to the table where she'd laid out magazines and printouts of her ideal home. When I first suggested she start an idea board she rolled her eyes and told me to fuck off. But when I kept insisting she do a Pinterest or something, so that when she had the money to renovate the house she could get right to it, she dove in. In just a couple of days she had an overflowing Pinterest (yes, Marley was the one who told me about it and was stalking it for ideas) and a table full of even more.

The one thing we had working in our favor was that my little sister had a pretty cohesive idea of what she wanted. Marley called it English Countryside. Regardless of what it was called, when Karis got home tonight, her house would look like these magazines.

"Okay," she sighed. "Promise you'll call if anything happens."

"I promise. Gus and I are cool. We need a guys’ day as much as you need your spa day."

"Hmmm."

"Go Karis."

"Fine." She stomped out to Aviana's waiting car.

The moment they were down the road and out of sight, I sent a group text that we were all clear. Travis pulled up first with a load of furniture. Digger and my brother Logan were next in Digger's work truck. Scottie and Mack arrived a few minutes later with the painting supplies.

"All right," Digger said, rubbing his hands together, "we're doing this. I've got the new doors and windows, plus the material to build out those bookshelves. We're remodeling the living room, kitchen, foyer, and repainting the bathrooms but not touching the bedrooms, correct?"

"That's it. I want to redo her room, but I think she needs to be part of that."

"Totally agree," Mack said with a nod.

"Knock, knock!" Daisy stuck her head in the open front door. "Is Gus ready for a fun day?"

Right on cue he let out a squeal, toppled his block tower, and grabbed his favorite teddy bear. "Go play!"

I scooped him up. "I've got all his things. It'll just take a minute to install the car seat. You all, get started."

When I had Gus settled, I kissed the top of his head and gave his straps a tug. "Be good today, buddy. I'll see you soon."

"Bye Huk!"

"Bye bud." I shut the car door. Daisy was taking him to the playground and The Green Door for lunch. After that they were going to play with her brothers and sisters at her house until dinner time. Hopefully we'd be mostly done by the time she returned him.

"I think this is a really great thing you're doing, Mr. Finn."

"Yeah? You don't think she's going to decapitate me when she sees I've redecorated her house without asking?" I was fairly certain there was a fifty-fifty chance of that happening.

But Daisy grinned, all teenage dreamy and hopeful. "I think Karis has been keeping her head above water too long and needs a life raft. I think even if she hates it, she's going to love that you tried. And I think it will remind her that she isn't alone." She shrugged and put the car in gear. "But what do I know? I'm just a kid."

"You're wiser than most adults I know, Daisy. Call if you need anything."

"Will do."

We had the old furniture out of the house and the walls repainted by lunch. Digger and Logan built the bookshelves, replaced the windows, and installed French doors before three, and we were moving in the new furniture when Eve arrived with Marley and a car full of goodies.

"Shit, this looks like a whole new house!" Eve stared at our work with her mouth hanging open and arms full of bags. "It's gorgeous! She's going tolove it."

The walls were now a soft mossy green with white accents. One of Digger's masons did something to the stone of the fireplace to make it look better. The new windows and doors made everything seem brighter somehow.

"Damn, you all do great work!" Marley agreed, carrying in her own armloads of bags. "We'll get things staged."

The last thing to do was hang the new artwork Marley picked up today. Every single bit of it was Karis's. Marley had her photographs printed and framed. Pictures of Gus, friends, family, her favorite waterfall, and the town.

Daisy dropped off Gus ten minutes before Aviana rolled up with a slightly tipsy Karis.

"Surprise!" we all yelled when they walked in.

---