Page 29 of Fake It Till We Fall
“I didn’t think you’d mind.” He shrugged unapologetically. “Besides, I’m excited to get these boards into the shop and turn them into a dining room table.”
“A table, huh?” I ran my hand down the board I’d just stacked. “I was wondering what your latest commission was.”
My twin brother was a talented woodworker and had slowly pivoted from his handyman business to taking orders for custom pieces all across Western Canada in the last few months with his growing business.
“It’s a big one, too. Supposed to seat ten to twelve people, with a river rock inlay and a live edge.”
“Wow,” I said, suitably impressed. “I can’t wait to see it.”
“Me too.” He laughed.
Reid started to look through the pile of wood I’d already prepared, mentally cataloging his order, as I continued to move around the shop, gathering pieces.
“You need anything else?” I asked. “Just help yourself and add it to the order.”
He took his time, moving around the warehouse, before returning to where I stood with the clipboard, double-checking a different order. Reid added a few pieces of walnut to his pile and leaned back against a stack of plywood.
When I looked up, his arms were crossed as he watched me. “So.”
I shook my head and looked down at the clipboard again. “So…what?”
I knew exactlywhat, but I didn’t plan to make it easy for him.
My brother wasn’t the type to dance around an issue for long. “What are you doing with Harper?”
I still didn’t look up but kept my pen moving across the paper. “I told you already.”
“Right.”
He dragged out the word in such a way that I finally gave in and looked at him.
“You have something you need to say?”
“You know I do.”
I set the clipboard down and crossed my arms. “Might as well say it then.”
“Do you know what you’re doing, Gray?”
“It’s not what you think it is.” I exhaled through my nose. “This is just for a few weeks. For Willa. You know Harper would do anything for her grandma.”
“And I know you’d do anything for Harper,” he said, without missing a beat. “But what about you?”
“What about me?”
Reid clenched his jaw and shook his head. “Do I need to say it?”
“Apparently you do, brother.”
He didn’t. We both knew it.
“You’re still in love with her.” It wasn’t a question. “She’s leaving, Gray.”
I nodded.
“Don’t you remember what happened last time?” Reid continued. “Because I do.”
How could I possibly forget? I shook my head and looked away. I didn’t have the time or energy to have this conversation.
