Page 84 of Peach Tree Family

Chapter 22

Being away from Theo and Ace wasn't getting any easier. When he saw Theo at work it only made it harder for him to be alone when he went to his room, but that's how it had to be. He had to have some independence so Theo wouldn't think everything he did was so he could stay with him and Ace.

That didn't mean Seth could keep away from Theo. Seeing him at the inn just wasn't enough. Those were just glimpses while he was talking to guests or other people working there.

Theo's hair was tied back at work, and it looked good and all, but he was more himself when his hair was free. When he wasn't working, Theo didn't smile as much, but Seth liked his serious eyes and that he only smiled when he wanted to.

What he saw at the inn was Theo's professional face and professional smile, and he wanted the real man. Even if Theo scorned him and doubted him, Seth still couldn't go without seeing him.

Saturday, Seth had a day off, the weather was nice so he got himself over to Theo's and got to work on clearing the driveway. Theo had to work but he had Ace to help him out.

Theo did try to stop Seth, telling him, "It's your day off, and you want to do hard labor?"

"I'm keeping in shape," Seth said, but Theo didn't buy it.

Once Theo went off to work, Seth and Ace got to work digging up and pulling out bushes. Ace actually had fun with it, yelling every time they yanked out a bush by the roots.

By the time Theo came back, they had made the driveway look more like a driveway. "Looks good. Did you guys have lunch?"

"I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich," Ace said then he tattled on Seth. "Seth didn't have anything. He was all, 'I'm good. I wanna keep working.'"

Seth laughed while both brothers shook their heads at him. He wanted to do as much as he could before Theo got back. Like always, Seth was looking to impress him.

"I'll make us lunch," Theo said.

"Can we eat at the picnic table?" Seth asked. As dirty as he was, he hated to go inside. "I stink pretty bad."

"I was helping. I stink too." Ace then raised his arms. "Smell me, Theo."

"No, thank you. But you can go wash your hands and face," Theo told him.

Theo put together some ham sandwiches with lots of lettuce inside. But when he brought them out Ace scowled.

"You made the sandwiches green," Ace said as they all sat down.

"You need to eat healthy, so you get salad in your sandwich and that's whole wheat bread," Theo told him.

"The bread is OK, but there's too much salad in the sandwich," Ace objected.

"No, it's good," Seth told him after taking a big bite. "There's still mayo on it. I think it's a fine sandwich."

"OK," Ace said and ate it grudgingly at first but then saw it wasn't so bad.

"Healthy tastes good too, remember that," Theo lectured him.

"I think the driveway used to be edged with rocks, but they got scattered. I was thinking of putting them back and gathering some more that are just lying around," Seth said to Theo.

"You want to do more work?"

"I like seeing a job finished. And there's still more bushes to pull up," Seth told him.

Theo looked like he might try to stop him, but then he gave up. "I guess I better roll up my sleeves too."

With the two of them working together, they moved fast until they only had one big, stubborn bush left. There seemed to be no end to its roots. Seth was thinking they might need to use the truck to get it out, but first he wanted to give it one more try.

"You stand clear, Ace," Seth warned him as he and Theo took hold of the thickest branches and started pulling. They were right next to each other giving it their all, and Seth started to feel the roots coming loose. Then just as they got them half out, Seth's foot slipped. He was falling to one side with his foot sliding toward Theo. He was going to bring Theo down with him. Seth wasn't going to let it happen. He twisted away from him. Theo stayed on his feet, but Seth landed funny and felt a pain in his ankle.

"Seth! No! You got hurt," Ace yelled, looking scared as Seth hissed at the pain.

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