washed up on shore. You’re going to need at least a
bucketful according to the recipe I found in the Farmers’
Almanac.”
“Thank you for that,” Peg muttered when the boys took off
in search of dead jel yfish. She eyed the other men getting
out of their trucks, recognizing most of them. “What are
you doing here, Galen? I cal ed you when I got home and
told you the van was only out of gas.”
“We’ve come to meet our new bosses,” he said, looking
toward the hil side.
“You’re going to work for Duncan? Al of you?”
“We’re working for MacBain Logging until he clears out
of here and MacKeage starts the roadwork,” he said with a
nod, stil watching the hil side. He final y turned to her.
“Apparently both men are smart enough to know they can’t
pul into a town with their crew and machinery and not put a
good number of the locals on their payrol s.” He grinned.
“It’s the polite thing to do.”
“It’s also damn cheap insurance,” one of the other men
said with a snicker—Jonas, Peg thought his name was,
from Turtleback Station.
Galen grabbed the sleeve of her sweatshirt and led her
away from the men, final y stopping to stand with his back
to them. “You don’t worry about nothing, Peg,” he said
softly. “I’l make sure MacKeage gives you a good price for
your gravel. Any notion he might have about taking
advantage of a woman wil be gone once he finds himself
dealing with me. You’re not sel ing him one pebble for less
than a buck fifty a yard.” He held up his hand when she tried
to speak. “I know that sounds like highway robbery for
stumpage in this area, but word in town is the guy who
married Livy Baldwin, Mac somebody, has some mighty
deep pockets. They’re saying he’s bought most the land
around here and is planning to build a fancy resort up on
that mountain overlooking Bottomless. So you being a
softhearted woman and al , I’l just make sure no one takes
advantage of you.”
“But—”
“And I’m gonna find you someone to sit in a chair and
count every truck that leaves your pit,” he continued.
“MacKeage might be a Mainer, but he’s here for a year or
two, then he’s gone.” He patted her arm, then muttered
something and pul ed her into another bear of a hug. “You
just leave things up to me, sissy sister, and you’l final y be
able to hire someone to finish that house Bil y started for
you and the kids.”
Damn. The last thing she wanted was Galen sticking his
nose in her business. The guy meant wel , but he had about
as much business sense as Peter’s snails. Hel , when
Galen and his dad, Clive, had tried to work on the house
after Bil y died, it had taken her two weeks to unravel al the
electrical wires they’d run. And to save her sanity without
hurting their feelings, Peg had told them the idea of moving
into the house without Bil y was too painful for her, anyway.
The Thompson men were hard workers, but they often
worked in circles.
She had definitely gotten the pick of the litter—or else
Bil y had been adopted.
“Is there a problem?” Duncan asked from right beside
them, making Peg jump and Galen step back in surprise.
Galen recovered quickly and thrust out his hand. “Galen
Thompson, Peg’s brother-in-law, Mr… .?”
“Duncan MacKeage,” Duncan said, giving his hand a
quick shake, then turning to Peg. “Is everything okay?”
Peg barely had time to nod before Galen stepped
between them. Good Lord, she’d always thought the
Thompson men were hulks, but seeing Galen standing toe-
to-toe with Duncan … wel , there must be something in the
drinking water in Pine Creek, because Duncan and Alec
and Robbie MacBain were nothing short of giants.
“It appears to me that you’ve gotten ahead of yourself,
Mr. MacKeage,” Galen said, gesturing at the hil side. “You
seem to be expanding Peg’s pit before you’ve even settled
on a price.”
Duncan’s gaze slid briefly to her, but it was long enough
for Peg to give a barely perceptible shake of her head,
hoping to God that Duncan was astute. “Wel , Mr.
Thompson,” he said, giving his attention back to Galen, “I
prefer to know exactly what I’m buying before I throw out any
prices.” He also gestured toward the hil side. “That’s why
I’m digging a few test holes today.”
“Last I knew it don’t require cutting trees to dig a couple
of holes.”
Duncan shrugged. “Peg mentioned wanting the pine
for … something,” he said when she shook her head again.
“So I thought that while I had my loggers here, I’d cut some
of the bigger trees in exchange for the privilege of looking.”
Galen turned to her. “Would you excuse us a minute, sis
—Peg—while me and Mr. MacKeage have us a little talk?”
he asked, nodding for her to leave.
Peg walked between them, ignoring Duncan’s surprise in
favor of giving him another speaking look on her way by,
and headed down the beach to see what her boys and the
men were looking at. Only she never reached them
because Galen’s little talk lasted exactly one minute before
he cal ed to his friends and they headed to where Robbie
MacBain was standing with some of his crew watching the
harvester work.
“Mind tel ing me why you didn’t jump al over him for
sending ye off like a good little lass?” Duncan asked as he
walked down the beach and stopped in front of her. “He told
me you might know a thing or two about construction, but
that, and I quote, ‘you’re too softhearted when it comes to
negotiating stuff like prices.’” He snorted. “Did he just come
out of a coma or something?”
“Have you ever tried banging your head against a brick
wal ?” she asked with a derisive smile. “Until you eventual y
figure out the bricks aren’t going to move and that your
head hurts?” She shrugged. “Sometimes it’s just easier not
to bang my head against Galen. Thank you for keeping our
business between just us.”
“Are ye worried he would want a cut? Is the pit yours
outright, or does the family have a stake in it?”
“No, it’s al mine. Bil y and I bought this property and the
double-wide on it when we got married. And I’m not worried
Galen is interested in anything other than getting me a fair
price. He’s a good man, but he can’t keep two nickels in his
pocket for more than a minute. If he knows how much
money I’l be making this spring, he’l be finding ways for
me to spend it faster than your wheelers are hauling out of
here.”
Duncan folded his arms over his chest, his gaze going to
the locals talking to Robbie MacBain. “Did I make a
mistake hiring your brother-in-law, Peg?”
“Absolutely not. Galen’s a hard worker and good at what
he knows, which is leveling dirt. Put him in the seat of a
dozer and you don’t even have to rake out a lawn to seed it
when he’s done.” She smiled. “Just don’t ever ask him to
run electrical wire.”
“I wondered why your husband’s family wasn’t helping
you finish your house.”
She shook her head. “Galen and his dad tried, but I told
them not to bother because I wasn’t feeling up to moving
into it without Bil y.”
He lifted a brow. “They’re unaware that you’ve been
finishing it yourself? Quit getting defensive on me,” he
growled when she lifted her chin—even as his eyes crinkled
with laughter. “That was an honest question, not a dig.”
Peg brushed down the front of her sweatshirt. “Working
on that house is my therapy. You try dealing with four kids
under the age of nine al by yourself every day.” She shot