Hidden Summit (Virgin River #17)(37)

“Mom, tell Conner about your last cruise and the friends-for-life you made.”

Candace was only too happy to comply, and now, at the age of thirty-two, Leslie was rediscovering her mother. Candace was not the least bit wrapped up in herself, despite allowing the conversation to revolve around the activities of this retired couple. In fact, she gave Leslie a little wink before she embarked on a description of their Alaskan cruise.

Candace used the excuse to talk as a way of not having an opinion about Conner. And Conner asked questions. “Did you fish while you were in Alaska?”

“No, but we definitely ate some of the best fish imaginable. We nearly had to fight bears for it. We went to an outdoor restaurant built along a river where the bear fish!”

“You can see that here all summer,” the eavesdropping Jack said while delivering drinks to the table.

“Is that a fact?” Robert asked.

And of course Jack hung around a while to extol the scenic virtues of Virgin River. And while he did so, Conner slipped his arm around Leslie’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze.

After lunch, Leslie asked her parents if they couldn’t stay through the weekend.

“Not this time, honey. But if you get some furniture for that second bedroom, we’ll happily come back. I wouldn’t mind learning to fish if there’s a bear sideshow to go with it.”

After lunch, the Petrusos left Virgin River, and Conner went back to Leslie’s house. Once there, he pulled a shovel and stakes out of his truck.

“Paul ordered cement for your drive and I asked him to let me get it ready. I’m going to trench it out so he can have it poured this week.”

“I’ll help,” she offered.

“Nah,” he said, giving her a kiss on the forehead. “Go find something relaxing to do. Read a book. Knit. Do you knit?” he asked. She shook her head, and he laughed. “Take a nap, then. I’ll be about two or three hours. Then I’ll grab a shower and make you a burger on the grill later, if you’re interested.”

“Always interested,” she said. “Why did you take this on?”

“I heard him mention it to Dan and I said I’d be happy to do it. I didn’t have plans. I guess there’s going to be a little building here, too. He wants to add on a covered carport with a storage closet. You knew that, right?”

“I knew that,” she said. “I didn’t know it would fall to you.”

“It didn’t, babe. I asked for the job. Now go find a way to kick back.”

So for the next three hours, while Conner sweated in the driveway, digging a wide path for concrete, Leslie sat on the porch with her feet propped up on the rail and a book in her lap. She didn’t get much reading done. She found herself watching Conner more than the book she held. And she smiled a lot. Because despite all their proclamations of finding themselves and working out their issues without becoming too involved, there was one thing she knew in her heart.

He was hers.

Nine

As Brie walked into the bar in the midafternoon she found her brother had removed all the glasses and liquor bottles and was giving the mirror and glass shelves a good cleaning. This was the sort of chore Jack liked to do during the time of day there were few patrons.

“Sparkling up the place, Jack?” she asked.

“Hey,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

“I had to drop a load of old clothes off at the church. They’re getting ready for another rummage sale.”

“Haven’t they sold enough rummage yet?” Jack asked.

“It’s only disguised as a rummage sale. They hold back a lot of stuff they can just give away as needs arise, and what they sell, they sell so cheap it’s the same as charity. But the women’s group gets a little something for their kitty. Ness is playing with your kids, or hopefully taking a nap with your kids, and I thought I’d let you buy me a Diet Coke.”

“My pleasure,” he said, leaning over the bar to give his sister a little peck on the forehead.

“I’m not interrupting your cleaning binge, am I?”

“You are, but I don’t mind. I don’t get to visit with you that often.” He poured and served her the drink. “Seems like you’ve been busier than usual lately.”

“The county has kept me really busy. My part-time job is taking more than full-time. Just as well,” she shrugged. “There aren’t enough cases around here for a private practice anyway.”

“But that’s how you like it,” he said. “The days of the overworked A.D.A. are not all that far behind you. You’ve always loved to work.”

“As a consultant for the local D.A., I usually don’t have such a full plate. It’s usually just here and there.”

“I haven’t seen much of you, that’s for sure. You must be over in Eureka all the time.”

“Plenty of domestics and sexual assaults right now for some reason, my unfortunate specialty. Anything interesting happening around here? Anything more upbeat than my line of work?” she asked.

“This is an upbeat kind of place,” he said. “Sometimes I feel like frickin’ Cupid. I think we got ourselves another romance, and man, I never saw it coming. But now that I think about it, it makes sense.”

“Oh?” she asked, taking a sip.