This time, Amie hit Kane in the back of the head. “Language.”
Kane rolled his eyes, and I whispered, “You counting down the days until the snow?”
“Hell, yes. But then, for about a month, I’ll have t
o deal with the rich asswipes who think they know how to hunt, but don’t. Fu—foolish idiots.”
Amie nodded in approval. The Foster brothers respected their parents.
Ike handed the tool belt to Hollis, who looked like a kid in a candy store. I made the introduction. “This is Hollis Fritz. Skagway’s new doctor.”
Hayden whistled when he looked at Hollis. “So the rumors are true.”
“If they include Drake punching me for cheating on Alexa—who is not my girlfriend—yeah, they’d be true.”
Amie tsk-tsked and gave Drake a scornful look. “Oh dear. I’m so sorry. I’m Amie Foster, mother of these three. I swear we taught them manners.”
With a polished move, he took Amie’s hand and gave it a light kiss. “My condolences, ma’am. You must have received a lot of calls when they were younger.”
“Oh, trust me. These three gave me every gray hair I have.”
The boys chuckled and nodded. The Foster brothers had been hell on wheels back in the day. Hayden was two years older than Drake, and Kane, the baby, was my age.
Drake and Ike put together a game plan. And in the next minute, lumber was brought in and the men got to work.
Hollis grabbed a hammer.
“What are you doing?”
With the hammer held the wrong way, Hollis looked at me like I was stupid, tucking some nails into one of his many shirt pockets. “Going to hammer some things. Be all Alaskan manly. I’m going to need the survival skills. These guys seem like the right ones to learn these manly things from.”
Oh, they are. I handed Hollis a tape measure. “You’ll probably need this, too. Watch out, though. If you thought the broom was bad, this is much worse. It’s my nemesis.”
“Good thinking.”
The Foster men all stared at Hollis as if he’d lost his mind. Ike clapped Hollis on his shoulder. “Come with me. We’ll get you hammering right away.”
“Perfect.” The excitement coming from Hollis was contagious. He wanted to fit in and figure things out. You’d never guess he was a brilliant doctor. My heart hurt at all the things he’d missed out on as a child.
As they walked up the stairs, I heard Ike ask, “Have you ever held a hammer before?”
“Nope. No time like the present to learn.”
Drake touched my hand. “Mom’s going to take you to the paint store. Her quilting circle and members of the local church are coming tomorrow to help paint. We’ll have this place ready in no time, and you’ll meet your deadline.”
This was incredible. My heart swelled. Since the day Drake changed my tire, he’d always been there for me. He made me his first priority. Leaning toward him, I put my hand on his face. “You are amazing. Thank you.”
“Anything for you. Anything.”
Drake leaned toward me, and our lips almost touched.
Kane called from upstairs, “I’m not here to do this by myself, Drake. Stop playing kissyface with Alexa, or I’m going to beat your ass.”
Amie groaned, and Drake gave me a quick kiss. “Better go before Kane gets his panties in a twist.”
“I heard that, dickhead.”
Amie sighed, “Lord, give me strength.”