“One of the best decisions I ever made.” He stopped when they reached the edge of the grass. “Harry still living with you?”
If Curt knew Harry had been living with him, he’d gotten the information from Leah. Had Leah also told her brother why she’d broken up with the guy? If family was as important to Leah as it seemed, he didn’t want her brother or anyone else disliking him because of how his half brother had treated her.
“He moved out last month,” Gavin answered. “And he won’t be coming back.”
“Too alike to live together?”
“Just the opposite.”
Curt waved back at a young girl on the beach. “We better get going, or Reese will come and get me.”
The girl waving looked about the same age as his daugh
ter. “Most children are not known for their patience,” Gavin commented, following Curt across the sand.
“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”
“I have a half sister who will be eleven in August. When she was younger, she couldn’t wait for anything or anybody.” He wasn’t lying; Piper was almost eleven. However, when he’d made the comment he’d been thinking of Erin, not his half sister. “She’s not much better now.”
Curt introduced him first to Taylor, who was seated on the ground next to a well-thought-out sandcastle. It had a large square structure in the center with several pathways leading to various other buildings. A wall surrounded much of it. Seashells, tiny pebbles, and various bird feathers had been used to decorate the project.
Before Curt got around to introducing Gavin to anyone else, Leah joined them. “Sorry, I got cornered by Mrs. Clark on my way outside.” She sounded a little out of breath. “Mom and she have been friends for a long time. I haven’t seen her since last summer,” she explained.
“Surprised you got away. Did she show you all the pictures of her grandchildren?” Curt asked. “She got me not long after we arrived. I saw at least fifty pictures before Mom rescued me.”
“He’s exaggerating.” Taylor stood and put an arm around Curt’s waist. “She didn’t show you anywhere close to that many.”
“With Mrs. Clark, you never know.” Leah stepped closer to the sandcastle and knelt down to get a better look. “Fabulous castle. Did you build it?” she asked the girl Gavin assumed was Reese.
“Auntie Taylor’s helping me,” the girl answered.
Curt crouched down next to the young girl. “Leah, this is Reese, Taylor’s niece.” He ruffled the girl’s hair, giving Gavin the impression Curt spent a decent amount of time around the child even though she was only his girlfriend’s niece. “Short stuff, this is my sister.”
Reese smiled, revealing the large gap where her two front teeth used to be. “Hi. Do you want to help me finish?”
Leah reached for one of the buckets. “I’d love to. Gavin, do you want to help us?”
It looked finished to him, but what did he know. “Building castles is one of my specialties.” He dropped to the ground next to Leah and grabbed a plastic shovel. “What else needs to be done?”
Reese didn’t hesitate to give him and Leah instructions, reminding him considerably of his daughter. Whenever possible Erin loved to be in charge. By the way Reese was giving out orders, it appeared she did too. Come to think of it, Piper did as well, so maybe it was a trait all girls around their age shared.
“Looks like we’ve got a lot of work to do, Gavin.” Leah caught his eye and smiled. “We better get to it.” She started to fill her bucket with sand. “Curt, are you going to help or just sit there and watch?”
He put his arm around Reese’s shoulders and winked at her. “Reese and I are going to supervise, right, short stuff?”
She nodded. “Right.”
Leah rolled her eyes and continued to fill the bucket. “Some things never change.”
Despite Reese’s agreement that she’d supervise while Taylor, Gavin, and Leah did the heavy lifting, she joined in after only a few minutes. Not long after, Curt got down to work as well. With everyone’s attention either on constructing more buildings or making the bridge that would connect the two segments, Leah moved closer to Gavin. “Sorry I left you alone with him for so long,” she whispered in his ear.
Under different circumstances it would’ve been the perfect opportunity to kiss her. Unfortunately, they had a full audience.
“Don’t worry about it. Your brother invited us to his place tomorrow.” Since she’d whispered, Gavin assumed Leah didn’t want Curt to hear their conversation, so he kept his voice low too.
Leah shot a look in her brother’s direction, then moved another inch or two closer, and he caught the barest hint of either her shampoo or perfume. “Curt actually invited me to stay with him and Taylor this weekend. I considered it, but figured they might want their privacy. I didn’t know Reese was going to be there too.”
“If you want to head over tomorrow, it’s fine with me. We can drive back on Monday morning,” he offered.