He had a mischievous grin on his face that made her laugh, and she followed him to the closest bathroom, in one of the buildings that had cracks in the basement. This particular one, she was hoping she might be able to repair the horizontal cracks. While they were much more worrisome than the vertical kinds, it was possible to fix them in some cases.
Once she finished washing her hands and her face, she left the bathroom.
Roy still had that same smile on his face as he brought her over to the waterfall. There wasn't a blanket, but that didn't bother her any. These were her work clothes after all.
He handed her a sandwich, and she took a bite and moaned.
"This is really good."
"Isn't it?" He grinned. "I'm glad you like it."
She nodded, her mouth already full from another bite.
They ate about half of their sandwiches before she paused to say, "The waterfall is so beautiful."
"Isn't it? It took a bit for Colton to get it right."
"Really? He didn't like how it looked at first?"
"Oh, it had nothing to do with looks." Roy started to laugh. "The first rocks Colton picked? Once he started the water, well, the rocks washed away!"
She laughed too. "Oh, no! Must have been one powerful waterfall."
"No, the rocks just didn't set well on each other. He needed heavier ones for the water pressure."
"Gotcha. Still, it lead to this, and this is beautiful, so..." She eyed him. "Do you often eat here?"
"No. Normally, we eat in the main barn. We sometimes take turns bringing in food for everyone."
"Oh, that's generous."
Roy nodded. "We're a family here. Two families, actually. Colton's the oldest of his brothers. The other two work here, and my three brothers and I are the rest of the workers."
"Oh, wow. It really is a family affair."
“Family’s important, and working with them every day… It’s a blessing.”
Beverly lowered her head and shut her eyes. She knew exactly the blessing he was talking about, and she missed it terribly.
ChapterSeven
Roy winced. He could tell that Beverly dearly missed her father, and his rubbing that he worked with his brothers had to hurt her.
"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I didn't mean..."
"It's fine," she said. "Working with family is wonderful. I'm grateful that I did for as Lon as I did. Do I miss him? Yes! This... This job is the first one I'm doing all by myself. It was... three weeks ago."
"That recently?"
She nodded. "I took two weeks off and then finished up two jobs that my father and I started together. I... I really can't thank you enough for hiring me for this job."
"It's not too big for us?"
"Oh, no! Not at all! Ah... you're being willing to help... It might help."
"Might help?" He laughed. "Your dad was stronger than I am, huh?"
"I don't mean your strength. I mean..." She glanced at him and then away.