Read Online Off the Hook by Laura Drewry - Free Book Online Page A

was no angel, so for him to be that gobsmacked, it had to be bad. “You’ve had ten years, dude, what are you waiting for?”
    “I don’t know.” He could have easily said something like he was waiting for the right moment, but there’d been plenty of right moments, especially in the last day. No, the truth was, he’d been waiting for a little courage to come find him, but as much as he hated to admit it, Jessie was right: It was past time he grew a pair and got on with it.
    He and Finn didn’t talk much about anything after that, but when they did, it was all about the roof they were working on, the ones they still had to do, and how many trips it would take in the boat to get all the recyclable stuff over to Port Hardy—guy stuff that had absolutely nothing to do with right, wrong, or, God forbid, feelings.
    It was probably just as well, because ever since that damn Cessna dumped Kate in their laps yesterday, Liam had been hit with a whole mash-up of feelings, most of which he hadn’t felt since the first time he’d seen her standing in that damn casino. Lust, fascination, curiosity, and something else he’d never been able to define. It was as if being with her had made him feel…alive…and along with “smitten,” that was something else he’d never say out loud, especially standing there with Finn, who’d no doubt fall off the roof laughing if Liam gave voice to either word.
    With the entire roof stripped and prepped, they were securing the last of the felt underlay when Jessie’s voice came over the radio dangling from Finn’s belt.
    “It’s a little late, but I’m heating up leftovers if you want some lunch.”

    “Thank God,” Finn muttered. “Let’s go.”
    Liam wasn’t in quite the same hurry as Finn. Sure, his stomach had matched Finn’s growl for growl, but it meant facing Kate again so soon after realizing what he had to do. It’d taken him ten years to get that far, so he was going to need a little more time to figure anything else out.
    Maybe he’d just grab some food and eat outside.
    It was only a couple of hundred meters from the Orange cabin to the lodge, so that didn’t give him much time to get his shit together, and what little he did manage to get was shot all to hell when he walked into the pub and saw Kate sitting there smiling at something Jessie said.
    Finn jumped right into their conversation, but Liam kept his mouth shut until he could fill it with a forkful of leftover stew. Jessie didn’t even let them swallow before she started.
    “The good news,” she said, “is that Kate’s friend is going to design the website for us. She’s done a couple other sites that needed reservations systems, so she’ll be good to go with this.”
    “And the bad news?” Finn asked.
    “Looks like we’ve got a weather system coming in the day after tomorrow. Probably just rain, but they’re not ruling out more snow, either, so we need those cabin roofs finished in case it does turn out to be snow and then we’re stuck.”
    Finn and Liam blinked first at each other, then at Jessie.
    “I know those roofs aren’t huge,” Liam said. “But this isn’t something we do every day. We’ll be lucky to get this one finished before dark; there’s no way we’re going to get all three done by tomorrow night.”
    “I know. That’s why Kate and I are going to help, right, Kate?”

    Kate nodded over a swallow. “Mm-hmm.”
    “No.” It was out of Liam’s mouth before he could stop it, leaving everyone else at the table staring at him. “Finn and I’ll work on different cabins, split the job up and get it done faster.”
    “Not gonna happen,” Jessie said. “The last time I let one of you O’Donnells do a roofing project alone, we had to call in the medevac.”
    “What?” Kate choked, her eyes wide.
    “Jimmy.” Jessie made the sign of the cross as she said his name, which was great, until she added an eye roll and shook her head. “Refused to let anyone up there with