Read Online The Boy is Back in Town by Nina Harrington - Free Book Online Page B

a crazy one-armed girl going mad with a paint sprayer.’
    Rosa groaned and dropped her head onto her outstretched right arm. ‘Oh, no. The decorating.What are you going to do? I’m so sorry. I forgot. What still needs to be done?’
    ‘The building work is done. Utilities, water, the lot.’ He raised his right hand. ‘I still need to finish the decorating and the final detail with the furniture and textiles. Everything that’s going to encourage my dad to finally take a rest and retire while he’s still fit enough to enjoy life. And there is the small matter of the fact that I promised my mum that the house would be ready when they get here next weekend.’
    He dropped both elbows back to the table, clasped his hands together, lifted his chin and stared at Mari, his eyes never leaving her face as he spoke. ‘I already called three decorating firms and they’re booked solid until the end of February. I need help now.’
    There was a stunned silence in the room, broken only by the crackling of the logs in the open fire. Then Rosa blew out a whistle and waved her bandaged wrist towards Ethan.
    ‘Ethan, I can’t do much except give directions. Unless …’ Then she pushed herself slowly off her chair, slid around the table so that she was sitting next to Ethan, and leant her elbows on the table and gave him a conspiratorial wink.
    As though they had rehearsed their movementsin advance, Ethan and Rosa lowered their chins onto their cupped right hands in perfect coordination and both of them just sat there, staring into Mari’s face.
    ‘Your mother was the best home decorator this town has ever seen.’ Ethan paused and added in a low, calm, matter-of-fact voice, ‘I already have the paint and supplies Rosa recommended, and the house is full of stuff. What I don’t have is an extra pair of hands and someone to make it all come together. If
only
someone would volunteer to take Rosa’s place and help me out, it would make all the difference to my parents.’
    Mari realised what was happening and held out both hands palm-forward in denial.
    ‘Oh, no. Don’t even go there! I’m here for one long weekend, and then I have to get back to work next week. There’s no way I can take on a big decorating job in two days. There is also the small matter of my total lack of artistic talent. Computers. I like computers … and two against one is totally unfair.’
    Rosa smiled sweetly at Mari before speaking. ‘This is your time to shine, Mari. And don’t give us excuses about your lack of talent. You were always the better artist at school—and everyone in the family agrees that you are totally brilliant at photography.’
    ‘Family! Great idea. Why don’t we call the cousins?’ Mari gushed as she felt the ground slipping away from under her feet. ‘Maybe they can take time away from work for a couple of hours? And I’m sure one or two of them can hold a paintbrush!’
    Rosa gasped at Mari. ‘If you like black! Aunt Lucy’s twins are into Goth and are both at college at the moment.’ She paused. ‘Of course, both of Aunt Alice’s sons are colourblind, but they would help! There could be a few spare minutes between shifts behind the bar at the club.’ Rosa’s voice faded away as she shrugged towards Mari, who dropped her head to the table and knocked it a couple of times on the cloth.
    Mari sat back and looked from her sister to Ethan and back to Rosa again, closed her eyes for a second, then shook her head before sinking back into her chair in resignation. ‘Yes. Okay. I will do it. I will help you decorate your house. But under protest. I don’t like emotional blackmail.’
    ‘Understood, but thank you, Mari, all the same. In that case, I’ll pick up the supplies we need and be back here in about an hour,’ Ethan replied, leaping up to go before anyone changed their mind, but he could not resist turning back and giving her a warm smile.
    ‘No time like the present. And who knows—by the end of the day,