Haley flipped her hair to its usual part, forgetting about her wound she’d been hiding. Chopping a bunch of spinach at the island, Zoe caught sight of the scar. “Oo, is that from the fall? That’s a doozy.”
Of course he’d told his family. Haley was realizing that the Halseths told each other everything. No wonder they were so relaxed around each other. No secrets, no sneaking around, no worrying about silent judgment. “Yes. I probably should have gotten stitches.”
Scott pulled out a handful of beers. “Just make up a good story. Like you were diving off the Great Barrier Reef.”
“As if falling off a cliff isn’t daring enough?” She jabbed back, laughing at the charming quirkiness that was the Halseth family.
Displaying the variety for her to choose from on the island, Scott nodded appreciatively. “That is impressive all on its own. Pick your poison.”
She grinned again, her cheeks almost growing sore from smiling so much around genuinely enjoyable people. “I’ll take the Hound of Hell. I haven’t tried that one yet.”
“Good choice.” He poured a few into glasses for those ready for football. “Evan? Zoe? Want a beer or not yet?”
Jumping back as oil from the pan splattered as he set a battered strip of fish in for homemade fish and chips, Evan winced. “Now would be good. This may cause severe burns. May as well start numbing the pain.”
Snorting, Zoe glanced back at his progress. “Join the club. You need to spend more time at the restaurant rather than lazing about while your meats cook themselves in the smoker, turning them every so often so you look like you have something to contribute.”
He flipped her off, grabbed a beer gratefully from Scott, and stood back as he used some long-handled tongs to flip another fish.
Scott motioned down the few steps to the family room. “We’ll leave them to it. Now, down to the important stuff. Can you make this place into a man cave?”
Nodding, she scoped out the mid-sized family room. “I can’t say that I’ve ever made a man cave, but I’ve got some ideas. I’d like to see what you have already so I know what we’re starting with.”
Finn leaned forward from his spot on the couch and took her hand, pulling her back to sit next to him. “Don’t do it. You’ll get trapped in there forever.”
“What?”
Scott snorted, plopped on the floral armchair, and aimed toward the game. “I’ve got a few boxes in the garage of sports memorabilia. From games I’ve been to, pretty much everything ever printed with Finn’s name on it, some stuff from my stint at Arizona State. And, of course, some from the high school team.”
Haley winked conspiratorially. “I’ll come over sometime when Finn’s at work so we won’t be interrupted.”
Tracing his thumb over their joined hands, Finn squeezed a subtle affirmation, while saying out loud, “If you’re still sorting all that crap out after I close up the bar that night, I’m not rescuing you. And don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Assessing the room, Haley asked, “What’s your budget and what specifics are you looking for?” Not that she’d ever even considered a man cave, but she enjoyed a challenge. Nor had she ever walked into a room she didn’t have mentally redecorated within twenty minutes, but sharing her ideas out loud was generally not considered socially acceptable.
Scott ran through some numbers, some ideas he’d been bouncing around. “Nothing too cave-like. I mean, we have the formal living room that I’d eventually like to update into a place people actually want to sit, or for grandkids to play in if these goofballs ever get around to it. But I want this room to say, ‘come on in, put your feet up, and watch the game’.”
Considering, Haley chewed her cheek for a moment, then cleared her throat. “The layout is perfect for that. They’ve got some great couches for sale at Mountaintop Furniture that have loungers and cupholders. We’ll see what you have that might look good on the walls. With all the natural light in here, this wall would look great in a deep blue tone, but we’ll need to add more lights on the inside wall to take the ‘cave’ out of ‘man-cave.’” She continued to float on-the-fly ideas, hoping she wasn’t missing the mark. It had been tough designing her own home, finding the line between classy and cozy and disallowing anything that wasn’t inviting.
All ears, Scott nodded as she spoke. “You’re hired,” he said. “I have no idea what to pay an interior decorator, but I’ll more than happily pay at least the going rate.”
“What?” she asked. “No way would I charge you. This is fun, not work.”
Scott shook his head. “But there’s a lot of work to it, even for something fun.”
“Yes, but I’m still not accepting anything.”
Before Scott could insist again, Finn cleared his throat. “Wait a sec, I have an idea. Why doesn’t Haley take some before and after shots and do a feature series for her blog. Then, Haley, let me know if this is crazy, but maybe someday if you’re interested, you could offer e-consults for a reasonable fee. For people like Pops that wouldn’t dream of hiring someone normally, but would appreciate a natural eye and a few mock-ups for less than a formal consultation would cost?”
Her heart flipped in her chest as she thought about what he’d said. “Wow. I could do that. Add a whole series of unique styles to build a portfolio. Maybe some kind of tele-consults. Even just ads on the portfolio pages could generate more income.” It would be slow going to start, but if she advertised well… she picked up her beer and drained it by half, too flummoxed to say anymore.
Evan announced that dinner was ready. Zoe was plating the baked sweet potato fries, spinach salad, and fried halibut while Evan set out silverware at the farm-style wooden table off the kitchen. Overlooking the backyard, the expansive windows made it feel like they were sitting out in the windy summer evening.
Dinner was surprisingly… fun. The Halseths laughed heartily, genuinely enjoying each other. Stories bounced around the table, supportive yet ripe with teasing. While Brenda was clearly missed, her life was laced through their conversation, and, she suspected, their mannerisms, as Finn and his brother and sister were a lot like Scott, but all seemed to share a left cheek dimple, rebellious cowlicks, and quirky jokes that were unique to only those three. However she helped create this man cave, traces of Brenda would be necessary, or something would be missing. Just not the pastel fabrics.
Until the meddling Finn had mentioned. Not near Patricia-severity, but classic.
“Finn? Did you schedule those interviews yet? Pete’s got that baby coming soon, and I’ll be busy with football season starting back up. I need to know if I should be planning on hiring another bartender.” Scott scooped a dollop of barbeque sauce on his fries and chewed nonchalantly.
