Hope
Robyn studied the battered legs of a small desk. The dings and scratches would work in her favor, keeping the sale price low. With an afternoon of sanding and a fresh coat of varnish, she could easily quadruple the price in the fall when students flooded her yard sale eager to furnish their apartments. She’d also bid on many of the pots and other kitchen utensils, all well-used and mismatched, which would keep most people from giving them a second thought but give her a great selection.
She wandered from the packed room, not having seen what she was really looking for all morning. Though Grace had texted for the address, Robyn had yet to see her or her brother. Her level of disappointment surprised her. It wasn’t as if they’d made a firm plan. She tried to tell herself that what she felt was tied to whether Grace would support her brother’s talent, trying to nudge out of her brain the hope that Grace would want an excuse to see her.
With a half hour to kill before the auction started, she walked out to the garage on the off chance that they’d have any old tools that would interest her. Hands tucked in the pockets of her Windbreaker, she heard Grace before she saw her.
“We don’t have the room,” Grace’s voice had a hard edge with no room for bargaining.
A deep male voice answered calmly, “You’ve got that carport. I could throw a tarp over them.”
“The ladder I get. I’ve seen what you can do with ladders, but building a greenhouse out of windows…And you said there aren’t enough here, anyway.”
“That’s why we store them for now. No one is even looking at them. I’m sure I can pick them up for next to nothing. Then I’ll find more.”
“To build a greenhouse.”
“Yes.”
Robyn took a few more steps and found Grace standing tall in defense, her hands crossed over her chest.
Coatless, Tyler’s T-shirt stretched tight over his muscular chest and arms. The sleeve hid half of a tribal pattern tattoo. His posture held none of his sister’s erectness of carriage. Her stance struggled to gain power, yet he stood relaxed and impassive. Though fascinated by their standoff, Robyn couldn’t resist introducing herself.
“I’m happy to see you made it,” she said, entering the garage. Grace’s eyes widened for an instant, either in surprise or pleasure to see Robyn. Robyn hoped it was the latter.
“Tyler, this is my friend Robyn,” Grace said, her voice clipped and annoyed.
Robyn smiled, figuring that Grace held her responsible for the situation.
“A greenhouse, huh? What are you thinking as far as framing goes?” Robyn asked.
Tyler lit up as he explained the design he had in mind, quickly brainstorming the materials he would need to pull off the project. The more he talked, the more Grace scowled.
“And who is going to pay you to construct this thing on site?” Grace asked.
“I know you think everyone in Humboldt County grows pot, but I could sell this legit,” Tyler said, volleying back Grace’s objection.
Robyn agreed. “There’s a huge community of organic gardeners. You could pitch the idea at the farmers market once it gets going in the spring, see if anyone has been thinking about expanding with a greenhouse.”
“And that gives me time to collect the rest of my materials,” Tyler said excitedly.
Ignoring the way Grace’s eyes were glinting, Robyn added, “You could check the recycling center in town. They have a great selection of recommissioned building materials.”
Tyler turned to his sister for approval.
“Where do I start? I already said you weren’t storing a bunch of windows in my carport, and even if I had changed my mind about that, how were you thinking you’d get them home? There’s no room in the Mini.” Grace stood hands on hips, her hazel eyes blazing.
Tyler turned pleading gray eyes to Robyn. She didn’t need a secret hand signal to know that the correct response was to back up Grace, but she instantly liked Tyler and wanted to help him. The way Robyn saw it, pursuing his own projects might just keep him from becoming bored and getting himself into trouble. She willed Grace to intuit her motives when she said, “I’ve got plenty of room in my truck and in my shop. You’re welcome to use the space for storage and planning the design, so you’re ready for your buyer.”
“Yes! Yes!” Arm curled, Tyler pulled his fist to his waist punctuating his victory. “Aww, this is going to be great. You’ll see, Grace. Thanks Robyn.”
Surprisingly, Grace’s posture relaxed. “You really think he can make a profit from this?”
Robyn glanced at the price tag on the windows. “I do. Plenty of people are replacing their windows with double-paned, so it shouldn’t be hard to grab up the glass. What he’s really investing is time.”
“Right,” Tyler said, clapping his hands once before throwing his arms around his sister.
Robyn didn’t want to intrude, but Grace made eye contact over her brother’s shoulder. “It’s okay?” she mouthed.
Grace gave her a subtle nod before releasing her brother. “Time for the auction?”
Robyn consulted her watch. “Looks like it. You have your number?”
“And a budget,” she reminded Tyler as they headed to the house.
* * *
Hours later Robyn and Tyler slid the last of the windows into place in her shop.
“This is sweet,” he said, taking in her workspace.
“I’ll get you a key, so you can work on this whenever you want. The side gate’s always open.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Grace said, eyes on her brother, not Robyn.
“Yeah. Thanks for all of this,” Tyler added.
“I’m happy to help. Feel free to take a look around the shop,” she said to Tyler. “Grace, you want to give me a hand with the stuff I picked up?”
“Definitely.”
Once they were out of earshot of the shop, Robyn spoke. “Thank you for agreeing to the glass. I know how you feel about him getting a stable job, but it seemed right to fan his enthusiasm for this project.”
“For a minute, I felt like punching you, I’ll admit that. But I’ve been worried about him when I’m at work. I can’t be with him all day, and I can’t force him to go to school. When you said he could keep all of his stuff here, I felt so relieved. If he’s here…” They stopped by the gate. She searched Robyn’s eyes.
“That’s what I was thinking.”
“I don’t know what’s in it for you.”
“Don’t you?”
Robyn remembered the kiss Grace had surprised her with and wished she could be as impulsive, but she couldn’t read Grace well enough to risk it. Instead she offered a hug, trusting that if Grace had been able to follow the logic of offering her workspace to Tyler, she would also pick up on the connection Robyn hoped to convey.
The way Grace’s arms wrapped snugly around her back, Robyn was sure she understood. Robyn’s arms offered sanctuary and protection. She poured her strength into the embrace, offering all she had to Grace, and Grace accepted it with the press of her body. If Robyn held her any longer, she would have to kiss her, and if she kissed her, she knew she would not be able to stop. Though she thought the shop would occupy Tyler for a while, she would not risk him stumbling on such a moment.
Reluctantly, she stepped back from Grace. “You said you’d help unload the truck.”
Grace’s answering smile gave Robyn hope that she understood Robyn’s real motive in helping Tyler.