“If you’d leave it where I put it, you wouldn’t have to look for it,” Owen began.

“It was in the way, and I knew where it was.”

“It’s not in the way if it’s in the paint, stain, and varnish area.”

“Ladies.”

Hope turned to Ryder when he spoke. “Not you. I’m talking to them. Open the damn cans,” he told his brothers. “I’d like to get these pieces stained sometime this century.”

“Let me do just a little of it.” Avery put on her best smile. “Just one little corner of one little panel. Then I can say I had a hand in it. Loosen up, Owen.”

“Yeah,” Beckett agreed. “Loosen up, Owen.”

That started another round of arguing.

“Is it always like this?” Hope asked Ryder.

He took a long swig from a bottle of Gatorade. “Like what?”

Before she could answer, Finch came back with the ball. She barely managed to jump back so it didn’t plop wet and filthy on her shoe. Ryder just booted it out the window again so the happily crazed dog could leap after it.

“High school football,” he said when Hope frowned at him.

“Aren’t you afraid he’ll hurt himself?”

“He hasn’t so far. Do us a favor and get Little Red out of here. Everything takes three times as long with women around.”

“Oh really?”

“Unless she picks up some tools and knows how to use them, yeah. If you want to get to your ghost talk before nightfall, move her along.”

“If you know Avery, you know she won’t leave until she does her corner. When she does, I’ll get her out.”

“Fine.” He picked up a glue gun, ran a bead along an edge of what looked to be some sort of counter with shelves above it.

“What’s that going to be?”

“Built-in for the waitress station. If you’re just going to be standing there, hand me that clamp.”

She looked around on a table scattered with screws, tools, rags, glue tubes and located a clamp. And felt something just above her hair.

“Did you just sniff me?”

“You smell good. If you go to the trouble of smelling good, you should expect to get sniffed.” Their eyes met over a wood clamp. “Why don’t you come by my place when we’re done here?”

“I have guests.”

“You’ve got Carolee.”

That surge worked through her, but she shook her head. “Tuesday night.” She stepped away before she could change her mind. “Avery, let’s get out of the way.”

“You did your corner, Red,” Ryder added. “Scram. No girls allowed.”

“Boys are mean.” Avery drilled her finger into Ryder’s belly as she passed.

Then when they got outside where kids and dogs ran like the wild in the yard, she hooked her arm through Hope’s. “Sizzling-hot sex vibes.”

“Stop.”