The last thing I ever wanted was for Griffin to feel as if I were using him. But here he was, giving me a job I desperately needed, and another to my brother, who was coming alive under his new purpose. Will had fallen in love with restoring the old house. He’d brimmed with pride when showing me the calluses starting to take shape on his palms. I didn’t want him to lose what he was gaining, but I couldn’t live with myself if Griffin felt at all like we were taking advantage.

I pulled the oven door open to check the muffins. Perfect. I slid the two trays onto the stove to cool. I’d doubled the batch because Ava would never forgive me if I made her favorite and didn’t save some for her. Just as I slipped off the oven mitts, the doorbell rang.

I crossed the short distance from the kitchen to the entryway and pulled open the door. “Callie! What are you doing here?”

I pulled the woman into a hard hug, and she laughed. “Your hugs are always the best.”

I released her and stepped back. “Come in. I just took some banana chocolate chip muffins out of the oven. They should be ready to eat in a few if you want one.”

“You know I’ll never turn down whatever it is you’re making.”

I ushered Callie towards the kitchen. “Coffee? Tea?”

“Anything with caffeine.”

I eyed her more thoroughly. The dark circles rimming her eyes were more pronounced than usual, and she was a bit pale. “You’re working too hard.” Callie was beyond dedicated to the children and families she helped at the Shelter Island Child Alliance—sometimes to the detriment of her own health.

She smiled as she shook her head. “Takes one to know one.”

I pointed at the kitchen table, gesturing for Callie to sit. “Fair point.”

“Kenna said you got yet another job.”

I couldn’t help the scowl that stretched my face. “Don’t listen to that gossip. This is a job I can do from home, and it’s hardly any extra work.”

Callie pulled out a chair and sat. “Why don’t I believe that?”

My back teeth ground together as I poured two cups of coffee into mugs. I added a dash of soy milk to mine and cream and sugar to Callie’s. “Why is it that no one seems to believe that I can handle my own life?” It was really starting to grate on me. I’d been taking care of myself and these kids since I was twenty-one. I knew what was too much on my plate and what wasn’t.