Chapter 44

“I could help, maybe?” Emil suggested. “I mean, I’ve helped Dad with some renovation stuff a few times.”

“Really?” Makai looked pleased for the offer.

“Yeah. We’ll figure out a good day for it. It’s Wednesday now, so there’s a couple of days.”

“Great. I want to build the bench and bolt it in too. There’s still a couple of boards I need to replace and then make the bench and a railing. It’s probably faster with another set of hands helping me.”

“They aren’t much, but they work.” Emil held out his free hand and showed Makai his battered fingers.

“What happened?”

Emil gestured toward the rocks on the shore, and they sat down, not quite side by side, but the distance made it all comfortable and calming instead of stifling.