Page 112 of Family Bonds- Jarrett & Andi

“They are coming at the end of the month for two weeks. They knew I was in good hands now and my father said he’d help Mac update the kitchen for those two weeks and my momwillhelp out with the twins and Jace. The weather will be nice enough for us to get out of the house too.”

“Go stay at my place,” Jarrett said. “It’s not like I’m home during the day.”

“Seriously?” Sidney asked and looked at Mac.

“I’m dead serious. There is only so much you can do with the twins. Even in nice weather. You might needpeace and quiettoo.”

“I offered for them to go to our house,” his mother said. “But I understand our place is small and your father and I would be around.”

“I’m going to be helping Mac that week too,” his father said.

“Me too,” Alex said. “On my days off. We’ll get the kitchen done in no time.”

“I think it looks great in here,” Andi said. “I didn’t see it before so have no idea what it looked like.”

“The walls were this nasty brown,” Sidney said. “If it wasn’t brown then it was tan or cream. I wanted something brighter.”

“The kitchen is too dark,” Mac said.

“Are the cabinets going to be on time?” he asked. Jarrett knew his brother wasn’t rearranging anything, just keeping the layout and replacing all the dark wood cabinets with white and then adding an island in the center of the massive kitchen. It looked odd to him having nothing in there, but he supposed back in the day a table sat in the middle like most homes used to have.

“They said they would be in the week before, so if they have to deliver them and storeinmy garage that is fine. Counters are all set too. The quartz that we picked is on the island and they assured me they’d get me in the day after I called.”

He grinned. Sometimes having the last name of Bond helped, but he suspected it had more to do with being the chief of police that his brother would get everything on time.

When Jarrett was working on his house, he didn’t have too many delays either. Businesses liked to know that the local law enforcement knew who they were and were willing to be accommodating.

This island meant everything to him and his family and he liked to know that so many who lived here felt the same way.

“It’s so exciting,” Andi said. “My father was pretty handy. I used to help him as much as I could, but it ended up being painting more than anything.”

“Because you’re a klutz,” Jarrett said. “I’m sure he didn’t want you dropping a hammer on your foot.”

She gave him a playful shove where they were sitting next to each other on one of the couches. His brother had big massive rooms in this house and needed more furniture than he had.

“I want to be mad you said that, but I think that was probably the case.”

He didn’t want her to be upset on the holiday. She’d told him her father and she didn’t do much for Easter. In hismindthey’d gotten through Christmas and that was probably the hardest one.

“What’s Jack doing today?” Mac asked.

Other than Mac, his family just knew that Jack was a US Marshal and her father’s old partner. No one brought up the fact that he most likely wasn’t Andi’s cousin.

“He had to go back to Tulsa for a case. He flew out yesterday and will be back on Tuesday,” she said.

Jarrett had offered to have Jack come to the island for the holiday. He knew that was one thing Andi was concerned with. Jack being so close and alone on the holiday.

He wondered if Jack planned this trip when he had fora number ofreasons.

He hadn’t had much conversation with the guy since he moved to Boston. Nothing more than Jack thanking him for the help with finding an apartment. Andi went over on the ferry one day to visit Jack and have lunch but nothing else.

He wanted to go with her and then told himself he couldn’t watch her like a hawk just because he knew the truth of her life. That she was going to be seeing Jack who had watched out forhis girlfriend for more than a year before she showed up on this island.

Jack had picked her up at the docks and brought her back. There was no reason for Andi to even drive her car on or off and navigate Boston traffic.

He knew he had to dial things back, but he couldn’t for some reason and wasn’t sure why.

There was this nagging in his gut and he wondered if it would ever go away.

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