Page 3 of In this Moment

“And what was the situation down there like?” Declan McCormick tucked his phone under his chin and grabbed a notebook while he spoke. “Your last email update said things were improving. Slowly.”

He scribbled some notes as Wes Morris, his right-hand man on the ground with his not-for-profit foundation DAR, updated him on the happenings in Haiti.

He’d sent another team down south to help with the increasing demands of the region. He himself had just returned to North America after being there for over six months. There were times when he felt he should get back on a plane and go down there to make sure things were going well, but Declan had spent a lot of time building up his foundation and putting the right people in place. Wes had it well under control and he’d probably only get in the way at this point.

“It’s looking better,” Wes said. “We’ve established reliable fresh water sources in four of the seven villages we’re working with and the next three should be coming online within a few weeks.”

“That’s greatnews.”

“There are some medical concerns, of course,” Wes continued. “A few more doctors or nurses would definitely be an asset.”

Declan made a note. “I’ll see what I can do about getting some medical volunteers down there for abit.”

“That’s perfect. Other than that, we have things under control, Dec. I’ll send you an update as soon as I know more about the water situation.”

Declan made a few more notes and finished the conversation with Wes. When he hung up the phone, he took a minute to stare out at the lake and the vast amount of fresh water he had right in front of him. At times it hardly seemed fair that there were so many people in the world who didn’t have the access to reliable and safe drinking water and here he was, sitting in front of a lake full ofit.

He shook his head and pushed away from the kitchen table that he was using as a makeshift office while he stayed at his brother Ian’s house, his childhood cabin.

If he planned on staying in Cedar Springs much longer, he should probably consider getting an office space to work from. And maybe a place to live. He couldn’t crash at Ian and Gwen’s house indefinitely. Not that it was really their house.

The cabin had been in the family for what felt like forever, despite the fact that up until recently it had stood empty. When they were kids, their mother would bring them out to Cedar Springs to spend the summer at the lake and their dad would come up from the city on weekends and maybe a week here and there.

Declan, his two older brothers, Ian and Mitch, along with his youngest brother, Cal, would spend their days swimming, hiking, boating, and getting into trouble in the woods. When they got a bit older, they’d gotten to know some of the local girls and their summer nights were spent at parties and sitting around bonfires with their arms around their summer girlfriends. It had been the perfect way to growup.

Until it all came to an end the summer he was sixteen. That was the summer his dad had arrived early and announced to his mother that he’d been having an affair for years and had another family. Two girls. Not only had he made the announcement that crushed their mother, he also declared that he was leaving them to live with his new family. It was like something out of a soap opera.

Only it was theirlife.

They’d packed up and returned to the city so their mother could get a job and pull together the pieces of their lives. They hadn’t returned to the cabin or Cedar Springs since. That was, until Declan’s oldest brother Ian decided to move out there, open up the old house and start a marina, the Dockside.

Ian’s move had been all it took to get everyone, one at a time, back out at the lake that summer. Including their youngest half-sister, Chelsea, who’d also been spending the summer at the lake withthem.

“Good morning! It’s an amazing day,” Chelsea announced as she wandered into the kitchen.

“It’s almost noon.” Dec tried not to roll hiseyes.

Chelsea poured herself a cup of coffee and hopped up on the counter. “Hey, when you’ve worked the night shift at the Grizzly Paw, this is morning.” She took a sip of the coffee and grimaced. “Why is it always so strong when you makeit?”

“Just to toughen you up, little sis.” He ruffled her already mussed hair and took the mug from her hands to add milk and sugar.

At twenty-two, Chelsea was the youngest of all the McCormick kids, and despite the situation that brought her and her sister, Amber, into their lives, the girls had a special place in Declan’s heart.

When they were younger, and their father had first made his announcement, Ian and Mitch instantly sided with their mother and refused to have anything to do with the girls, but Cal and Declan were closer in age to them, and ended up at the same school. A closeness had developed, and despite the fact it took ten years to get his oldest brothers to see it, they now realized the girls weren’t bad at all. And their messed-up family situation had nothing to do with either ofthem.

Ian had allowed Chelsea to move in with him that summer, and he might be reluctant to admit it, but it was clear he couldn’t imagine life without their little sister.

“What are you up to today, Dec?” Chelsea took the mug back from him and blew him a kiss as a thank-you. “Please don’t tell me you’re working all day again. You have to get out and enjoy the summer.”

“Some of us have to work for a living, Chels,” he teased her, but there was no seriousness behind his words. “Besides. While you were sleeping, I think I’ve done almost everything I need to get done for today. It’s amazing what getting up early cando.”

“Whatever.” She sipped at her coffee and smiled. “Much better. Thankyou.”

He raised two fingers in acknowledgment. Dec knew how to take care of his little sister. “What are you upto?”

“I’m getting out of here.” She hopped down from the counter. “Ian said something about your mom wanting to come over and look through some old boxes, so I thought I’d make myself scarce.”

Dec shook his head, but he didn’t really know what to say in response to that. All the boys had tried, and Maureen had gotten a little bit better about it, tolerating Chelsea in the same room in certain family situations, but she still struggled with the fact that Chelsea existed atall.

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