Seal Wolf Hunting (9781402293832) by Terry Spear Page A

ended up bidding five hundred dollars, way over the last bid of three hundred. He wanted to help the disabled vet, and he definitely did not want anyone else to have that painting of Lori. It wouldn’t mean half as much to them as it did to him.
    With the bidding over, Lori and Emma joined him, Lori handing his shirt to him. He quickly pulled it on and began to button it.
    â€œI can’t believe you paid so much for that painting,” Lori whispered to him. “It’s not even my good side.”
    â€œAll your sides are good,” Paul said and grinned, making Lori blush. He loved it.
    Sales figures were tallied for all the auctioned items, and the women met with their honey-do bachelors to discuss the hours they’d be working that weekend. Lori was still shaking her head at her grandma and Paul.
    Emma paid for Paul, then came and took his hand and smiled up at him. She was like the grandma he’d never known. “So, Mrs. Greypaw…”
    â€œEmma, please.”
    â€œYes, ma’am. What would you like me to do?”
    â€œYou don’t have to start the job until tomorrow. Our lakeside cabin needs quite a bit of work done on it. Lori offered to show you all that you need to do. I made a list. She’ll be up there helping too.”
    Pleasantly surprised to hear that, Paul glanced at Lori. She looked flabbergasted, her mouth gaping as she stared at her grandma. Paul smiled a little. This was the perfect way to get to know Lori again in a non-intimate way. Though he had to say she’d seemed very agreeable when he had kissed her.
    â€œShe’s always such a good granddaughter.” Emma patted Lori’s arm.
    Lori almost appeared a little panicked. Maybe she was afraid Paul would kiss her again. But he had no intention of doing anything other than fixing the place up as much as he could over the weekend. If it took a little longer, he would be fine with that.
    He could work vacation time around it too, if need be. Maybe he and Allan could even come back to fix some things later if he and Lori didn’t get it done. Emma had offered to let them stay for a few days at the tail end of their vacation to go scuba diving anyway.
    Lori stretched out her hand to her grandma, who promptly handed her the list.
    â€œI’ve already paid for supplies at the hardware store. The place needs that one wall around the fireplace painted inside for starters, but you choose the color, Lori. I’m not very good at that.”
    â€œYour house is lovely, bright, and cheerful. You are great at color coordinating things,” Lori said, contradicting her. Her chin was tilted down and she was eyeing her grandma with suspicion.
    â€œYes, dear, but so are you. I spent so much time fixing up my house over the past few weeks that I don’t want to try to figure out what to do with the cabin. You’ll do a lovely job. Let Paul help you decide, if he’s got any decorating sense.”
    He smiled. No one had ever asked him if he had any “decorating sense.”
    â€œThe hardware store closes in an hour. Let’s go get what we need. We can meet over there.” Lori waited for Paul to agree.
    â€œSure thing. I guess I’ll be staying at the cabin for a couple of days,” he said to Emma.
    â€œNo sense in you driving every day from the Rappaports’ cabin on the other side of the lake. You can use either of the spare bedrooms. Lori always takes the blue room at the end of the cabin.”
    Lori sighed dramatically.
    â€œOh, come on now,” her grandma said. “You don’t want to have to drive all that way back and forth to the cabin from our house in the country either. And you told me Carmen would take care of your jujitsu classes if you had to manage the bachelor while he did the work I need done. You know she could always use the extra money. I never saw a woman who could buy so many pairs of shoes a year.
    â€œBesides, as long as Paul