"I need some more nails," Kie called.
Grace pulled some out of her overall pocket and dropped them in her friend's hand before returning to the board she'd been working on hammering down.
The Pogues were spending the afternoon putting together their dock, slowly but surely getting all of the planks in place.
Grace's phone rung in her back pocket.
"No, dude, do that again," Pope scolded, diligently watching JJ wire the electricity.
"Why?"
Grace stood from the board she'd been working on and wiped her forehead before pulling her buzzing phone from her back pocket. "I gotta get this I'll be right back," she said, JJ and Pope still bickering back and forth.
Sarah, who Grace had been helping with the hammering groaned.
"Sorry, sorry, I'll be quick," Grace said, before cautiously making her way up the rickety dock and onto the lawn to answer the call.
"Hello?" Grace said into the phone before taking a chug of water.
"Hey, Gracie, y'all are working on the dock today, right?" Rick asked, recalling how he'd watched her rushed out of the house in the morning, tugging a tired JJ along with her. The couple had been staying with him until they sorted out the old Maybank house.
She nodded even though he couldn't see before answering, "Yep, why, what's up?"
"Well I figured you'd need some help with the gas line if you want to be able to fuel up boats out there," Rick began, "I've done stuff like this before at the shipping docks if you'd want a hand."
"Oh, yeah, totally, that'd be great. JJ insists he can do it but..." she trailed off, a smile on her face. She was still getting used to Rick being... well, a good person to put it plainly.
Rick's laugh echoed out of the phone. "I can swing by in an hour if that works?"
After ending the call with Rick, Grace hurried back to the dock, wanting to continue to help. She spotted JJ holding a hose that looked suspiciously like a gas line. "JJ."
His confused gaze shifted from the hose to her.
"Put the hose down," she ordered.
"No, Sunshine, you gotta trust me, I can figure it out," he rambled.
She nodded, unconvinced. "I'm sure you could," she wasn't, "but I don't think Kie would be all that happy if you spilt a bunch of gasoline into the ocean and Rick offered to come by in an hour to do it."
Kie sent a look to JJ, silently agreeing with Grace.
Before he could protest, Pope called him back to the electricity that still wasn't up to his standards.
"It's still not right, man," Pope scolded.
"It's fine!" JJ whined.
"It's not. It can't just be fine," Pope said while grabbing the wiring to fix it. "It's a dock. This isn't just like a school project, man. This is our dock, right? Our dream. So it should be perfect."
JJ looked up at Grace with a grin. "You know what the key is here? You've just gotta make it a little janky and he does it for you." JJ rubbed Pope's shoulders, still grinning. "I love you, Pope."
Grace let out a laugh. "Y'all are adorable."
"Sorry, I want my dock to be safe," Pope grumbled.
"I feel safe," John B said, humour in his tone, "I feel... I feel so safe."
YOU ARE READING
𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 - JJ Maybank
FanfictionGrace Cameron was a Pogue. Always has been. Sure her dad and half-siblings were the Kookiest a Kook could get but her mom had grown up on the Cut so she did too. Her friend group vowed to have a good time all the time but when a boat goes down in th...
