Page 29 of Dream Weaver

I huffed, then gave in and handed him a fourteen-pounder. Men!

Even that, he took with disdain. Clearly, he was coveting the twenty-pound beast hanging on the wall behind me. Well, he could use that when he proved himself.

Which he did, real quick.

I made him practice on a piece of scrap metal first, which got me another miffed look. But there was no way I was going to let him near my project without a dry run.

“Okay. Follow my lead. I hammer first, you follow. And when I sayup—”

He nodded, cutting me off. “I give it one more tap, then stop. I know.”

I looked at him, then the metal, and began.

Bang!went my hammer.

Wham!His landed right in the footprint of mine.

I aimed a little farther right.

Cooper struck the exact same spot.

I led him through three more strikes, then blinked at the results. Wow. Solid technique, solid aim, andreallysolid blows. A single hit did the work of three of my own.

He smirked.

So, power and accuracy weren’t issues. The question was, how long could he keep it up?

Plenty long, as it turned out.

I heated the metal again, and we got to work in earnest.

Bang!

Wham!

Bang!

Wham!

We went five rounds, and when I calledup,Cooper hit one more time, then halted.

A man who could follow instructions. Yay.

As for progress… Damn. Maybe I should have put him to work earlier. The square block of steel I’d started with was already long and slender.

I heated it up, and we went another round. The metal steadily gave way to our blows.

The next time I stopped and wiped sweat from my brow, I caught Pablo looking over. Bob, too.

Walt turned away quickly, but not before I saw him grin. Hmpf. What was up with him?

Cooper used the break to shed his flannel shirt, leaving him in a snug black T-shirt. Within an hour, he was up to the eighteen-pound sledge, and the shirt was sticking lusciously — er, loosely — to his skin. The ax head was taking shape by then, though the final details would take time.

Details, like the etched lines of muscle under that black T-shirt. I only noticed now and then, though. Truly. I was too absorbed in my work.

Not just work. Teamwork,a little voice whispered in my mind.

Yes, teamwork. Smooth and practiced, like we’d worked together for years.

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