Page 72 of Dream Weaver

“Love you too.” Claire waved happily.

I stood stiffly, reminding myself to let my daughter live the normal childhood I’d once dreamed of, with a good home, friends…even sleepovers. Stability, in a word.

I waved a long time after the Hawthornes’ Jeep disappeared down the school drive.

“Come on.” Cooper tapped my shoulder softly.

My feet were stuck in tar, or so it seemed, but with a great deal of willpower, I managed to shuffle away. It helped that Cooper took my hand and tugged.

He didn’t tease or make light of it all. He just nudged me along like an old horse. The metal shop was only a seven-minute drive, and we were quiet the whole time. The quietest we’d been all day, actually, since we’d spent most of it hammering at metal.

Well, Cooper had hammered. I’d done more slamming and banging. But, hey. It got the job done.

So, I picked up where I’d left off when we returned. Seventeen axes done, only three to go. We really were on a roll.

Normal closing time was five, but I was close to finishing the latest ax head, so I stayed in the shop long after Walt and the others had gone. Cooper stuck by me, faithful as an old hound, and by six p.m., our tally was up to eighteen ax heads.

“Looks good,” Cooper murmured, turning our latest masterpiece under a light.

“That handle looks good,” I emphasized.

Goodwas an understatement. Cooper had spent the previous afternoon — the one I’d taken off — crafting handles for our axes. He might not be a metal master yet, but he sure could work wood.

I ran a finger along the grip. “Really. It’s so smooth, and you got the fit just right.”

A proud twinkle lit his eye, though he shrugged off the compliment. “The whole ax looks good. Feels good, too.” He weighed it in one hand, then passed it back to me.

I gave it a swing. “Perfect, if I may say so myself.”

Cooper stuck up a hand. “High five.”

I laughed and reached up — way up — to smack his hand. “Good job.”

I looked at the clock, then at the next half-crafted ax head, estimating how long that might take.

Cooper must have read me like a book, because he winced.

“You go,” I urged him. “I’ll just get started on the next one.”

He mulled it over, then shook his head. “Nah. Got nothing much to do tonight anyway.”

Ha. Sedona wasn’t big on nightlife, but a young, good-looking firefighter could still find plenty of fun — and plenty of women to have fun with — on a Friday night.

I, on the other hand, was a single mom. Quiet nights in were my norm.

But Cooper refused to leave. In fact, he gave every impression of having a good reason to stay.

I couldn’t help entertaining the fantasy that that reason might be me.

We kept the big rear doors open, the better to see another spectacular Sedona sunset, with rays of orange and red illuminating the sky. We kept them open a while after that, because the stars were a treat too. By seven, Orion was high and bright, perfectly framed by the doors. Cooper had another handle finished, and I had made great progress on the next ax head.

“Takeout?” he suggested when we both paused. “My treat?”

“My treat,” I insisted.

The fifteen minutes he was away to pick it up seemed like a lifetime in the desert — long and empty. I stood in the garage-sized doors, thinking of Claire…and trying not to think of Jay or Liselle. With a shiver, I retreated inside, intent on finishing that ax head.

“Okay, boss. Dinnertime,” Cooper called a short time later.

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