Page 3 of Wood Lessons
“Sounds good,” I say, speculating if this is his smooth way of getting my number or if he’s genuinely being a nice guy offering lessons.Probably the latter.
“Yeah...”Cora drawls as she stares at Peter who avoids her scrutiny, mumbling something about getting back to work and waving good-bye.Taking my cue, I drag my focus away from his retreating form, excuse myself, and head home—the drive flying by in a haze as I replay the afternoon.
CHAPTER TWO
PETER
“What was that about?”Cora corners me before I start sawing through another plank.
“What?”I play dumb, knowing what she’s asking but unwilling to answer.Hell, a logical response escapes me because I don’t know why I offered to teach Anna.It’s not something I’ve done before.Usually, I don’t say much at all when clients come by.That’s Cora’s job.
But the moment I saw Anna step into the shop, she drew me in like a moth to flames, and instinctively, I’d pitched the idea.
“Come on; teaching her how to woodwork?Since when do we offer that service?”She crosses arms over her chest and waits for an explanation.
“It’s not like that; I’m not gonna charge her or anything.”I just want to spend time with her, but Cora doesn’t need that information.
“Oh, really?”Cora raises her eyebrows.“Do you have a crush, Peter?”
I ignore the ridiculous question, tightening my grip on the hand saw.
“You’re blushing!Oh my god, you do!”She pokes my side and laughs.“Good thing we don’t have a no fraternization policy.”
I scoff at her needling.“It’s just woodworking; chill out.You’re getting way ahead of yourself.”
“Mhmm...But you guys would be a cute couple—the curvy brunette with the tall carpenter.I can see it now.”
“Cora, you’re my boss, so you’ll understand when I say if you want this set finished on time, you need to leave me alone.Go bug your husband, instead.”With that, I shove safety glasses and protective ear muffs on and start the saw, drowning out any objections she may have.
The peace of building things with my hands and getting lost in the work calms my rapid heartbeat.It’s comforting living in the dulled world—the buzz of the saw cocooning me.
Always has, always will.
But it doesn’t prevent the loneliness waiting to creep in at night.Sometimes, it’s so strong I end up back in the garage working on projects until my eyes refuse to stay open any longer—a danger when dealing with sharp blades.
Carving and whittling used to be enough to stave off the unpleasant emotion, but lately they’ve lost their effectiveness.Having someone to share life with would help; too bad single women don’t frequent my house or the CC Designs studio that often.
