Page 4 of Hammered and Nailed
His smile was wide and easy, happy as always to see me. "What’s up, buddy?" He reached out and pulled me into a hug.
I rolled my eyes affectionately at the greeting. Mason had always been touchy-feely, but I’d never minded. When we were college-aged, our girlfriends had been bothered by it, but Mason had been single for a while and even though I dated some these days, I found myself more focused on work, which didn’t leave me with a lot of free time. Besides, any potential partner who had an issue with us hugging or whatever had bigger issues than my friendship with Mason.
"You look ready to go," he said.
"Nearly. Just need to pack your stuff." I grabbed the duffel on the passenger seat of his truck while he pulled his tent and sleeping bag from the bed of the truck. A moment later, he hauled a giant cooler from his truck and shoved it into my SUV alongsideeverything else. "You really don’t need to bring a tent," I said. "I’ve got one."
He winked at me. "Just in case."
"It wasonetime." I knew he was thinking of the time I'd forgotten the tent poles on an overnight hiking trip that had been just the two of us. He’d been responsible for water and snacks. I’d been responsible for the first aid kit and the tent.
"Look, I'm not saying Imindedsleeping under the stars next to you, I’m just saying that the millipedes didn’t mind either and those things are freaky." Mason wasnota fan of bugs. When we’d awoken early that next morning to discover the trees were covered in them, he’d nearly had a panic attack.
"Your issue with bugs isn’t my fault," I said with a laugh.
"But the fact that we couldn’t zip up a tent and hide from themwas."
"Fine," I muttered.
Mason laughed. "Checkmate."
The drive to the cabin passed quickly. It took nearly ninety minutes, at least thirty of which were on ever-more-remote back roads, taking us farther and farther from civilization. As we pulled onto the long, tree-lined driveway, we fell quiet, both of us anxious about what we’d find. Once we rounded the finalcorner, the trees gave way to a big clearing, the charming, single-story cabin coming into view.
There was a small tree lying on the house, with a hole in the roof clearly visible. A couple of windows were broken and would need to be replaced. I wondered if the cabin was livable while we worked, or if we’d be stuck in our tents.
“What do you think?” I asked as I put the car into park.
Mason hopped out and headed to investigate. He strode across the small lawn and made his way up to assess the damage as I hurried to follow behind. When he stopped short and let out a low whistle, I grimaced.
"Bad?"
Mason rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s notbadbut it’s definitely not good. Can you grab my work bag? Just in case.”
I nodded and did as he’d asked, hurrying to my SUV and hauling his bag out. When I returned to his side, he was peering into an intact front window, hands cupped to his face to shield the light.
"Here." I dropped the bag at his feet.
"Thanks."
The front door was undamaged and Mason left it standing open as he began to make his way around. To the left was the kitchen,a large bedroom, and a bathroom. They all seemed to have avoided the damage. Straight ahead was the family room, and to the other side were two bedrooms and another bathroom.
Mason cautiously made his way into the two small bedrooms. The bedroom in the rear of the cabin wasn’t in terrible shape, but the front bedroom would definitely need some work. Drywall repair and a new window at least.
"What are you thinking?" I asked eventually.
He sighed and shook his head. “We can probably do most of the work, but it’s going to take us at least three weeks.”
I nodded. "Got it. We can make this work.”
“Alright then. Let’s do this.”
Chapter Three
Mason
Wehadourworkcut out for us. I looked at Emery. "Okay. If you’re going to help, let’s get started. Where do you keep the power tools?"
Emery pointed to the ancient storage shed behind the cabin. "There."
