Page 9 of Shelter for the Mountain Man
“He’s our landlord at the shop,” she says. “When he heard about Mom, he offered to do the buildout at his own expense. Said it was to his benefit. He’s a really good guy.”
I nod. “I was into carpentry with my grandpa. I’m going to help Jax with the add ons to his cabin. He wants to make it larger now that he’s married with the babies. I guess they’re sharing time between town and the mountain right now. I know he needs the peace the cabin gives him as well.”
“I knew his wife a little when I went to school. She was one of the nice ones,” Fawn comments.
“Yeah. She seems pretty cool. I can see where the two of you could get along. She’s not the fussy kind, even though she comes from money.”
After taking another drink, I twist my cup around and around. “I’m not very good at just sitting around. Anything you need fixed while I’m here?”
“Already?” she chuckles. “You’re bored already? Is it because I don’t have TV?”
“Naw, I don’t do much TV either. Maybe sports once in a while. I like to build things or fix things. Gramps had an oldplace, and we’d work together on maintenance. Then we’d go up to Wisconsin to hike the mountains or fish. In the military I was always doing recon. I guess I like to be on the move.”
“Did your gramps raise you?”
I rotate my mug a couple more times. “No. My mom died when I was four, my dad remarried a woman who had kids. I lived with them but… Gramps took me every chance he could. I spent most of my weekends, summers and holidays with him. I didn’t really fit the new family thing. I was the youngest, and they were all big partiers and drinkers. Dad was a musician, stepmom a bartender. They each kind of did their own thing. Not a lot of family togetherness.
“I learned a lot about carpentry from Gramps, worked with him as soon as I was big enough to handle a hammer and shovel. He’s also the reason I joined the Army. He’d been a scout. We did a lot of trekking in Wisconsin. He and Grams had been married thirty-five years when she passed. He died when I was overseas. Heart attack took him.”
She nods. “We got lucky. You with your gramps, me with Mom.”
I study her. Is this woman for real? Down to earth, no nonsense, no theatrics, no drama. “We did. So, do you have something that needs fixing? Wood need chopping?”
“No! You aren’t ready for chopping wood. It’s not even forty-eight hours yet. There’s a small leak under the kitchen sink. You could check that. I bought new pipes but haven’t gotten them installed yet.”
“Do you have any cabin caulk? You’re getting a small draft above the bathroom window. I could fix the inside then the outside once the snow stops.”
“You don’t sit still very well,” she says.
I grin. “Nope.”
“You know you’re supposed to be taking it easy?”
“Let me take a look at the sink, then I’ll rest again.”
The sink takes all of fifteen minutes to replace one joint that had a small crack and put it all back together. After putting the tools away, I see she’s getting dressed to go outside. I grab a pair of my pants and a heavier shirt from my pack and change in the bathroom. Coming out I sit down to pull on my boots. She gives me a raised eyebrow but doesn’t say anything.
The snow is falling hard, impairing visibility. “Grab the snow rope,” she yells over the wind.
Following her lead, we make our way to the barn, Marble bounding ahead of us until he’s lost in the blur. Once inside the barn I see she has a strip door for the animals leading to the paddock.
“While I muck, you can see if there are more eggs.” She nods toward a screen door in the opposite corner of the barn. After collecting eggs, I refresh the chickens pine shavings, replace the water supply and replenish the feed. By the time I come back she’s done cleaning and is adding more feed for the sheep and goats. Back at the cabin, Marble comes in and Brownie goes out.
“Thanks, I appreciate the help.” She smiles. “You are feeling better, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, not so lightheaded and the headache is better. Fresh air always helps.”
Checking my satellite phone there’s still no reception. I text a message to Jax in case there’s a break in the cloud cover and it goes through.
“Stew’s not done.” She studies me. “Monopoly or cards.”
“Monopoly. But be prepared to lose.”
She kicks my ass, and I love it. There nothing coy or manipulative about her. She’s intense, straightforward and goes for the win because that’s the goal of the game. She never tries to distract me with innuendos or cleavage.
My ex was manipulative and a mantrap. In the divorce I found out I was the rebound guy when she married me. She thought the next new guy could give her more but found out too late that his mom and dad controlled his finances and as long as she was in the picture he’d get nothing. Last week I heard she signed the baby over to them, I’m sure for a price, and left town. Knowing you’ve been played is never easy. Lesson learned.
After our second monopoly game we’re tied. She gets up and checks the stew. “It’s done. We can eat or play the tie breaker first.”
