Page 29 of Fire in Cabin 27
“I can’t wait.”
Too bad I can’t have any wine for the next few months. This felt like one of those lessons that should come with a bottle and a giant straw. Hopefully I didn’t burn the kitchen down…
Chapter Nine
Kyson
“He’s fine, quit helicoptering your mate,” Dad chided. “Let’s go over the electrical runs.”
Juni and I had only been here a few days, and mom and Azure had already adopted him while Dad, Kobalt, and Koan kept me up the mountain on our jobsite. Not that it was a bad thing, but I’d grown so used to seeing Juni all the time that it felt off not to have him by my side twenty-four-seven.
“I want the electrical panel in the shop for sure, keep it out of the elements.” See, I can contribute to the convo. “And away from tiny talons.”
“Alright,” Kobalt stepped in. “Let’s get the exterior logs in place so we can focus on the roof and framing the interior. Then we can rough in the plumbing and electrical so we can call in the inspector before they hang the drywall.”
Kordell, our youngest sibling just finished his homeschooled high school courses and dove right into the family business. “Kordell, no fucking off,” dad warned him. I’d have to say of the six of us Kordell was definitely the one who’d pulled the most shit, but he was also the last child living at home and spoiled rotten. Not counting Juni or me since we were just crashing in my childhood bedroom temporarily. For some odd reason, as of late Juni had taken to asking me to rub his feet each night. Not sure where that came from, he was barely showing, but I happily obliged.
Kordell rolled his eyes. “I know, dad. Let’s go.”
With a team of a dozen or so bodies helping, the logs were in place by lunch time. All of which were removed when the concrete was poured. No waste and keeping the carbon print intact was a big deal for us. Trees will be replanted to replace what we used.
Dragon strength was a beautiful thing when it came to heavy lifting. Mom, Junie, and Azure brought lunch out and ate with us, then they headed back to the house so we could get the trusses and roof underlayment up today. You never knew when rain would hit, and being in northern Washington, there was always a chance for showers.
I’d opted for a powder-coated green metal gabled roof with the interior trusses exposed. Even with insulation, we’d still hear the rain hitting it, which I loved. The interior heat would keep the snow from sticking to it, and in all honesty, metal roofs last longer, and any failures were easy to fix. Half of us would get it installed tomorrow while the others would start the interior wall framing and install the stairs.
“Potbelly in the living room and a smaller one in the main bedroom downstairs,” I said as I pointed out the locations on the drawings to ensure they cut the proper roof access for the pipe vents. Hot air rose, and with the dragonets being Cindersblood, they’d run warm anyway, so we wouldn’t need heating installed on the second floor. It was my poor human mate that I had to ensure was toasty warm during the cold winter months or whenever I was away. When I was home, that was my job, and one I always looked forward to.
By the end of the week, our cousins had shown up to help. At this rate, I’d be giving my landlord notice on Monday with a move out date soon after. Juni and I will throw a big housewarming and thank you party for the family once we get settled in.
I foresaw a lot of free babysitting we’d be agreeing to over the years to come as a form of thanks, but it’ll be worth it when I see the look on my mate’s face when he walks through the door to our finished home for the first time.
The front and back porch ran the length of the house itself. The attached garage front to back was nearly identical in size to the house, just without porches. It had a single door and an oversized roll up one so both our vehicles could be parked in it. Dad, my siblings, and I also came up with a plan to erect a large playground close to our childhood home mom and dad still lived in. It was more centrally located with us kids spread out around them, and with grandkids hatching right and left, Grandma and Pops would need their daily dragonet fixes.
“Wow,” I stood inside the nearly completed house and gazed around. “We really rocked this, didn’t we?”
“That we did, brother,” Kobalt said. “Inspector signed off on structural last week, plumbing and electrical this morning, and we should get the green tag for completion in about ten days. How are the cabinets coming along?”
“Just finished them and the kitchen island as well. Wanna give me a hand installing them?” We used one of the box trucks Cinders Construction stored at their yard in town and brought up all the equipment in my shop so I could build everythingonsite for the new house. As soon as we got the final green tag, my dad, brothers, and I were emptying out the house in Bellingham and moving everything up to set up and surprise Juni at the final walkthrough. Well, the final as far as he was concerned. Anything he’d want changed at that point would fall on me because we’d be well past permitted completion.
Dad and Koan installed the bathroom cabinets and vanities while Kyra, Kobalt, and I did the kitchen. Kordell was on clean up duty and bitching about it the entire time. Dad reminded him that we all started out as grunt labor, but Kordell was dead set on calling it bitch work. Until he had a degree like the rest of us had, he’d stay our bitch.
That shit was just funny.
My degree was in project management, though I preferred carpentry. Dad held the general contractor license, Kobalt was our electrician, and Koan and Kyra were both plumbers. Grant, Kallie’s mate, was an apprentice electrician under Kobalt. Ashely and Kallie handled the office management. They did all the quotes, paid bills, and collected on invoices, that kind of stuff. Ashley had also started working with Juni on the new website, which dad was excited about.
“Pine flooring is the way to go, son,” Dad glanced around. “Cabinets turned out real nice.” With all the interior pine, I opted for a slightly darker, maple stain for the cabinets. If Juni wanted them painted, we could, but I think he’ll like them this way. We used slate tiles for the flooring under and behind the potbelly stoves, which were the perfect addition for the whole rustic vibe I was going for. Slate was also used for the bathtub and main shower surrounds. I remembered how much Juni loved the cabin where we met and fell in love so that was the aesthetic I mirrored.
For the hardware finishes I’d selected brushed nickel knobs and handles as well as faucets and the bases for the lightfixtures. I got to work making free floating shelves that matched the cabinetry and hung a couple near the living room potbelly, envisioning stockings one day soon hanging from them. My life changed so abruptly in such a short period of time and since then it’s been a whirlwind of romance, building a home, and now having kids. Whatever I did to appease the Goddess or the fates, hell, maybe both, I’d sure love to know so I can keep doing it. My life was truly blessed.
Who knew that word would ever be a part of my vocabulary?
I suppose growing up the eldest of six is what drove me to be on my own for as long as I had been. Looking back as a new father to be, being near family no longer overwhelmed me, but at least the time away allotted me a sense of clarity. Now, with a family of my own on the horizon, I wanted our kids to grow up with my nieces and nephews, surrounded by our boisterous but loving relatives.
Whoa, guess Kyson has finally grown up.
There wasn’t room in the rental house for the headboard and frame I wanted to make for our king-sized bed, so while my dad and siblings were painting the drywall, I began making them, along with a matching dresser for our room.
Juni will be so happy. Most of his clothes were still boxed and now with a dresser and walk in wardrobe he’ll have plenty of room to put them away. I felt horrible when he started selling stuff, I know what those designer outfits meant to him, and he’d already given up so much, and I didn’t want him to lose any more.
