The Trouble With Two Alpha's

by Brenda Westfall

  If I was lucky, I could hire someone to clean the brush out and help me plant grass. Then I could hire someone to put a fence around it. Maybe a white fence. Like that vinyl fencing you don’t have to paint all the time. I thought that would be pretty.

  The more ideas I had, the more excited I was. Of course, if I had a horse, I would need a small barn. I looked for a barn builder in the area. I didn’t find anything listed. I would ask my handyman if he built barns as well as redid houses.

  I had a hard time falling asleep that night. So many ideas and thoughts were running through my head. I thought about getting a dog and cat. I never had any pets as a child. In foster care I wasn’t ever aloud anything that couldn’t fit in a little suitcase.

  Now I could have anything I wanted, thanks again to Mr. Lewis. I would make sure to go by the grave and thank him again. I would tell him what I was planning for the house. I was pretty sure he would approve.

  Morning finally came, and I was up and out of my hotel room before seven. I went to the breakfast bar the hotel offered and sat down. I had my notebook and numbers with my plans in hand.

  I bumped into someone as I was trying to fill my plate. Without looking up I said excuse me and went on. From that point on I had this weird feeling. It was like I had just missed something. I was tingling all over.

  I sat down and rubbed my arms. I looked around to make sure no one was watching me. I could swear someone was staring holes through me.

  I kept trying to eat my breakfast, but the nagging feeling someone was watching me got the better of me. I left most of my food uneaten.

  I stopped by the hardware store on my way out of town. It hadn’t opened until eight, so it didn’t really give me much time to look around. I wanted to be at the house before the handyman showed up.

  I didn’t make it. As I pulled up there was a man leaning against a pickup truck in the front of the house. He had a cowboy hat on that was pulled down over his eyes. I think he was asleep against the truck.

  I hopped out of my truck and headed over to where he stood. Before I got close, he said hello. He straightened up and pushed his hat back on his head right.

  I was impressed. He was very tall and handsome. He had a great smile. His hair was a little wild, but I liked that. His eyes were odd. They almost seemed yellow. I didn’t pay much attention to that though. I was too busy checking him out. I noticed he was checking me out as well.

  “I’m Gabi Cross. I inherited this house and wanted to see if it was restorable. I don’t know much about houses. I wanted someone to take a look at it and make sure it would be worth redoing.”

  “It’s nice to meet you Miss Cross. I’m Elliot Blackwood. I hope you don’t mind, but I already took a look around. The house will need a major overhaul. But it is doable. It will cost a bit though. I would say a new roof for sure. The supports underneath needs to be reinforced. Some of them are rotting. As for the inside of the house I would go for new electric wiring. I would be afraid of fire if you didn’t have the wiring redone. I found several places where animals, Squirrels most likely, had chewed on the wiring. I went up in the attic. The kitchen will need re-plumbed. It’s not up to standards. You can get by with a lot since you’re so far out. If you have the money it would be better to do it right, if you’re going to do it.”

  He took a breath, then looked up at me to see what I thought so far. I was still writing down everything he said needed done.

  “Alright, what else?”

  “You need to decide what you want to do inside. Do you want to replace the fireplace that used to be in the living room?”

  “I hadn’t noticed it had one.”

  “Yes, well it has fallen down outside and been boarded up inside. I would suggest fixing it, in case the electricity goes out you would still be able to heat the house in the winter. I gather winters here can be pretty bad.”

  “I would like a fireplace. I can picture sitting in front of it with hot coco in hand and a good book. Yes, let’s do the fireplace. I pretty much want it as much like it was built originally as possible only with plumbing. I am not much on using the woods. Especially with snow on the ground.”

  I couldn’t help but shiver at the thought of taking a dump in the snow. No sir, I wanted plumbing indoors.

  We continued to go over things that would need done. In the end, I didn’t care what it was going to cost, I wanted to get started today.

  “Cost isn’t the problem here. What is a problem, is that I am in a hurry to get moved in. I can’t move in till it is finished. Are you available to start right away?”

  He smiled and rubbed his chin as if thinking about it. I could tell he was thrilled I was ready to get started right away.

  “I could start today if you like. We could make a list of what we need as far as supplies, then go to town and start getting them. I know I need supports for under the house. I need some boards to fix the outside of the house. You need to get electric wire if we are going to redo the wiring. I can work inside on rainy days if I need to. I will start outside to get it under protection before the winter sets in. You don’t want the wood to rot any more than it already has. Less to replace. I would suggest a coat or three of paint. Or were you wanting to do siding?”

  “Um… I hadn’t thought about siding. But they do make some that would make it look like a log cabin, don’t they? That wouldn’t be like it was originally, but it would still seem like it belonged out here in the middle of the woods. Would that make it better?”

  “It would be nearly maintenance free. No more painting the house every time you turn around. It would look good too. If you wanted to later, you could add bushes in front of the porch to hide the way the house is built up off the ground. We can also box in the bottom of the house to keep critters from eating through the floorboards.”

  “What about building flowerbeds along the front of the house or perhaps all the way around the house?”

  “That would be nice. Yes, we can do that. Add a bit of color to the place.”

  “Once we get the house done the way I want it, would you be interested in building a small horse barn? If I can find someone to clear the brush and stuff out of the way, I want to put up a new fence. I may get a horse or two. I have five acres here.”

  “That would be nice. I can build a barn, no problem. If you don’t mind me suggesting it, I have a few brothers who would be willing to work. They could cut through the brush and build any kind of fence you wanted. I might even need one or two of them to help me with the house if you want it done in a hurry. We have about six weeks or so before the weather shifts to winter. If we could have it done by then it would be good.”

  “I like the way you think Mr. Blackwood. Yes, have them come over we can talk about what I want. I would love to get this place up and running before winter. I was here last winter and let me tell you, up here in the mountains we get a lot of snow. It’s beautiful, but cold.”

  “You might want them to cut a few of the trees out to make pasture. They could cut it up and stack it for firewood. You would be killing two projects at once.”

  “That is a good idea. I hadn’t even thought about needing firewood. I guess if we are going to put the fireplace back up, then I will need firewood. I can’t wait to sit in front of a roaring fire. You have no idea how excited I am about all this. This is my first home.”

  “Where is your husband?”

  “Me, married? Ha, ha. I am not married and not interested. At least not right now. I just want to get a roof over my head. Then I will think about my next step. Right now, I am living in the hotel in town, and let me tell you it cost a fortune.”

  “That sucks. We could get started today and see if we can’t get the house livable at least. We might not have it done, but you could go ahead and move in once we get the plumbing and wiring redone. We can always work around you inside. Maybe do one room at a time.”

  “I can for that matter once we have doors hung that will keep the coons and other wild animal
s out, sleep on the floors. I don’t have to have everything done to move in. You’re right about that. Shall we get started?”

  He followed me into town saying we might need both trucks to haul supplies back to the house. On the way he was going to call his brothers. He had seven of them, he told me. Eight kids all boys? Dang, I feel for their mama. They would meet us back at the house.

  We went to the lumber yard and got started. We got new doors for the outside and picked up the siding I wanted. He got things to support the floors better. Then we picked up some plywood and roofing. Wood shingles to go along with the log cabin look.

  I told him to go on back out to the house and I would be along soon. It was getting on toward lunch time and I wanted to stop and get food for all of us. I told him to tell his brothers, I would bring lunch out. We could sit and talk while we ate. I wanted to make a good impression on them if they were going to work for me.

  When I went into the burger house and ordered twenty burgers and nine fries to go with them, they looked at me funny. Everyone knew I was alone in town.

  “What are you going to do with all those burgers Miss Cross?” The owner ask me.

  “I have some people working on the old house that Mr. Lewis left me. I thought I would take them lunch. I should have given you more warning. I just thought about it as I was about to head back out there.”

  “Do you want drinks to go with?”

  “No, I think I will stop and buy some sodas. I might get an ice chest and fill it up, so they have something to drink while they are working out there in the heat. In fact, why don’t I run pick that stuff up while you’re fixing my order. That way I don’t have to waste time. I’ll be back soon.”

  I went to the store and got the biggest ice chest I could find thinking that I might use it for a while until the kitchen was done. I would go ahead and start sleeping out there. It would save money.

  Along with the ice chest I bought a sleeping bag and some stuff to camp out with inside the house. Candles and plastic cups and paper plates and so on. Once I thought I had everything, I ran by and grabbed bags of ice and two cases of sodas.

  I stopped back by and picked up the food, then hurried on out to the house. When I pulled up, I saw men everywhere. They were all working their little hearts out. I wasn’t sure I brought enough food.

  I stepped out of the truck and called Elliot to let him know I needed help unloading the food. We pulled the back of both our trucks down, then set up the ice chest and food. Everyone came and introduced themselves and grabbed a plate and a burger. I barely had enough burgers. I wasn’t expecting so many men so fast.

  Some of them had already taken chainsaws to the brush and had a good size area cleaned up. Others had helped work on the house.

  “We have the supports in place now. We will start working on the roof next. Oh, and two of my brothers are working on the fireplace. I sent them back into town to pick up the rocks we need. I hope you don’t mind. That saves me from having to stop and go back into town. We unloaded all the lumber and stuck it in the living room, so it wouldn’t be in the weather should there be a storm. I understand storms blow in out of the blue up here.”

  “That they do. Will you be able to hang the doors today? I brought my things from the hotel. I got me a sleeping bag and stuff, so I could just stay out here. No sense paying for a room when I have a place.”

  “We will make sure we get them up. If you want. You won’t have any electric for a few days though, or plumbing.”

  “No problem. I have lived on the streets before. I think I can live in the woods. I might not like going to the bathroom in the woods, but it isn’t forever. I still can’t believe you got so many men here so fast.”

  “I have a large family. Like I said we just moved into the area. We all needed to find something to do before my father got tired of us. We tend to get under his foot sometimes.”

  They all snickered. I wondered what the big joke was but didn’t ask. I wasn’t much help to them, but I tried. I could fetch boards and things when they needed them.

  The men worked till nightfall. They had gotten a lot more done then I would have thought possible. They agreed to come back first thing in the morning to get an early start. I thanked them and watched as they left.

  Now I was all alone in my little house. I set up one of the bedrooms for the night. I had a small portable radio, which didn’t pick up too much, but it was noise. I had candles and flashlights. I rolled out my sleeping bag and sat up a makeshift closet for my things. I didn’t really have that much in the way of clothes.

  I ran a laundry line in one corner to hold up my things. Then I got all of the day’s receipts together and started writing them in a notebook. I wanted to keep up with how much it cost to redo the house.

  At some point I must have fallen asleep because before I knew it, I was waking up shaking. It wasn’t cold, but I felt as if I wasn’t alone in the house anymore. I got up with the flashlight and searched the house.

  I was amazed at how many things lived in the old house. When I went into the living room, I saw two opossums. In the kitchen I saw four raccoons. Then I saw a rat run across the floor. Somewhere there was a hole that these creatures were coming in through. I would make sure the men fixed that in the morning. Sleeping in the old house alone is one thing, but to sleep with it full of things that might decide to bite me, wasn’t going to happen again.

  I was just thankful the candles had gone out without burning the house down. The next time I go to town I was going to find some battery-operated lanterns or something. No more candles. I don’t want to burn the house down before I get it remodeled. No more falling asleep with candlelight.

  Chapter 5

  I had managed somehow to fall back asleep after finding my house full of critters. I had blocked the doorway to the room, I was sleeping in. Before long I heard hammering and saws going. I got up to look out the window and was met by a smiling face. I nearly jumped out of my own skin.

  Note to self, pick up curtains or something to hang over the windows. I got up and dressed in a hurry. Then I headed out to see what all was going on and what I needed to be doing.

  “Good morning, Miss Cross. I do hope we didn’t wake you. We did say we wanted to get an early start. You did say you wanted to get the house done as soon as possible.”

  He was almost laughing at me. Then I realized how I must look. I didn’t have a brush with me, so my hair was sticking up in all directions. I didn’t wear makeup, so my face wasn’t all that to look at.

  “No, you didn’t wake me. I have been up for hours. In fact, I spent most of the night awake. When I did fall asleep, I was woken to noises in the house. I wasn’t alone all night.”

  I told him about my search through the house to find it full of creatures. He assured me they would remove the animals and find where they got in at and plug the holes.

  “Ok. Where are we? Do I need to run into town and pick up anything?”

  “That would help. That way we don’t have to stop working. We need windows if you want to add storm windows. It would help keep the house warmer. I believe they even had some that would match the siding. I will write down what sizes we need. I also have a few other things we need. I will make you a list of everything.”

  “Alright. I am going to see how the men are that are working on the brush. Maybe they need something while I am in town.”

  “I hope you don’t mind, but we brought a grill with us to cook lunch on. I thought it would save money.”

  “That is nice of you. How about I pick up some meat and stuff while I am in town. I can cook while you men work. Does everyone like burgers or steak?”

  “I am sure they will eat whatever you want to fix. We did bring some hamburger meat with us. We could use some more buns. Oh, and if you don’t mind picking up some chips, we will pay you for them.”

  “Nonsense you’re working for me. It is the least I can do. How many of you are there today? I don’t want to leave anyone out
.”

  “Thirteen of us. A couple of my cousins came to help today. It won’t cost you any extra. We will work for what I agreed to with you. I just want to make sure we get everything done before cold weather sets in.”

  “I don’t have a problem with paying for the help. I want it done as soon as possible. With so many of you working I wouldn’t think it would take too long to get it done.”

  “Nope.”

  He handed me a list of supplies I needed to pick up and I headed to town. I made a mental list as I drove, of what I needed to get from the grocery store. Feeding them every day was going to get expensive, but if it helped get the house done, I was all for it.

  Once I got to town, I left the list with the lumberyard. They carried the windows and everything else I needed for the house. I told them while they got it together, I would go run an errand then be back.

  I ran to the store and stocked up on groceries to cook out. I got a ton of drinks and more ice. Once I had everything there, I grabbed a comb and brush.

  I had the weirdest feeling again that someone was watching me. It made me shiver.

  I got back to the lumber yard in time for them to load it all up. Feeling like I had bought out the lumber yard and grocery store I headed back to the house.

  When I got to the house there was a woman there already cooking meat on the grill. I wasn’t expecting that. I was grateful for the help.

  She had brought over a couple of folding tables and had them set up under a large shade tree. She was used to cooking out I could tell.

  “Hi, I’m Gabi. I wasn’t expecting help cooking, but I am glad you’re here. I am not used to cooking for so many. I brought a bunch more food in case we needed it.”

  “It’s nice to meet you Gabi I am Wanda. I was tired of sitting around so I volunteered to come over and help. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Mind, heck no. It’s nice to meet you Wanda. Let me get the men started unloading the windows and then I will bring the food over. I got potato salad and chips and more drinks. Stuff like that.”