by Nancy Naigle
“We’ll do it.” The guys looked at one another, nodding. “This is more than fair.”
“It’s a good project. Big enough to keep you all busy through the winter, and since most of it’s inside work, you don’t have to worry about the weather chasing away work days.”
“Good timing.” All three of them were nodding with appreciation. Matt walked them through, using a can of spray paint to mark everything that needed to come out during demolition. “The dumpster won’t be here until tomorrow,” Matt explained, “but I figure you can get a pretty strong start today, and we can move everything out tomorrow. Plus Bubba and Joe Don will be here tomorrow. They’ve got the big guns to move some of that heavy stuff.”
“You know that’s right,” the shortest guy said. “Bubba’s slow anyway. We’ll do the demo and have it piled up waiting for him.” The guys nudged one another.
Bubba was kind of a sloth of a guy. The only thing he did fast was eat. Bubba could put away six hot dogs before Matt could finish one. Then again, the guy was every bit of six feet five and probably close to three hundred pounds. He was a gentle giant, though. A little slow, but with the right direction the guy was a good worker, with a good heart.
While two of the guys started pulling down faux walls, Matt and the third of his guys went to work removing the plywood from the downstairs windows. They made quick progress, and once all the windows were revealed, Matt let the guys loose on the rest of the demo inside while he talked to the plumber, Tony, about the overall project.
Matt turned to look back toward the cabins. There was already a heaping pile of junk next to the front door of the first one. He couldn’t wait to see what her thoughts were now that she’d spent a little time in there.
“Come on, Tony. Let me introduce you to the new owner. I know her priority is to get the water running in this first cabin so she can stay here during the renovation project.”
If this were his project he’d do the same thing, no question about it, but her being here while he was getting everything she needed done could go either way.
He thought about those signs at the garage that listed the price of repair. Fifty dollars per hour, seventy-five if you watch, and a hundred if you try to help. Hopefully she’d be so busy picking out materials and fixtures she’d stay focused on her fancy spreadsheets and timelines and trust him to do the work.
At least she wasn’t staying in the house. With the cabins being about a football field away, they probably wouldn’t even wake her up with the hammering.
Chapter Seventeen
Matt and Tony hiked through the thick brush back to the cabins. Matt would bring the Bobcat out tomorrow and clear a path for her. At least this time of year there was no worry about ticks or snakes, but it was hard to maneuver through.
Tony lifted his knees high as they walked. “This place could be a real treasure. I’d heard of Angel’s Rest, but I’d never been up here.”
“It was a real treasure in its time. Fancy in a sportsman kind of way.”
“The cabins are bigger than I expected,” Tony said, as they got closer. “I thought they were going to be one-room places.”
“No. These are as big as some of the starter homes in town. This one is a one-bedroom. It was used most recently. The other is a two-bedroom from what Liz told me. It’s full of storage boxes. I’m not even sure what shape that one is in yet.”
“Has to be at least seven hundred square feet or so to the smaller one. The stone chimneys look to be in good condition. The wraparound porches are a nice touch. This could be really good for Antler Creek.”
Matt was pleased. He knew Tony would do a good job, but he’d just made himself a little more vested with those observations.
Matt poked his head inside the open cabin door. Partially to keep from barreling in and scaring the bejeebies out of Liz, and partially to be sure he didn’t get walloped by the next thing she threw out of there. Surprisingly, she’d cleared out most of the front room. “Wow, you’ve made great progress.”
She spun around. Even with the dirt smudge on her cheek and hair all a mess she looked happy. She used the back of her arm to sweep her hair from her face. “Hey.”
“Liz, this is Tony. He’s the plumber that’ll be working for us.”
“Hi, Liz. Great place you have here.” Tony extended his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“It’s not great yet.” Liz shot a look toward Matt. “But it will be.” She slapped her dirty-gloved hand on her pants, then shook his hand. “Nice to meet you. I guess Matt told you I’m anxious to get these quarters in living condition.”
“He sure did. I’ll see what our options are to get some water back here. May as well look at making sure both cabins are back in working order from a plumbing perspective.”
“I appreciate that. Come on in.” She stepped around a mattress and box spring leaning against the front wall. “Excuse the mess.” She turned to Matt. “The mattress and box spring can get thrown in the dumpster. I’ll have to see the rest of this furniture in better light to know what’s salvageable or not. I’ll bring some lanterns when I come back.”
“Once we have power tomorrow, hopefully all we need is a few lightbulbs. I’ll bring some up tomorrow.”
“Thank you. I’ll get out of y’all’s way so you can get me some water. I need to get a couple things from the hardware store anyway. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Matt.”
“Wait and I’ll ride with you if you don’t mind. I need a couple things too,” Matt said.
“Sure. I’ll be in the car.” She waved as she walked out. “Nice to meet you, Tony.”
“That girl is a whirlwind.” Tony gestured to the heaping mound of things she’d heaved out of the cabin.
“Tell me about it.” Matt had to admit she’d made a pretty good dent in this cabin today.
“You’d better work fast is all I can say.” Tony shook his head and laughed. “You go on. I’ve got this. I’ll give you an update once I take a look around. Once you have power I’ll be able to prime and run the pumps … if they even still work.”
“Sounds good. Thanks, man.” Matt left Tony to do his thing, and jogged out to Liz’s Range Rover. “Thanks for waiting.”
“No worries.” She backed out of the spot and headed to town.
When they got to the hardware store, they walked inside together, and Matt heard an “ah-ha” come from across the way. George was looking right at him with a big grin on his face. Next to him, Pastor Mike nodded knowingly. Matt was sorry he’d made that comment about Liz in front of Mike now. He might be a pastor, but he and George loved hounding him about his love life. He’d never hear the end of this, even if he’d already told them Liz had made it clear there’d be no dating if they were working together. Of course, George had said that’s what Dottie said when she worked for him here in the hardware store, and they’d been married over twenty years now.
Liz cruised through the store loading a cart with industrial-strength cleaning supplies, rubber gloves, and a bucket. She stopped in the pest-control aisle. He hovered nearby.
“Didn’t you have some stuff to get?”
“It’s at the counter. George had to order a part for the air compressor for me.”
“Oh,” she said. “I’m sorry. This won’t take long.”
“I’m not in a hurry. What are you looking for?”
“Spider spray and mousetraps.” She picked up a pack of non-toxic mousetraps and frowned. “I’m not sure how humane it is to superglue little mice feet to a cardboard tray. How would you release them?”
“On little snowshoes?” He scissored his fingers in the air and she laughed.
“That seems kind of horrible. Toxic or not this won’t end well.”
The thought of mice running around with paper snowshoes made him laugh. “I don’t think the little guys are going to do much scurrying that way,” he admitted.
“Well, they’ve got to go. They’ve made a little fortress out of all those boxes in the cabin
. I heard one chomp-chomp-chomping in the corner. I swear it sounded like it was the size of a kangaroo.” She took a stance as if she were holding a baseball bat. “I had my broom all ready to go after him and shoo him out.”
He started laughing.
“It’s not funny! I bopped the box expecting this big scary rat or something and this teensy baby mouse ran across the floor.”
“Can’t have that.” He feigned compassion the best he could. Then swiped four packets of old-fashioned mousetraps into her cart. “These always work.”
“You’re picking them up when I catch them.”
“Fine by me.” He shrugged and followed her down the aisle. An endcap of foam tubular pipe insulation in eight-foot lengths caught his eye. He snagged one out of the bin and handed it to her. “Or you could fight them off with one of these.”
She stepped back and swung it, bopping him over the head. “Oh, I’ll fight something off. Like your bad jokes.”
“No fair.” He grabbed another one and battled her like a musketeer, playfully whopping her back toward the paint aisle.
She was laughing and scrambling. “Careful what you start.”
“Looks like I’m the one finishing here.”
“I call uncle! Uncle!”
He tapped her on the butt as she twisted away. “Thought you were no quitter.”
“I’m not,” she said, pretending to shy away and then spearing him with her noodle again.
George stepped between them. “All right, kids.”
They both froze.
“We are so busted,” Liz stage-whispered.
“He can hear you,” Matt said, and then laughed.
George took the insulation from both of them and then bopped them each on the head. “That actually looks like a lot of fun.”
“We’re sorry,” Liz said. “We got carried away.”
“Yeah, you did. So, Liz, I have a question I’ve been meaning to ask you.”
She brushed her hair from her face and caught her breath. “Sure. What’s that?”
George glanced over at Matt and grinned. “So, what are you going to do when you’ve been here a while and miss shopping or going out to fancy restaurants?”
“I won’t,” she said, “but if I did, then I’d just go online and order what I wanted. Or take a weekend trip. That stuff is fine in small doses, but this … this is where nature gets in your soul.”
George nodded. “You’re the real deal, Liz. A different type of city girl. I knew I liked you from the day I met you.” He looked over at Matt. “We all do. Don’t we, Matt?”
Matt could’ve killed George with those foam noodles about now. The question, a mirror to Robyn’s comment, didn’t escape him. George had made his point, and Liz didn’t seem any the wiser, but still. “Yeah. She’s great.”
Pastor Mike walked up behind him and put his hand on his shoulder. “Is this Q-and-A hour for the new girl in town?”
Liz laughed. “Bring it on,” she teased.
“Okay,” Mike said. “Do you believe in love at first sight?”
Matt couldn’t believe these guys. And they considered themselves his friends?
Liz stood silent for a moment. “I’ve never experienced it myself, but you know Pop always told the story that the first time he laid eyes on Gram he’d told his buddy that she was the woman he was going to marry. And he did.”
“He said that, did he?” Pastor Mike echoed. “How about that?”
Liz looked starry-eyed. “He loved her so much. They had the most wonderful relationship. Maybe that’s what made the difference. Love at first sight. I never considered that.”
“We better get back,” Matt said. “We’re losing daylight.”
“It was good chatting with y’all,” Liz said as they headed to the register.
They checked out and then loaded their things in her SUV. “Mike and George are great.”
“Yeah. Good folks.” Worse than old lady matchmakers, but he couldn’t hate them for that. They meant well.
When they got back to Angel’s Rest, the sun was already slipping behind the trees.
“Thanks for the ride,” he said.
“See you tomorrow,” she said, and then drove off.
The only problem with projects this time of year was that the days were so short. But Matt was happy with the progress they’d made on day one, and that was with only half the crew, considering Bubba and Joe Don really counted as three guys when it came to the heavy lifting.
Matt gathered up the guys. “Since we won’t have the dumpster until sometime before noon tomorrow, let’s plan to start at eleven again. After that we’ll start at sunup each day.”
“We’ll work until sundown then.” All of the guys agreed.
“You might have saved my marriage,” one guy said. “My wife is not a fan of me not being able to pay the bills, and Christmas is right around the corner.”
“It can be tough this time of year,” another chimed in.
“I know. Well, you show up, and I’ll keep you busy for a good long time,” Matt assured them.
They left, and Matt locked everything up and headed out too.
When he got home, he gave Elvis a pat on the head, then made a beeline for the master bath. He got undressed and dropped his clothes in the washing machine, then stepped into the shower.
He knew Liz had to have ruined the outfit she’d worn today. She’d probably be sore as hell, too, after lifting and moving all of those boxes. He toweled off and put on a pair of sweatpants and a long-sleeved T-shirt.
Elvis was lying in front of the door when Matt walked out.
“You ready for some dinner?”
The dog got to his feet and followed him.
Matt chopped onions and peppers, then mixed the ingredients for a meat loaf in a big bowl. Turning the meat into a loaf pan, he drizzled barbecue sauce on top and slid it into the oven.
At the kitchen island, he typed a quick update for Liz. He knew she’d be pleased with the start. There was a lot to share. A call would be so much easier.
Picking up his phone, Matt punched in Liz’s phone number, but stopped short of connecting it. He’d never called someone to give them a daily update before. It was day one. He really hadn’t uncovered anything that wasn’t already on the plan. Why was he so inclined to call her?
Elvis looked at him with quizzical eyes.
“What?” If he answers then I will have problems.
He turned his phone facedown and reopened his email and typed a quick note telling her the plumber was on board and the guesthouse was priority. As long as the power was connected tomorrow, there was no apparent reason there wouldn’t be water to the guesthouse by the weekend. He hit send, and then fed Elvis.
After dinner he put his dish in the dishwasher, and cleaned up the kitchen. Then he sliced the rest of the meat loaf in sandwich-size pieces and wrapped them in foil. Nothing better than a meat loaf sandwich for lunch. He wondered if Liz liked meat loaf sandwiches.
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING Matt took Elvis with him to Angel’s Rest. When they got there the Valley Electric Co-operative bucket truck was already there, and Tony’s truck was parked in the field in front of the cabin.
Tony walked out of the house as Matt walked up. “We’re going to be in pretty good shape. Believe it or not the pump on the well to the house is still in working condition.” He put his hand out for Elvis, who didn’t bother to even sniff it. Instead, Elvis stretched out on the porch in a sunny spot. “I wouldn’t count on that pump long-term, but it fired right up with minor coaxing. We can use it until it has to be replaced. I’ll price out the new one so you’ll have everything you need when it’s time to order it.”
“Great. Even if we can eke out a few weeks while you’re getting everything in place that will be good. Then you can replace the pump last.”
Tony said, “Those trenches need to be filled in, but since we won’t be running pipe in them do you just want your team to handle that when th
ey do the landscaping?”
“I was worried someone might step in one and get hurt, but that does make more sense.” Matt hadn’t considered that, and it would be a cost-saver. “Can you flag the area for us?”
“Yeah, I’ve got some flags in the truck.”
They walked out back to take a look at the area, and Elvis plodded along behind them, then stepped down in the wide trench and lay down, leaning his chin on the heaped dirt at the top as if it were a pillow.
“Now, that’s a lazy dog,” Tony said.
“He works hard at it.”
Elvis’s short nub of a tail wagged as he looked up at the two men, his eyebrows shifting up and down like blinkers.
“He looks pretty comfortable.” Tony stepped over the trench and went into the cabin, and turned on the faucet in the kitchenette. The water ran clear.
* * *
MATT AND HIS team worked fast, and once Bubba and Joe Don joined in things started moving at a noticeable rate. It took only two days to finish all of the plumbing that could be done until the cabinets and fixtures were there. Inside walls were already going up and the place was beginning to take shape as an inn again.
While the guys worked inside, Matt went out to the second cabin to see what he might be able to clear out, since they still had room in the dumpster.
That unit had been packed tight.
He wedged himself between a headboard and a row of big cardboard boxes to get back to the master bedroom. At least in there the boxes were neatly lined around the room. Floor to ceiling, but you could get around in there. Everything was labeled too. Not like the great room, where it was just an unending wall of unmarked boxes.
Elvis came in to explore, slamming against a stack of boxes that scared him so badly he ran back outside.