AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But for now, I’m using his garage.
And even that isn’t really big enough for what I need.
“How’s it going out here?”
I turn to see Rem standing just outside the open garage door, his thumbs in his pockets, watching me work.
“Slower than I’d like.”
“Why is that?” He saunters in, picks up a hammer, and flips it around in his hand as he watches me measure a board and mark it with my pencil.
“Because I don’t have enough space.” I glance up at him and see his shit-eating grin. “Why are you so fucking chipper?”
“Life is damn good right now, that’s all.”
I shake my head and measure again. “I’m happy for you, Rem. I really am. Erin’s the best.”
“She’s worried that we won’t get it all done and thinks we should move the date out until spring so we have more time to do everything.”
“I figured,” I reply with a nod. “I was just talking about that with Summer at the flower shop yesterday. I also told her that there’s no way in hell you’d go for that.”
“Fuck no,” he confirms, his voice mild. “I’m marrying her next month. Whether it’s in a field of grass or at the courthouse, I don’t care.”
“She cares,” I remind him. “And all of her family’s coming in from Seattle. All of her very famous family. So, we’d like to give them something pretty to look at while they’re here.”
“The mountains are just fine,” he grumbles and then shrugs. “Anyway, you said you need more space to work in? This garage isn’t tiny.”
“This arbor is going to be big. The bar she wants me to build is also good-sized. And who knows what other odds and ends she’ll want. So, yeah, I need more space, but this is bigger than my shop in town, so I’ll make do. I’ll have to run home later to get more tools and bring them out here.”
“You could probably use Dad’s garage, too,” he offers, thinking it over, “but it’s just a two-car.”
“I might have to store some things in there,” I reply with a nod. “Good idea. Hey, I’ve been thinking.” I lean against the board that I still haven’t cut and hold Rem’s gaze with my own. “I think it’s time that I built a place out here. The ranch belongs to you, but all five of us siblings have acreage.”
“You haven’t decided which acres you want, but yeah, there’s definitely a place for you out here. You don’t want to be in town anymore? You always said before that you liked being close to the station in case you were needed at work for an emergency. Being this far out of town isn’t convenient for that.”
“I can make it into town within twenty minutes,” I reply. “And yeah, I liked being closer to the action in the beginning, but people have started stopping by the house when I’m there to ask questions or to try to get me to do them a favor.”
“What kind of questions and favors?” he asks, narrowing his eyes.
“The usual shit. Can you tell my neighbor to cut his tree down, or can’t you get me out of this ticket? It’s a small town, and you know that I love it, but it comes with small-town politics and attitudes. People think they can call me on my day off, and I don’t like that. I’m ready to come back home. I love it out here. And I need to build a big fucking shop so I have the space I need for woodworking projects. In fact, I’d likely build the shop first and go from there.”
“Fine by me,” he replies with a nod. “I’d love to have you out here more often. Might put you to work sometimes. You’re damn good on a horse. What part of the property were you thinking?”
“On the lake.” I grin over at him, as just the thought of it makes me happy. “I’m surprised no one else has built there.”
“It’s not a big lake,” Rem reminds me.
“Big enough to put a little dock on and fish in the summer. The sunsets are pretty out there, too.”
“You already have it mapped out in your head.”
“Yeah, I do. And I’ll build it myself.”
That makes him pause and frown over at me. “All of it?”
“I can’t do the electrical and plumbing, but the rest? Yeah. I can do that. And I want to build my place with my own two hands. It’s kind of a family tradition out here.”
“I don’t think there were construction companies in this valley a hundred years ago, so building things themselves was kind of a given. I didn’t know that building your own place was a dream of yours, man.”
