Chapter Four
The following evening, Laney sat cross-legged on the ground with pieces of Adirondack chairs in front of her, a very poorly drawn instruction sheet in her lap and brand-new tools on the grass next to her.
A little after noontime, Rosie had asked her if she’d mind doing errands for her now and then, which of course she didn’t. Today she’d needed a few things from Whitford Hardware, so Laney had taken her almost-new Camaro—one of the few material possessions she’d fought for in the divorce—and headed into town.
In addition to the odds and ends on Rosie’s list, she’d bought herself a small toolbox that seemed to have the basic necessities and would fit in the tiny cabinet under the sink in her camper. She’d also learned that Dozer, who owned the hardware store, was the father of Lauren Kowalski, who was married to Ryan—the brother who was a builder and lived in Brookline, Massachusetts.
She was going to ask Rosie for one of her many notepads and literally start a list so she could keep track of who was who. Navigating Whitford was turning out to be a Six Degrees of the Kowalskis game.
Then he asked how their guest had made out after his accident, and it helped cement in Laney’s mind just how small a town she was living in. She’d heard the jokes about small-town grapevines, of course. She just hadn’t realized how true they really were.
“His scans were clear, so they gave him some pain meds and let him go. Josh let them stay in the lodge overnight at no charge, and then he and Josh finished loading up their stuff so they hit the road this morning. With his wife driving, of course,” she’d told him.
Now she had some free time, so it was time to put together the two chair kits she’d found propped against the side of her camper with a note from Andy.Holler if you want help.
It was sweet, but she was determined she’d put these chairs together all by herself. Maybe it was silly and stubborn of her, but she’d stayed in an unhappy marriage for far too long because she was afraid she couldn’t make it on her own. Now she was going to prove she could and if there was something she couldn’t do for herself, she’d do without it.
Putting together two chairs the same bright pink as her flamingo couldn’t be that hard, she’d told herself. Of course, she’d underestimated the weight of the slats and how hard it would be to hold them in place while trying to tighten a nut on a bolt.
Two hours later, one was done, she had the base of the second chair together and was working on the back when she heard a vehicle pull up to the lodge and stop. She couldn’t see it through the line of trees that separated the house from the camping area, but she knew they weren’t expecting any guests, so it was probably a friend or family member stopping by to visit.
She was studying the instructions, wondering whether the person who’d done the sketches had been sober, when she heard a voice beside her. Looking up, she was surprised to see Ben standing there and her pulse quickened. He sure did spend a lot more time at the Northern Star than she’d expected.
“Hi,” she said when she realized she’d been staring up at him for a few seconds too long.
“Hi. So I stopped in at the town hall to drop off the monthly log because they track statistics to include in the annual town report and—okay, that’s all boring. The bottom line, I mentioned I was coming out here to look over some aerial maps because we think there are some places we could talk landowners to grant me emergency access even though they don’t want the actual trails to cross their land and... I guess that wasn’t the bottom line. I’m rambling.”
“No, you’re not.” The tips of his ears were pink and she was fascinated by how adorable it was. “You’re talking to me and yes, I find it interesting.”
“Oh, okay. We’re trying to find a few places I can use as shortcuts to cut down on my response time to some of the out-there spots on the trail system, and I mentioned that to Nola because she always asks how things are going, and when I said I was coming here, she asked me to bring you this.”
He handed her a sealed envelope, and then walked around the back of the partial chair. “Quite a project you’ve got here.”
“I probably should have taken a nap after the first one.” She peeled the flap off the envelope and pulled out a folded paper.
Inside was a short, handwritten note.I think you should go for it.
All of a sudden, her cheeks felt warm and she wanted to hide the words against her chest or crumple the paper so there was no chance Ben could read it, even though he’d probably have no idea what her cousin meant by it. Instead she refolded the paper and slid it back into the envelope. Then she pressed the flap down the best she could before lifting the toolbox and sliding it underneath.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah.” She looked up at him, her mind flailing for some reasonable explanation why Nola would ask him to deliver something to her. “Just some information I needed about getting a Maine driver’s license and plates for my car and...stuff.”
Please don’t ask me why she didn’t just call or text the information, she thought as soon as the words left her mouth.
“Cool. Do you need some help with this chair?”
“No, thank you. I’ve got it.”
“Want some company?”
“Sure.” She wondered if he’d make it five minutes before he leaned in and tried to tighten a bolt for her before just building the rest of it himself. “Want a drink?”
He held up an insulated tumbler as he sat in her folding camp chair, shaking it so the ice rattled. “I have one, thanks. Do you need a fresh one?”
Laney kept her face down, looking at the instruction sheet, so he wouldn’t see her smile. He was so polite, but she didn’t want to imagine him in her camper. He wasn’t as tall as Josh, but he had broad shoulders and she could picture him filling the space. If they were both in there, they’d brush against each other trying to get by...and her imagination needed to change the subject before she started blushing again.
“No thanks,” she said. “I’m good.”
