“Yes, definitely,” Darlene answered and sat down at the table where Knox was sitting. “Our house in Houston has a buyer. We’re just waiting for paperwork, like you and Mandy. That would mean we wouldn’t have to store anything but could move right on up here.”
“Then consider it yours,” Jack said with a grin.
“I can show you the foundations for the other six cabins,but I’m glad you’ll be moving while I’m still here for a little while. Does that mean you are making lunch for me every day, Mama?”
“Only if you help me unpack, decorate the place, and go fishing with your dad every evening,” Darlene answered.
“Oh, no! I’m not good at decorating, and I do not want to argue with you about whether to put up white window blinds or wood-looking ones,” Lottie said with a giggle. “I’ll just eat my lunch with the guys and leave all those jobs to you.”
Zeke took a seat beside his wife, reached into the box, and pulled out a doughnut with chocolate icing. “Smart girl, but I might steal Knox away from you a few times to go fishing with me. I’m bringing my boat, and your mama fries up a mean batch of fish.”
“That can be arranged,” Lottie told him.
Darlene nudged him on the arm. “Zeke, darlin’, do you realize this means we can be moved in before we go on our cruise the second week in May? That we can come home and begin our second honeymoon when we get back.”
Lottie poured two cups of coffee and carried them across the room. She set one in front of each of her parents, then sat back down beside Knox.
“It will be noisy for a while after you get here,” Knox was telling them. “We’ll still be working on the last couple or three cabins when y’all get here.”
“How does all this construction stuff work anyway?” Darlene asked.
“Knox, Gabe, Thomas, Eddie, and I are framers. We get the first cabin ready in a week, and then those guys over there at that table”—she nodded to her left—“they come in behind us and put up the outside and roof.”
“Get it in the dry, right?” Zeke asked.
“Yes,” Knox answered. “It’s kind of like an assembly line. We’ll be framing the third cabin when the next crew comes in to do the drywall, painting, and all that.”
“The fourth week, the finish guys bring in the cabinets, do all the baseboards, doorjambs, and that kind of thing,” Lottie said.
“When the framers are done with the last cabin, we all go back to wherever we are needed to help get everything else up and going,” Knox added. “Or if it rains and we can’t put up walls and roofs, then we pitch in where we can.”
“What else are you good at, son?” Zeke asked.
Her father’s last word was like a sword piercing Lottie’s heart. In spite of all her dreaming, the likelihood of Knox ever being a son-in-law was at that point at the .00001 percentile.
“I can do it all, from the foundation to putting up the last ceiling fan or staining and varnishing, but I enjoy framing most of all,” Knox answered. “I hear y’all’s cruise is going to Hawaii. I’ve never been, so you’ll have to tell me all about it when you get back.”
Zeke rolled his eyes. “Oh, we definitely will, and you’ll have to sit through eight million pictures that Darlene will take on the trip.”
Darlene shook her finger under his nose. “Hush, you old coot. You’ll be the one who looks at the photo album more than anyone else.”
Zeke winked at Knox. “Got to keep the womenfolks on their toes so they don’t get antsy. A little argument is good for the soul and the marriage.”
“I’ll remember that, sir,” Knox said. “So, you’ll be at Swan Song Estates before you leave for your cruise?”
“We’ll only be here a couple of weeks before we fly to California to catch the ship taking us to Hawaii for thirteen days,” Zeke said. “By the time we get back, the sidewalks and landscaping should be done, and we can spend the summer either fishing in the lake or watching the sunrises and sunsets.”
Lottie shoved the box over closer to them. “I’ll be glad when you are here, and I can spend more time with y’all.”
Her mother’s face glowed, and her eyes misted over. She didn’t let a single tear fall, but Lottie could tell by her expression that those few simple words meant the world to Darlene.
Darlene laid her hand on her daughter’s and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Yes, and so will we.”
Zeke reached into the box and picked up a second doughnut. “Absolutely. We’ve missed you, ladybug. I understand you only live a couple of hours from here, Knox. Do you have a lot of family up in that area?”
Lottie shrugged when Knox glanced over at her with questions written all over his face. “You tell them about the Paradise. I can’t remember all their names.”
“I guess that means you come from a big family,” Zeke said. “Darlene said your last name was Callahan. Was your mother a Paradise?”
