She reminded herself that there was enough money in her savings account to live on for a while.
“Besides, a boring person doesn’t need much,” she whispered under her breath.
Jack nudged her on the shoulder. “You look like you are either angry or sad. Which one is it?”
“Maybe a little of both,” she answered. “I don’t want to go to El Paso. They”—she nodded toward her parents, who had started walking toward the place where the framing crew was already working—“aren’t spring chickens anymore, and I need to spend more time with them. That means taking jobs that are closer, maybe no more than a couple of hours from here.”
“If that’s what the Universe has in mind for you, then a door will open,” Jack said. “For now, let’s go watch Zeke drill a sill plate in place. It’ll be kind of like the day he proposed to my sister.”
“How’s that?” Lottie asked.
“That was the beginning,” Jack replied. “This is another one, only this time it’s also the swan song.”
Lottie shivered. “Don’t remind me. I already feel so guilty that I have avoided them as much as I have in the past.”
“You can’t change the past, darlin’, but you can use it as a stepping stone to have a future where you won’t ever have regrets,” Jack told her.
* * *
Knox had the cordless screwdriver in his hand when a shadow covered him. He looked up to see Zeke standing in front of him with a big smile on his face. Knox handed the tool to him and pointed to the pilot hole that he had already drilled. Zeke put in the bolt and gave the device to Lottie.
“You take this now and get to work on our new cabin. Your mother and I have to get on the road, or Ryan will be worried,” he said. “But this has been special. Kind of like when your mother and I said our vows.”
“How is putting a bolt into concrete like saying vows?” Lottie asked.
“We’ve had tough times like this slab, and we’ve had to use every tool that we had to keep our marriage from falling apart, but we worked at it until we got past the rough patch. Now we’re in our glory years, and every day is a blessing. I hope you find someone to love as much as I do your mother.”
Darlene gave him a quick hug and wiped a tear from her cheek with the back of her hand. “All these years, I thought you were as romantic as a rock, and now you spout off something poetic.”
“Saving the best for last, darlin’,” he said and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. “Now let’s get on the road. I’ve used up all my lovey-dovey for this day.”
“I’ve been ready for an hour, but you had to help put down the first sill plate,” she teased.
“Yeah, right,” he grumbled and took her hand in his.
“Don’t I get a hug?” Lottie asked.
Zeke reached out with his left arm and gathered her to his side. “Now, get to work before Jack fires you, and you have to move onto Swan Song Estates permanently. I’ve gotten used to the empty nest and do not want a kid underfoot all the time.”
“If I did, you’d have a fishing buddy,” Lottie told her father.
“Even that ain’t worth it. You and your mother would argue all the time and ruin my peace.”
“You are an old coot.” Lottie covered a giggle with her hand. “Y’all send me a text when you get to Dallas so I know you made it.”
“Oh, no!” Darlene protested. “We aren’t going to start that nonsense. We are two independent adults. Just because we are settling down doesn’t mean we are ready for the role reversal where you become the parent and we are the children.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Lottie said with a snappy salute.
Knox could well remember the time when his mother lost her independence and had to rely on her sons to take care of her physically, mentally, and even the estate she and her husband had amassed. He would have loved to have built his parents a lovely little cabin beside a lake and to have gotten to watch them hold hands when they took long walks.
“What are you thinking about?” Lottie asked as she bent over to drill another bolt into the sill plate.
“Probably the same thing you are,” he answered.
She moved down another two feet. “That time goes by too fast, and we didn’t take advantage of the moments that’s already gotten past us?”
Eddie handed his drill to Knox. “Y’all are awfully poetic this morning, but I reckon a day of back-breaking working with sill plates and a nail gun in your hands will take that right out of you. I’m going to go back to my job of building a wall to put up. That is if y’all can stop being all lovey-dovey and keep up with us.”
