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Chapter Three
Jenni
Jenni felt as if she’d stepped into another century. The cabin was huge, two stories with a pitched roof, The great room ceiling soared at least twenty feet high, supported by timbers so huge, she couldn’t imagine the trees they’d come from. Oil lamps flickered on the trestle table flanked by long benches. Hand hewn, clearly. Not that she was an expert on wood furniture, but the axe marks indicated something even to her. Small occasional tables around the room were also antiques. But the neglect. The wood cried out for mineral oil and beeswax.
Clark emerged from a closet by the stove holding a broom and dustpan, and she wondered…would they be offended if…
“Can I help?” The words emerged almost without her will, but she could see the beauty under the dust and dirt. People would pay a fortune for a cabin like this, furnished with authentic antiques. The owner of one of the agencies she booked for had a real thing for historical homes when traveling and had gladly paid eight thousand dollars a night for a place not nearly this nice…or as nice as this could be, with a little care. “I’d love to see how these pieces shine with a little…do you have beeswax and a few cloths lying around?”
Clark waved at the closet. “Whatever we have is in there. We bought a bunch of stuff in the fall intending to work on the place before we met our ma—before we brought a date here.”
She cast him a glance. What had he cut off? But it didn’t matter. The closet was a treasure trove of things to use to spiff the place up. She even found a bandana in the basket of soft cleaning cloths and she pinner her hair up and covered it to keep the dust and spider webs away. There was no apron, but she pinned a piece of toweling to her dress with clothespins and gathered her supplies. A quick stop at her luggage for a change of shoes—comfy Pumas—and she started with that big old table. Years of dust and dirt had obscured the grain, but as she used the soft cloths and mixed up some of her favorite cleaning products out of things they actually had like vinegar and baking soda, eschewing the harsh chemicals, the beauty emerged.
She’d intended to clean all the furniture, but by the time she finished the table and benches and looked up, she realized her dates had also been busy. All the cobwebs and dust bunnies were gone, and while the other wood wasn’t completely clean, at least the obvious dirt was gone.
“Wow. It looks great in here.” She stumbled over to the sofa and plopped down, raising a little cloud of dust. “Well, pretty good.” Honestly, she didn’t care. “But I’m beat.”
Clark chuckled. “I should think so. That table hasn’t looked so good since Mom lived here.”
“I’m not sure even she managed to make it that pretty. Can we keep you?” Ty sank down beside her. “Then, when she and Dad come to visit, we won’t have to endure lectures.”
“Oh, is this your folks’ place?” she asked.
“It was. We bought it.” Clark sat on the other side of her. They both radiated heat, like big, muscular cozy furnaces. “But I’m afraid we haven’t taken the care of it we should.”
Her eyelids grew heavy, after her long day, traveling and then uncovering the treasure of that amazing table. “I don’t know.” She yawned, jaw stretching wide, and slapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh, excuse me!”
Ty slung an arm over her shoulder and gave a friendly squeeze. “You must be wiped out. And we haven’t even fed you. Clark!”
“Yes,” she murmured, fighting another huge yawn. “Dinner was to be at seven. Is it seven yet?”
Clark stopped on his way to the kitchen to point at a grandfather clock by the stairs to the upper level. “It’s eleven.” He opened the huge old wood-burning stove and reached deep inside. “The casserole might be a little dried out, but it should be edible.”
Four hours later than they’d planned to eat, the three of them sat on the same bench at the table, Jenni between her two dates, and devoured the hot dish. She wasn’t even sure what was in it. Noodles, some kind of meat, a few vegetables… “This is delicious, whatever it is.”
They exchanged a look. “How do you feel about hunting?”
“Well, I’ve never done it, but do you mean this is deer or something you hunted yourselves?”
Clark shrugged. “We don’t only eat deer and rabbit, but it is plentiful up here. It’s kind of a pa—family tradition. We grow some vegetables, too, but nothing long season. We’re too high for that.”
What had he intended to say? They kept cutting off their words. “Well, it’s delicious. And way healthier than most of what they have in the markets.” Their beaming smiles encouraged her to continue. “It’s kind of sexy, too, being provided for. Goes with the cabin. You could probably live here all the time and never go into town at all.”
“Not exactly.” Ty shrugged “We like our comforts.”
“But you haven’t even installed electricity. I thought maybe you liked the old ways.”
“We do, in a lot of circumstances, but we have a pile of solar panels in the shed.”
“So it’s just something to get around to.” She nodded. “I’ve been planning to install a new showerhead in my bathroom for three months. I get it.”
“Like that, yes.” Clark stood and gathered their plates and silverware. “Coffee anyone?”
“No, not for me.” She rose and stretched. “I hate to be a party pooper or a dud date, but I’m absolutely exhausted. And dirty. Yuck. Is there somewhere I can wash up?” A thought occurred. “You don’t have running water, do you.”
“Sure we do!” Ty stood too and took her hand. “We have gravity feed from a spring above and a diesel generator that powers our water heater. It’s not like we’re in the sticks or anything.”
She blinked. “No you’re…do you really have hot water? Could I take a bath?”
