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“Thanks, Maria.”
“No, thank you, Isabelle.” I smile, because knowing Maria now makes me feel closer to dad.
Maria walks off, back to collect her pot of coffee, and continues serving the other customers. I look back down at the huge plate of eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and toast that is now sitting in front of me. It is big enough to feed ten men. I breathe out a frustrated sigh because I really hate people ordering for me without asking me what I want, but my stomach growls again, and I can’t wait another moment before I dig in.
But I immediately wish I hadn’t.
Sure, it looks good and smells great, but it tastes horrible. Not wanting to be rude at Maria’s kind gesture, I try to get a few bites down and then move the food around my plate in an effort to make it look like I ate more than I did.
Standing, I walk toward the door and give a small wave to Maria as I step out into the fresh air. I have a few things to pick up today, so I get started on my list. I stop by the supermarket and get all the food and baking supplies I will need for the next few days. On my way out, I spot a lovely little home decor shop further down the street and decide that I need to spruce up the cabin a little. To make it my own now, since dad passed it onto me.
Walking in, I notice the shop is small, but has some great things.
“Hello, dear. You’re Danny’s daughter Isabelle, is that right?”
I look at her in surprise, clearly my presence in town is already well-known.
“Yes, hi, nice to meet you. You have a lovely store,” I say as I look around and take in the beautiful linens and home decors that adorn the small space.
“Thank you, dear. My name is Betty. My husband Peter served time with your father, so we spent a lot of time with him here in Hancock over the years. It is lovely to see you here.”
At the mention of dad, I take a small intake of breath and will myself not to cry. I was having such a great morning, and although Betty didn’t say anything that should make me cry, the thought of my dad and what I have lost is still raw. I haven’t gone a day without tears since he left this world.
“Are you sprucing up the cabin, dear? Planning on staying long?” Betty must have felt my discomfort, and I am grateful she has moved the conversation on somewhat.
“Yes, well, I am not sure how long I will stay, but I did think that the cabin needed some new fresh linen and things around the place, to make it nice and homey.”
“That’s lovely, dear. Well, all linen is against this wall here, we have some cutlery and crockery down the back, and then of course home decor just here to your left. Take a look around and let me know if you need any help. It is lovely that you are here. I think your dad would have loved you being here in his town.”
I nod, again too scared to open my mouth for fear of tears falling. She must sense my emotion because she squeezes my hand and goes back to the paperwork she was doing when I entered. With a shaky breath, I start to move around the shop, and before long, I am enamored with everything. It is like a goldmine, and clearly Betty reads all the latest interior magazines, because she knows exactly what is in fashion at the moment.
I begin to grab all the things I need and some more things I don’t, and before long there is a large pile of items near the counter. Betty is astonished at how much I have selected. Perhaps it is a good thing that she never sees me in D.C.; this little trip is nothing compared to the damage I usually do—especially if Kelly, Beth, and I really need a stress reliever at Macy’s during lunchtime during a hard day at the office.
Betty's smile is a mile wide, and she gives me a fantastic discount. Chatting animatedly, we form an instant bond, and she invites me over to her place for dinner soon, which I excitedly accept. Within the space of an hour, I have made two new friends in Maria and Betty, and Hancock is feeling more like home than D.C. ever did.
10
Jake
She has been gone all day, not that I am counting the hours, but she did leave at 8am and it is now 2pm. I am busy on the roof of the extension, adding in the metal panels to the timber frame I completed yesterday. This extension has been easier than I first thought and has been the perfect project to keep me busy and tire me out in the hope that sleep will come to me eventually.
Once I’m finished with it all, my log cabin will have an even larger family room. Not that I needed it, I just love building and working with my hands. I already have an existing stone open fire and floor to ceiling glass windows that overlook the trees and the lake behind them. This will just create an even bigger space and will complement the existing four bedrooms, three bathrooms, storage, kitchen, laundry, and control room.
I have plans for further expansion, or maybe another shed, I am not sure yet.
The good thing about my job is it pays really well, so I could buy twenty of these cabins if I wanted to. But I love this one because I built it from scratch myself. I continually add to it each year and invest in the top-of-the-line building materials and interiors, because I enjoy having my own slice of luxury here in the woods. It is comfortable, cozy, and well-maintained because it’s my sanctuary. After years on deployment, living in tents, sleeping on the ground and roughing it, I am grateful for the comfort.
I hear the Jeep arriving next door, and I poke my head up and look over the roof. She obviously went to town for supplies, because there are bags and bags of groceries and flowers, along with a whole lot of other things that only girls would think to buy. It makes me think she might stay a while, and the thought brings a smile to my face.
I should be a nice neighbor and go over and introduce myself, but now that I am up on the roof, I prefer to keep at it until it is done, rather than go up and down the ladder too much.
Well, that’s what I tell myself.
I put my head down and get back to work before I jump down and help her unpack her bags, because I am itching to do anything that might bring us closer.
A few hours later, the sun is getting lower in the sky, and the afternoon is warm, so I shed my t-shirt and continue working in just my jeans and boots, my cap saving my face from the rays. Just as I nail the final metal sheet down, I hear her.
“Hello?” she sings out below me, and I peer over the edge of the roof and see her standing there at the base of my ladder. Looking up at me with her big blue eyes and a soft smile on her face, it’s the same face I have been dreaming about since I got here a week ago. She is wearing her jeans, but with boots this time and a tight white V-neck t-shirt, that from above gives me full viewing pleasure of the most perfect breasts I have ever seen.
