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“Oh, she got you good with that one, Tyr,” Aya’s voice rang out through the workshop.
I whirled around to find her leaning against the doorframe, holding onto Angel’s collar so she wouldn’t come in. “Hey, Aya.”
She smirked. “Hey. I just came down to let you two know, Carrie is starting dinner.”
I blinked and jerked my attention to one of the windows, where the orange light of the early evening filtered in. “Wow, I didn’t realize we spent all day in here.”
“I’m glad he could keep you occupied all day. You’ll have about thirty more minutes before the casserole is done. She’s got great news to share over dinner.” Aya turned away. “Oh, and careful playing keep-away with her, Tyr. She’s nimble enough to climb you like a tree.”
My mouth gaped.She did not just say that.“Aya!”
Tyr roared with raucous laughter and Aya winked before slipping out.
When he calmed, he tipped the pencil in my direction, and I thought he might give it back finally. But instead, he tucked it behind his ear.
I huffed, and he chuckled. “You don’t need it. You said you were done.”
He might be right, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. And I just didn’t want to risk losing it. “Just don’t walk off with it. It’s my favorite right now.”
“If I do, it just means we can do this again.”
I rolled my eyes, heat rising in my cheeks. “You can work in here whenever you want.”
“With you?”
The warmth on my face increased. “If you’d like.”
He smiled, his eyes lingering on me a moment longer before turning to the project. “So, are we done for the night, or do you want to get more finished?”
I thought for a moment. “I’d love to toss some of these on the table saw to cut them into individual sizes. Then I can see if I’ll be able to shape any on the bandsaw before dinner or not.”
“Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”
I had him grab the safety glasses and cut-resistant gloves from the drawer while I pulled out the respirators and earmuffs. I also donned an apron.
Dragging over a few pieces to the saw, with Tyr offering to hold the extras, I adjusted the saw and then flipped the power switch. The saw whirled to life. Using a push stick for safety, I cut into each board, sawdust flying.
With Tyr’s assistance, I flew through the trimming process faster than I expected, so I decided to cut at least one chair’s pieces into shape. Taking my time with the band saw, I shaped the arms first, as they were the most complicated.
I managed to get through both arms and half the back slats before my phone pinged with a reminder text. I almost rolled my eyes. She could have done that the first time, but no, she had to come embarrass me.Most likely, she was hoping to find us in a compromising position.She was always making that attempt whenever I was alone with Diego.
I chose to call it quits there, so I’d have time to clean up. Tyr helped me stack all the pieces in a way I’d know which went to what chair assembly, and then we stored away all the safety gear.
“Okay, I’ll take care of the sweeping,” I said. “That’s really all I have left to do.”
“I can help you with that.”
I shook my head. “No, I’ve got it.”
The barest of a downward turn touched the corners of his lips. “Okay. I’ll go freshen up before dinner.”
He gazed at me for a moment and then reached out, plucking a splinter of wood from my hair. “You have a lot of sawdust in your hair, just so you know.”
I chuckled. “I’ll definitely keep that in mind. Thank you for helping me, by the way.”
Tyr took the pencil he still had and tucked it behind my ear. “Thank you for including me. It was nice spending this kind of time with you.”
The barest of touch of his hand caressed my cheek; something so gentle from such a large and imposing man, it sent my heart fluttering.
