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With a grunt, he unlocked the shed and took a step back. He opened a door, revealing several axes of different sizes, all hung neatly. There were gloves of every size piled on a shelf, what looked like a large saw, and neatly coiled ropes.
“This was Alice’s doing,” he said. “She organized and labeled everything.”
“She seems great,” I murmured, studying the various tools.
“She is. Changed Henri’s life. Still can’t believe that grumpy bastard is getting married. Boggles the mind.” He handed me a pair of gloves, and once I’d slipped them on, he held out a pair of safety glasses.
While I had never been inclined to participate, I still respected the institution of marriage. I didn’t know Henri and Alice well, but from our interactions, it was obvious they were madly in love with each other and their kids.
“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” Paz said, grabbing a pair of gloves for himself and donning safety glasses.
“I’ll go,” I said with a shrug, taking the axe he handed me, feeling the weight of it in my hands. “It’d be weird if I didn’t.”
He frowned and lifted one shoulder, pretty much assuring he’d be the worst wedding date ever. If anything, I had to go. I’d make it my mission to keep him occupied so he didn’t accidentally shed his misanthropy all over the happy occasion. I could take him out back and give him an ass-kicking if he was anything less than overjoyed for his brother and sister-in-law.
“You gonna teach her, old man?” Remy asked, wandering toward us, still holding Hazel close. He was the smallest of the Gagnon brothers, and he was lankier, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist.
I had seen clips of him at pro competitions on YouTube. Hazel had mentioned climbing trees. She’d also said that he was a spokesmodel in the lumberjack world. Which made sense. He had the same square-jawed mountain-man appeal as his older brothers. I had no doubt that face could sell some cargo pants.
Paz ignored him. “This,” he said, pointing to the thing in my hands, “is a maul.”
“I thought it was an axe.”
“See the head?” He pointed to the big metal part. “A maul is wider and heavier than an axe, making it easier for splitting wood. The back end can be used like a sledgehammer too.”
I nodded, though I didn’t really understand the difference.
“How about you let the pro help your girl?” Remy asked, settling on a small log bench nearby with Hazel. He grinned, his eyes dancing. He obviously loved messing with his older brother.
Paz glared at him, then steered me over to an area with large sections of logs cut and stacked.
He took a small piece of wood that had already been split and placed it on top of a large leveled-off stump.
“You want to square your hips with the piece of wood on the chopping block, swing back like this”—he mimed doing it—“and then let gravity bring it over your shoulder while you use your core and legs to drive it through the log.”
I took a step back to give him some space.
“Like this.” He swung his maul, all grace and precision, and split the wood in half smoothly.
He grabbed another piece from the pile and lined it up for me. “This is pine,” he said. “It’s soft and should be easy for your first time.”
Focusing on the instructions he’d given me, I raised the maul and lined it up properly. I had an audience, which, of course, meant I was worried about missing the wood and looking dumb.
I brought it down like he showed me, but it got stuck. I wiggled it to break it loose, but it wasn’t budging. My face flamed in embarrassment, and I dropped my shoulders in defeat.
“Not bad,” Paz said. He took the maul from me and, using one foot to hold the half-split wood in place, worked the blade out. “I can’t believe I have to tell you of all people this, but you gotta be a bit more aggressive.”
I rolled my shoulders back and shook off my abashment while he lined up another piece. Oh, I could show him aggressive.
I brought the maul up and swung as hard as I could. This time, I missed my target altogether and wedged the blade in the tree stump block instead.
“Shit,” I hissed. The embarrassment I’d fended off came back in full force.
Paz stepped up beside me again. “Let me help you with the motion.”
He took the maul of out my hands and propped it against the stump. He then stood behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. His warm breath tickled my ear, and I had to resist the urge to shudder. He was close. Really close. And my body was having feelings about this closeness.
It had to have been the chilly weather. It was the only explanation for my rock-hard nipples and the way my leg muscles were clenching.
