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“Yes, I ride. Not as much as I used to, but I have a bike. I love getting out on the open road. Most recently I’ve been riding with the Rolling Thunder guys.”
Sam had heard of the Rolling Thunder garage in town. The owner, known as Dog, ran a bike repair garage and they also built custom bikes. His bikes were high-end and caught a lot of attention. They looked like a hard-core group of bikers, but they were a great crowd of people.
She laughed and grabbed his hand. “I have something to show you.”
She walked him back to the garage and hit a button on the wall to open the door to the second garage across the driveway. They had the second garage built when they moved in to store all the toys the boys began to collect as they grew up. They entered the second garage and skirted past the four-wheelers, lawn mower, and miscellaneous gardening tools. Sam uncovered a 110thAnniversary Harley-Davidson V-Rod in brushed aluminum.
“This is mine. I’ll ride with you anytime you like. And, for the record, I also wouldn’t mind riding on the back with you once in a while.”
Gray laughed and shook his head. “I should have known.” He walked around the bike and seemed to admire it. She was proud to show him this part of her life and so happy he had a fondness for it too.
“I’ve had other Harleys before, but as the motors got bigger, there were heat issues. My short legs got too close to the pipes and rear motor, and I got burned a couple of times. This one fits me.”
“It’s a beauty, Sam. Just like its owner.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “We’ve got to get going baby; Jax will be waiting.”
She closed the garage doors, and they jumped into Gray’s SUV. The building was by the river just on the outskirts of Harmony’s downtown area. It was a section that had seen better days, but developers were beginning to take a second look at it with the downtown revitalization project underway. The old mall downtown had already been demolished, and condos and office space were being built in its place. Along the river, new condos were being built. In addition to that, they were building a river walk boardwalk along the water downtown, so people could sit and watch the water, walk, or jog. It was beginning to take shape, and existing businesses were upgrading and adding decks and patios for employees and customers to sit and look out at the water.
When they pulled into the lot where the building was located, Jax’s truck was already there. He sat in his truck, working on his computer. When they pulled up alongside him, he jumped out and met them in front of the vehicles. Gray hugged his son; Sam enjoyed watching the two men—so similar and yet different.
Jax looked at Sam and smiled. “So, you want to see what you can find in there?”
“Well, it never hurts to look, right? Besides, I’m interested in what you guys look at when you’re getting ready to demolish a building.”
He nodded and turned to walk into the building. Pulling a set of keys from his pocket, he approached the padlock on the entrance door and quickly unlocked it.
“The electricity is shut off, but I have flashlights,” he said, pulling mini lights from his hoodie’s pocket. Pulling open the large metal door, a moderate amount of light filtered into the entry room, allowing them to see some of the room.
Jax said, “Go ahead and take a look around. I need to look at a few things myself. We’ll mark what you think you want when I’m finished.”
Sam nodded. “Thank you.” She looked at Gray. “If you need to go with Jax, go ahead. I’ll be okay.”
He smiled and nodded at Jax. “He knows what he’s doing; I learned early on to stay out of his way. I want to see whatyoudo.”
She shrugged and walked forward. Gray followed her as Jax headed off toward the back of the building with a knowing smile on his face.
The main room was large and, for the most part, empty. But right away a large wall of shelving caught her eye. Sam walked over to the shelving and took a long look at it. It was all hardwood, beat up and dirty, but it had the potential for restoration, and she could still keep the distressed edge. Perhaps it could be cut into smaller sections if need be and made into smaller bookshelves. It boasted a large base which was still in decent shape—a little sanding, and it would be fine. What really caught her eye was how beautiful the top was with its scrollwork and raised wood designs. It was unique and very pretty.
“I wonder why they would have something like this here. If this was a factory, why would they have something so decorative?”
Gray looked up at it and shrugged his shoulders.
“I would like to try and work with this if I could. Do you think it’s too big?”
He looked it over. “If you don’t mind if it’s cut up. We can mark where you would want it cut, and the guys can take it out in smaller pieces.”
“Really? That would be great.”
Gray pointed toward a back room, and they walked that way. Sam noticed right away that the door closing the back room off was an old barn-type door with the large hinges on the top. It was a plank style with large wrought iron hardware on the outside. The handle was one you lifted up out of the wrought iron latch on the wall. The hardware was rusty, but it could be sanded and painted black or whatever color you wanted. The planks were in tough shape, but they might be useful. She looked at Gray. “I would like the door and hardware.”
“Really? What will you use that for?”
“Fixed up and given some love and attention, it will be a great piece in an office or studio, lending an eclectic feel. You’ll be amazed at how beautiful that piece will be.”
He shook his head as they continued through that room since there weren’t many useful items found. This room had probably once held large pieces of equipment that had since been removed.
They moved on to other rooms where Sam found a few pieces still in good shape but needed refinishing—an old desk and three wooden chairs.
Gray said, “While you work on this stuff, I would love to help you. I want to see it from start to finish.”
