Chapter 4
NASH
My truck bounced along the bumpy dirt road, over a rickety bridge, and up a hill through the woods until I finally ended up at Gladys’ cabin.
It was a cozy old log cabin with two bedrooms and overlooked the lake. The property had quite a bit of land. You could reach the lake by walking down the hill and through the woods. But the views from the cabin on the top of the hill were spectacular. Even though most people would have built the cabin closer to the lake, I believed they knew what they were doing and picked the perfect spot. Which was probably why it was still standing over a hundred years later.
I found the key hidden in a rock in front of the cabin, right where Lanie said it would be. After unlocking the door, I unloaded my truck, bringing in my power tools, toolbox, and materials I’d need for the morning projects.
With my duffel bag slung over my shoulder, I checked out the bedrooms. One contained some miscellaneous junk left by the owners, mostly boxes stacked along the back wall. This would be a good place to store my tools and supplies.
The other room was in better shape and still had a bed set up. “Guess this is where I’ll be sleeping.” I tossed my bag onto the bed, and a cloud of dust rose around it. “Oof. I hope I can find some clean sheets.” I opened the windows to get some air and let the dust clear.
The main part of the cabin was fairly empty. Lanie helped me carry some of the remaining furniture out to the garage when we were here the other day. The first thing on my list was to tear out all the flooring. Part of it was disgusting low-pile carpet that had seen better days. The kitchen had beat-up linoleum. Who knows how long those had been there? Probably wouldn’t be easy to remove. And with just me working on it, the removal alone could take all day.
I plugged in my old paint-splattered boombox and cranked up some of my favorites that I didn’t normally get to hear. Metallica, AC/DC, Pearl Jam, Jay-Z, and one of my all-time favorites, Bob Marley. Even though I had pretty eclectic taste in music, Gabe and I were about as different as two men could be. I tolerated his classic country, but there was only so much twang and fiddle a guy could take. The best part about Gabe going on vacation was that I got a break from his playlist.
Starting at one corner of the carpet, I pried it loose with the claw of my hammer and then yanked it loose. The carpet came up pretty easy, but the pad was firmly adhered to the subfloor. After prying all the edges loose from the tacks, I pulled a section of the carpet back, cut it loose, rolled it up, and hoisted it onto my shoulder.
I unlatched the door and picked up the roll to push through the door. The top corner of the door stuck, and I had to ram the carpet against the door to get it to open. When it finally gave way, I heard a yell outside.
“Aaahhh! Watch where you’re going, why don’t you?”
I dropped the carpet and found Raven on the ground beneath the steps. Anger radiated from her like a blast furnace. Even at six feet away, it felt more intense and potent than usual. If that was possible. Her short jet-black hair was chin-length in the front and shorter in back, and hung in her face, barely hiding her expression.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded.
She blew her hair from her face and looked at me with darts shooting out her blue eyes. “That’s all you can say? Thanks for the concern, you careless cad. Yes, I’m fine, just bruised my butt and probably sprained my wrist. But no worries.” She rolled onto her knees and then pushed to stand, brushing off her well-worn cut-off jean shorts. She winced as her hand moved over her backside.
I shouldn’t be watching so intently. Should just continue what I was doing. She obviously didn’t want my attention. I looked her up and down—from her pale, slender legs to her ruffled head—just to make sure she wasn’t injured. She was such a tiny thing. My gaze returned to her face, flushed with anger. She might be small, but she was fierce. “Sorry, Tweet. Are you okay? I honestly didn’t expect anyone else to be here. Gladys told me I’d have the place to myself.”
“Oh, really? She told me the same thing.”
“Hmm... Well, obviously I’m here to fix the place up to sell. I’ve already started tearing things out. What are you doing here?”
“Gladys commissioned me to do a painting of the cabin, so she has something to remember it by. She told me I had to start today.”
“Same.”
“I smell a setup.” Raven’s mouth twisted to one side and her nose twitched.
What I smelled was Raven’s signature minty scent. Different from any mint I’d ever come across, but I couldn’t tell you how. Even the smallest whiff of it got me going. But now was not the time to indulge my attraction to her. In fact, it couldn’t be worse.
She crossed her arms in front of her chest, turned away from me, and surveyed the yard. Clearly avoiding looking my direction.
Not that I wanted her to look at me. No, that wouldn’t help either of us. It would be easier if she just left. “You’re probably right. Why don’t you come back when I’m done with the renovation?”
She shook her head, her lips pressed in a hard line. “No can do, Captain Clueless. Gladys was firm on it being these dates. I can’t afford to lose this commission by not following her specifications.” She paced in front of the steps, mulling over how to handle this. Then she stopped and faced me with her hands clenched at her sides. “I’ll start outside with preliminary sketches. I’m sure you have plenty to do inside. If we stay out of each other’s way, we should both be able to do what we were hired to do. That’s if you can keep from knocking me over again.”
“If you stay out of my way, I won’t have to.”
“Hmph.” She jammed her hands to her hips and flinched. Gingerly, she moved her wrist back and forth, and opened and closed her hand.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’ll be fine.” Raven turned away from me, yanked her bag off the ground using her other hand. The bag must have fallen there in the kerfuffle. Under her breath, she mumbled, “As if you care. Cold-hearted cactus.” She whistled for her dog. “Come on, Munch. We’ve got work to do.” She stomped back to her car to unload her supplies, with her goofy mutt trotting happily alongside of her.
I picked up the roll of carpet and heaved it into the rollaway dumpster I’d had delivered yesterday. Returning to the cabin, I slammed the door behind me.
Argh. Why did she always affect me this way? And why couldn’t I be nice to her and show her I care?
That woman brought out the absolute worst in me. Another reason to stay away.
Her arrival changed everything. So much for my peaceful working getaway. Raven was the antithesis of peace. I was a pretty laid-back guy, but whenever she’s around, I turned into an absolute ogre.
I did my best to be a good guy. I had a squeaky clean reputation and a solid business. Everyone liked and respected me. Everyone but Raven.
Best case scenario… she works on her picture all day and then goes home. Everyone’s happy. Okay, that’s a stretch, but at least we both walk out of here alive.
Worst case scenario… let’s not even go there.