23. Christian
christian
Iasked her to give me two weeks. Not just two weeks to convince her to give me a chance, but I needed two weeks to get this sad old property into livable shape.
She didn’t know about this yet. It was an old cabin that was built by pioneers and added onto by each owner.
I’d done little repairs here and there over the years, but with traveling the circuit and flying to different events, I hadn’t had much time to spend on it.
But now I needed to make time. Some of the logs needed to be repaired and the old wallpaper was peeling.
The ratty beige carpet had seen better days.
“I can’t believe you bought this two years ago and never told me about it,” Jude commented, turning his hat backwards to survey the house in front of us.
“I bought it on a whim with some of my trust money.” I shrugged. “I don’t know. I wasn’t quite ready to do anything with it till now,” I told him honestly.
“Until you finally convinced Sage she didn’t have a better option,” he teased.
“Ha ha, very funny.”
He was probably right though. That was closer to what I was trying to convince her.
His lips quirked with a smile. “I know exactly what you had in mind when you bought this place.”
I returned his grin. Of course he knew.
Jude was my oldest friend and probably knew me better than anyone. He also had an eye for home improvement. He’d built his and Romy’s house on Thornbrush Ranch before the fire and did a damn good job.
“And now you need my help to fix it up,” he continued.
“I know you’re busy with all the repairs on the ranch, but I don’t think this would be a big project.
I just need help repairing some of the insulation around the logs.
There are some parts where it looks like the wood is rotting, so I need to fix those.
And then inside, I just need to remove the old wallpaper and carpet. ”
“How are the floorboards?”
“I guess we’ll find out once we pull up the carpet, but from the parts I’ve seen, it looks like some beautiful antique flooring beneath.”
“If there’s any water damage, we won’t know until we pull up the carpets. That could be costly.”
“Don’t worry about the cost. Do you think you’ll be able to help me out a little?” I asked.
Jude looked up at the gray winter sky. There was already a foot of snow on the ground and it looked like more was on the way.
His breath billowed in the frigid air. “I’d be happy to help, but I’m not sure we can get this done in two weeks. Especially if we don’t know what’s underneath the carpet. And that’s if the weather cooperates.”
“Well, by the New Year then? I know with the holidays and the ranch, I’m asking a lot of you.”
We walked around the side of the house where an old gardener’s workshop stood.
“What’s the plan for that?” Jude gestured to the shop.
“An art studio,” I told him.
He nodded in appreciation. “She’ll like that.”
“I hope so.”
The studio was already done, but I didn’t need to tell Jude that. I’d finished it when Sage shared she was opening up a gallery in town. I knew she was going to need an escape when her old studio also became a business. She needed something that was just hers.
I’d been waiting for just the right moment to show her.
That moment was here.
Now, I just needed to buy a little bit more time.