6. Chapter Six
Chapter Six
Nick
This ramp is toast.
I stare at the rotten frame and run my fingers through my hair. I wouldn’t trust the structure to hold a feather, let alone Eliza and Marilyn. Sighing, I sit down on the edge of my trailer. There’s no way that I can just patch it up and live with myself. Sure, the boards would be new, but the frame is beyond repair.
The whole thing needs to be rebuilt.
It’s not a difficult task, but I can’t finish it all tonight. My gaze shifts back to the front door, and my heart skips a beat, picturing Eliza walking back out.
I pull my phone from my pocket and dial my best friend Daniel. “Hey man,” I say as soon as the call goes through.
“How’s the ramp repair?”
“Not great,” I admit, letting out a sigh. “The whole frame is rotten. I think it just needs to be torn down and rebuilt from the ground up.”
“Yikes,” he grunts. “I have that aluminum ramp that you could set up temporarily while you build the new one?”
“Yeah, I think I might have to. It shouldn’t take me long to build a new one, but I don’t have a ton of extra time on my hands.”
“You overstretch yourself,” Daniel says, his voice flat. “I can take over the float building project if you need to focus on the ramp, or we could work on it after church on Sunday.”
“Nah, it’s okay. I think I’ll just get it done during the evenings after work,” I reply. I almost always would rather have help but, for some reason, I’d prefer to work on this project on my own.
“What’d you think of Marilyn Willis’s granddaughter? I heard from Vanessa that she’s from Chicago. I bet it’s a bit of a shell shock for her to come to a place like West Falls.”
“She’s really nice,” I say, trying to sound casual. “Seems to be, anyway.”
“Yeah? Has your mom started playing matchmaker yet?” Daniel bursts into laughter, and I groan.
“She’s told me her thoughts, that’s for sure. ”
“She means well. And we all just want you to be happy. Even Vanessa is rooting for you to find someone, you know. She’s tired of taking you as a third wheel.”
I chuckle, though inwardly feel kind of bad. My best friend’s wife is a sweet woman, and I tag along more than she would probably like me to; even if she doesn’t complain or say anything.
“Well, I think I’m gonna go in and talk to them about putting up that temporary aluminum ramp until I can get the new one built. Can I swing by this evening and pick it up from you?”
“I’m almost done here at the barn. I’ll bring it to you to save time,” Daniel says. “I’ll be over there in about thirty minutes.”
“Sounds good, thanks.” With that, we hang up, and I wipe my hands on the front of my jeans. My boots crunch across the leaves piled up against the frame of the ramp, and I make a mental note to grab a rake the next time I come over.
I hop up onto the concrete porch and knock on the door.
Ms. Marilyn answers and then looks past me to the ramp. “Oh my … it’s even worse than I thought. Come on in.”
I nod, rubbing the back of my neck as I step inside. “It’s in bad shape.”
I glance around the inside of the house, and suddenly I feel like I just stepped back in time fifty years—or maybe into an antique shop. Either way, it’s warm and welcoming.
“Well, come on and sit down at the table. We can talk about it there. ”
I glance down at my boots, which are too dirty to go past the entryway, so I slip them off and follow her to the kitchen. “I think I can just—”
“Wait just a moment,” she stops me. “Let me go get Eliza. She lives here now, too, and ought to be in the loop on this project.”
“Of course,” I say, taking a seat at the kitchen table as Ms. Marilyn disappears down the hallway.
My mouth feels dry as I wait. I smooth out my hair, which I know is a mess, and bob my knee up and down.
Why am I so nervous?
Before I can dive deeper into my unwanted apprehension, Eliza appears in the doorway, still wearing the same oversized gray sweatshirt and faded jeans. Honestly, she looks like a dream, but I don’t let my mind wander.
“So…” Eliza trails off as the chair screeches across the floor. She cringes adorably, her face scrunching up. “About the ramp…”
“Yes, Nick was just about to tell me about it, and I thought it might be a good idea if you’re here for the conversation, too.”
“So you don’t get scammed,” Eliza says.
I laugh.
She shoots me green-eyed daggers.
She’s serious?
“He’s not going to scam me.” Ms. Marilyn rolls her eyes. “Eliza, you’re not in Chicago anymore. If this young man tried such a thing—which I know he wouldn’t—but if he did, I would just go directly to his mama. I have a good feeling she’d straighten him right out.”
My face goes bright red as Eliza snickers.
Jeez. She made me sound like a mama’s boy.
“So.” I clear my throat. “Once I pulled the rotten boards off the frame, I realized that it’s in even worse shape than I initially thought. I think the whole thing needs to be rebuilt.”
“Mhmm.” Ms. Marilyn nods. “I have to agree with you. I’m no carpenter, but you know Robert was.”
I nod, thinking of her late husband. “Yeah, and I know he built that ramp for you, Ms. Marilyn.”
“Yeah, my arthritis can catch me on my bad days.” She gives me a weak smile.
Eliza reaches out and grabs her hand, squeezing it. “Pops worked hard on that ramp, and it lasted a long time.” The moment is touching as they exchange a warm glance, and I feel like an intruder for a moment before Eliza turns to me. “How soon can you get a new ramp built? There’s no way she can use the steps.”
I smile. “Daniel is on his way over with a temporary aluminum ramp. It’s not the first time that we’ve encountered something like this.”
“Daniel?” Eliza’s brow furrows.
“Daniel Morrow,” Marilyn says before I can say anything. “I think he’s about your age, too. But he’s married. ”
Eliza’s face flashes with something that looks a little like embarrassment, but it quickly fades as she turns back to me. “So do we have to rent this ramp?”
I shake my head. “You don’t have to rent the ramp. It’ll just be set up until I can finish the new one.”
She purses her lips as if she doesn’t believe what I’m saying. “Do you know how much the new ramp will cost?”
“I’ll have to pull some measurements to get an accurate estimate, but I don’t want anyone to worry—”
“I don’t have money set aside to pay for a ramp rebuild,” Ms. Marilyn cuts in, her voice dropping off a little. “Eliza and I might just need to do it ourselves to cut the costs.”
“I’ll pay for it,” Eliza says to her, her face softening. “There’s no way that you and I can take on a task like that. It’ll take us forever, and even then, I’m not sure that it’ll be up to code. I’m not exactly handy. ”
“I can’t let you pay for it.” Ms. Marilyn shakes her head. “You’re here to get a fresh start. I don’t want you spending all your savings on me.”
“I’m here to help you, too,” she reasons, eyeing me for a split second.
“Look,” I say, interjecting. “I’m not going to charge either of you anything that you can’t afford.” I’m not going to charge anything at all. “Just let me take care of everything, and then we’ll work it out once it’s all done. That’s how I prefer to do things.”
Eliza nods. “That’s fair. ”
Ms. Marilyn is less convinced. “I don’t know, Nick. It’s no secret that you’ve done a lot of work around here for free, and I don’t want that.”
Eliza raises her eyebrows at me but says nothing.
“You deserve to be paid for your time,” Ms. Marilyn adds.
“Well, I do take payment in cookies and lemonade if need be.” I shrug.
Eliza smiles at me and my heart stutters in my chest.
“I can do better than cookies and lemonade.” Marilyn chuckles, before standing to her feet. “But do what you need to do.”
“Okay, sounds good,” I agree, pushing back from the table. “I just need to take some measurements real quick. Do you think you could help me?” I ask Eliza, trying my luck at getting a few more minutes of her time. “You just have to hold the tape measure. Nothing handy required.”
She laughs, tipping her chin back. “Yeah, I can hold a tape measure, I think.”
“Perfect.” I nod to her and then turn to Ms. Marilyn. “I’ll probably work on the ramp in the evenings. I’ll get some measurements, get some plans drawn up, and then we’ll go from there.”
“Thank you, Nick.” She smiles.
I give her one last smile and head back out, slipping on my boots. Eliza follows, slipping on a pair of Vans. My heart hammers in my chest as I lead the way outside, unclipping the tape measure from my belt .
“So … you really do work for free, huh?” Eliza eyes me as I offer a hand to help her off the porch. “That seems unreal.”
“I just like to help out when I can,” I say with a shrug. “Not everyone can afford to pay premium prices for things. I guess that’s my way of giving back to the community.”
“Interesting,” she comments as I pull out a notepad.
She follows my instructions, holding the end of the tape measure in place as I write down the measurements. I work quickly, trying to keep my focus on the task at hand rather than on the beautiful woman helping me.
“When’s your friend supposed to be here with the ramp?” she asks as I put the notepad back in my truck.
“Anytime,” I say with a shrug, noticing the skepticism in her expression. “I’m not going to leave you without a way to get off the porch.”
“Well, I can use the stairs,” Eliza says. “But Granny can’t.” She folds her arms across her chest as a cool breeze blows through the front yard, rustling the leaves. “I just don’t want her to be stranded, that’s all.”
“I understand,” I say as I start to clean up. “I have no intention of leaving her stranded. I know that might be how things are where you’re from, but not everyone has bad intentions.”
“I never said they do.” She narrows her eyes at me. “You must think I’m some kind of stuck-up city girl.”
I laugh, shaking my head as I lean against the truck. “Nah. I just think you’re a little distrusting of people, and I understand. ”
Her shoulders fall. “So, you’re a firefighter, a handyman, and a therapist? Incredible.”
“You’re funny,” I quip, shutting the gate on the trailer. “This town could use someone with that kind of humor.”
“Right,” she says just as Daniel pulls up the driveway. “I’ll let you and your friend get to it then.”
“I can introduce you to him,” I offer, suddenly not wanting her—or her dry humor—to leave.
“Maybe another day.” Her voice is quiet. “I’m tired. Have a good night, Nick.”
I nod, watching her slip away into the house as Daniel climbs out of his truck. I let out a sigh as the front door closes.
“That must’ve been Eliza.” Daniel greets me with a grin as I join him at the tailgate. “Never seen your eyes linger so long before.”
“Shut up,” I shoot back at him, grabbing the end of the ramp. “Let’s just get this thing set up.”