Chapter 10
Courtney – POV ?
It had been an amazing day!
So much had been accomplished it was hard to wrap my head around it all. The boys were indeed workhorses. They moved from one project to the next, systematically knocking one thing off the list and then onto another.
They got more done in one day than I had planned in a week and still they found more and more things to take care of, so I had just left them too it.
Lord knows that I had no idea all the things that needed to be done, but like Thane said, this is what they did for a living so of course the guys knew what to do and I was happy to pass it on.
After we ate, we left Ava inside the tent with the flaps open for her to get the cool breeze blowing and she was out like a light with the promise to search for fairy treasure later.
I hid a few things inside the lumpy cut grass mounds for her to find amongst other things that she would naturally find as treasures and moved inside the house.
Helen, Megan and I went about measuring the rooms and taking pictures of each space from floor to ceiling so I could sketch some more ideas later on.
“You know, dear,” Helen said as she looked at the massive bookcase, “Thane is an architect. He specializes in eco-environmental homes.”
I gasped, shocked. “What?”
“Oh, yes, he was a bigwig in the cities, drawing up homes for the rich and famous,” Megan chimed in, looking around the room.
“Oh my God, he probably thought my drawings were awful,” I whispered to myself.
“Awful!” Helen nearly shouted. “What on earth made you say that?”
“Well, he’s a professional! What else would he’d think when he’d look at my scribbles?”
Megan started laughing as Helen frowned. “No way! Thane is all about hard lines, black and white. Your ‘scribbles’ as you call them are pure artwork!” she jabbed a finger in my direction, “because it is artwork, it’s about flowing lines, color and… and…”
“Happiness,” Helen finished.
“Yes!”
Helen came up and held out her hands. I didn’t hesitate.
I placed my hands in hers, “you have a way of bringing life to a picture. Thane may be a professional, a damn good one if I do say so myself, but you my dear, have something that can’t be taught.”
She tucked a piece of hair behind my shoulder, “you see life in things that others have abandoned, in the dark, dusty corners of forgotten places. That is a precious gift.”
Before I could say anything, I heard the stomping feet of the guys climbing into the house. With the porch gone, there was a large gap between the open door and the ground that we needed the guys to lift us up into the house, so they were grunting and cursing their way inside.
“We’ve done everything we could outside for now,” Patrick said, coming around the corner, “we just ne–”
All of us turned to see the men in the doorway and immediately, Thane was standing in front of me, cupping my face, wiping the tears away. “What happened?”
“Your mother is saying beautiful things and it’s turning me into a baby,” I sniffled on a garbled laugh. “I’m okay, I promise, I’m fine.”
Thane looked skeptical but didn’t say anything else. Everyone had quietly moved to the kitchen to look around, leaving Thane and I alone in the large living room.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were an architect?”
With his sunglasses perched on top of his head, it was easy to see the tops of his cheeks flush red. “I was embarrassed,” he murmured. “You’re drawings are amazing and there was no way I had ever come close to creating something like your illustrations, so I didn’t want to draw attention to it.”
“You like my drawings?”
“Absolutely,” he said without hesitation. “I agree with Sean when he said you should frame the pictures. They are gorgeous.”
I felt the tears welling up again. These people! So willing to help a complete stranger, to make me and Ava feel like we belong, like we are already a part of their family.
And this man! He came out of nowhere, wrapping me up in a bubble of safety and comfort, and something more. He had no doubts about me or Ava. He made it clear that he wanted to be in our lives and maybe, just maybe it was crazy but God, I wanted it.
I leaned my head against his chest and wrapped my arms around his middle, just soaking up his strength and conviction.
I sighed when I felt his arms circle around me, squeezing me tight in his warm embrace.
It felt perfect.
“I’ve got you, honey. Whatever it is, I’m here.” His quiet promise floated over me and sank deep into my bones.
I believed him.
Before I could think too much about it, I rose up on my tiptoes and placed a quick kiss on his cheek, breathing in sunlight, fresh, cut grass and something that was all Thane.
I stepped back slowly, a small smile on my face, “thank you, Bear.”
“This kitchen is amazing!” came a high-pitched yell from across the hall.
I laughed as I gathered up my camera and laced my fingers with Thane’s. “Want to see the rest of the house?”
He pulled me closer, once again kissing my forehead, “I would love to, honey.”
I smiled and showed him into the kitchen where all the men went into construction mode and Helen and Megan talked about decorating it.
I let them have their space and talk about measurements, things that need to be replaced or repaired. I handed Patrick one of my notebooks and pencils as he made list of supplies that they needed and answered questions about things I wanted or could do without.
It went that way with each room as I walked them through the house. I was surprised at how little repairs the rooms needed, but according to Patrick these types of homes were built to last and old man Kruger had taken extremely good care of the home while he was here.
I knew he did. I could feel the love and memories that lingered in the rooms, how precious this house was to those that lived here.
Just like my parents’ home.
It’s a feeling that breathes life into stone and wood and lives long after the people are gone. Just thinking about that made me all the more excited to see the house brought back to life.
We made our way back down into the kitchen when I showed them the room off to the side that led down a short hallway to the double wooden doors.
“Well, this is surprising,” Helen murmured.
“Wait to you see the other side,” I said as I pushed open both doors. The room was practically glowing with the late afternoon sun shining through the skylights and large windows.
“Oh my,” she gasped.
Sean whistled and Devin muttered a low ‘damn’ as they took in the room.
Megan quickly moved down into the sunken floor, “this is spectacular!”
I stood off to the side grinning. I knew exactly what I wanted for this space because it was spectacular, and I wanted it for myself.
“I didn’t see this room in your sketches,” Thane whispered into my hair.
“No, I haven’t drawn this one out, but I know what I want this space to look like,” I smiled up at him, “but I didn’t want to get my hopes up because of that.” I pointed to the back wall where there was a large crack splitting the wall in two.
All the men went straight to the wall, inspecting, poking and prodding.
“Actually, it looks worse than it really is,” Patrick said, rubbing his chin in thought. “It wouldn’t be too hard to seal the gap and make it look like new. The foundation is solid, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
All the men were nodding along, agreeing with his assessment.
“And if I want to knock the wall down?”
Four pairs of various shades of green eyes swung to stare at me.
Thane looked confused. “You want to tear the wall down?”
I walked up between the men until I touched the cracked wall. “I want to put in an archway here.”
“That won’t work,” Sean said. “The stones are squared so trying to cut a circular topped doorway could damage the stability of the wall.”
I paused thinking about it. I knew what I wanted, the look I wanted, so I’d just have to find a workaround.
“Then how about making it a larger square cut opening,” I replied, standing on my tiptoes, pointing to a high spot, “then I could find some reclaimed wood and have it custom cut to fit the space and make that into an archway. Wouldn’t that just reinforce the opening?”
“I …” Sean got closer to look at the seams of the stone, “yeah, you could do that, yeah, that would work well actually.”
“But now you’ve opened the wall to the outside,” Megan stated, confused.
“Yes, however, I have a master plan,” I grinned at her, “but it’s going to be a secret.”
“Oh, come on,” she whined.
I looked back to the men. “So, can I hire you guys?”
Patrick slapped the notebook against his thigh as he wrapped an arm around Helen’s shoulders. “That was never a question, dear,” he smiled broadly, “in fact, we’ll give you the family discount.”
“Speak for yourselves, old man,” Devin complained.
“I’m charging you top price,” he said, copying his dad and slinging his arm around my shoulders, “you have to come with me to a couple of jobs and sketch out some ideas. Then I’ll call it even.”
He laughed when Thane growled out and took a swipe at him, dancing just out of reach.
I laughed, “done,” even as Thane continued chasing Devin.
Helen clapped her hands and declared that it was time for another break, and we all agreed. Even though it was April and technically spring, the summer weather was making itself known, so it was nice to get out of the stuffy house and back to the tent.
It was perfect timing because I could see Ava twisting and turning on her blanket, knowing she was about to wake up. And sure enough, by the time we walked into the tent she was sitting up with her hair sticking up every which way.
“Treasure time?” She mumbled, sitting wide-eyed, staring at everyone.
Helen and Megan giggled while the others just smiled at her.
“Hello, beloved,” I murmured, pulling her up into my arms.
“Hi, Coco.”
“Let’s go potty, then we can hunt for treasure, okay?”
~~
We all stood back as Ava tore through the grass like a crazy person, looking for the treasures the fairies left.
“Who knew you were so prepared for a day in the woods?” Thane said, leaning against the stone wall.
I looked at him and grinned, “it helps that I have a trailer packed with the essentials.”
Everyone was concerned about the bathroom situation, but I walked over to the moving trailer and dug through until I found her potty chair.
It was lucky I didn’t throw it away seeing how she didn’t need it any more, but traveling and having to make unexpected stops, keeping it proved to be a wise choice.
Ava screamed loudly, causing everyone to jump. “A brownie!” She jumped up and down, “I’s eats it, Coco?”
“They left it for you, so yes, you can eat it.”
She squealed again, searching for more treasures.
Devin laughed as he made his way over to where Thane and I were standing under a shade tree. “As much as I’d love to stay and watch her on her treasure hunt, I’m gonna head back. I’ve got to gas everything for a job tomorrow.”
“Oh God, Devin. I’m so sorry, of course –”
He gathered me up in a bear hug, lifted me off the ground and squeezed before I could do anything about it.
“Don’t say that sweetheart,” he smirked at Thane’s grumble, “I plan on working you to the bone soon so look forward to it.”
He took several steps away with his hands in the air as Thane stood from his spot, “Sprout! I’ll see you later, okay!”
“Bye-bye Devy!” She waved from her spot buried under a grass mound, literally buried. She looked like a turtle.
“I’m going to head out with Devin,” Sean came up and clapped Thane on the back, “bye Cupcake,” he shouted.
“Bye Seany!”
“Gah, she is so adorable,” Megan gushed. “I could just eat her up.”
Helen and Patrick came over as Sean and Devin left.
“We are going as well, sweetheart,” Patrick said, giving me a side hug.
“I will talk things over with Sean and Devin about some of the supplies we’ll need to get things going, write up an estimation and then we can discuss everything later tonight. Sound good?”
“Sounds wonderful,” I said giving Helen and Megan a hug, “as long as I’m not interfering in your workload already.”
“No, sweetheart, you’re not. Our work doesn’t normally pick up until mid-May. We have a crew of people who can handle the small stuff, so don’t worry. Besides, I’m excited to see what you have planned for this place.”
Patrick made his way over to Ava and gave her a soft pat on her head before he gathered up his wife and daughter and made their way back to his truck.
Then it was just me and Thane, sitting in the shade under the large oak tree, listening to the squeals and laughter of Ava on her treasure hunt.