Chapter 7 #2
I laugh. “Kind of. These days, they’re mostly about hoof care and health.
A lot of farriers don’t make their own horseshoes anymore, since it’s easier and cheaper to buy manufactured ones.
Albert, the farrier I shadowed, was old-school about stuff like that, though, and said learning basic forge skills was part of the job, though of course it was a modern one, not like the one I have in the smithy.
He showed me how to make horseshoes, and I fell in love with the forge.
” It sounds stupid saying it out loud like that, and I feel my cheeks get hot, but Josh makes an encouraging sound, so maybe he gets it.
“I started doing some hobby classes whenever I could, and when I graduated high school, I apprenticed to a blacksmith artist. She taught me most of what I know about finer metalwork and also got me into the Renaissance Faire circuit.”
“Whoa,” Josh interrupts. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Are you talking about those fairs where everyone dresses up and talks like olden times?”
Grinning, I answer, “It’s not that simple, but yes. There’s a big market for metal crafts there.”
“Did you, uh, wear a whatchamacallit… a codpiece?” He sounds a bit dazed at the thought.
“I did,” I confirm. “Still have it, in fact.”
“Mmm.” When I look over, his eyes are glazed. Then he shakes his head and meets my gaze. “Sorry. Just… thinking. Um, you were talking about your apprenticeship.”
Just thinking, my ass. Or about my ass, more like.
“Yeah, well, at the Ren Faire I got to meet smiths who specialized in old-style smithing. The two main streams for blacksmithing work these days are art or industrial, and I was already pretty sure I didn’t want to do industrial work, but then I started learning about the history of blacksmithing and how to craft things that we make with machines these days, and that was it for me.
I finished my apprenticeship and joined the Faire circuit in my own right, focusing more on the history side than the crafts.
I also started my own online store. My reputation started to build, and things were going well.
Then after six years, Kieran contacted me and said they were looking for a new blacksmith at Mannix Estate, and would I be interested in an interview. ”
“He just contacted you? There was no ad or anything?” Josh sounds dubious. “Does that mean you’re like blacksmith royalty?”
I snort. “No. There’s no blacksmith royalty. But my rep was good, and the pool of blacksmiths who do old-style stuff and know all the history is pretty small.”
“Right, but I bet there aren’t many jobs like this available, so the competition would still be pretty fierce.”
My cheeks are getting hot again. “Maybe,” I concede.
“If I ask Kieran about this, is he going to tell me you’re blacksmith royalty?” There’s a note of teasing now, and I can’t deny how much I like it.
“No. But he might tell you I’m considered one of the top experts in the country,” I admit. It’s not boasting if he asked, right? Besides, part of me wants to brag a little, maybe impress him.
“Ha! I knew it. After I watched your demo today—”
“You watched?” I blink in shock. “I didn’t see you.”
“That’s because you were all focused. And that loud woman up front kept distracting you with stupid questions like ‘do you ever burn yourself?’ Jesus fuck, lady, he’s working with an open flame and meltingly hot metal.
Of course he’s going to burn himself sometimes.
” He mutters the last bit, and I can’t help chuckling.
“I get that question at least twice a week.”
“People are dumb,” he scoffs. “But anyway, your demo was so good, I knew you had to be better than average.”
I don’t know what to say. “Uh, thanks.”
Fortunately, the grocery store is just up ahead, so this sudden awkwardness isn’t going to last. As I park the car, a thought strikes me.
“Hey, stay close in there, yeah? That way, if you end up talking to a ghost, people will think you’re just talking to me.”
The look he gives me is so full of gratitude, my whole body flushes.
“Thank you.”
I clear my throat. “Anytime.” I mean it, too. I’d do anything to make him look at me like that.
After Josh’s first full day at work, Daniel invited him to our place for dinner. Just a casual, friendly, welcome-to-Mannix dinner. No reason for me to get excited.
But I am.
Sighing, I check that the chicken coop latch is firmly in place and turn for home. Technically tonight should have been Dan’s turn to settle the animals, but I was so thrown when he told me Josh was coming over that I said I’d do it and then ran out of the house. Like an idiot.
He’s never going to let me live that down.
When I walk into the house, I smell food and hear voices coming from the kitchen. Either one of the ghosts has dropped in, or Josh is here. So I sneak down the hall to the bathroom. Gotta wash up, right?
I don’t know why I’m being this way. Sure, I’m wildly attracted to Josh and would love to fuck him again, but I’ve been attracted to men I couldn’t have before. It’s never made me act like a teenager.
Under the hot spray of the shower, I give myself a mental pep talk about acting normal. Josh needs friends. It would be good for me to have another friend. We need a positive working relationship. I can do that. I managed at the store, didn’t I?
I think about the grocery store as I get dressed.
The half hour I spent there with Josh gave me a tiny taste of what his life must be like.
All the relaxation he’d had in the car was gone the second we walked in.
Twice, he jumped like someone had goosed him.
A few times, he turned his head and looked at nothing, but in a way that I knew he was seeing something.
And three times he spoke to people I couldn’t see.
The whole time it was happening, he kept giving me wary looks, and he apologized twice.
But I just kept smiling at him and telling him not to worry, and I think it helped?
I hope it did. He was less tense by the time we got to the checkouts, though I’m not sure if that’s because we were close to being done or because I helped him relax.
Regardless, when Josh isn’t tense and jumping at ghosts, he’s good company and easy to talk to. I like him, and I can make myself ignore how much I want to bone him if it means we can be friends.
I keep telling myself that as I walk down the hall to the kitchen.
“Hey, Josh,” I say casually. “How was your first day?”
He looks up, smiling brightly, and I give a little cough, feeling like the air’s been knocked out of me.
“It was great. I’m going to love this job. Thanks for having me over.”
I wave dismissively, trying to channel casual and chilled. “That was Daniel’s idea. I mean, we’re glad you could come.” Could I have sounded any more ungracious?
His smile has dimmed somewhat, and I’m casting about for a way to bring it back when Daniel swoops in to rescue me.
“Ewan was worried that you’d judge us for not cooking. I had to convince him you’d be cool with it.” He glances at me. “I told Josh about how Jorge keeps us stocked.”
I manage a laugh. “Yeah, well, now that Josh knows we’re just bachelor roommates, I didn’t want him thinking we were a total cliché.” Oh my god, why am I making this worse?
For the first time ever, I’m grateful when Carter pops into being in the middle of the kitchen.
“Fuck!” Daniel gasps. “Please stop doing that!”
“Sorry,” Josh says. “I should have warned you he was here. But he just came in a second ago.”
“Not your fault,” I declare. “Carter, we talked about this.”
“I tried the ghostly wind,” he protests, “but you’ve got the windows open, and it just blended in with the breeze.”
Uh-huh.
As annoying as Carter can be, he’s broken the tension I caused with my runaway mouth, so I don’t scold him more. Dan dishes up the food, and we’re sitting down to eat in just a few minutes.
Josh is good company, and he, Daniel, and Carter carry the conversation while I focus on eating and only commenting occasionally, when I can be sure I won’t say something stupid.
By the time our plates are clean, I’m confident that I’m back in control of myself, and we chat about the changes to the estate over the past few years and what Kieran has planned for the future. Josh wants to know everything.
“…like the idea of a fete or festival, but the scale Kier wants would mean a lot of people tramping around the estate, and I’m worried about damage,” Daniel’s saying. He means damage to his fields and kitchen garden. Kieran’s plan calls for us to set up a temporary camping area.
Josh nods thoughtfully, tapping a fingertip against his lip. Sometime between last night and now, he changed his nail polish from green to a deep purple, and I swallow. Of all the weird fetishes for me to develop…