Thirty-Two | Cole
Thirty-Two
Cole
I leaned back and watched as my mom showed Kara how to use the sewing machine she had brought over after I called to tell her about the plans.
While we were out shopping, I decided to buy Lyric a brand new sewing machine, knowing she used to love the one my mom had when she was younger.
Lyric admitted she hadn’t sewn anything in years and wasn’t sure she even remembered how to operate a sewing machine, but when she sat down in front of the one I bought her, it was like everything came rushing back to her.
Seeing Lyric in her zone had been comforting in a way I hadn’t expected. When she decided to move to New York, she had claimed that she couldn’t do what she loved while trapped in a small town, yet here she was, thriving as her dreams came true in front of her.
I wasn’t willing to say that out loud because I knew it would only hurt her, even though that wasn’t my intention.
I wanted Lyric to see how strong she was and how easily she adjusted to whatever life threw at her.
It was never in her plan to move back to Willow Falls, but now that she was here, she was figuring out how to make everything work.
“Do you think we can start with the denim outfits?” Kara asked Lyric, her smile so vivid that I couldn’t remember the last time I saw her this happy.
“I don’t see why not,” Lyric replied, glancing at the piles of denim fabric we had picked up while we were out.
Kara squealed and clapped her hands in excitement while Chloe shifted on the couch beside me before looking up and giving me puppy eyes.
I frowned, wondering what she was up to because I knew that look.
“What’s up, buttercup?”
“I’m bored,” she grumbled, pouting.
“What do you want to do?”
She shrugged and let out a sigh that was way too heavy for someone who only had to worry about eating, sleeping, and playing.
I looked out the window, the sky a beautiful blue, with a few light clouds hanging overhead, providing enough shade to keep it from being sweltering.
“Want to go check on Rufus and Magnolia?” I asked, leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees.
“Yes!” she shrieked, getting off the couch and rushing to put her shoes on.
“Potty break first,” I called, hoping she would hear me down the hallway.
“Want to go with us?” I asked Ben, knowing that he had zero interest in learning to sew, or whatever the girls were going to tackle next.
He nodded and got up, following me to the back door while we waited for Chloe.
The weather was nice, a soft breeze floating past us as Chloe talked with Rufus and Magnolia.
I knew that they were still just babies, but they were some of the calmest goats I had ever seen, especially with Chloe.
It was like they knew she was little, too, and didn’t try to knock her over or hurt her.
Or maybe it was because she started her journey with them with several stern tones as she told them how they needed to behave.
We walked around, Ben kicking small rocks as we kept an eye on Chloe.
“I was thinking,” Ben said, pulling my attention to him as he stopped and stared at the old, abandoned barn that needed to be torn down.
“Yeah? About what?”
“Aunt Lyric and her work. I know she’s tried setting up an office in the house, but it always seems like she doesn’t have enough space. Especially now that she is making her own clothes. Dad said he planned to tear that down, but I was wondering if there was any way to save it?”
“You want to save the barn?”
Ben nodded, reminding me so much of his dad with the tight determination on his face.
“If it’s salvageable, I thought we could turn it into a space for Aunt Lyric. We could fix it up and make it comfortable for her, but this way she’d have room for everything she needs to get her business started.”
“Wanna go take a peek and see what we’re up against?” I asked, loving how big his heart was and that he wanted to do something nice for his aunt.
“I mean, it couldn’t hurt, right?”
“Not unless a beam comes loose and whacks you in the head,” I teased.
He laughed and called Chloe over so we could keep an eye on her without worrying about the goats.
I pulled open the large door, stepping back as dirt and dust clouded in the air in front of us.
I waved my hand in front of me to clear it as Ben picked Chloe up and turned her away from it.
I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had been inside the barn, but I knew that it had needed a lot of work.
The barn was empty, aside from a few large pieces of equipment that needed either restoration or donation.
I walked inside, thankful that Ben was smart enough to stay outside with Chloe until I could make sure it was safe.
I looked around, taking note of the small things that needed to be fixed.
Clay had replaced the roof a few years ago, and it had held up pretty well, given how clean it was inside the barn, which was better than I had expected.
Part of me wondered if Clay had been coming out to work in the barn without telling anyone, because it was in a lot better condition than I last remembered.
The outside still looked like shit, and while I had been worried that one strong gust of wind could knock it down, it was actually structurally sound.
I pulled out my phone and sent my dad a text message, asking if he had a few minutes to give me a second opinion.
While I knew a lot as a carpenter, I learned much of it from watching and helping him when I was younger.
He had worked in construction for so long that he could tell within seconds whether a building was safe, which came in handy when he shifted careers and became a building inspector for Willow Falls.
“I think it’s actually doable,” I said, more so to myself than Ben after he came inside and let Chloe down to run around.
The flooring was concrete, but it was relatively clean aside from dirt and leaves that had blown in under the door. Nothing she could hurt herself on, though.
“It’s bigger than I thought it would be,” Ben replied, his eyes wide as he looked around, taking it all in.
“Yeah, your dad wanted to use this space to fix up old cars.”
“He did?”
I nodded, the memories flooding my mind as I thought back to all of the conversations we had about it. I very clearly remembered the way his eyes lit up when he talked about what he wanted to do and which cars he would try to get his hands on first.
“What happened? Why didn’t he do it?”
I looked over my shoulder and smiled at him.
“He fell in love and got married. Then they started a family, and his attention became focused more on his kids, and less on cars.”
Ben smiled back at me, but it was sad and didn’t reach his eyes the way it usually did.