“If you’re hungry, help yourself to anything,” I said.
“Thanks,” she said, grinning. “You go on and do what you need to do. I’ve got it here.”
Grabbing my coat, I stepped out into the cold to take stock of what I needed. I needed to venture into town to get more wood pieces I could use on my projects. I got into my truck and slowly made my way down the mountain, making sure not to go too fast.
The owner of the wood shop, Mike Prescott, came out and clapped me on the back with a broad smile on his face, then he led me into the back where unwanted pieces of wood had already been discarded.
“Been awhile, Evan! How ya been?” Mike asked.
“I’ve been okay. Got buried underneath the snow for a few days,” I said.
“You came down that mountain with all that snow still on the ground? Got balls bigger than I do,” he said.
I laughed and shook my head. “Necessity, my friend.”
“Where’re the kids? I made something for that pretty little girl of yours.”
“They’re with the babysitter.”
“You mean the nanny?” he asked.
“No, the nanny’s pretty sick right now. Found a temporary babysitter to replace her for now, but if this new woman turns out to be as wonderful with the kids as I think she is, my nanny might be out of a job,” I said.
“Hey. Whatever’s best for the kids, right?”
“Right,” I said. “So, whatcha got for me today?”
“You’re in luck,” he said. “I’ve got discarded cedar, oak, and cherry mahogany.”
“You’ve got discarded cherry mahogany?” I asked.
“Yeah, a lot of it. It was tainted by the snowfall we just had. The tarp wasn’t over it completely and some of the snow got underneath. There’s a bit of fresh rot on the top, but I know you work around that shit all the time.”
“How much for it?” I asked.
“Did you bring your truck?” he asked.
“Yeah. I’ve got my truck,” I said.
“I’ll load ya down with a good combination of the three for three hundred.”
“I’ll take it,” I said.
“Wonderful. Let me get ya loaded up.”
Mike and I stood and shot the shit while some of the workers loaded my truck. It would take a little more work on my part to refine the raw pieces of wood, but it was worth it for the lower-than-basement price Mike had just offered me. By the time the truck was loaded and tarped down, it was sitting visibly lower to the ground, and a part of me wondered if I would be able to get the truck up the mountain.
But it didn’t give me any issues at all.
By the time I got it home, it was almost nightfall. It took me a couple of hours to drag all the wood to the shed and lock it up and, by that time, my stomach was howling for food. The chimney was piping smoke into the air as the lights shone from the windows and, as I opened the door and walked inside, I was hit with the most wonderful smells.
There was dinner on the table, two kids stuffing their faces, and with them the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
“Want some spaghetti?” Melanie asked.
“Oh, yeah,” I said.
I watched as she doted over Liam and Hadley, getting them more food and drink whenever they requested it. I heard her wheeling around in the kitchen, trying to clean up a little before she sat down to eat. She and Liam were whispering to each other as Hadley shoved her mouth full of the wonderful dinner she had made, and I smiled at the entire scene.
This was really nice.
It felt like I had a family again.
But dinner soon ran into bedtime and Melanie was up again and running around. I cleaned up the rest of the dishes while she prepared the kids for bed. I could hear them splashing around in the tub as she cleaned them up and got them changed.
And the entire time, I couldn’t think about anything else other than how much I enjoyed it.
I loved watching her with the kids and I loved coming home to a warm meal. I loved listening to Liam ask for her and I loved how Hadley always reached her arms out to her. I listened as she sang Hadley to sleep before she slipped out of the room, dashing down to Liam’s to do the same. It was like she’d fallen into a natural rhythm, and the smile on her face as she interacted with the kids was genuine.
But the blustery wind that howled against the windows pulled me from my thoughts.
The snow was coming down heavy again, swirling around in the wind as it dumped itself onto the ground. It was quickly piling up and drowning Melanie’s car, and I heard her gasp before she started clamoring for her coat.