Phil's Cabin Works Out Well

I pressed mine against hers, and the tiny noise she made had my blood heating. I reluctantly broke the kiss.

"Me too, Nina, and I hope we have many, many more of them."

She kissed me again. "Me, too," she said.

I wanted to see more of her face, but it was very dark in the truck, the glow from her parent's porch light barely reaching us.

"Are we working in the shop tomorrow?"

"I hope so."

A final kiss and I walked her to the door and watched her disappear inside. I was planning on having some very pleasant dreams when sleep time rolled around.

"Want to go for a ride," I said as Nina came through the door the next morning.

"I just got here. Where to?"

"Mom just called. Baker's wants fifty more boards with an option for one hundred more. They'll even pay me an extra dollar each for these."

"You might be able to have a good business just making those cutting boards," she answered, laughing. "And I assume we're off to the wood store again."

"Yep. I'm going to get enough hickory for all of them. Plus, and you'll love this, I saw a thing online that showed how to make a simple chip collector that we can hook to the shop vac."

"You mean we won't be buried in chips. That's wonderful." Up on her tiptoes, she leaned in and gave me a kiss. "Thank you for that."

"Since you said we, does that mean you're going to be helping again?"

"Unless you throw me out."

"That's not going to happen, you know."

"Whew, I feel so much better now," she said with a laugh.

We were off to load the truck with hickory wood and some PVC pipe, and end caps for the new chip collector. I hoped I could make it work as well as it did online. Once we were in the truck and on our way, Nina reached for my hand and held it tightly, both going and coming unless I needed it for truck safety. Watching her lug hickory planks to the truck was amazing and heart-warming.

"I wish I could get my wife to work like that," the proprietor said as she was throwing the wood into the truck bed.

"Well, she's not my wife, but she is a worker, and I enjoy having her help."

"Not your wife, huh," he added, a big smile on his face.

I guess what was happening was more obvious to others than it was to me. But if everyone else thought it should be so, why was I fighting it?

A few weeks ago, hearing an insinuation like that, I would have denied it vehemently. Now I just smiled and nodded. My wife. That was certainly a stretch today, but it did set my mind to wandering...and wondering. It had a nice sound.

"What were you and that guy talking about?" she asked when we were headed to the hardware store.

"He said I was lucky to have a good worker like you helping me." Not exactly, but close enough.

"And what did you say?"

I laughed. "You're getting awfully pushy, Nina."

"It's my nature. If we're gonna have more dates, you'd better get used to it."

"You trying to scare me off?"

"On the contrary, I'm just informing you so you won't be surprised next time."

"Thank you for that."

"You gonna keep that hand all to yourself?"

"Yep, pushy."

Back at the cabin, I pulled up the website so she could see what we were going to be building.

"You have to heat that PVC pipe?"

"I have to so it will bend."

"It gives off fumes, so open the window and have a fan blowing."

"We'll be okay. I'll leave the door open."

"You will open a window and have a fan, or I'll...I don't know what I'll do, but I'll keep you from heating that pipe if you don't."

The look on her face had no sign of teasing or kidding, and I think she would have tackled me to keep me from heating that pipe. I put a finger to her lips.

"Thanks for being so concerned. You open the window, and I'll get the fan."

"I can be stubborn, too," she informed me with a chuckle.

When I returned with the fan, the window was open. We worked together to build the chip collector, and it progressed much faster than I'd hoped for. We attached it to the planer and the giant shop vac, turned things on, and fed the first board through.

"Bummer," Nina quipped. "Two chips escaped." I eyed her and shook my head. But we finished the first batch with hardly anything to clean up. Checking, I found the shop vac was nearly full, so I needed to do some investigating as bags of sawdust were accumulating beside the shop, and I wondered if there was some use for it besides starting a campfire. I'd heard it might be good for smoking meat. I'd have to check on that and hoped it was true.

"How about I fix some lunch, and you can rest."

"Whatcha gonna fix?"

"Do I have free run of the kitchen, the fridge, and the stove?"

"Of course."

I plopped down on the couch and put my feet up. As I listened to the noises from the kitchen, my mind wandered to a normality that I'd never experienced and, as a matter of fact, had been avoiding. This could be a scene from a Hallmark movie, but my life had been anything but Hallmark-like. Mandy and Jana had taken care of that. And yet, with Nina, everything seemed to be moving at hyperspeed. She was able to evaporate my resistance with a look, or a gesture...or a kiss.

And that lady was now walking toward me, holding two plates of something whose aroma preceded it.

"What is that?" I asked, excitement in my voice.

"Just a hamburger."

"Nina, that is not just a hamburger."

"I added a few things to it."

I cut off a piece with my fork, and it was quickly in my mouth and even more quickly chewed and swallowed. The expectant look on Nina's face was priceless.

"What can't you do?"

"Phil, don't be silly."

I took another bite and chewed slowly. My mind was telling me to grab her and drag her into the cabin and... But I'd done that sort of thing before, and it had ended disastrously. I didn't need to run, but I needed to slow down. Slowing down wasn't stopping, and I wasn't anywhere near ready to stop.

"Nina, I'm not silly. You're just...just unique, special, and..." I took another bite of the hamburger.

"Coming from you, that means more to me than you'll ever know."

"I hope one day that I'll know."

"Finish your lunch. We'd better get back to planing."

We did just that.

I'd promised Mom I'd visit over the weekend, and Nina had obligations as well. On Tuesday morning, she was at the shop early. We loaded the foam equipment into the truck and headed for Jolene's. We drilled holes, I pumped in the foam, and Nina patched the holes. Jolene would paint the patches later. Finally, we were finished and ready to leave.

"Phil, I've done something,"

"What's that, Jolene?"

"I looked online...for jobs."

"Jolene, that's great. But..."

"Yeah, the big but."

The second but is that I can fix that."

"Phil, you don't have to do that."

"I took those words out of my vocabulary, Jolene. I was saying it so often."

"What words?"

"Phil. You don't have to. Because, yes, he does. I don't always know how or why, but yes, he does."

Jolene looked at me helplessly.

"Tell me where it is, and I'll make sure it's fixed. And if you find a job, take it, and I'll make sure you get there until your car is back."

"Phil, you..." Jolene paused and looked at Nina. They both laughed.

We finished the foaming, and I suggested to Jolene that she sand and repaint the patches the next day. We loaded our gear into the truck and left.

"Want me to drop you off before I go check on the car."

"No," Nina answered.

This time I reached for her hand. Somehow, just being with this bundle of energy was, well, relaxing. It seemed like an oxymoron to me, but it was true.

I checked with the owner at the garage where Jolene had left the car.

"Good to see someone following up on that thing. I didn't want to have to sell it."

"I'll pay whenever you get it finished."

"Oh, it's finished and ready to go. I was just waiting for someone to pay."

That's why I'm here."

"It was a lady that dropped it off, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, but she's a little financially strapped right now, so I'm helping out."

"Oh yeah." He thought for a few seconds. "Aw, just make it six hundred, and we'll call it even. But, even with you paying, how can I be sure the lady sent you?"

I pulled out and punched Jo's number. "Ask her name."

He took the phone and in a minute was satisfied.

I wrote a check, and he handed me the keys.

"Tell the lady good luck."

"I'll do that for sure, and thanks." I turned to Nina. "Are you ready to drive the truck while I see how this car works?"

"Um, really?"

I nodded as I handed her the keys. She'd ridden in the truck and watched enough to know how it worked. Since she was about ten inches shorter than I was, we had to make a fairly good-sized seat adjustment.

"I'll follow you, just in case," she said, a huge smile on her face.

"See you at Jolene's," I answered and climbed into the rather old Chevrolet.

Everything worked on the trip back, and I was surprised at how well the car ran. I wasn't sure how old it was, but the speedometer showed 163,429 miles.

When Jolene looked out the door and saw the car, two arms went around my neck, and the breath was squeezed out of my body while tears stained my shirt.

When she leaned her head back and looked at me, I said, "Don't worry about it. We'll figure something out. Now you can get that job."

"I just called the diner, the one in the village," she said, a huge smile filling her face. "They need a full-time server, and I'm gonna take it. It should be a good place to get me used to working again."

"That sounds like a solid start, Jo. I'm sure Nina and I will be stopping there quite a bit. Actually, mostly me since she goes back to school next week."

Jolene glanced over my shoulder at Nina, still in the truck. Her face seemed to be pinking up quite a bit.

"You know," she said, not looking me in the eye, "when you first talked about doing these things for me, I thought it was going to be one of those friends with benefits things since I only had one way to pay you back. I apologize to you for even thinking that. I've never been so totally wrong about someone in my life...well, maybe my ex, but..."

"I'm enjoying being helpful."

She leaned out and looked around me. "Nina, hang onto this one. He's a keeper."

It was my turn to have pink cheeks, but with every passing day, I was hoping what she'd said was true.

Another hug and I was on my way back to the truck. I motioned for Nina to stay on the driver's side and climbed into the passenger seat.

"Never ridden on this side." I grabbed her hand and squeezed.

"You sure you want me to drive?"

"Darn right. Now I can sit here and look at you, and you have to keep your eyes on the road. And while you're at it, let's go to your place first, and we'll make plans for tomorrow when we take your mom on her adventure. Have you told her?"

"Just hinted," Nina said as she backed out of Jolene's driveway and headed for her cabin.

"This big old truck doesn't intimidate you at all, does it?"

"If you can trust me to drive it, no, it doesn't."

We sat down with Erica, and I explained what I had in mind for tomorrow.

"Phil, you don't have to ..."

Before she could finish, Nina and I were laughing loudly, accompanied by a puzzled look from the lady in the wheelchair. Nina explained, and Erica agreed wholeheartedly.

The next day we took the Kaufman's specially equipped van and headed to town. First, shopping at two of Erica's favorite stories, then lunch at, where else, Robertson's, which she enjoyed "more than she could say" since she hadn't been there in years. In the afternoon, we went to the university, and Nina took her inside the engineering building where she had most of her classes and was able to introduce her mom to two of her professors. A quick trip through the university's art gallery where I insisted that some of Nina's works should be on display.

Back at the van, Erica pleaded exhaustion, and we headed back to the cabin. I was thanked profusely and received a warm hug from Erica. It had been a wonderful day, and watching Nina watch and share in her mother's joy was priceless.

Nina followed me to the truck and pulled me around to face her.

"I don't care if everyone in this woods is watching, including Mom and Dad."

She stood on tiptoes and pulled my head down to her and kissed me...and kissed me more, her tongue caressing my lips until I parted them and our tongues touched and then seemed to be dancing. When she finally pulled away with both of us breathing hard, I didn't want to let go of her. But I did.

"Tomorrow morning? Maybe we can finish the boards."

Or finish something else. I wasn't a hormonal teenager any longer, but I wasn't sure I could tell the difference with the way I was feeling right at the moment. Tomorrow morning would be here soon.

"Sure, tomorrow morning."

One more quick peck and she ran back to the door and disappeared inside.

I was up at six, ate a quick breakfast, and went to the shop, setting things up to work on the boards. I doubted we'd finish them, but I was hopeful. I felt like a little child on Christmas morning as I could hardly wait for the sound of the door opening.

It happened a little after eight.

"Are you trying to drive me crazy?"

"What?" she asked, a puzzled look on her face.

"I've been here nearly two hours waiting for you."

She smiled. "So what would happen if I'd turn around and leave?"

"You'd never make it to the door."

"Maybe I'll walk toward you instead, "

"Much better," I said as I got an "on tiptoes" good morning kiss.

"We'd better get started. We're moving back to the city tomorrow."

"I wish you weren't."

"Me too. Well, that isn't quite right. I want to finish school, but I want to be with you." She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed. It was then that Ingrid decided to be a part of things and crashed into us, tail wagging and tongue in motion. It was enough to send us both sprawling to the floor. I tried to protect Nina, but Ingrid was strictly fur in motion and was giving no quarter. Somehow in the struggle, Nina ended up on top of me, and I realized she was paying no attention to Ingrid.

Our faces were just inches apart, Nina's dark eyes holding mine...almost. There was a third head in the picture, just inches from both of us and waiting.

"I think we have a chaperone," I said quietly, and both sets of eyes rolled toward Ingrid, who was looking from one to the other, ready to react at the slightest movement.

"Is she jealous?" Nina asked with a giggle.

"I think she likes you better than she does me already, so I think she's just ready to play with her two favorite people."

Nina moved slowly, and I received a gentle kiss. A second, much more sloppy kiss followed from the other party. That brought a laugh from the lady lying on top of me and then a sigh.

"Cutting boards are waiting."

I knew that was true, and I also knew that Ingrid had probably prevented something very significant from happening. It was probably just as well as my cell phone rang.

I answered, tapping the "speaker" button as I answered.

"Hi, mom. You're on speaker, and Nina is here, so watch what you say."

"Oh, good. Hi Nina. Are you getting ready for school to start?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Mom laughed. "Pardon my mentioning it, but you don't sound too excited."

"I am, in a way. It's my last year, and I'm anxious to graduate and get started with the rest of my life. But..."

"But?" Mom repeated.

"I'll be an hour away from Phil."

I was surprised she had said that to my mother, but it warmed me almost beyond measure to hear her say it."

"Well, honey, I don't think you have to worry. Phil is very creative, and those facetime things are pretty useful too."

"I know, and I'm sure they'll be used, but, you know, it isn't quite the same."

"It will only be nine months or so, and in that time, you can have a baby."

"Mom!"

"It's just a figure of speech we old folks use. Nina, I pray that you know I wasn't...well."

"No problem, Mrs. Walker, and yes, it is only nine months. I'm glad I'm not a freshman."

"I'm sure Phil is too. And speaking of Phil, I talked with Ramie Massey yesterday, and she said the people at Baker's Crafts are very excited about the way the cutting boards have sold. They're sending a firm order for that one hundred option they'd talked about. I beat your drum a little and said you had a wonderful designer working with you, and the two of you were coming up with new ideas all the time."

"I'm not sure I'm a wonderful designer," Nina said.

"Phil says you are, and I'm taking his word for it. Anyway, they'll be including five hundred dollars as a kind of retainer so that they get the first look at any new designs you have as long as you agree to it. Plus, they'll be putting "Walker's Woodcrafts" on the display, hoping that people will order custom things. They'll get a "finder's fee," and you'll get business. They have ten stores, you know."

"You're going to fill up every bit of his time, and I won't get to see him at all," Nina quipped, a pouty sound to her voice."

"If he's distracted that easily, you don't want him anyway."

"Mom!" I exclaimed once again.

"Anyway, I need to run. Just thought you'd like to hear that. Bye, Nina. Hoping to see a lot of you in the future."

"Thanks, Mrs. walker. I hope so."

I stuffed the phone in my pocket. "Ten stores?"

"You may be busy."

"You too, and you'll share in anything I make from your designs."

"That five hundred dollars should cover a good bit of that."

"We'll discuss that and all the other details."

As we went to work on the cutting boards, I was thinking of something else. There'd been something that had been a stumbling block to my other relationships, and I'd kept it a secret from Nina, so it had no chance of becoming a factor this time. But was that fair? Should I put it right out in the open and see what her reaction might be?

"Nina," I said, switching off the biscuit cutter. "I have a secret, and I'm not sure if this is the right time to share it or not. It's been a bug-a-boo for me in the past that I can tell you about some time, but I think you should know because of that."

She was smiling, her black eyes sparkling. "A secret, huh."

"Yeah. I'm a millionaire."

She had a blank look, then shook her head, looking at me very carefully.

"You're not kidding, are you?"

"Not at all.

Another pause.

"Wow, that explains your paying for all those things for Jolene. And I think that's wonderful that you do that. It's a part of why I fell for you, and I hope you keep doing it."

"I just thought you should know."

"Well, I've been a little concerned about you, and the shop, and the money you were giving away, and I pray every night that the shop goes well. I'm not going to stop that, either, since I think that being good at something is important to you."

"It is. And aren't you going to ask how I got the money?"

"It's sort of none of my business...yet."

"It's becoming more and more of your business with every passing day."

"You'll tell when you're ready."

"I sold a patent to one of the auto companies."

"See," she said. "You're telling me I'm a good designer, and you made a million bucks from one of your designs." She laughed, shaking her head.

"Ten million."

"Oh...my...gosh. Do you have a plan for, you know, giving it away like you did with Jolene?"

"No, but would you like to help me figure one out?"

"That would be so exciting. Yes, I'd love to help."

"You're on." I switched on the biscuit cutter.

We got more done than I'd imagined we would, but it was nearly time for Nina to leave.

"Ugh," she said. "I'll be glad to get home and take a shower. Have you noticed my hair is about an inch longer?"

"I have noticed. I'm trying to picture what it will look like six months or a year from now. You said something about it before."