The rockers were in front of her and she marveled at the detail. While the bottoms were smooth so the dragon would rock back and forth evenly, the top part was cut and sanded to resemble tongues of flame. They weren't uniform or patterned, but wild and unpredictable, just as fire itself would be. Even though the wood wasn't painted, she could almost see the fire dance along the grain.
"Clay," she whispered. "This is amazing. It's going to be a work of art."
She turned and moved around him to get a closer look at the dragon. Awed, she ran one finger over the scales on the dragon's side. Then she looked at the saddle and nearly squealed. It was just the right size for a child, but it was nothing like the plain saddles she'd seen on other rocking horses. It was ornate and fantastical, as though it belonged to a prince from Arthurian legend.
"You have to let me take pictures of this," she demanded. "And post them online. If for no other reason than for people to see how incredible your work is." She turned toward him. "You don't just make furniture or toys, Clay. This is breathtaking."
He shrugged, at a loss for words. "It's just—"
"It's not just anything," she interrupted, her shoulders going rigid.
"Um, okay. Uh, thank you."
She studied his expression and realized he was a little embarrassed, so she reigned in her urge to continue complimenting him. It obviously made him uncomfortable.
"Okay, well, I'm going to take a few pictures of this and take a short video of you working and maybe a few of your tools and the general shop set up, and that should be enough to get you started. Oh, and if you have any other pieces that are finished, I could take pictures of those as well."
"I really don't want to be in any videos," he began. "I don't want my face all over the internet."
"Okay, then just your hands and arms when you're working," she said, compromising immediately.
Besides, she had a feeling that women everywhere would be swooning over his forearms just as she had earlier.
He seemed to consider it for a moment before he finally nodded. "I guess that will be all right."
"Good. Go back to work and I'll be sure to keep your face out of the frame when I'm done taking these pictures."
Clay stared at her for a moment before he moved to do as she said.
Dylan tried not to watch him out of the corner of her eye as she took pictures of the dragon. She started with a close-up of the saddle, then of the scales, and finally several of the dragon's face. She hadn't noticed it earlier, but it was as finely sculpted as a piece of clay, each detail clear and perfect.
She wondered if he would paint it with bright colors or simply varnish it and leave it as is. She would ask him when they were done.
While he kept the music off, the air compressor kicked back on when he started running the sander again. Once Dylan was sure that he was engrossed, she turned and began to take pictures of him working.
Including one of his butt in those tight jeans, but it would be for her eyes only.
He didn't seem to notice her until she got closer and started the video of his hands as they moved the rockers and shaped the flames with the handheld sander. It wasn't a flat disk, but some sort of rotary tool. Like a big Dremel.
After a few moments, he stopped and turned off the sander.
"I think I've tweaked this enough for today," he said. "It'll be time to start putting the finishing touches on it tomorrow."
“Are you going to paint it with colors?” Dylan asked, figuring it was the perfect time to get her questions answered.
“Unfortunately, my skills don’t extend to painting so the wood will remain its natural color. I’m going to put a coat of polyurethane on it though. It protects the wood from water and scratches. Considering how rough the kids are on their stuff, I figure it’s the best option.”
Curious, Dylan ran a light hand over the back of the dragon. “Do you do that before or after you put it together?”
“After. I’ll have to use a little wood glue and it won’t adhere as well to treated surfaces.”
She nodded. “That’s really interesting.”
Clay shot her a look. “We could build something together sometime. I could walk you through all the steps.
"That might be fun, but I’m not dressed for it today,” she replied. “How long before you can give it to your nephew?"
"Well, it'll need several coats of polyurethane and it needs to dry for twenty-four hours between each one, so maybe next week or the week after depending on how well my other projects go this week."
