Instead, she said, “Okay.”
He nodded once.
They worked on, clearing and tidying everything away, but the ease had gone. Until at last Spencer closed his toolbox.
“I’ll come back after I’ve spoken to Frank and asked him for his best price.”
Meryl nodded without looking at him. “All right.”
He waited a second, then said, “I’m not trying to make this harder.”
That made her throat tighten.
“I know,” she said. And that was part of the trouble. She did know.
He gave a curt nod and headed for his truck.
Meryl stayed where she was until the sound of the engine faded down the lane. Then she sat on the edge of the porch and pictured the split beam beneath her feet.
The problem was fixable.
That was not the issue.
The issue was that Spencer was right. Fixable did not mean easy. It did not mean quick. And it certainly did not mean cheap.
Pine Cottage was asking for more than she had planned to give.
And the worst part, the part she did not want to look at too closely, was that somewhere beneath the frustration and the fear, she already knew why Spencer had pushed back so hard.
He had not been talking only about the porch. No, it went deeper than that. They both knew it.
Chapter Eight – Spencer
Well, that didn’t go well,his bear said as Spencer drove away from Pine Cottage and headed down toward town.
No, it didn’t,Spencer agreed, fighting the temptation to turn the truck around and go straight back.
She’s overwhelmed,his bear countered.We could have been gentler about it.
Spencer gripped the steering wheel tighter as he guided the truck down the mountain road.I can’t be gentle about a structural beam that’s about to fail,he muttered.
His bear huffed.It’s not just about the beam, though, is it?
No,Spencer replied.It isn’t.
He pictured his mate’s face when he’d told her about the extent of the damage to the beam. Meryl had looked cornered, as if the split beam had opened up something more than the porch itself.
By the time he pulled into the lot outside Grayson’s Hardware & Supply, he’d begun to see Meryl’s side of things. That didn’t mean he agreed with her, though. He got out of the truck and headed around the side of the store. Frank was out back near the delivery area, checking over a fresh stack of timber.
“Spencer,” Frank called, setting down his clipboard. “Twice in one week. Must be serious.”
Spencer nodded. “It is. I need to price a main support beam. Six-by-eight, pressure-treated. Full length for a porch.”
Frank let out a low whistle. “Pine Cottage?”
“Afraid so. I found a split running most of the length. Rot’s set in.”
Frank nodded and jerked his head toward the covered back section where the longer lengths of timber were stacked. “Sorry to hear that. That porch is one of the best features of the cottage. The views are amazing.”
