But the house needs the window seat whether she stays or not,his bear replied.And so do you. Because this window seat will be a part of Pine Cottage forever. A symbol of the time you have spent there with Meryl.
That landed harder than Spencer wanted it to. He didn’t want this window seat to be a symbol of their time together but a part of their lives together.
He drew the first rough lines on a pad. Side panels. Seat. Storage beneath. The proportions came back to him as he worked. He had paid close attention when she touched the ruined wood. The way she’d trailed her fingers across the rotten frame had demanded it.
So engrossed was he in his work that he didn’t sense someone approaching. He didn’t know anyone was there until the workshop door opened behind him.
“I hoped I might find you here,” Leo said, stepping inside. He carried a foil-covered dish in one hand and a paper bag in the other.
Spencer looked up. “What’s that?” he asked hopefully as his stomach growled.
“Pasta bake,” Leo said, setting it down on the corner of the bench. “But not just any pasta bake. I used the last of those San Marzano tomatoes I told you about, plus the basil that won’t stop growing. There’s garlic bread too. I made too much, and since you always need feeding, according to Mom, I thought I’d bring some over.”
Spencer gave a short snort. “She knows me too well. And so do you.”
Leo peered over his shoulder. “What’s this?”
“Window seat.” Spencer kept drawing, adding details for the joinery. “For Pine Cottage.”
“For Pine Cottage?” Leo asked, opening the paper bag and setting the garlic bread beside the dish. “I heard Hilda’s place finally had someone in it. Funny thing to prioritize when the porch is falling down.”
Spencer set down his pencil and took the fork Leo handed him. “It’s a side project.”
Leo leaned against the bench, unwrapping his own portion, because good food always tasted better shared. “A side project?”
Spencer finally looked up. “The porch is structural. This is...” He trailed off.
“This is what?” Leo prompted, taking a bite.
Spencer set his pencil down. “This is something she might want to keep.”
Understanding crossed Leo’s face. “Ah. She.”
“Don’t start,” Spencer warned.
Leo raised his hands. “Didn’t say a word.”
Ask him for advice,his bear urged.He knows about mates.
Spencer took a bite of the pasta bake to buy time. The tomatoes were rich and sweet, the basil sharp, the garlic bread still warm enough to steam when he tore it apart. The food grounded him.
“I found my mate,” he said finally. The words still felt strange in his mouth.
Leo did not look surprised. “Meryl?”
Spencer nodded. Of course, word had gotten around that he was spending all his time over at Pine Cottage.
“And how’s that going?” Leo asked.
“We argued about a beam today.”Damn,that sounded so stupid when he said the words out loud.
Leo’s mouth twitched. “Romantic.”
“She wanted a patch job. I told her it needed replacing,” Spencer explained.
“And?”
Spencer looked down at the sketch again. “And she wanted to cut corners, and that’s not me.”
