Lethal Lasagna (19 page)

“Of course I am. I’m giving up all this to sleep on your porch.” He laughed, extending his arms to encompass the whole house.

We continued up the staircase and into an exercise room. A treadmill, weight bench, and exercise bike were the instruments of torture here.

He pulled down a ladder from the ceiling. “The cot is up here. I’ll get it.” Brandon climbed the stairs with ease.

I couldn’t imagine how he would get a cot down those steps by himself. All the folding beds I’d seen were heavy and bulky.

A plastic slide slowly came down the stairs. “If you’ll slow it down, I’ll send the bed down.”

“OK.” I moved to the end of the slide.

A few moments later, a folded bed slid down. I caught it at the bottom, moved it off the plastic, and smiled up.

“Good catch.” He pulled the slide back up and within moments stood beside me once more.

“That’s pretty clever.” I said.

He picked up the cot and grinned. “That is something my Dad taught me. He invented all types of things.”

I followed him back out to the pickup. “Did you inherit any of those skills?”

He shoved the cot in the back of the truck and grinned at me. “Come with me and I’ll let you decide if I inherited any of dad’s handiness.”

I felt like a puppy on a leash as he led me once more. We went around the side of the house and across a short back yard to a building that stood off to the side.

“This is my workshop.” He pulled the door open.

The aroma of freshly cut timber filled my nostrils. I inhaled deeply, enjoying the woody scent. As I stepped over the threshold I realized the floor was covered in sawdust. Two windows allowed the room to fill with sunshine, displaying wonderful raw furniture.

“You made all these?” I ran my hand over a bookshelf. The wood felt warm and soft to the touch.

He leaned against the door jam. “I did. I had planned to finish that dresser this morning, but since you want to get back to your house, I guess it can wait.”

I heard the disappointment in his voice. A glance at my watch revealed it was nine A.M. “We can stay a couple of hours, if you want.”

A smile brightened his face and eyes. “That’s about all the time I’ll need.” He kissed me on the cheek, and then stepped past.

It had been such a quick kiss, and he’d crossed the room and started working before I knew what happened. I asked myself as I walked to a big shade tree with a wooden bench under it in the back yard, did I seem like a star struck girl? Heat filled my cheeks. Probably.