Good With His Hands

"Feel free to walk out. Lehlo is starting the fire. You and Patrick are the first ones here."

"Lehlo?"

"Ah, that would be the sidekick I referred to. We do woodworking together. And in our nonexistent spare time, we redo the inside of this house."

I took it in again. The staircase that led to a singe loft bedroom above. The swooping rafters of the great room. The carved inlay over the twelve foot windows. "So…he's good with his hands, is what you're telling me," I joked.

"The best." For whatever reason that gave me a shiver.

"I'll go check on Pat," Marc said.

"I'll go check on that fire," I said and grabbed my glass.

"Unless you need help?" I asked Babs, remembering my manners.

She waved me off with a grin, looking relieved that I was settling in. "Everything's almost done. Go see about the fire, meet Lehlo and relax. Pretty soon, I might put you to work putting a few appetizer trays out. Until then, I got nothing."

I wandered out the double doors, taking a deep breath to calm my nerves and sipping my wine to forget about my apparently fat ass.