Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 57897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
25
BETH ANN
The Tennessee Mountain Logging Company wasted no time in showing up to help with the lumber. Just one day after Jason and I reconciled and ended up making love in the grass, they sent over a man named Gerard and a woman named Wendy to form a plan and then scheduled a crew to show up the next morning.
The warning was that it could be a loud couple of days, and they were not kidding. Men swarmed the fields, and there was a near constant sound of a buzzsaw and heavy trucks moving around, but by the end of the first day, it already looked much better, and I could see how things were going. It was amazing what a professional crew could do in just a matter of a few short days, and it was even better knowing that Jason was part of it.
Watching him out there with the other men, sleeves rolled up to his elbows and hauling heavy pieces of wood onto trucks and using power equipment, was exciting all on its own, and I made it a point to go down to the crew and bring them refreshments on occasion just so I could see him. He seemed appreciative, not only for the drinks and snacks, but for how he seemed to be getting looks from the other guys when they saw me paying attention to him.
After a few weeks, a few acres in the back had been cleared of regular trees as well as the area I wanted to work in most, and Carter had come by with a check. The number of zeros on it made my eyes bulge, and as soon as he left, I celebrated with Jason by imbibing a little more than usual and having him spend the night with me where neither one of us wore clothing for twelve hours.
The next morning, I had Jason drop me off in town and deposited the check and went directly to the tiny car dealership just up the road from the diner. What money was in my savings was put to good use buying a little used two-door pickup and applying for a business license. After that, it was a matter of getting repairs done once the check cleared, which took a couple of days.
Jason came by on a Monday evening with a truck full of equipment and finished lumber, ready to get to work on the house, and the two of us went inside to do some more exploring.
“So, just to be sure, you like the Victorian look, yes?”
“Yes,” I said, swooning a little at how much better it looked already after just having cleaned everything with wood polish and all-purpose cleaner. “I love how it looks. I just want it looking…”
“Better,” he said.
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.” He grinned. “I think I understand. So, first things first, let’s go through this place and see what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of.”
We made our way room to room, going through the old furniture and other ancient relics that seemed to have been left over from a hundred years ago. An old record player sat in a corner and still had a record in it. It struck me sadly that one day someone listened to that record one last time, then never used it again.
A notification blinged in my phone, and I took it out to look at it.
“Oh,” I said. “Hey, Jason, the power should be back on.”
“Awesome. I shut the circuit breaker off so there wouldn’t be a surge. Let me go turn that back on.”
“Okay,” I said, still transfixed by the record player. I wondered if it still worked.
Jason was gone only for a few moments when a buzzing sound filled the air and a lamp came to life beside me. I knew it was coming, and yet it surprised me enough to shake me out of my daze and jump a little bit. When my heart stopped racing, I crossed the room to the record player and touched the power switch.
I had never used a record player before. I knew they had made a comeback with vinyl records being the thing of hipsters all over, but I always preferred my CD collection or the ancient iPod that still housed the rips of the music I stole from torrents when I was younger. I leaned over and blew some of the dust away, pulling the cobweb over the needle away with my fingertips, and flipped the switch.
The needle rose, and the record spun, and I watched in fascination as it set down and music started playing softly from the speakers. The label on the record was blank, with just a logo on it that I didn’t recognize, but when the music came on, I recognized it immediately.
“Is that Prince?” Jason asked as he came back into the room.