Page 124 of That Rush

“So the building is safe from rain, and now you’re protecting it from feet.”

“And electrical fires.”

He glances at the exposed wiring. “What are you planning to use this for?”

“Something.”

“That explains the six-foot level, three contractor estimates, and lumber delivery.”

“Dad has been saying we should deal with this place for years.”

“Dad says that about every building on the ranch. He doesn’t usually find you sanding a desk in the middle of a workday.”

I drag the sandpaper over another scar in the wood. Dust gathers beneath my palm, revealing the darker grain Paige pointed out when we came in here.

I remember her standing beneath the mountain-facing window, a half-smile on her face as she talked about the good light and what a person could do with a room like this.

I look toward the empty wall and fill in the rest myself.

Floor-to-ceiling shelves. A reading chair in the corner where the afternoon sun reaches. A lamp for cloudy days, a table wide enough for her coffee. She’d made an observation; I was already drafting blueprints.

“You’re doing it again,” Axel says.

I stop sanding. “Doing what?”

“Leaving the conversation.”

“I’m working.”

“You went somewhere else the second I asked what this room is for.”

“It needs repairs regardless of how we use it.”

“That sounds convincing.”

“It’s true.”

The electrician returns tomorrow. The replacement flooring arrives Friday. I ordered extra insulation because the room will be useless after October if I leave the walls as they are.

Those are repairs. Knowing where Paige’s desk should sit is unrelated to the leaking window.

Axel crouches beside the missing boards and tests the nearest joist. “This one’s solid. You can brace the next two instead of replacing them.”

“That’s what I thought.”

He takes the pry bar and works the damaged board loose while I clear the nails. We fall into the familiar rhythm of silent, shared work.

“What did Paige say?” he asks.

“About the joists?”

“The building.”

“She said it has good light.”

He looks at both windows. “It does.”

“And a mountain view.”