WHEN SOULS CALL TO ONE ANOTHER (eBook)
432 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
978-1-6678-2573-1 (ISBN)
Author Joy Dean lived in the remote bush of Alaska and received a notice of her Uncle's demise and her inheritance of his four bedroom home in California. Being winter, and negative 37 degrees; she decided to check it out and enjoy some California sun. The home was a falling down dump! She hired a local contractor - Ray Wilder who wanted her property - to clean up the mess and build her a home to live in and three to sell plus an artificial lake. She had writer's block and needed to see the lake work to finish her latest murder mystery. The town and the Wilder family hated old man Dean. That man had in his will that Joy could not sell, barter, trade, rent, lease, or give the property to any Wilder. Nor to anyone who would sell it to a Wilder. This infuriated Ray Wilder. Even more when he was cleaning it up for her to live there, instead of selling it to him. Joy was a tall girl and loved the large size of Ray. And flirted with him. Soon they were kissing - Ray taught her how - and falling in love while each reminded themselves the other was off limits and out of reach. But their souls called to each other.
Chapter Two
“Excellent dinner Joy. I am very impressed.” Ray said as he carried his empty plate to his sink. He smiled as he admired the pie.
“Thank you. Ready for pie?”
“Not yet. But why did you have a plastic bag in your slow cooker?”
“It’s a crock pot liner. Saves having to scrub or soak the slow cooker dish. Toss the bag and then I just wash it with hot soapy water, rinse and dry it and it’s all done. No mess and no fuss.”
“I need some of those. Now, can I talk you into a game of Boggle?” Ray put the dirty dishes in the sink.
“We should do the dishes first.”
“Not until we have pie and then we only have to wash them once. Right?”
“Works for me. Do you play rounds or to a certain score?” Joy asked.
“Rounds?” Ray raised an eyebrow.
Joy explained each player takes a turn shaking up the letters for one round. They did. They were well matched. At twenty rounds, Joy had eleven wins and Ray only nine.
“This is a lot more fun. I prefer to play to win, so playing with the family I would try to keep my scores lower than they should be, which is neither easy nor fun.”
“I know, been there a lot. AJ’s parents are poor spellers. So are you ready for pie now?”
“I am.” He got out plates and forks while Joy went to her small freezer for the pint of cherry ice cream. After warming the generous slices of pie in the microwave, she put a scoop of ice cream on each one.
“You are a fantastic cook; this pie is as good as the Bascoms serve. Maybe even better.”
“Thank you. Shall we re-do our business deal? I would fix dinner six nights a week if I could use your kitchen. We share the food costs and the cleanup. And use your freezer. It will save you money.” Joy offered.
“In lieu of the monthly fee?” Ray asked. “You have a deal lady, shake!” He offered his hand across the corner of the table.
Joy nicely accepted the handshake.
When the dishes were cleaned in the sinks, Joy also cleaned the microwave while Ray dried the dishes and put them away. They discussed food they wouldn’t care to eat, while they worked side by side. Joy disliked shell fish. So did Ray. Joy hated cream style corn; Ray loved it. Ray hated beets; Joy enjoyed them. They were in agreement on the rest of the foods.
“Do you like spicy foods?” She asked.
“Somewhat spicy, I love; but if it takes a gallon of water for twenty five bites, no.” Ray shook his head.
“Good.”
“So Joy, do you like BBQ grilled meals?”
“Sure do. I’m also a good outdoor cook.”
“And in Alaska you learned this, how?” Ray hung his dish towel over the oven door handle and leaned against the counter, ankles crossed.
Grinning, Joy copied his stance on the other side of the sinks.
“It was minus thirty four when I left home on Sunday morning. What was it here?”
“Sixty four.”
“I forgot to mention I left home at 3:30 a.m.”
“Sixty.”
“June first?”
“Sixty eight to seventy four or so.”
“Twenty eight to seventy eight; average has been fifty six.”
“Wow! And Father’s Day?” Ray asked. “I know it has been between sixty four and seventy eight on most Father’s Days.”
“Sixty to ninety five, with the record ninety eight above; record low, forty four above in the wee hours.”
“Interesting. And your point was?”
“Only a fool cooks inside in those temperatures.”
“Point made. I was just thinking the farther north, the cooler.”
“Winter time, it would be. But with Father’s Day always near the longest day of the year in the North American continent, add in we are the Land of the Midnight Sun and I live 555 miles from the Arctic Ocean; therefore the sun barely dips down at around two a.m., for a very short time. So we have a nice dusk immediately followed by a nice dawn and it really does not get dark. So with that much sunshine, we don’t get much cooling effect in our short summers. As a single smart person, I learned to grill.”
“I have to see Alaska. It sounds fascinating.” Ray put together another pot of coffee to keep his hands busy. “When would you say would be the best time to visit Alaska?”
“Depends on what you want to see. The Midnight Sun, June. Some very short very cold days, December. Thousand mile long dog sled races, February and March. Fish, April through September. An entire town decorated to the hilt for Christmas? North Pole in December. World class vegetables that can barely fit in a wheel barrow? End of August, first week of September at the State Fair.”
“What vegetable could possibly get that big?”
“Mostly cabbages. Kohlrabi, lettuce, squashes and such could take three or four to fill the wheel barrow.”
“I don’t buy that sight unseen. How could they grow that big? Inside a greenhouse?” Ray asked.
“Nope, field grown in the Mat-Su Valley. The sun is up most of the summer. The valley is surrounded by mountains and glaciers which amplify the heat and you can see and hear corn growing. At the Palmer State Fair it is common to see a dozen cabbages from 80 - 120 pounds. And a lot of other mega vegetables. I once saw a zucchini five feet long and a foot thick. Wearing a first place ribbon.”
“Then I’ll take your word for it Joy.” He pulled out her chair before getting two coffee cups.
“I don’t want to over stay my welcome. Please tell me when you usually retire?”
“After 10:30 usually. Let’s discuss your property plan.”
And so they did, long after the coffee pot ran dry. Just before ten thirty, Ray asked if she wanted to put down a large deposit or pay weekly for the hours used.
“Which do you prefer? Either is okay with me.” She handed the choice back to him.
“Weekly. I hate to tie up a client’s money. When it rains, it’s hard to do landscaping and I feel guilty if I am holding a ten thousand dollar deposit; if you know what I mean?”
“I appreciate that. How long should it take? Roughly?”
“The lake, utilities, roads, your bridges; a month to six weeks, of work. If it rains and I can’t work, longer.”
“Do you also do the foundations?”
“I can. I have a lot of experience doing them and we do have our own batch plant now, for the concrete work. What size homes do you want?”
“I want a two story five bedroom; or rather, a two story, four bedroom and a nursery with two offices. In case when I do get married my husband has need of an office.” After a moment’s thought, she changed that to two of that size. One for her and one for the Crofts. “How big of a house do you think I can sell?”
“I like four bedroom floor plans. Master, nursery, boys and girls. Sounds like it should cover the average family.”
“Would a log home be a feasible idea here?”
“Yes and no. They are doable. But why do it when you have to sheetrock the inside? And still, fire insurance is high out here.”
“Good point, Ray. I had forgotten this was a log cabin with the interior walls covered and painted. So, regular stick construction. Six or eight inch walls here?” She asked.
“Maybe six? Two by fours plus sheathing and siding outside and sheetrock inside.”
“Two by four? Mine and Lou’s need to be built with two by sixes in the walls please. And I want those to be blue boards. And I want solid insulation in the entire building for both of us.”
“Yes ma’am, you are the client. But why? It’s not that cold here.”
“Insulation keeps it warm in the winter and cooler in the summer heat. Lou is pregnant and if this one is like Amanda Joy as a toddler, we need the homes comfortable for the streakers.”
“Not a problem. It raises the cost but fuel efficiency is an important need.”
“It’s time for me to leave Ray. Is there a grocery store in Sandy Creek?”
“There is but they have no fresh meat or produce. I shop in Grand Lodge as they have several of the chain stores. I like to support the store I own stock in.” He grinned.
“Valid point. Lou is supposed to check on the stock and cash for me. Would you prefer I use your ‘net and phone while you are at work?”
“No. If one of us picks up while the other is on it, we wait five minutes and try again. Okay?”
“Thanks. Taco salad was my planned dinner tomorrow. Okay with you?”
“Absolutely. And thank you for tonight’s dinner. What is your normal get up time?”
“Six if I’m not up late writing.”
“Tomorrow I’ll work on all the permits and inform the crew that we have a big job on hand. I almost forgot. I do not destroy any redwoods and you have four large ones and some smaller ones.”
“Thanks! I agree. Can you show me on the photo before I leave?” Joy had no idea how enchanting her almost childish enthusiasm was to Ray.
He carried her dishes and stopped to show her on the photo where her trees were. One close to each corner.
“One for each lot! How wonderful. Goodnight Ray. Thanks for the hospitality. I can carry my own dishes. No need for you to.”
“I’ll see you to your door Joy. So I might as well be the one to carry them.”
At her door they again said goodnight. Ray stood there until Joy closed and locked her door at his bidding.
What a shame she was a Dean. Although he did love her...
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 10.2.2022 |
|---|---|
| Sprache | englisch |
| Themenwelt | Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen |
| ISBN-10 | 1-6678-2573-9 / 1667825739 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1-6678-2573-1 / 9781667825731 |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
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