Let’s write a story – Chapter Four
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CHAPTER FOUR
SIERRA
“We need to build the biggest lock ever.” Noah held his arms out.
Sierra chuckled. “I don’t think bigger is necessarily better. We just need a better one.”
She watched her nephew run back and forth in the hardware store aisle with relentless energy. She covered a yawn with the back of her hand. No answers had come to her despite tossing and turning the better part of the night.
“Aunt See, were there alpacas on the ark?”
“Well, the Bible does say every kind of animal.” Sierra took a lock off the hook and studied the mechanism. It seemed sturdy enough, but without knowing exactly how Reg was getting the locks undone, she wasn’t sure if it was any better.
“My Sunday school teacher said the animals were locked up tight in the ark.”
She was pleased that Noah was able to retain more of what he learned in Sunday school this morning than she had in church service.
“I wonder what kind of lock the ark builder used,” she murmured to herself as her nephew ran to the end of the aisle. “Buddy, stick close to me and don’t run in the store, okay?”
Noah stopped short and heel-toed his way back to her. Perhaps she should have left him at home where he could play. She dismissed the thought. Her mom had been in another bad mood this morning, not wanting to get out of bed.
“Mrs. Meadows!” Noah shouted.
“Well, fancy meeting you here, young man.” Sierra turned to greet Mrs. Meadows but stopped short, seeing Zach leaning against the handle of their flat cart. She clasped the lock she held with both hands.
Mrs. Meadows beamed at them. “Good afternoon, Sierra. Nice to see you again. You remember my nephew, Zach?”
“Sure.” Sierra nodded, losing her train of thought. She looked at her hands. Locks, right.
“What are you two doing here?” Mrs. Meadows asked.
“We’re getting a bigger lock for Reg. It needs to be this big.” Noah held out his arms.
“Wow, that big, huh? A lock that size will surely keep Reg in.”
Zach pushed the cart closer and leaned close to Sierra. “That lock doesn’t look big enough to handle the job.”
The space around them tightened, and her face heated. “I just need something sturdier.” She clumsily put the lock back on the hook.
“What is that?” Noah pointed at their cart. “Are you building something?”
Zach turned his attention away from Sierra, and she let out a long breath. “No, just getting stuff for moving.” Their cart was piled with cardboard boxes.
Noah shrank back. “I don’t like moving.”
Sierra’s heart thudded at his expression. How was she going to break the news that he would soon be doing just that if Sylvia had her way?
“Me neither.” Zach studied the little boy. “What don’t you like about moving?”
“Sleeping in new places. I like my room at Aunt See’s.” Noah sidled closer to her. Zach raised his eyes to meet Sierra’s. A quick moment passed between them, and this time it took her breath away.
“Sleeping in a new place can be scary,” Zach told Noah. “I have a special room at my aunt’s house too.”
“Really?” Noah looked to Mrs. Meadows.
“Oh, definitely. Zach stays at my house all the time. His room has lots of special toys.” She smiled fondly at Zach.
Noah stepped closer to them. “What kind of toys?”
Zach rested his chin in his hand as if thinking. “Oh, the usual stuff: action figures, cars, tools.”
“Tools aren’t toys,” Noah corrected.
“They are for me. Someday you’ll have to come to my aunt’s house and I’ll show you. In the meantime, since you seem to know a little about moving, maybe you could help me pick out some stuff so I’m doing this right. If it’s okay with your aunt, that is.” Both boys looked at Sierra with expectancy.
She tugged her upper lip under her lower teeth. “As long as you don’t go too far, and you listen to Mr. Zach.”
“Yay!” Noah bounced over to Zach. “Can I push the cart?”
“Only if I can help.” He let Noah get in front of him. “We’ll only be a few aisles over—within yelling distance.”
Sierra watched the two with a mixture of anxiety and relief. Mrs. Meadows put her hand on Sierra’s arm. “They’ll be fine. Zach is excellent with children. How’s your mom doing?”
“She’s not feeling well today.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help? Would she like some company?”
“That’s very sweet of you to offer, but she doesn’t like company when she’s under the weather.”
Mrs. Meadows nodded. “Understandable. So, how about you? Is there anything I can do for you?”
“No, unless you can recommend a miracle lock to keep Reg where he’s supposed to be.” Sierra waved to the wall of padlocks.
Mrs. Meadows chuckled. “From the sounds of it, I’m not sure what would work. Reginald seems to be a very determined animal.”
“He’s definitely stubborn.”
“Yes, I know a few people like that.” Mrs. Meadows looked in the direction Zach and Noah had gone.
Sierra followed her gaze. “It takes a lot of determination to be an artist. Your nephew is very talented.”
“Yes, he is. I just wish his father could see it.” Mrs. Meadows tugged her cardigan across her chest. “But enough about that; we have more pressing matters to deal with.” She held up a roll of packing tape.
“I didn’t know you were moving. I hope it’s a local move.”
“Oh, I’m not the one moving. Zach just learned that he has to move his studio. What a headache that will be.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help you out?”
“No, unless you know of a large building Zach could rent out for his studio.”
Sierra had no idea what that entailed, but, like Noah, the thought of moving was disturbing. It was one reason she was so desperate for the stability of the farm.
“The worst part is that he just received a huge commission, and having to move his studio right now is a burden he shouldn’t have to shoulder. If I had the right space, I’d let him use it in a heartbeat, but he really needs a large building with the right ventilation that can handle his equipment.”
“A large building?” Sierra twirled her bracelet around her wrist. The steel barn on the farm was only being used for storage. Renting it out could provide the funds she’d need to pay off her mom’s debts and keep the farm afloat. It was a risk, but it might be an answered prayer for both of them.
“I might know of a place,” Sierra said. She turned and headed down the aisle toward the sound of her nephew’s laughter, determined to see if her empty barn could solve both of their problems.
ZACH
“What are you going to put in these boxes?” Noah asked, swinging from the handle of the flat cart.
Zach grabbed a large bundle of bubble wrap and placed it on top of the cardboard. “My tools and supplies. I have to keep my glass rods safe so they don’t break during the move.”
Noah pulled his hand back as if the bubble wrap were the glass itself. “I’m not allowed to use glass. Aunt See says it can break too easy.”
“She’s right. That’s why I need to pack it special.”
“I pack my cars special when my mom comes.”
Zach leaned down. “Oh yeah? Why is that?”
“Because they get lost at the airports.”
“I’ll bet it’s real fun to see all the planes, though.”
Noah shrugged. “I guess. Know what I like best?”
“What?”
“Living with Aunt See. I’m going to take care of alpacas when I grow up.”
Zach crossed his arms. “Well, that sounds like an important job. I’ve seen what a handful they can be.”
“Nah, Reg is special. Most of them just stand around eating. But they’re so soft. After the snow goes away, these men come to the farm. They wrestle the alpacas, cut off their fur, and make them look funny.” Noah giggled into his hand. “Reg hates it because he looks like a Q-tip.”
Zach laughed. “That sounds like something to see.” He tried to picture the alpaca head on top of a cotton swab, but wasn’t successful. “So, what else do you do on the farm?”
“I help Aunt See make stuff with the fur. She’s teaching me how to do the spinning wheel and make socks, even.”
“Wow. You are an enterprising young man.”
Noah tilted his head. “What’s enter-pwising?”
“You like to learn and do things.”
Noah stuck his chest out. “I do! Aunt See says I got lots of energy.”
Zach agreed—that much was obvious just being in the little boy’s presence for five minutes—but he loved Noah’s enthusiasm. “Have you ever seen anyone make something out of glass?”
Noah’s eyes widened, and he shook his head.
Zach spent the next few minutes explaining the process of melting glass to the fascinated little boy. It was a welcome distraction from the stress of finding a new workspace.
“Zach makes bubbles from glass,” Noah announced as Sierra and Aunt Jenny walked up to the cart.
Zach straightened, brushing dust off his jeans. Sierra’s gaze met his, and he was struck again by the warmth in her eyes.
“Your aunt tells me you need a new studio space quickly,” Sierra said, her voice steady but cautious. “I have a large steel building on my farm. I’m not sure if it meets your needs, but I might be willing to rent it out.”
Zach’s pulse sped up. “A steel building? How big is it?”
“It’s thirty by forty with a concrete floor.” Indecision clouded her eyes. “But you work with glass. Doesn’t that require fire? A furnace?”
“A glory hole and a furnace, yes,” Zach said. He stepped closer, energized by the prospect. “It gets up to two thousand degrees. I’d need to bring in proper ventilation and check the electrical panel.”
Sierra took a step back. “Two thousand degrees? Zach, I have a barn full of dry hay, livestock, and a young nephew who gets into everything. I can’t risk a fire hazard like that.”
The excitement in Zach’s chest tightened into a knot. He needed this space. “I am incredibly safety-conscious. I carry full liability insurance, and I would pay for all the necessary electrical upgrades myself. It would be entirely up to code.”
Sierra bit her lower lip. “It isn’t just the fire. My mother hasn’t been well. Having an industrial setup and a stranger coming and going on the property might be too disruptive.”
Zach softened his tone, recognizing her very valid boundaries. “I completely understand your hesitation. I would keep strict hours and stay out of your way.” He named a generous monthly rental amount. “What if I just come look at the space? No commitments. If you don’t feel comfortable after we talk through the logistics, I will walk away.”
Noah grabbed Sierra’s hand and swung it back and forth. “And you can live with us, right, Aunt See?”
Sierra’s face flushed. “No, buddy. Mr. Zach wouldn’t be living with us.”
“I’m staying with my aunt,” Zach told the boy, though he kept his eyes on Sierra. “If this building works out, I would only work there. When can I look at the space, Sierra?”
She studied him for a long moment, appearing to weigh the pros and cons. “You can come over tomorrow morning after nine. But I am only agreeing to let you look at it.”
Aunt Jenny clapped her hands. “Wonderful. I’ll be able to visit with your mom while you show Zach around the farm. I’ll bring some of my preserves for us to snack on.”
“That’s not necessary…”
“Forget it, Sierra. You can’t escape Aunt Jenny’s attempts to ply you with her sweets. Take it from me.” Zach patted his flat stomach.
Sierra’s eyebrows lifted skeptically, but she graciously accepted Aunt Jenny’s offer.
Zach held his hand out. “So we’ll see you tomorrow morning, then?”
“Tomorrow morning.” They shook hands.
“Bye, Zach. Bye, Mrs. Meadows. See you tomorrow. Bring two jars.” Noah grinned and gave Zach and Aunt Jenny each a quick hug.
Zach couldn’t wait for tomorrow to come.
Okay, readers, what will happen tomorrow? Comment below.
Chapter Three
