Matthew tsked her. “Yes, you do.” Matthew started walking away. “Come on; let’s go back inside. It should have cooled off by now.”

It was still hot, but more bearable, as he had damped the fire before leaving the shop.

Laying the iron spoke on the worktable, he took off his remaining glove.

He turned and saw her standing by the iron door he had made, leaning against the wall. Striding quickly to stand next to her, Matthew prepared to pull her away if she so much as tried to lift a finger to touch it, regardless if she snapped at him or not.

“Careful. The door is heavy.”

He expected her to give him a wary look at how close he was standing next to her, but she seemed unconcerned, keeping her gaze on the intricately carved door.

“You do beautiful work.”

“Thank you.”

“You and Isaac made this?”

“Yes. We have a catalog of ironwork we can produce.”

“Do you only work with iron?”

“No, it depends on what the customers want.”

Matthew showed her around the shop, the different metal they worked with, then some of the finished products, which were stored there, waiting to be installed.

“Jody and Jacob normally install and deliver our products, while Isaac and I work here.”

“That’s cool that you get to work with your brothers. You all seem to get along very well.”

“We have our moments. Moses prefers to work alone, which is why he trains dogs.”

“And Ezra?”

“He builds furniture. Sometimes, he works with Silas.”

“Managing your mountain?”

Matthew raised an eyebrow at her. “Silas didn’t tell you what he does for a living?”

“No.”

“Silas likes to enter competitions, or he used to. Lately, we’ve been keeping him busy helping us out. He’s the one who taught Ezra woodworking, so if Ezra gets a big order, he’ll pitch in to get the order out. They just completed a large bedroom set.”

“I envy your family’s talents. I don’t have a talented bone in my body.”

“What are your interests?”

“I’m afraid I don’t have any. I’m the most boring person you’ll ever meet.”

“What do you do in your free time? Watch television, read books, play video games?”

“No. I hadn’t read a book in years until I went to jail. That’s all there was to do there.”

“So, what do you do in your free time? I don’t believe you just sit and watch the walls.”

“No. I usually don’t have a lot of free time. When I’m not working, I babysit for a couple of mothers in my neighborhood who work the evening shifts, and when I’m not doing that, I online tutor children who are behind math and reading.”

“Children are your interest.”

“I guess. It isn’t much to brag about, though.”