“Coors, and thanks.” Flynn could see that a woman hadn’t lived in this house in a long time, if ever. No fancy throw pillows on the sofa or knickknacks sitting around. A single painting of the waterfall hung above the sofa. The coffee table had scrapes and scars made by boots being propped on it, and the end tables were dotted with circles that came from sweating beer bottles and cans.

Flynn was way too dusty and sweaty to sit on the sofa, so he took a seat in an old wooden rocker like the ones in Nanny Lucy’s living room. This one had been stained and varnished at one time, but the finish had worn off the wide arms. He set it in motion with his foot and just enjoyed the cool air while Jackson was in the kitchen. This was the life—no headaches or paperwork to take home at the end of the day.

“There you go.” Jackson handed him a longneck bottle of Coors and then twisted the cap off his own. “So are you coming back tomorrow, or have you had enough? You really are good with wood.” He sat down in the other rocking chair and propped his feet up on the coffee table.

Flynn removed the cap from his beer and took a long drink. “I’ll be back. I’d forgotten how good a cold beer tastes after a hot day of work, and it’s been a long time since I could say I was finished at the end of the day.”

“Miz Lucy said that you worked in the oil fields. Wasn’t that hot work?” Jackson asked.

“Back when I worked outside it was even hotter work than what we’ve been doing, but for the past three years, I’ve been behind a desk,” Flynn answered. “Working with my hands sure eases the stress, even if it does make me sweat.”

“Yep,” Jackson agreed. “I got to where I hated to go to work every day when I was a lawyer. I got up with a heavy feeling in my chest. I came home after sixteen hours in the office or the courtroom, fell into bed, and even though I was mentally exhausted, I fought sleep, because I knew the next morning would just start things all over again.”

“You’re preaching to the choir, but my days were probably only ten hours, not sixteen. At the end of the day, I took a full briefcase home with me.” Flynn noticed the hope chest sitting beside the sofa. “Is that what you’re guarding until we get the quilt finished?”