April took a long sip of her sweet tea and smiled. For the first time in her life, she was beginning to feel at home. There had never been much laughter in the house when she was growing up. Now it seemed like every time they all got tickled, a little more of the past was washed away by their happiness.

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Have you ever stained a piece of wood?” Jackson looked up from the table saw where he was working when Flynn came into the building.

“No, but I’m willing to learn,” Flynn answered, glad to be trusted with another job.

“I’ve got so many orders that I’m getting behind. I’d sure like it if you could do the finish work for me from now on. I can get the pieces built pretty fast, but the finish takes forever and slows me down.” Jackson pointed to a couple of hope chests on a worktable. “You’ve got those sanded. They’re ready to put the dark cherry stain on them. I’ll show you how to do the lid on one. It’s really easy. Just brush it on until you finish one side, let it set about five minutes to soak up the color, and then use paper towels to wipe it off.” He demonstrated as he talked. “Then tomorrow you can put a coat of varnish on each of them.”

“That I can do.” Flynn was excited to be learning something new. Sanding had taken his mind away from everything and given him time to think. Hopefully, staining would be just as satisfying. “I’ve done my fair share of painting, and it can’t be a lot different than that.”

“Not at all. Just keep the strokes even and overlapped, with no runs.” Jackson handed him the brush and went back to cutting out more pieces. When he turned off the saw, he turned around and nodded. “Good job there. You’ve got a job here full-time if you decide to stick around once the quilt is done. And thank you.”

“For what? You’re paying me to do this,” Flynn said.

“Nessa and I had supper at Weezy’s when we went to the cemetery. You’ve taken heat off me and probably the entire unmarried male population of Blossom when it comes to Tilly.” Jackson grinned.

“You’re welcome, but I’m not getting tangled up with that woman, either. I’ll just stay out of Weezy’s, and if she comes up in the yard, I’ll hide over here.” Flynn laughed.

He could see himself in Tilly and wondered if she had ever thought about changing her lifestyle. Did she have a troubled background like he did, or maybe an ex-husband who’d made her feel worthless? “Makes a man wonder what kind of husband she had.”