Chapter 33
“I told you,” Luke said on Tuesday night as they talked over the phone. “She’s getting the paint tomorrow.”
Sage laughed at the dire notes in his voice. “Well, tell her to get some Killz for that pink, or we’ll never get it covered up.”
“We’ll?” he asked, and she laughed again.
“Yes, we’ll. Do you really think I would trust you painting your sisters’ rooms alone?”
“I can’t believe you agreed to this.” Luke stood over the buckets of paint in the garage on Wednesday morning, hands on hips, shaking his head.
Looking over the project, Sage pointed to the Killz. “We need to start with that on the pink. I don’t think we’ll need it on the green.” She lifted a paint can. “Did she say which color she wanted on which room?”
“She said something about a red accent wall in the green room?” He put his hand to his head and rubbed it there.
Sage nodded, thinking. “She’ll be back by noon, right?”
“That’s what she said.”
“Okay. Then we start with the Killz. Get that done first. Then we’ll call her if she’s not back yet.”
Strange, Luke thought as he watched her, how very solid she looked today. No giggles and shrinking back. More like she was leading an army, and he was the only soldier.
“So you get that,” she said, “and I’ll get the brushes, pans, and the roller.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The first task was covering everything with plastic, which was much more challenging than it sounded. Sage was glad she hadn’t dressed up for the occasion. In fact, that morning when Jane saw what she was planning to wear, she had graciously loaned her a T-shirt and some old jeans. Knowing she was only out to impress Luke and his mother, Sage had accepted the gift, put her hair up, and told herself she was going for the grunge look. It was working.
“Okay, lift it real careful,” Luke instructed as they fought to position the thin plastic over the bed and dresser which were now planted in the middle of the room. “Up. Watch that side.”
“I got it.”
“Good, now get it as even as we can.” He put his side down, and she followed. When he stood, he put his hands on his hips. “Now to cover the edges. Mom says to tape it down. She said otherwise you make a mess on the baseboards.”
Sage wasn’t arguing as she ripped into the next plastic bundle. “You got the tape?”
“Right here.” He held it up and spun it around his finger.
“What’re you trying out for the rifle show?”
“That could be arranged.” Picking it up, he aimed it at the wall. “I would be good at it.” He spun the tape ‘gun’ on her. “Hands up, woman.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.” She pulled out the plastic. “Here.” And with that, she tossed him a package that he barely caught.
“Wow.”
Ripping into the bag she held, she extracted the plastic. “Here’s the way I figure it. You’re not going to kill me because if you did, you’d have to paint everything by yourself.”
He laughed as he put the tape down and tore into his own bag. “A very good point.”
She smiled at him and tipped her head. “I thought you’d see it my way. Now come on, let’s get this stuff down so we can have some fun with that paint.”
Three hours later, they were indeed having fun with the paint. Luke wasn’t totally sure what had come over her, but whatever it was, he liked it. Sometime around eleven, she had started singing. When he knew the words, he joined in; however, music and lyrics were clearly not his forte.
“… you’re making me!” she sang.
“… you’re baking me!” he sang.
She stopped, roller in hand and looked over at him with a scowl. “Baking? You’re baking me? What was that?”
“That’s what they say.”
“No, it’s not.” Sage went for more taupe-color paint. They had in fact had to call his mother after the Killz was up, and they were making very good progress. If this kept up, they’d be in the next room in no time. “It’s mmmmaking me. Making. Like MMMaybelline.” She rolled some more paint on the wall, stepped back, and then rolled some more.
“Maybelline? What does that have to do with anything?”
“The m sound. Not b, like baking. Baking me. That doesn’t even make any sense.”
Part of him was enjoying seeing her so serious about something so incredibly irrelevant. Just getting to spend so much time with her was an answer to prayers, and she was so laid back today. He was sure her friends wouldn’t even recognize her.
“You’re making me,” she sang and continued on with the song as he watched her, hand on hip rolling the paint up and down over the white.
She could make him do about anything these days.
His mother came home around 2:30 and went first to Hannah’s room. “Oh, it’s so beautiful!”
That brought both of them up from their brushes in the second room.
“You like it?” Sage asked as Luke followed her down the hall to where his mother stood on the threshold of the room.
“It’s so peaceful. So much better than the pink.” She turned. “How’s the other one coming?”
“Come see.” Sage led the little parade down the hall and turned in, splaying her arms out. “Ta-da!”
When his mother came in, Luke really thought she was about to start crying. “Oh. It’s wonderful. Are you going to do the red over there?”
“We are, and I was thinking.” Sage went to the window. “I don’t know what you were thinking for furniture, but a little bench seat right here with a cushion just lighter than the wall color.”
“Oh, that would be amazing.”
With a soft smile, Sage sidled up to Luke and wound her arms under his and around his waist. “And I bet I know someone who could even make it for you.”
When he looked down, her eyes were sparkling up at his. “Oh, yeah? Who’s that?”
However, Sage just shook her head and looked over at his mother. “If you approve of the bench, we’ll do it.”
And the look of love and acceptance on his mother’s face as she looked at them made his heart dance. “I’d love it.”
Everything was drying by the time the two of them went out hand-in-hand to the little work shed. Sage had never felt more at peace in her life. His mother loved the rooms, and she could feel that she was warming up to her as well. That was nice beyond words.
“So I’m hoping you have a plan for this bench,” Luke said, putting his hand on the back of his head.
“Well, of course. Is there paper out here? I can sketch it out for you.”
At the door, he opened it and held it. “I think so. Dad’s always got a stash of scratch paper. How are you with a carpenter’s pencil?”
They were talking with him following her as they went deeper into the near pitch blackness.
“Never used one. Are you sure this is?” The clunk that wasn’t him followed by the ouch that wasn’t him kind of answered her question. “Yow! What was that?”
He clicked on the little light. “Miter table.”
“Man, that… hurt.” She picked up her foot and did a little dance.
Trying not to laugh, he raised his eyebrows. “You okay?”
“Next time, I let you go first.” She put her foot on the ground and limped gingerly before looking up. Her gaze swept the small room. “So this is where the magic happens, huh?”
Luke lifted his eyebrows even further. “Magic? I wouldn’t call it that.” It was then that he thought about the name, her name, sitting in the corner. He glanced over at it and air lodged in his chest. It was slightly behind two other pieces, but there was no real way to cover it up or hide it, so his best bet was to keep her attention away from it. “Music. You like music, right?” He reached up to the little shelf on the other side and clicked on the radio. “Hang on. I’ll get the paper.”
His heart was slamming now with worry about leaving her there for more than seconds. “Here you go.” He came back and put it on the miter table. “Why don’t you draw it out, and I’ll see if it’s even something I can do?”
“It’s not like it’s baroque.” She took the paper and the funny, stubbed, squared off pencil with a smile and a saucy shrug. “I promise. I’ll go easy on you.”
As soon as she bent over the paper, Luke backed slowly, carefully into the corner, and tossed a rag onto the thing. Finally he could breathe.
“And then I was thinking like a little…” Realizing he wasn’t right here watching, Sage turned. “Are you not going to look at this?”
“What? Oh, yeah.” And Luke strode away from the wall back over to her, knowing his secret was safe. “Nice artwork.” He meant it too. The little bench was clearly drawn, and from the look of it, it wouldn’t be too hard to build. Only problem was if she was planning to stay here while he built it.
“Just like that,” she said, putting the pencil down. “The little lip will keep the cushions on it, and the armrests will be a nice touch to the sides.”
Right in front of him, she looked up, angling her gaze both up and behind her. “What do you think?”
“It doesn’t look too hard. What’re you planning on staining it with?” So that he could concentrate on something other than his proximity to her, Luke backed up and leaned on the scroll saw.
“I think go dark. It would contrast with the lighter cushions and stand out on that red wall.”
He nodded, thinking the plan through. “We’ll have to make a trip to Greely for the stain.”
“Cool,” she said with a bounce. “How soon can you have it done?”
Luke put his hand on the back of his head. “Tomorrow if I get some time tonight. Friday at the latest. But Friday I have to do the shopping for the meal, so if I don’t get it done by Friday, it’ll be next week.”
Sage nodded. “So bench, stain, meal.” She waved her hand in the air. “Psh. No problem.” She put her hands on her hips. “So where do we start?”
A second and Luke pushed up. “We? I didn’t know you do woodwork.”
She shrugged. “I don’t, but that doesn’t mean I can’t learn.”
Sometimes it was so strange to him that she was even the same girl who had stepped foot in this town two months before. “Okay, then. Let’s get to work.”
The craziest thing about the whole day was how incredibly much Sage enjoyed it. Doing creative things, thinking through how to do the design and making it come to life. It was more fun than anything had a right to be and even more so because she got to do it with him.
“You know,” she said as he carefully nailed the legs of the bench in place. “I think I could do a swirl on the wall on each side of it, kind of a 3-D thing with the light paint and a darker paint like the stain color. That would be fab-oo. Your mom would love it.”
Luke shook his head. “Swirly paint? Uh. Yeah. That’s your department.” He put his free hand up. “I’m not touching that one.”
She twisted her shoulders at him. “Okay, Mr. Courageous. Then leave it to me.”
“And we’re doing this bench for Kara and Priscilla’s room,” Sage babbled on as they ate supper. She hardly tasted anything as she talked, telling them all about her day and the painting and the bench. “We’re going tomorrow to Greely to get the stain.”
The pastor and his wife exchanged glances.
“Oh. If that’s okay.” Lowering her bread, Sage prayed they wouldn’t say no. They wouldn’t, would they?
“I think that would be fine,” the pastor finally said.
“Great! Eep! I’m so excited!”
The next morning Luke picked her up just after eight, and they headed to Greely.
“I got it all nailed together last night.” He glanced over at her. “I think you’re right. Mom’s going to fall in love with it.”
Sage lifted her shoulders with excitement. “You know, I was thinking.”
“Uh, oh.”
“No. This is good.” She squinted into the idea. “I want to do something nice for the Mitchells. They’ve been so great about everything.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Well, I was noticing their end tables last night. The ones on either side of the couch. They’re really old and kind of wobbly.”
Somehow Luke got the feeling she was going to find plenty of jobs for him to do.
He glanced over at her. “So you want to fix them?”
She twisted her lips under her teeth for a second. “Actually, I was thinking about making them new ones.” Her hand went up. “That I would totally pay for. Wood, stain, all of it.”
“You don’t have to…”
“Nope. I’m not arguing here. My gift. I pay for it.” Then she dropped her hand as she melted off into some dream world he couldn’t see. “I was thinking about it last night, and I think…” With that, she launched into a ten-minute explanation of end tables with drawers and a shelf with legs that came down both sides.
Luke was having a hard time keeping up, but he knew they were going to have a blast putting the things together. “Tell you what, you draw me a picture, and I’ll see what I can do.”
She grinned up at him. “Absaposilutely.”
At the hardware store, Luke followed her around, dizzy from her excitement. It was like someone had turned on a moving generator inside her that made her bounce rather than walk.
“These would be perfect, don’t you think?” She lifted handles out of the tiny drawers for his inspection.
Luke smiled. She had very good taste and an exquisite eye for putting things together just so. “Perfect.”
Later in the little workshop, Sage took the bench to his father’s side to work on staining it while Luke cut and pieced the end tables together on the other side. She had never been happier. Amazing all these years hanging out in the mall, who knew it was the creating not the buying that would be so much fun. Dabbing and then rubbing the stain in and off, she swayed to the music he had on the little radio.
Country music. She smiled at that thought. Life made such interesting turns. Stepping back, she examined her project from every side and decided she was finished. She set the stain and rag to the side and went to find him for the instructions on the next step.
When she crossed over into the little room beyond, he was busy scroll-cutting the decorative braces they had decided to use in the corners of the end tables. Jane was going to love them. However, it was then that Sage noticed Luke hadn’t seen her enter and rather than disturb him, she simply stood and watched him, his back to her, head bent over the project. She couldn’t help it, love for him cascaded right over her, sweeping every doubt and hesitation away. Quietly she stepped up behind him and carefully ran her hands around his waist to latch in front of him.
In one instant he snapped up and hit the off switch. “Hey, woman. What do you think you’re doing?”
She laid her head on his back and pushed him into swaying with her to the music. “Not my fault. You just look too inviting.”
With that he turned, leaned on the saw and dragged her into his arms. Still swaying with him, Sage closed her eyes and let herself be held as if on the wings of an eagle soaring high above the earth. “Hmm…” She’d never felt such contentment, such overpowering tranquility. It was as if the rest of the world suddenly didn’t even exist anymore.
And he just held her, not pushing for more, no tumble into desire or passion. Their souls simply meshed and mingled, entwined as if a single spirit rather than two separate people.
“How did I ever live before I found you?” she asked.
“I ask myself that every single day, darlin’. Every. Single. Day.”
The bench was finished, shining with the lacquer like a new penny. The dark ash stain she had chosen over his protest was, of course, perfect. Luke stepped back into his father’s side of the workshop and shook his head at the vision. His mother was going to love it.
Sage had been back in the house painting her swirls for an hour. How it could take an hour to paint swirls, Luke had no idea. However, it was probably better because thinking straight with her out here with him was proving to be more of a challenge than he had bargained on.
He went out into the nearly-August sunshine and blinked it back as it assaulted his eyes. Tomorrow they would have to be shopping and Saturday was the community meal, so if they didn’t get these done today, it would be Monday before either of them had time again.
Into the house he went and on his way through the kitchen, he grabbed some water, liking how the house felt knowing she was in it. Water in hand, he went to find her in Kara’s room, but he stopped short when he came to the doorframe.
At the window, she was sitting cross-legged, her whole concentration on the wall and the final part of the swirl in front of her. Its match was already finished on the other side. Luke leaned on the doorframe and just watched her as he took a drink. He could do that forever.
Another minute and she made one final touch and then sat back.
“Very nice,” he said, pushing up from the frame and coming into the room as she jumped backward.
“Luke Baker!” she said with a squeak. “Don’t do that to me.”
“What?” He shrugged. “You did it to me.” With a smile, he lifted his chin. “Very nice. That bench is going to look awesome with this.”
She lifted both shoulders in excitement, and Luke had to admit he really liked that about her. How she could look so young and innocent and yet amazing and sophisticated. If she hadn’t fallen in love with him, he’d have never thought he could keep up. At the window next to her, he sat on his heels and admired her artwork.
“Wow. I thought you were going to do some cheap stencil thing. This is incredible.”
Her smile practically lifted her right off the floor. “You really like it?”
How could she even ask that question? He looked right at her and the smile couldn’t be stopped. “I love it. Let’s go get the bench.”
“Eek!” And with that she was off the floor. “I can’t wait to see it all done. I was thinking last night, I think Jane has a sewing machine. How hard can a couple cushions be…”
For Luke, he was just having fun watching her. Living seemed so much better the way she did it.
She was right. The bench, the swirls, the color—it made the room look classy and modern, so unlike the horrific green of its former life.
“So?” Sage asked as they stepped back from placing the bench.
“Mom may never let you leave.” Luke reached over and put his arms around Sage as they admired their handiwork. “You’re amazing, you know that?” He leaned over and put a kiss on her head.
She put her hand on his chest. “Hey, I didn’t do this alone.”
And he couldn’t help but plant a sweet kiss on her lips.
The back door banged, and they let go of each other to turn.
“That’s Mom.” Luke grabbed her hand. “Come on.”
In tandem, they went into the kitchen.
“Oh,” his mother said. “I was wondering where you two were.”
“We have a surprise for you,” Sage sing-songed, and the soft jingling of her tone made Luke love her even more.
“A surprise?”
“A big surprise.” And Sage squealed unable to quell the excitement as she bounced from foot-to-foot.
His mother lifted her eyebrows at him.
“You’re gonna love it,” he said to her unspoken question. “Come on.”
She followed them down the hall to the bedroom and stopped dead when she saw it. For a full ten seconds nothing moved. “Who…? How…?” Then she turned and looked at them. “Did you do this?”
Luke let his gaze fall to the floor as Sage put her hand on his chest again.
“Luke did,” she said, looking up at him.
He tilted his head. “Well, I had a little help.”
“It’s… oh, it’s fabulous.”
“I thought about making some cushions for it,” Sage said, following his mother who went over to the piece. “I was thinking red or maybe even white.”
And with that, they talked finishing touches so long that Sage ended up staying for supper. If she kept this up, she’d have their whole house redecorated in no time. Strangely, Luke would be okay with that.