Page 91 of Unforgiven

“Yeah, I know.” Exhaling, he lifted the hammer again.

“Hold on.” Moving closer, he placed his hand on Lott’s shoulder. “Something’s going on with you. What is it?”

“Nothing.”

Keeping his voice low and steady, he said, “Care to tell me again?”

Lott met his gaze, then looked away. “Nothing. I . . . I just don’t want to mess up.”

“I can understand that.” He suspected Lott wasn’t just talking about their current project, that he was talking about his relationship with Seth and his relationship with Melonie too. Since connecting with Lott was the reason he’d asked for Lott to work by his side, he figured it might be time to do just that.

Once the kid settled down a bit.

“Let’s get started. After we make some progress, we’ll talk.”

Instead of acting relieved, Lott looked a little sick. “Okay.” He picked up the crowbar, slid it into the small gap between the baseboard and the wall, and pulled hard.

The wood splintered and broke.

“Sorry.”

“Do you see what you did wrong? I told you to go easy.”

“I thought I did.”

“Slow and steady, Lott. Try it again.”

Lott slid the crowbar into the gap farther down and pulled with too much force again. The wood released in one piece, but just barely.

“Lott, you’re not listening to me.”

“I’m trying, but Cal told me that I needed to work fast.”

“You need to work efficiently. That’s different.” Seeing that Lott still looked obstinate, Seth held out a hand. “Hand me the crowbar.” When Lott did, he showed him how to gently pry the wood. “You see the difference?”

He frowned. “I guess.”

Seth stood and pointed to the next section. Even though part of him wanted to take over the project, he knew that Lott needed to learn. He also needed to see that Seth believed in him. “Try it again. You’ll get it.”

It took another ten minutes, but finally Lott followed directions enough to get the next section of old baseboard up and the nails removed.

“Good. Now keep going.”

Lott looked frustrated but nodded.

Ignoring Lott’s attitude, Seth concentrated on measuring and using the miter board to cut the new wider baseboards. After another hour went by, all the old boards were stacked neatly, the area was clean, and Lott was helping him nail in the new boards.

“This looks better, doesn’t it?” Seth said.

“Jah. I thought it was a waste of time, but I guess it wasn’t.”

“It wasn’t. Rushing through things is rarely the best option. To do them right takes time.”

Lott glanced at him. “Are you talking about just woodwork?”

“I might be talking about courting my sister too.”

“I’m being careful with Melonie. I like her a lot.” Blushing slightly, he stared down at the floor. “More than that, even.”

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