Page 2 of Their Love Nest

He approaches us, his eyes still locked on me. “About as good as it could treat anyone. And still better than some highways I’ve driven on.”

Savvy chuckles. “As a city girl, I can tell you all about it.”

“And who is this beside you, Savvy? The one staring at me like a deer caught in the headlights, but with a charming pink hue to her cheeks?”

The hue turns redder when he says that. “Um, uh...” I stumble through my words.

Savvy, the wingwoman that she is, stops me from making too much of a fool of myself. “This is my friend Char.”

“Char, huh?”

“It’s short for Charlene,” I say, eloquence continuing to evade me.

“Char’s a cute nickname.”

I swallow, and continue to stare at him, a nervous wreck. “Are all your new friends this lovely, Savvy?”

“Lovely, huh?” He strokes his stubble. “No one’s ever called me that before, but I’ll take it as a compliment all the same.”

Savvy shakes her head. “Hunter’s friends are nice enough. But I’m guessing you’re going to find Bear nicer than the others.”

“Savvy!” I hear from the other side of the cabin. “Nate’s, uh... doing some business. And I don’t think me handling it is the most sanitary thing right now with me cooking.”

My friend chuckles. “I gotta go do the mommy thing. You two can keep talking. I don’t think you need me here to chaperone.”

Savvy takes off, leaving me alone with this big bad Bear, who wants to eat me in all of the best ways. I think I could have done with a chaperone for a bit longer, but I’ll survive.

“You’re Hunter’s friend?” I ask, pacing around, nervous, and not wanting to blow it any more than I had already.

“I’d like to think I’m Savvy’s too. And a lot of other people.” He starts to slowly walk to the side of the cabin, and I follow his direction. “And maybe I’d like to be more, with some more recent acquaintances.”

“You don’t fool around, don’t you?”

“Hey, when something you want is right there in front of you, don’t ask too many questions. You take it.”

We moved toward a wooden... porch? Platform? It’s expertly crafted: no surprise, given Hunter’s expertise as a carpenter, but I couldn’t decipher its purpose just by looking at it. It has a ring of bench seats and an entrance and railings.

Bear kneels down, running his hand over some of the rougher joints. “Yeah, another layer of weatherproofing and this’ll be built to last.”

“You know what this is?”

He nods. “I’m helping build it, so I hope I do.”

“I’m at a loss.”

“It’s a gazebo.”

I shrug. “Don’t gazebos have ceilings?”

“It’s a mid-construction gazebo. Kind of the reason I’m here; gonna help Hunter get the support beams up and finally put on the roof. Should see the work he’s done. It’s pretty much art.”

“That’s sweet of you. Helping him with this.”

“Why wouldn’t I help him? He’s the closest thing I have to a brother.”

“No actual blood family?”

“None left in this time zone. Family’s what you make of it anyway.” He pauses from his woodwork examination and flashes me a playful grin. “Why? Looking to start one?”

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