Page 35 of Bound By Words

Nathan: Is there a reason your car is parked in the driveway?

In case I was wrong about the owner, I snapped a picture, including the Connecticut license plate.

Moving back to the garage, I pulled out the case for my chainsaw, ensuring the oil inside hadn’t gone bad since I’d used it last. Evan had a can of gas sitting in the corner, so I filled it up quickly, screwing on the cap and pressing the primer switch before I tugged on the cord a few times, the motor whirring to life.

I flicked the kill switch, exited the garage, and watched the house for signs of life as I crossed the driveway. There weren’t any lights on, and the curtains were drawn in the main bedroom, but they’d been closed when I arrived yesterday.

The chainsaw whirred to life as I pulled the cord a few times to restart it, the blade spinning smoothly as I pressed the hand trigger. I hoped the noise wouldn’t wake whoever the house guest was, but I didn’t care enough to delay getting started. The break in the weather would only last so long, so I needed to get to work.

Placing my noise-canceling earbuds in, I cranked up my music as I started. I quickly shaped the stump into a flat work surface and used the chainsaw to cut down the surrounding trees. Beads of sweat gathered in my hair and along the sides of my face as I worked, the air cooling me just enough not to become uncomfortably overheated.

Quickly slicing the small trees into manageable sections, I started a pile off to the side of the large stump. It’d take me a while to get all the lumber split, but Evan would have quite the stockpile of firewood once I was finished.

I laid the chainsaw down at the edge of the driveway, grabbing my ax again as I set up my first log on the stump.

Pulling my work gloves off, I wiped them on my sawdust-covered jeans, trying to brush off the worst of the sweat before I put them back on. I’d have preferred to keep them off while I worked, but I’d had plenty of blisters on my palms over the years from ax handles and didn’t want to tear up my hands to build the calluses back up.

Tilting my head side to side, I cracked my neck before I braced my legs, pulling my arms above my head and bringing the ax down in the center of the log, a satisfying crack sounding as the sides split apart on the second hit.

The pulsing beats in my ears made it easy for me to drop into the zone, working through the pile of logs to the side of the now ax-marred stump. Stretching my arms across my chest, I pulled on the muscles, enjoying the satisfying burn it caused. I shook my hands, clenching my fists to alleviate the humming I felt from the repeated impacts of the ax against the wood.

I picked the ax up again, continuing until I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. Leaning the ax against the stump, I pulled the phone out of my pocket, frowning when I saw Evan’s name scrolling across the screen. I’d expected him to text me back, not call, but I pulled off a glove, swiping the screen to answer the call.

“What’s up, man?” I asked as the music cut off in my earbuds once the call connected.

“Just enjoying the time away,” he chuckled, and I could hear Chase’s voice in the background. “I know. I’m telling him. Calm down. It’ll be fine,” he laughed, his voice muffled.

“What are you telling me? Is it about the person who parked your car in the driveway late last night?”

“Yeah, about that,” he sighed, and I heard Chase’s giggle carry through the phone again. “It hopefully shouldn’t be a problem, but my sister is staying at the house.”

“Kelly?” I cleared my throat, hating how my voice cracked on her name.

“Yeah. She had an emergency with her job and needed to get away for a while. She shouldn’t be in your way, but would you mind letting her know you’re there?”

“Yeah, no problem.” I scratched the back of my head as his voice became muffled again, and I heard Chase laughing in the background while she talked too quickly for me to make out the words.

“Would you mind going up to the house now?” he chuckled, and I heard more laughter from Chase. “She’s kind of freaking out and thinks you’re a serial killer with an ax.”

Glancing over my shoulder, I laughed as I saw the curtains in the front window twitch, knowing she was watching me.

“Does she know it’s me?”

Evan covered the receiver again as he talked to Chase. “That’s just mean,” he laughed but didn’t sound angry. “No, she doesn’t know it’s you, but she knows you’re our friend.”

“Alright, I’ll go up and talk to her. I think she’s watching me from the front windows. I’m sure having a strange guy with an ax and a chainsaw in the yard was quite a rude awakening this morning.” I was surprised she hadn’t woken up earlier when I had the chainsaw out, but I knew the guest bedroom was on the lake side of the house.

“Thanks, man. As I said, Kelly shouldn’t bother you, but Chase felt bad telling her she couldn’t stay there while we were gone since we didn’t know you’d be headed down early.”

“Is everything alright with her?” I hoped my tone seemed casual, trying to keep the concern out. Since they hadn’t said anything when we talked about me starting work a few weeks ago, I had a feeling this trip wasn’t planned. I also knew it had to be something major bringing her here because Kelly told me she rarely took vacations.

“Yeah, she’ll be fine. Something happened at work, so she needed to work remotely for two months. But she’ll probably only be at the house for a little while. Not sure if she plans to stay once we return in a few weeks, but…” he trailed off. “Anyway. I’ve gotta go. Thanks for giving her a heads up.”

Tucking my phone back into my pocket after he hung up, I pulled off my other work glove, throwing them both beside my ax as I turned toward the house. I hadn’t seen any more movement from the curtains, but she had to know I was headed her way. Part of me was slightly offended that she couldn’t just come outside and talk to me, but I could understand her being worried about a strange man loitering outside with an ax. That was how serial killer documentaries started.

Knocking on the door twice, I waited, rolling my neck as I braced my hands against the top of the door frame, leaning forward to stretch the tense muscles in my back. I sighed as a few loud pops sounded, and the tension building in my back eased, my muscles relaxing slightly.

Well, my muscles were relaxed until the door swung open. Kelly was standing there with wide eyes, clutching the edge of the door, her mouth opening and closing once before she made this adorable squeaking sound.

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