Page 61 of Flippin' Cowboy
Surprisingly, all the window glass appeared to be intact, which gave her a spark of hope that the interior held something worth salvaging.
After the film crew finished setting up for the shoot, and Winnie and Nick were both fitted with wireless lapel microphones, they filmed a brief interview with Mr. Beckman.
Before launching into a well-rehearsed pitch for his riverside campground, Beckman told them that his great-grandfather had mail-ordered the old house from the Sears Roebuck catalog around 1910 and assembled it with his own hands.
Then it was time to film Winnie and Nick’s walk around as they examined the house.
“You know, I’m not sure about what we’re going to find inside,” Winnie said for the benefit of the cameras. “With that hole in the roof, there’s a good chance that none of the floorboards are going to be salvageable. But if the interior walls are shiplap, we might have some luck there.”
“It feels wrong to pick apart this house like vultures, when we could save it,” Nick commented with a wistful expression. “The Sears Roebuck catalog houses are a national treasure, and there aren’t many Model 159s left standing.”
Winnie recognized that look and sighed. She loved Nick’s passion for restoration, but Mr. Beckman had been clear that he wanted the old house gone so that he could expand his campground.
“I wish we could,” she told him. “But unfortunately, we’re on a really tight project timeline to get The Soiled Dove Inn open for business before Snowberry Springs hosts the first annual Vintage Railroad Days festival.”
“Yeah, I know.” His tone was tinged with regret. “But still…” He ran his hand along a warped length of porch rail as if caressing it.
Winnie suddenly ached to fix this situation for him. This past week, he’d been so generous and thoughtful.
It would be nice to give something back, she thought.
“After we finish restoring the inn, maybe you could stay and work on some of the other houses in the area.” Too late, she realized it sounded like she was pleading with him to stay with her.
Which she totallywasn’t. Even if it meant their “friends with benefits” arrangement could continue for a while longer.
What if we don’t get a second season?The thought of him leaving Snowberry Springs after this project ended gave her a stab of anxiety.
“Cut!” Karla’s voice rang out. “All right, next, we’re going to film inside the house… if it’s safe to go in. Winnie, is it safe?”
“Let me look,” Winnie called back. She put on her hard hat and cautiously made her way across the sagging porch. “There are a few rotten boards here,” she warned.
The front door was warped and stuck firmly in its frame. Winnie pressed her shoulder against the weathered, silvery-gray wood and heaved, but to no effect.
“Allow me.” His own hard hat firmly in place, Nick joined her and set his shoulder next to hers. “On three,” he ordered. “One… two… three!”
As they heaved, she looked down, admiring the flex of his thigh muscles under the worn denim of his jeans.
The door reluctantly gave way.
Inside, the house’s interior—except for the corner open to the sky—was in fairly good shape.
The front door opened directly into a large living room, with stairs to the second story on the left. Ahead of them, a large cased opening led to the dining room and kitchen at the back of the house.
“If this is Sears Model 159, there are three large bedrooms upstairs and a bathroom,” Nick told her. He moved further intothe living room and looked around. “I really think we could save this place.”
“Focus, Nick. We’re here to salvage flooring for our current restoration,” Winnie reminded him. “But if you’re serious about sticking around, there’s plenty of work to be done in downtown Snowberry Springs.”
“Yeah, I guess so. That train station, for starters. Though I haven’t really made plans beyond finishing the inn project.” He slanted an unreadable look at her. “If the show really does get a second season, then I’ll have to think about whether it makes more sense for me and Kegan to move to Snowberry Springs, or keep Helena as our home base and enroll him in first grade there.”
Winnie wanted to plead with him to move to Snowberry Springs.
But she was the one who told Nick she wanted a friends-only relationship.
It had stung a little that he’d accepted her terms without protest. She couldn’t help a treacherous thought.If he was really attracted to me, wouldn’t he have tried harder to convince me to date him?
Don’t be stupid, Winnie, she chided herself.You can’t have it both ways. Either you want him to respect your wishes, or you want him to act like a caveman and pursue you despite what you told him.
She liked being his friend. And she sure as heck liked the benefits he offered her every night.
