Page 40 of The Earl's Wrangler
“Okay, then.Let’s make that the first priority.I can go over in the morning and take a look at it.I’ve fixed lots of roofs in my time, and if I can’t fix it, I should be able to explain what’s wrong and what needs to be done.”
“You don’t need to do that.Putting you to work isn’t why I brought you here.”Randall wanted to show Sawyer a good time in the hope that he might want to come back.The thought of him going home and Randall not seeing him again was getting harder to come to grips with.He knew that they should have parted ways before he returned to England, but with the issues with Sawyer’s father, Randall had been able to use that as an opening for Sawyer to come here.But the underlying problem still remained.They would need to part, and then Randall would be heartbroken.It wasn’t the first time, and it probably wouldn’t be the last, but he had little doubt that their parting would hurt more than any other before.
“I need things to do.And if I can help, then I will.”Sawyer leaned forward.“Come on, Augustus, let’s show the English what we’re made of.”He urged his horse forward, giving Augustus his full head.Caesar didn’t take much urging and he was off right behind, flying across the field as the house drew closer.Though Randall kept back a little ways, just so he could watch his cowboy in full action.There were few things more stunning, and Randall wanted to remember this for as long as he could.
As he got closer to the house, he veered off toward the stables, skirting the formal gardens and no doubt giving the guests milling about after their tour a full-on display of exactly what a cowboy could do on a horse.Randall followed in his wake, waving to the guests before taking the trail around the hedge to where he kept the horses.
“You gave them quite a show,” Randall said, dismounting and pulling Sawyer into a hard kiss.
“Talk about a show,” Sawyer growled before kissing him senseless in return.
Chapter 15
AN AMAZINGweek later, Randall was still next to him when Sawyer woke.They’d spent a lot of that week together in bed as well as exploring almost every section of the estate and the village.Sawyer had met a ton of people, and the last time he and Randall went to the village, folks stopped to speak tohimas well as Randall.It was nice, and almost made him feel like he might belong here.Not that Sawyer had any illusions about who he was and where he belonged.
He slipped out from under the covers and spent a few seconds watching Randall sleep.It seemed like the only time when he wasn’t worried about something, his face relaxed, without the lines around his mouth and eyes.Sawyer leaned over the bed and gently kissed him before going to the bathroom, where he used the facilities, dressed, and then left their rooms.He took the stairs to the main floor before going right outside.
It was still early, and more than anything, he wanted to go for a ride the way he and Randall had a few mornings, but he was on a mission of sorts, and he strode into the village and headed right for the pub, hoping they served breakfast.
They did, and he ordered something called a fry-up.What he got was an interesting combination of items, including beans, which he wolfed down.
“I take it you liked the food.”
“Are you kidding?It was a cowboy breakfast with tomato.”He grinned and finished his coffee before making inquiries about where he could find some of the people on Randall’s list.Then he paid the bill and thanked the proprietor before heading off to knock on the first door, where they had a leaky roof.
“Morning,” he said when they answered.“I’m Sawyer, and I wanted to look at your roof, if I may.”He offered his hand, and the man shook it warily.
“Travis Manners.”The man, in his late sixties or so, seemed shocked.“You’re his Lordship’s friend.”
“Yes, and I have experience with roofs and such, so I thought I’d come by and try to help.Show me where it’s leaking, and I’ll take a look for you.”
The man nodded and showed him inside, through the neat-as-a-pin house and back to the kitchen, where a room had been added on many decades earlier.
“I see.It’s probably where the addition and the main roof meet.Is it okay if I go up and have a look?”
“I have a ladder,” Travis told him.He took Sawyer out to what he called the back garden, where he showed Sawyer the ladder and then watched as he raised it to the roof and climbed up.The issue was not hard to spot.The roof was slate, something he had never seen before, but the principle was the same, and he spotted the issue pretty quickly before getting back down.
“The slates have shifted, probably in a storm with high wind, and they’re letting some water in.I should be able to take up three or four of them and relay them again.Once I finish, the hole should be gone and the leak should stop.With this type of roof, I don’t want to do anything more than I have to.It’s been up there for many years, and the less fiddling done, the better.”
“Oh, thank you.I’d get up there and try to fix it myself, but me leg doesn’t work like it used to.”
Sawyer smiled.“It’s no problem.Is there a hardware store in the village?”He wasn’t sure where to buy the supplies.
“No, but Carey’s sells a little of everything.They might have what yer looking for.”He pointed, and Sawyer hurried off in that direction.He entered the old store, and after what the man behind the counter called a good rummage, he found what he needed.
“You’re the earl’s friend,” the man said, his gaze narrowing.“Don’t know if I like the thought of you and him.”
Sawyer shrugged.“Then don’t think about it.”
“You fixing something?”
“Mr.Manners’s roof,” Sawyer said warily.“He sent a note to Randall, and I was up early this morning, so I thought I’d help out.”He paid and took what he’d purchased before hurrying back to the Manners cottage and climbing the ladder.It didn’t take him but a few minutes to gently remove the slates and put them back into their proper place, sliding them under the ones above.He used a little adhesive to make sure they stayed and then surveyed his handiwork.It looked good, and he climbed down.
“There you are.It should be fixed, but you let me know after the next rain if it leaks again.Okay?”He doffed his hat with a smile.“I also put the ladder back where you had it.”
Travis shook his hand and was all smiles.“Thank you.I was going to have to go up there, and Martha—she’s visiting her sister in Manchester for a few days—she gets mad if I do things like that.Can I get you a cup of tea?”
“That would be nice,” Sawyer said and sat at the kitchen table while he made the tea.He drank a cup, and after getting his ear talked off as he did, Sawyer said goodbye and gathered the leftover materials before heading to the next place on his list.
