Page 56 of Starry Nights over Dragonfly Lake

‘Friday,’ Ben told him, as he passed a couple of long screws to Noah. ‘The order got delayed again.’

‘Told you not to order them fancy ones,’ muttered Walter.

Noah and Ben exchanged a brief smile before carrying on fixing the frame.

‘They’re not fancy,’ said Ben in a patient tone. ‘They look like normal slate tiles but are in actual fact solar panels which will save our electricity bills from skyrocketing when they’re rented out next year.’

‘Hmmph,’ said Walter under his breath.

Despite his gruffness, Noah was enjoying working under his tutelage. His own grandparents had been quite cold in nature and so he was enjoying having a mentor, especially one who knew so much about carpentry.

Noah and Ben finished securing the window frame and stepped back to admire their effort.

‘Nice work,’ said Walter, nodding his approval. ‘Gotta say, you didn’t inherit your woodworking skills from your father.’

‘Definitely not,’ replied Noah.

That was something else he was having to getused to. Talking about his father. But in a strange way, he found it soothing and helped him to grieve for his dad.

‘Dad always did the bare minimum where manual work was concerned,’ admitted Noah.

‘Aye,’ agreed Walter. ‘But what he did, he did it with a smile.’

Noah smiled in return. ‘He was a charmer. But he would have been no good with boatmaking.’

‘I must come and see what progress you’ve made,’ said Ben. ‘How are you getting along?’

‘There’s a lot of rotten timbers which I’m slowly replacing,’ replied Noah. ‘But the frame is holding up well.’ He shook his head in disbelief. ‘You know, I still can’t believe I have my very own boat. I’ve been saving up for a long time but never found anything I really wanted. It’s perfect. Or it will be if I ever get it renovated.’

‘You will,’ said Walter. ‘Your skills are excellent.’

‘I agree,’ said Ben, before laughing. ‘Glad one of us has inherited Grandad’s proficiency. I always felt a bit guilty about that.’

‘You’ve got other skills,’ Noah reminded him. ‘Like designing this.’

He looked around the inside of the building, admiring the look of the logs that felt both warm and solid. It was certainly going to have a lot of charm when it was finished.

Suddenly Beth appeared at the opening where the front door would be.

‘Hey,’ she said, by way of greeting.

‘Thought you were working on your magazine column today,’ Noah told her. ‘You finished already?’

She blew out a sigh. ‘Not even started, to be honest,’ she replied. ‘Can’t think of what to write this month so I’m using you as an avoidance tactic.’

‘Lodge builder, fake boyfriend and work evasion,’ said Noah,with a grin. ‘My list of skills has certainly expanded since I arrived here.’

She giggled as she stepped inside. ‘I’ve also been told to remind you, Walter, that you have your physiotherapy appointment in an hour’s time,’ she said.

Walter rolled his eyes. ‘Waste of time that’ll be,’ he muttered.

‘But if I don’t take you then it’ll be my head that Grandma’s wrath will come down on,’ said Ben, with a grimace. ‘We’d better get going.’

He looked at the window frame once more.

‘It really frames that vista,’ said Walter, standing up and looking out.

Noah looked through the gap where the pane of glass would eventually be and had to agree. Ben had chosen as large a window as he could afford and the light was flooding into the lodge. It not only brightened up the interior but meant that the view down to Dragonfly Lake, as well as the surrounding forest and hills and sky, were also framed from every angle.