Chapter 2
“It is notthat bad. It’s sort of homey.”
“It’s sort of very old-fashioned, nineteen twenties way,” Mellie countered. “The least you can do is paint the walls. Perhaps. Hmm. Beige or blue or, hell, Danny, you’re the artist. You figure it out.”
Laughing, he replied, “I will, I promise. But first things first. I need my studio. Everything’s still in boxes or crates and it’s driving me crazy.”
Pointing to the name and number she’d written down, Mellie said, “Call.”
* * * *
Daniel did call. Mellie’s contractor recommended he talk to a Mr. Leeds, who owned a contracting business in town. Daniel did, and Mr. Leeds agreed to come up to the house. When he arrived, he listened to what Daniel wanted, checked out the two rooms—and two days later called him with a price. While it wasn’t cheap, it was better than Daniel had feared, so he gave the man the go-ahead. The next day the crew arrived and set to work.
While he enjoyed the eye candy, the noise was another thing. By mid-morning Daniel decided to get out of the house and explore the full extent of the property that belonged to the house—and to him. He made a couple of sandwiches, put them and a sketchpad, and his pocket recorder—to make verbal notes if necessary—into his backpack, and took off.
He remembered exploring the area with Mellie when they were children and his parents had brought them up to visit their grandparents. Then, the trees had seemed to tower over him, and the floor of the forest that surrounded the house had held fascinating detritus—rocks, fungi, fallen leaves, bits of bark, and of course lots of bugs. Now the trees didn’t seem quite so big, although they were hardly the small ones he encountered in the city.
As he wandered, he stopped often to sketch something that caught his eye. Later, from the lengthening shadows it was well after midday, he found a small clearing and sat with his back against a tree to eat lunch.
When he finished, he went in search of the stream that he recalled ran along one edge of the property. He found it easily enough and chortled when he saw it. It’s definitely notthe river that I pretended it was as a kid, when I envisioned traveling down it on a homemade raft. “My Tom Sawyer dreams.” He shook his head.
He just about jumped out of his skin when someone said, “There’s nothing wrong with dreams.” Whirling around, he saw a man standing a few yards away. He was of average height, with what appeared to be auburn-streaked brown hair that hung loose around his face, touching his shoulders. As he was in the shadows under the trees, it was all Daniel could tell about him at the moment. “You do know you’re trespassing,” the man said, his rich voice stressing ‘trespassing’.
“Not at all, since it’s my property.”
“Really? Then you must be the young Mr. Chase.”
“I am. And you are?”
“Griffin.”
“Like the mythological beast?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. First name or last?”
“First. Griffin Pryce.”
“Do you live around here?”
“I do.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow in question. “Where?”
“The other side of the mountain.”
“That,” Daniel replied with a trace of amusement, “covers a lot of territory.”
“It does,” Griffin agreed, finally stepping into the sunlight. He was wearing distressed jeans and a tight, dark blue T-shirt that had seen better days. Much to Daniel’s surprise, Griffin had a bow slung over one shoulder.
“Playing at being Legolas?” Daniel asked.
Griffin snorted softly and his deep blue eyes seemed to sparkle with amusement. “The dude looks good on film. Real life, he probably doesn’t have the balls to kill a rabbit, to say the least of deer or bear.”
“Okay. Back up. You’re out here hunting?”
“I’m not carrying this,” Griffin tapped the bow, “as a fashion accessory. And before you get on your high horse, I only kill to eat, or in extreme cases for self-protection. Like if I run into an angry bear.”
Daniel shivered at that last thought, casting a furtive glance around the area. Griffin smiled, telling him that he was safe enough. “Black bears avoid humans whenever possible, unless they’re hungry and you’re packing lunch or supper, or have an open trash bin at your house.”
“I already ate my lunch, so I’m safe,” Daniel told him with a smile. “And the trashcan is in the garage.” He paused momentarily before saying, “So you’re hunting deer?”
“Nope. Right now I’m talking to a nice, if somewhat na?ve young man.”
“If you mean I don’t know much about the mountains or the forest, you’re right. I grew up back east, in Cleveland. Until I inherited the house, I only came out here to visit my grandparents occasionally during the summer, or to see my sister after she and her husband moved to Denver.” Daniel paused, looking at Griffin. “What makes you think I’m nice?”
Griffin shrugged. “Instinct, I suppose. You seem to be polite. You’re smart enough to ask questions but you didn’t act like I was crazy when you found that I use a bow to hunt.”
“Beats the hell out of using a gun. At least with the bow, you’re one-on-one with the animal and it has a fighting chance of getting away.”
“Actually, I’m as deadly with a bow as most hunters are with guns. But then I have to be if I’m going to eat more than vegetables.”
Smirking, Daniel replied, “There are such things as supermarkets, in case no one’s informed you about them.”
“Do notget me on a rant about what they sell that passes for meat.”
Daniel nodded. “I won’t. So.” He studied Griffin’s muscular body, trying not to be too obvious about it. “You’re totally self-sufficient?”
“I am.”
“What about your house? Does it have electricity? Running water?”
“Yes.”
“So you must live somewhere close to town.”
“Define close. I’m much further away from it than you are, because I don’t like living near other people. My energy is solar. And unless it’s a very bad winter, I’ve got electric lights and as you put it, running water.”
“And when it does get bad?”
“Think pioneers. I have a fireplace, a couple of lanterns. There’s a stream close by for fresh water if what’s in the cistern freezes. And if the temperature really drops and the stream ices over, I melt snow. I’ve got a cold cellar, and a septic tank.” Griffin spread his hands. “All the things I need to survive since I don’t mind living rougher than most other people.”
“Solar panels. That’s not a bad idea.”
“Try them.”
“Try it, I’ll like it?” Daniel said, grinning.