Retribution (Secrets & Lies #3)(18)

When I leave my room however, I have to chuckle as I see my sisters arguing over the shower. “Come on, Kat. You're just going to go out and get sweaty anyway.”

“And?” Katrina asks Andrea, both of them standing in their bathrobes and slippers. “Just because you got sweaty last night doesn't mean you get to hog all the hot water.”

“Hey, that's not my fault!” Andrea protests, her hands on her hips, and her face indignant. “Besides, I know you too well, Katrina. You get it as often as I do.”

“Girls?” I ask, and both of them turn to me, both blushing when they realize I overheard them. “Can’t you two settle this without all the yelling?”

“You’re right. If this continues much longer, we're either going to be flipping a coin or having a fist fight over this,” Andrea says, Katrina nodding.

I turn to go away, leaving my sisters behind in the hallway as I round the corner and find the toilet, where I do my morning business and brush my teeth. I'm an evening shower person anyway, so I'm not worried about fighting for it, too. After breakfast I force myself to leave the main building, interested in the chapel that's about fifty yards from the main building. I walk over, opening the door to find a large octangular main room with nothing but dust and some spider webs on the inside. At the front is a large altar table that looks like it's been carved out of a single gigantic piece of stone.

“Wow,” I say, looking around. I walk closer to the altar, my excitement growing when I see the stone it's made of. It's the green-flecked granite I'd read about before, pegmatite I think it's called, with the green being... yes, they're emerald crystals, too small for gem usage, but beautiful, they look so much like Nathan's eyes. I kneel down, running my hands around the stone, shocked. The altar is huge, easily seven feet wide, about waist high and maybe three feet deep, and nearly solid stone, with only a small bit of decoration carved in the front.

“I saw the door open,” Carson says from the door and I turn, looking up. “What'd you find?”

“It's beautiful stone,” I say, standing up. “Seriously, this is beautiful granite.”

“Maybe you can do something with it?” Carson asks, and I shake my head. “Why not?”

“I'm not settled enough yet. I'm not in the right place mentally. This isn't some chunk of wood I could whittle away and just replace with another log if I screw up. This rock... there isn't a lot of it around, not of this quality. I wonder how they even got this in here?”

“Most likely with a forklift, or before the building was even finished,” Carson muses, coming closer and looking around. “Wow, big space. You think Nathan would mind if we used this for a workout area?”

“What, is chopping wood not enough?” I ask with a smile, and Carson chuckles.

“Long walks in the woods, chopping wood, all that is nice, but we're all pretty young, and I think Katrina and Jackson are feeling very serious about wanting to keep their martial arts skills up. Why else would they buy that padding that's still in the back of the truck?”

“Good point.”

Later on, I watch Carson, Jackson, Nathan and Katrina all take turns with the ax, chopping down a dead tree on the edge of the cleared out area. After the twenty foot tree comes down, Andrea and I go for a walk through the woods, gathering fallen branches and other wood to help.

“Didn't want to swing an ax?” Andrea asks me as we walk. When I shake my head, she chuckles. “Me either.”

I pick up a branch that's too long for the bag we have and swing it like a baseball bat against a nearby tree, breaking it in half and picking up both pieces. “Well, you are pregnant.”

Andrea stops and rubs at her belly, smiling gently. “Yeah, I guess I am. Seems strange to think about it. I mean, other than a missed period I haven't really felt any major symptoms. Only real difference is that I'm taking a multivitamin each morning with breakfast. And I know with you and Katrina around, I'll have plenty of support watching over me.”

“I hope I can be helpful,” I tell her sincerely, and Andrea smiles.

“Being you, you already help me. Now, let's find some stuff to prove to the studs and studette in our family that we can help out, too. Because I know Jackson still thinks I can't cook.”

“Well, let's be honest... he is a better cook than you.”

Andrea gives me a glower and then a laugh. “Don't make me be a wiseass with you.”

As we keep walking, finding sticks and putting them in our bag, I look around. “It is really beautiful out here.”

“It is.”

“But I had another anxiety attack last night. Don't worry, Nathan helped me.”

Andrea nods, taking it in stride. “I'm glad.”

“And the stuff you showed me back at the farm.” Andrea bends down and picks up a stick, putting it in the bag, before grabbing a few green pinecones and putting them in as well. “Oh, don't burn those, I heard they're dangerous and can pop.”

“Not for the fire, just the scent. I like the scent of fresh pine,” Andrea explains, then nods. “ I'm glad they helped. Although you know what might help even more?”

“What?”

Andrea laughs and blushes slightly. “My old vibrator. Too bad I don't have it anymore. Haven't needed it in a while.”