Sawdust and Satin: Lake Chelan, #1

By Shirley Penick

Too busy for love? Hell no!

Chris Clarkson has a lot on his plate. As a volunteer firefighter in their small town, there is always something needed. He's also creating an amusement park to build tourism, so their town doesn't fade away. Plus Chris needs to work on his marriage. Something is wrong, he doesn't quite know what, but he's determined to figure it out.

Barbara Clarkson has heard way too many doom-and-gloom ten-year-itch stories. As they near their ten year anniversary she knows something is missing. Will they just become another statistic? Not if she has anything to say about it.

They will battle scheming women, deep seated fears, injuries and the demands of their careers. Can they do it, are they committed enough? Or will they allow their love for each other to be broken and drift away?

Join Chris and Barbara Clarkson as they face the biggest challenges of their lives. Love... is it worth everything they have?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shirley Penick
• Release date: Jun 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201228354

Book preview

Chapter One

Barbara Clarkson and her husband, Chris, left the school building where the emergency town meeting had been held. She shivered as the cold wind whipped off Lake Chelan and slammed into her, stealing her breath and stinging her cheeks, nose, and eyes. It was bitter cold in January at the foot of the Cascade Mountains. She felt Chris shiver and he grabbed her hand and hustled them across the parking lot to his truck. He opened the door and bundled her in, before scooting around the front and climbing in the driver’s side.

As he started the truck to let it warm up, Barbara’s mind drifted back to the wedding dress she was working on. It was giving her so much trouble. The bride had a very specific look she wanted, and Barbara was having a difficult time trying to find a way to get it done, that would look great and make the bride happy. She’d been working on the damn bodice for two days and still hadn’t found a solution. She was getting behind schedule and needed to figure it out immediately.

Chris touched her arm and said, Barbara, answer me.

Oh, sorry, I was thinking about the dress I’m working on.

What a surprise. He sighed dramatically. Can you wait one hour to think about that? I want to talk to you about the town meeting. It’s kind of important, what with it being an emergency meeting and everything. I think we should discuss it. If the town dies, we’ll have to move and that wouldn’t be good for your business.

I know. I’m concerned too. My mind drifted, I’ve never had such trouble with a dress before. The idea of the town fading out of existence was scary but getting the dress right was urgent.

I know your business is important, but the town dying is a larger issue, don’t you think?

Barbara shrugged. "Well, yes—I suppose. It’s just that I don’t see me saving the town."

No one person is going to save it, but we all have to do our part.

I know, I’m sorry. My one-track mind drives you up the wall sometimes, doesn’t it?

Chris sighed and squeezed her hand. Not always, but yes—sometimes it does.

Okay, I can try harder not to be distracted. But you have to remember this is my business and it’s important for me to get my dresses perfect, which takes intense thought sometimes.

I do understand, but you need to come up for air once in a while. Thinking about your business twenty-four-seven isn’t good either.

You may have a point. She nodded. Anyway, about the meeting. I think we came up with some good ideas tonight, don’t you? I noticed three distinct areas of focus. One, showcasing the artisans who live in our town; two, working to make it a wedding destination; and three, your idea. I think between all those we have some good plans to draw in tourists—especially since the economy is starting to recover.

Yeah. You don’t think my idea to capitalize on the video game was stupid, do you?

Aw, here is the real reason he’s being so insistent, and he thinks I have a one track mind.

No, honey. I think it’s a great idea. The only one snarky about it was Adam and I think that has more to do with his immature rivalry with you—than anything else. Is he ever going to grow up and get over it? It’s been almost twenty years.

Chris smirked. I thought he and Terry were going to come to blows, when Adam tried to put me down and called Sandy’s game lame.

Thinking back, Barbara laughed at the confrontation—they’d thrown some pretty low shots at each other. Not too smart of Adam. Terry’s very protective of his big sister and proud of her game. And he should be proud it’s an amazing accomplishment. Whoever thought the stories she told kids while babysitting had the potential to become an internationally successful video game?

Yeah pretty amazing. I do think we could use the popularity of the game to draw in tourists. In fact, when we get home, I want to talk to you about something.

Her breath caught in her throat. Chris sounded serious. His words gave her a flashback to her father saying the same thing, right before he walked out on them and left their family for a younger woman. Every time Barbara heard I want to talk to you about something, she felt panic and fear. Was it some form of PTSD?

Her father had decimated their family and left them destitute—and it had all started with those words. They’d lost the house and had even spent a few days homeless before the people of the town had noticed and rallied around them offering her mom a job and finding a clean rental for them. The stigma of homelessness had continued to haunt her ever since and was always flittering at the edge of her consciousness. The three of them trying to sleep in the car had been awful, thank God it had been late spring and it was warm.

She’d loved her father and had been heartbroken at his leaving not only the family but also the area. As the baby of the family, she’d worried that maybe she’d been the cause, eventually she’d realized she hadn’t been, and it was her father alone who was to blame. She knew she shouldn’t put Chris in the same mold as her father, but she couldn’t help herself from wondering if he was going to do the same thing.

What if her distraction had already pushed him away? It would break her heart; she loved him desperately. Financially she wouldn’t make it long without him—she didn’t have enough money saved up. She knew some people said marriages reached a crises phase at ten years. She’d always believed that was an old wives’ tale. What if it’s true? Their ten-year anniversary was this year.

Barbara, are you listening to me?

Oh, sorry. I just…

I know, your one-track mind again, he complained as he pulled into their driveway and pushed the remote for the garage. Do you think you could stay with me for a few more minutes once we get inside?

Uh, sure.

They walked into their four-bedroom ranch from the garage. Hanging their winter gear on the hooks in the mudroom, they went into the sunny yellow kitchen—which seemed too bright and garish tonight. She normally loved this room with the oak cabinets and sunflower accents, but tonight it seemed obnoxious. She wanted to cover it all in gray or brown. How can it be cheerful when I’m so scared?

Chris moved to the kitchen table. All serious discussions were held there and in no way did she want to sit down.

Do you want some coffee or a beer? she asked, stalling.

He shook his head. No, I’m good.

I’m going to put on some water for hot chocolate. I’m cold. Inside.

Oh, hot chocolate sounds yummy. You put on the water, I’ll get the cups and packets.

She put some that cookies she’d picked up from Samantha’s bakery on a plate. Once they had everything and she could avoid it no longer—she sat across from her husband. His strong arms rested on the table and his big hands surrounded the mug of hot chocolate.

Her breath hitched in her throat. God, I love this man. They hadn’t spent a lot of time together recently, with his night classes and her wedding dress business. Have we grown too far apart? Is it too late?

She put her cold hands on the cup in front of her hoping to absorb some of its warmth. The rich chocolate smell nearly made her gag, she was so upset. She looked into his bright green eyes, noticed his dark blond hair curled over his forehead. Strangely, he looked sheepish. What is that about?

He took a deep breath and said in a rush, I didn’t want to say anything in the meeting ’cause I wanted to talk to you first. I have an idea. It might sound silly. I’m thinking about taking the land my grandfather left me and building an amusement park.

Barbara gaped at him. What? He’s not leaving me? He doesn’t want a divorce? As relief swept through her, she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t swallow, and she definitely couldn’t respond.

You hate the idea, don’t you?

She shook herself. What? No, no, not at all. I’m shocked. An amusement park? Do you know anything about building an amusement park?

Chris rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. Not specifically, but for a lot of my online courses, I have used amusement park rides as my semester projects.

Really? Some of her fear escaped in laughter. Your civil engineering classes allowed you to think about amusement parks? I thought civil engineering was all about building roads.

No, civil engineering covers lots of areas—roads, yes. Also bridges, canals, dams, structures. Anything that needs building. Amusement park attractions are as complicated as bridges, if not more so. Plus, before I’d decided on which engineering discipline I was gonna major in, I took a lot of other classes in electrical and mechanical engineering. One of the classes was on robotics so I designed a Tsilly automaton.

You used the game ideas for your classes? She was amazed, but also slightly concerned he had spent so much time thinking about developing rides about Sandy’s game. Did he still have a thing for her after all these years? They had only dated one year, before Barbara and Chris had fallen in love during their senior chemistry class. They had tried to fight the attraction, but it just got stronger with each moment they spent as lab partners. When they had finally admitted their love, it had ruined her lifelong friendship with Sandy. What if he still has a crush on Sandy? No, that’s a silly idea. We haven’t seen her for over ten years—since the day we graduated from high school.

Chris interrupted her thoughts. I’ve always loved amusement parks, and I thought a Tsilly-based one would be fun to design. Whenever I needed a project, I thought of a new ride with the same theme. He looked embarrassed by his revelation.

Hmm. And I thought you were studying boring subjects like physics. She narrowed her eyes at him.

I did study physics, but I used fun things as class projects.

She chuckled at his look of distress. I wouldn’t be opposed to you looking into it. Do you think the town would approve?

I never thought so before, but after the meeting... When Adam sarcastically suggested building an ark, I thought it might be a great design to house the different bible stories. We could start with Noah, but then modify the interior for other stories—like have a lion’s den for Daniel.

A fiery furnace for his friends. Columns for Sampson to push down.

Exactly. You can see it too, can’t you? Chris took her hand and squeezed.

Yeah, I think the post-apocalyptic adventure would be great as one of those sit-in-the-dark rides where the cars move around, but the main focus is on a screen—like it’s half movie, half ride.

They call those dark rides. He rubbed his chin, thinking. You have a point. If I could get the actual game footage—

That might be a problem if we can’t get Sandy on board with the idea. I hope Mayor Carol will be able to talk to her, or maybe Terry. If the rest of her family is on board, maybe she’d be willing to let you. Barbara nodded. "Anyway, I see you’ve put some thought into this. You do have the land and there are plenty of ideas in the Adventures with Tsilly game to turn into rides. But wouldn’t it be expensive?"

Chris grimaced. Yeah, I’d have to find some investors. If we built some of the key stories first and then added the different adventure areas a little at a time, we could maybe pay for it as we go. We would need a few rides to start with, I think. I liked your ideas of costumes for the town—we could have the operators for each area dress in costume.

Why don’t you gather up your ideas and see if you can get in to talk to Mayor Carol tomorrow and get her take on it?

I will. Thanks hon, for being open.

Sure. I love you. I want you to be happy. Maybe this idea would bring them closer together as they worked through it. This time, I dodged the bullet. He isn’t leaving…yet.

"I’m going to go put some ideas down on paper—maybe work on a plan of attack—so I can be coherent when I talk to her tomorrow. Do you want to come with me as moral support?’

Oh honey, I’d love to, but I’m working on a wedding dress for a client in Florida with a tight deadline and part of it is giving me fits. Hence my distraction earlier.

Okay, he said, his shoulders slumping.

Barbara knew he was always apprehensive about talking to people about his ideas. He was a smart man, but his self-confidence was low. He was a few months from his engineering degree, however, he still thought of himself as a grease monkey. Maybe, I should squeeze in the time to go with him.

How about you call me when you set the appointment and I’ll join you if I’m far enough along on the dress.

He straightened his shoulders and got up. I’ll do that. Chris gave her a smacking kiss on the mouth and turned toward the bedroom that doubled as an office. If you get tired, go on to bed. I shouldn’t be too long, but I do want to get my thoughts in order and you never know how long that will take.

She laughed, as she was supposed to. Okay, honey.

As Barbara cleaned up the kitchen, she decided not to redecorate it—she did love its sunny, yellow warmth. She didn’t have time to change it anyway—she was nearing her nest egg goal and she needed to spend all her time working. They were only a few months from the dreaded ten-year anniversary.

Chapter Two

Chris woke up the next morning snuggled up with his wife. Now this is the best way to wake up.

When he’d finished last night, she’d been asleep with the light still on, and the book she was reading on the floor. She’d looked adorable with her long, dark hair spread across the pillow. He had picked up her book, laid it on the table. and crawled into bed with her.

She’d been working hard to build her business and supplement the income he made at the garage, so he hadn’t wanted to wake her last night, or this morning—she needed her rest. Maybe if he got the amusement park up and running, they wouldn’t be so strapped for cash. He made decent money at the garage, but it was never going to be a lot and he was tired of working at the same job he’d at started in high school.

Of course, that was why he was taking online classes toward a civil engineering degree. But even when he did get his degree, how much work could there be in their one-horse town— assuming they could keep it from fading out of existence? He hoped the ideas they’d come up with last night would keep that from happening. Starting over in a new location would suck.

He crawled out from under the quilt his grandmother had made for their wedding. She’d called it a wedding ring quilt—it was blue and turquoise with some yellow. She’d passed on a few years ago. It was his favorite keepsake. His family had lived in Chedwick for three generations. I don’t want to be the generation that leaves.

Chris got ready for his day, started the coffee, and gathered up his work from last night—which ended up being a rather hefty amount of info. Then he put it into the computer laptop satchel, wishing he had a brief case. But he didn’t—the computer bag would have to do.

He hoped Barbara would go with him to see Mayor Carol. He wasn’t sure how well he’d be able to present his ideas and having backup would be a good thing.

He also wanted to get Barbara away from working so hard. Chris knew she craved the security money could buy—not surprising, given her father’s desertion. She spent every second of every day on her business, seven days a week, and that wasn’t good for anyone—or their marriage. He felt they had drifted apart too much and he was determined to change that. They had been married more than nine years, and he wanted to bring back the love and closeness they’d had in high school. I need to think about how to do that.

At his first break in the morning, he called the mayor’s office. Hi, Jennifer. This is Chris Clarkson. I was wondering if I could get an appointment with Mayor Carol for late afternoon.

She has a four-thirty slot open, would that work?

Thanks, Jennifer. That would be perfect.

Can I put down what the meeting is in reference to?

He wasn’t ready for anyone else to know what he wanted to talk to Mayor Carol about, so he hedged. Um, well, just put down another idea for helping the town grow.

Good. See you at four-thirty.

He then called his wife. I have a meeting with the mayor at four-thirty.

Okay, good, honey.

She sounded distracted, so he asked, Can you go with me?

What? Oh, right. Mayor Carol and the amusement park. Sorry, I’ve got my head in this dress. How about you call me at three-thirty and I can see where I’m at. At the moment, it’s not cooperating.

I will. Good luck. Love you—bye.

Love you too.

He went back to work thinking about all he wanted to say to Mayor Carol. He was so churned up about it he was making himself sick. He thought maybe he should go to his sister’s restaurant for lunch and see if he could chat with her about it—maybe release some anxiety.

Chris walked into Amber’s restaurant and knew he’d never get to talk to his sister. The place was packed. Everyone was talking about Mayor Carol’s big announcement from last night. He’d been distracted with the amusement park idea and hadn’t given it any thought.

Some guys he knew from high school were sitting at the counter, so he joined them and got pulled into their conversation.

Are you going to run for mayor, Chris? Ted asked.

Chris laughed. No, not interested. Any of you thinking about it?

Not us—any idea who might? Fred asked.

Shaking his head, Chris said, Not a clue, what do you think?

Ted shrugged. We were contemplating maybe Steve running.

Steve Jameson? Chris asked, stunned.

Of course, Steve Jameson. Is there any other Steve you know? Ted said.

No—just surprised at the idea. I could see him running, but I can’t picture him as mayor.

Yeah, that was kinda our take on it too. Fred snickered.

Chris continued, "In fact, I can’t imagine anyone else as mayor. It’s gonna be strange to have someone else take her place—she’s been the mayor here since we were barely teens. And to turn their house into a B&B sounds a little crazy too. From mayor to B&B owner…"

Fred nodded. Things are changing, that’s for sure.

They continued chatting as they had their lunch.

When he finished eating Amber rang him up, so he asked, Hey sis, do you think you’ll be this busy tonight?

No, Wednesday night a lot of people go to Bingo or watch—

He interrupted her. Perfect, I want to run something by you. I’ll be back later.

Yay, I get to see you two times today.

He tugged on her hair. Lucky you.

Yeah, lucky me.

He was glad he went to lunch. Chatting with the guys about the next mayor had calmed him down.

He called Barbara at three-thirty. Hi, honey. Can you come with me to talk to the mayor?

Sure, I might as well. This dress is going nowhere fast. I think I have ripped out this one area ten times today. It’s at four-thirty didn’t you say?

Yes, four-thirty. Thank you, honey. I know you will figure out the dress—you always do.

Relieved Barbara was coming with him, he hung up the phone and started getting ready for his meeting with the mayor. They had a shower at the garage, so he could clean up. The mayor’s office was two blocks over, so once he was showered he could walk over, much easier than having to go home to get ready.

At four-fifteen when he saw no sign of her, he called the house again. His heart sank when she answered in her distracted voice. Hi, honey. It’s four-fifteen. Are you coming to the courthouse?

Oh my God, I’m sorry. I finally figured out the problem I was having with the dress and lost all track of time. I’m sorry babe—I’m not going to be able to make it. Sometimes I hate my one-track mind.

It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ll be home after I talk to her. Wish me luck?

All the luck in the world.

Damn. Okay, I can do this alone. I’m an intelligent adult.

He went up the steps and into the building. It was a distinguished older building with a large wooden staircase in the middle leaving two courtrooms, one on each side of the stairs. The judge’s chambers were behind the courtrooms, down a hall, at the rear of the building on the first floor. It was quiet with the only sound being his heels on the floor.

He headed up the stairs to the second floor where the mayor had her offices and walked into the reception area. Hi, Jennifer.

Jennifer looked up. Chris, the mayor said to send you in, when you got here. Go on in.

Thanks.

He knocked once, then opened the door.

Mayor Carol looked up from her computer and said, Hi, Chris, come on in.

He walked into the room, which was cozy and welcoming. Mayor Carol obviously wanted people to feel comfortable in her office. It was the direct opposite of the downstairs. Of course, the purpose was different between the two floors.

Hi, Mayor Carol.

She smiled. Have a seat, would you like something to drink?

No, I’m fine, thanks. He took a seat and set his laptop bag on the floor next to him.

Carol leaned back in her chair. So, what do you want to talk to me about?

"I’ve had this idea for a while, but never felt it was the right time to mention it. The meeting last night