Thankfully she’d finally agreed to let him do the heavy lifting while she made a few phone calls to get some extra help. She’d also insisted he take hand tools so the girls could help. For a brief second he’d argued that wouldn’t be necessary. But it didn’t take long to realize that was an argument he wasn’t going to win, and considering asking to help was the first thing the girls had said, he was glad he’d listened to the beloved housekeeper and brought extra tools.
Now that they were ready to get to work, he took in the ladies’ attire. In jeans and athletic shoes, Callie was dressed for a little hard labor, but Poppy, not so much. “Why don’t you wait for help while your sister and I get started?”
“I’ll be fine.” From the darkened look she shot his way, he might as well have asked her to kill a puppy. “Did you bring work gloves too?”
He nodded, but Callie had already climbed over the tree and retrieved needed items from the General’s Jeep that Lucy had also insisted he bring.
“Here you go.” Callie tossed a pair of gloves at her sister then passed her a pair of long handled loppers. “You start with the smaller tips up there and I’ll work over here.”
Poppy nodded and, in flowing skirt and flimsy shoes, she climbed up over the branch, balanced like an experienced lumberjack, and started clipping away. He had to make note not to underestimate the sisters again.
By the time the chainsaw had roared to life, they’d already cleared a good chunk of smaller leafy branches and he was able to start sawing away at the exposed limbs.
“Poppy.” Callie shifted away from Zane and extended her arm with the loppers. “You take over for me. I’m going to start hauling these logs to the side of the road.”
The young brunette nodded and without hesitation, holding her skirt edges bunched in one hand, she climbed around and went back to work.
He lowered the throttle on the saw and hollered over the idling noise. “I can move those. Just give me a minute to cut through some more of this.”
Callie shook her head. “No need. Just keep cutting.”
Bending over, she grabbed one, then two, then three logs before curling them into the fold of her arms and neatly stacking them on the edge of the road. For a split second he imagined her in a full-length prairie dress with her hair pinned up like a schoolmarm, and understood what the pioneer women must have gone through.
“You have a spasm or something?” Callie asked him over the hum of the saw.
He was pretty sure she was poking fun at him, but a hint of concern flickered in her steady gaze. “Nope, just gathering wool.”
“Well, I’m all for free thinking, but we need wood cut now.”
“Yes, ma’am.” If he’d had a free hand, he would have saluted.
He wasn’t sure if they’d been at it a short or long while, but her smiles grew more frequent and more sincere as they continued moving in synchronized rhythm. When another vehicle pulled up and an able-bodied man hopped out, Zane almost shouted for him to go away.
“Wow, you guys are making more progress than I expected.”
Callie threw her arms around the tall man in a tight hug and Zane clamped his mouth shut.
“Jake!” Poppy set down the loppers and in a near sprint, practically bolted over the branches to pull the man into an equally stuffing squeezing hug.
What the heck?
“Got here as fast as I could. Brought a couple of chainsaws from the store.”
“Great.” Callie followed him to the back of his truck and without hesitation, he handed her a good-sized chainsaw.
“This is only eighteen inches. Should be easy enough for you or Poppy to handle. I’ll use the bigger one.”
Callie nodded.
“I’ll switch to moving the cut logs.” Poppy hurried over to where Zane had already left sections of tree.
He’d been cutting them as small as he could to make them easier to carry, but was starting to think that might not have been necessary.
“Jake Harper.” The man stuck out his hand. “Where do you want me to start?”
Shifting the saw to his left hand, Zane returned the greeting. “Zane Crandall and I’m open for suggestions. I’ll admit it’s not often I take down trees in the city.”
“You seem to be doing fine from what I can see.” Jake surveyed what had been hacked and moved. “If we can get a few more feet, the girls can probably head to Hart House and we can carry on until the rest of the cavalry gets here.”
“Calvary?” Poppy paused midway to the curb.
“The Henderson’s fire is under control and one of the engines is heading back to the firehouse. I suspect Cole and some of the others will be here shortly.”
“Cool.” Poppy flashed a bright smile at the man that made her whole face light up. But it was the smiles from the coach that made Zane’s cheeks pull up in a stupid grin. He was happy to tutor Deidra and help her get a better handle on her math skills to qualify for a good scholarship, but after working with the somewhat prickly coach this afternoon, suddenly any opportunity to get to know the capable woman better was looking seriously interesting.
Chapter Five
As much as Callie considered herself in excellent shape, snipping trees and lugging wood most definitely used different muscles than anything involved with coaching teen sports. The heat of a long hot soak called to her complaining back. Just as soon as she pilfered a few after soak treats from Lucy’s kitchen.
“Good grief. Are we feeding an army?” Even though the Hart House kitchen was never bare, right now pots and pans and plates and platters covered so much counter space, it felt like a Sunday afternoon more than an ordinary weeknight.
“Might as well.” Lucy blew on a spoon and took a quick sip. “General just called. The road is clear enough for cars to get by. Cole and the other firemen showed up. I expect the whole crew will be here soon and they’re going to be tired and hungry.”
That she didn’t doubt. She was both tired and, now that the aromas of Lucy’s cooking were tickling her senses, hungry was quickly moving the need to soak her aching back to second place behind grabbing something to eat. “What are you cooking?”
“Mostly leftovers. So a little of this and a little of that, and a fresh batch of marinara and pasta for baked ziti. Just in case.”
Oh yeah, the soak was definitely going to wait. “Need any help?”
“You can start on the table. I expect your sisters any minute now.”
“Poppy may be delayed. She stopped at Mom’s to freshen up.”
“Freshen up?” Lucy froze, spoon in hand. “What for?”
Oops. “Uh, she, uh, got pretty dirty. You know, tree sap.”
“Oh.” Lucy nodded and spun around to the oven.
Crisis averted. The last thing Callie wanted was to be the one to blame for letting Poppy’s date tonight out of the bag.
“Oh, good. You’re here.” Lily came up to her sibling and, holding a large box to one side, leaned in to kiss her sister on the cheek. “I know how you like my double cream blueberry pie, and since you were the first to dive in and cut up that stupid tree, I figured you might want it for dessert.”
Callie could already taste the delicious calories. “Nothing a few extra laps with tomorrow’s gym classes won’t overcome. Thank you.”
The sound of the front door slamming open and shut a time or two reached the kitchen moments before footsteps rolled in.
“How is my hard working girl?” Escorted by two tail wagging retrievers on either side of him, the General came up to hug Callie and then Lily. His wife on his heels, Poppy followed after her.
Lily pulled her famous pie out of the box and set it down. “Living the dream.”
“I’m just looking forward to warm ziti followed by a hot soak.” Callie resisted the urge to rub at her lower back.
Her grandmother came up beside her and gave her a quick kiss. “I hear you were amazing. As your grandfather and I drove past what was left of the downed tree, all the guys were raving
about what a great job you and Poppy had done.”
“Especially that new guy.” Poppy pretended not to notice the pointed glare Callie shot in her direction.
“You’d have made a great Marine.” The General patted Lady and Sarge dutifully standing at either side of him, then dug into the cookie jar that held their treats, dispersing one to each. One more pat and he addressed his granddaughter again, “Well done.”
The front door slammed again and this time the footsteps sounded more like a herd of cattle. Sure enough, the men of the family and their friends strolled in from the hall bath one by one. From the husbands—Jake, Alan, Eric, and Cole with his firemen friends—to the recent houseguest she suspected she was going to be seeing way more often than after a few math tutoring sessions, the men seemed to take up all the air in the room.
“I hope you’re all hungry.” Lucy grinned up at the crowd. That woman lived to cook and was happiest when she was feeding people. Thank heavens cooking was a much safer pastime than playing matchmaker, and something Lucy was seriously good at.
“Absolutely,” Jake exclaimed first, followed by Cole, and then all the voices jumbled together.
“I’ll get the silverware!” Poppy reached into a drawer.
“I’ve got the napkins,” Cole chimed in before reaching into the cabinet with one hand and for his wife with the other.
“How can I help?” Zane asked.
Lucy pointed to a tray on the island. “Company just visits. Enjoy a deviled egg, one of my specialties. Dinner will be ready soon.”
“If you behave,” Grams smiled from her spot beside Lucy, “she might share the recipe.”
Zane took a quick bite and let out a slow moan. “I’d better behave.”
Callie had no idea if the man cooked or not, or if he really cared about the recipe, but the way his response had Lucy standing an extra inch taller gave the mathematician a gold star in her book.
“Oh good, I’m not too late.” Hyacinth came shuffling in the door, paused at her husband Alan’s side, and looked to Zane. “Hi. I hear you’ve been roped into tutoring Deidra in math?”
“Maybe not roped, but yes, I’m going to give it a whirl.”
“Who told you?” Her stomach rumbling, Callie reached for a deviled egg.
“Who else. Mrs. Brogan. And if anyone is wondering, the rabbit is doing very well.”
Callie poured herself a glass of Lucy’s fresh squeezed lemonade from the pitcher on the counter. “Glad to hear about the rabbit, but how did Mrs. Brogan know about the tutoring plans?”
“Pretty much the whole school knows the guy who caught the coach is tutoring Deidra.”
Callie choked on her lemonade, Poppy slapped her back hard, Zane cleared his throat to cover a cough, and Lucy spun around waving a finger at Callie. “What do they mean he caught you?”
***
“For a man who’s brilliant at math, you sure are having a hard time grasping the concept of bidding.” Ralph shook his head and pressed his lips into a thin line. Zane’s whist partner took his game seriously.
“You should have bid four with that hand.” Deidra paused over his shoulder a moment and tsked before returning to her seat beside Mrs. Hart.
The amount of times the kid had corrected his card playing skills made him wonder why she struggled with math at all. She certainly had calculating trump down pat.
“I think that about does it.” Mrs. Hart tossed a large ball of fabric into a massive quilted bag she’d recently bought from the Olla Podrida. “We’re all set. Thank you very much for your help, Deidra. I would have been at this for days on my own trying to untangle this mess. Now I can start braiding the first strands tomorrow.”
“Glad I could help.” Deidra pushed to her feet, grabbed her backpack from a nearby rocker, and slinging it over her shoulder, faced Zane. “Same time tomorrow, Mr. Crandall?”
Setting his cards face down on the table, he turned to look over his shoulder. “If you’re free, so am I.”
A soft smile brightened her face. “Same time then.”
It took a few more minutes for her to make the round of goodbyes to all the card players and trot down the porch steps.
“I’m not sure if I should be thrilled she’s finally excited about math, or offended that none of us could get her to smile at practicing probabilities.” Callie took the seat Deidra had vacated. The entire time he’d been playing cards on the porch and Deidra had been helping Mrs. Hart, Callie and her sisters had been in the kitchen with Lucy.
Not that Zane wasn’t enjoying the card game. Despite his own grandfather’s efforts, he’d never quite gotten the hang of whist, but he’d be an idiot not to want to spend his time with a room full of pretty women.
“We certainly appreciate what you’re doing for the girl.” The General played a card.
Zane fanned his cards again, reminding himself diamonds were trump. “My pleasure.”
“Do you think it will help?” Nadine laid her card down. “She’s such a joy to watch play.”
“Honestly, if Callie hadn’t told me she wasn’t scoring high enough on her entrance exams to qualify for scholarships, I wouldn’t have believed it. She’s catching on to the calculations and statistics like any pro.”
“Because she likes sports so now math is fun.” Mrs. Hart continued sorting the different colored balls of fabric.
“Makes all the difference in the world. Working at something you love.” The General nodded at him. “Your turn, son.”
Working at something he loved. Zane did love math, but crunching numbers twenty-four seven was getting a little old. He was happier than he’d expected when his friend followed thru on his earlier idea. The lingering thought of shaking up the same old same old was appealing. Zane set down a low diamond, high enough to win the trick, and smiled at Ralph, who looked more surprised than he was that he’d finally kept track of the cards played.
“It’s been a long day.” Wiping her hands on a kitchen rag, Lily came onto the porch and bent over her sister. “I was going to wait for Poppy, but four o’clock in the morning rolls around pretty darn fast.”
“And I’m right behind you.” Cindy ran a hand across her grandfather’s shoulders. “Alan must be thinking I fell into a sugar coma eating one too many of Lily’s goodies. I need to get home.”
“It’s always lovely having you stop by. Too bad Alan couldn’t stay after supper, but I understand how important his deadlines are.” Mrs. Hart smiled. “Besides, I’m dying to read the new book when he’s finished.”
Zane had been a little surprised to find a New York Times bestselling author with the reputation of Alan Peters living out here so far away from a big city. Then again, in just a little over twenty-four hours he’d already begun to reconsider the value of life in the middle of nowhere.
Thirty minutes later, the card playing had come to an end. Most of the folks had said their goodbyes, except for a couple of stragglers, and Poppy had yet to return home. If he headed to his cabin now, he might be able to do a little research on this new career path. The internet signal out here had been as fickle as a feline at the back door. Maybe at this hour with fewer users he might stand a chance. “I’m thinking it’s time I called it a night too.”
“We certainly don’t want to be the last to leave.” Nadine chuckled, tugging at her husband Ned’s sleeve. “Let’s go, high roller.”
“That’s for poker.” Ned stood. “Not sure we’ll make it tomorrow night. Town council wants to add another stop light in town. Like we need more idling engines polluting our mountains.”
“We know, dear.” Nadine patted his arm, gently nudging him toward the door. “You can explain it to them yourself.”
“Darn tooting, I’ll show them how the cow chews his cud.”
“Guess I’ll catch Poppy tomorrow.” Callie kissed her grandmother’s cheek and followed the rest of them out the door.
At the bottom of the steps, Nadine and Ned waved to them as they climbed into their old car and,
the engine roaring to life, drove up the hill.
“They sure are a happy bunch.”
“Who?” Callie paused behind him.
“Nadine and Ned, but the others too. Well, except Ralph, who wasn’t too pleased with me at first. But in my defense, it’s been a lot of years since I played cards with my grandfather.”
Callie chuckled. “Ralph isn’t happy unless he’s finding something to be contrary about. As for the rest of the folks, the Merry Widows can be a handful.”
“Merry Widows?”
“Thelma and Louise and Nadine, to name a few.”
“Nadine? But she’s married to Ned, isn’t she?”
Callie laughed outright. “Yeah, but that doesn’t seem to matter to anyone.”
“I guess there’s more complexity to small town living than I had expected.”
“That,” she smiled brightly, lifting her face to the skies, “would be one way to put it.”
Following her lead, he looked up. “There sure are a lot of stars up this way.” He didn’t know what had made him say something so foolishly obvious.
“It’s pretty amazing what happens when you take away the competition of city lights.” Slowly lowering her gaze, she turned to face him. “If you think this is something, you should have been here earlier this summer. Every year a meteor shower comes along and puts on a show to rival the Fourth of July fireworks over the East River.”
“Sounds spectacular.” He could almost imagine the starry sky streaked with bursts of flashing lights.
“It is.” She turned her attention back to the lake in the distance and the blanket of stars reflecting on the water. “You should come up and see for yourself one summer.”
“Maybe I will.” Studying her expression a moment, it wasn’t obvious to him if the invitation had been meant uniquely for him, or if she would have suggested the same to any star gazing tourist. Tearing his gaze away from her silhouette highlighted by the moonlit night, he lifted his face to the speckled sky again. Logic dictated that her comment came from years of polite interaction with friends and guests, but for this long starry night, he was going to pretend the invitation was crafted only for him. “Maybe I will, indeed.”
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