“Storm’s stalled,” Mr. Johnson called out above the din of two nine-pound hammers and two nail guns.
Cait wiped the back of her arm over her forehead. The day had warmed up considerably by the time they’d gotten up on the roof. “I need some water. How about you boys?”
Charlie looked at Tommy and frowned, asking, “No soda?”
She grinned at them. “If you’re going to be working bent over, it’s not a good idea to drink soda until you’re done. How about I treat for root beer floats over at the diner when we’re done?”
“Cool…Coach Eagan is going to feed us pizza.”
“Ah,” she said, smiling at her brother-in-law. “Mulcahys have always worked for food. Good call,” she told him.
By the time the wind started picking up, Cait and her father were nailing shingles on the peak. “Just in time.”
She looked up, surprised to see dark clouds boiling above them. “Wow, we’d better finish up, Pop. That sky looks mean.”
“It’s not green, so that’s a good thing. I’m not a fan of twister weather.”
“OK, boys,” Caitlin called down. “Let’s start putting away the tools, the storm’s almost here.”
The guys had started on the siding but stopped and began to clean up at her command. By the time the first raindrops fell, their tools were stowed in the cab of the truck so they wouldn’t get wet, and the boys were safely tucked into Dan’s car.
“I owe you guys,” Cait told them.
“Yeah,” Charlie yelled from the passenger side, “meet us at the diner. I’m really thirsty.”
“Me too,” Tommy said.
Her father smiled down at her, “Let’s go tell Scott we’re done for the day.”
Scott met them halfway down the path with an umbrella. “It’s gonna get nasty. Hey,” he said, looking at the new section of stalls they’d added. “You got the roof on.”
“That was the plan. Tarps can leak if there’s enough wind.”
“Chances are pretty good the weather will clear and we can come back tomorrow and put up the siding,” Cait told him.
Her dad shook his head. “Let’s wait and see. We can call you in the morning after we see what the weather’s doing.”
“Great job,” Scott said, holding his hand for Cait and then Joe to shake.
“Talk to you tomorrow,” Joe promised.
Climbing in the truck, Cait wished for a hot cup of coffee, not an ice cream float. Good thing they were headed to the Apple Grove Diner, where you could get either one from seven o’clock in the morning until eleven o’clock at night.
Backing out of the driveway, her father said, “Those boys looked hungry.”
When they arrived at the diner, he looked at Cait, and said, “Time to feed the troops.”
Peggy and Kate greeted them as they ducked inside the diner to get out of the rain. “Well, looks like we’re doing a brisk business for dinner tonight. What’ll it be?”
Cait smiled at Peggy and said, “We owe Charlie and Tommy whatever kind of ice cream sodas they want to go with their pizza.” She leaned close, “Make sure I get the check.”
Charlie looked over at Dan and said, “Hey, Coach, can I have two burgers instead?”
“Yeah,” Tommy added. “Pizza’s great, but we’re really hungry.”
Dan smiled. “Not a problem, guys. Dinner’s on me.”
Cait shook her head. “Actually, I’m buying for the three of you, so take your time and pick whatever you want off the menu.”
“What’s the occasion?” Kate asked, pad and pen in hand, ready to take their order.
“Dan brought Charlie and Tommy over to Johnson’s to help us with a job.”
“We got to shingle the addition on the barn,” Tommy told Kate.
“Meg’s going to be sorry she missed out on the job,” Cait said.
“There’s still siding to do and interior work to finish,” Joe told her. “We needed to close it up before the storm. Wouldn’t have happened if these three didn’t pitch in and help us, though.”
“Feels good,” Cait said, as she sat on the stool beside Dan.
“Real good.” His phoned buzzed and he grinned. “That’ll be Meg checking up on me. Excuse me.”
Cait realized with a jolt that she hadn’t heard from Jack since she’d texted him about not being able to take care of Jamie today. Was he busy or upset that she didn’t have time to take care of his puppy?
Before she could work herself up into a state of nerves, her phone rang. Relief speared through her as she recognized the number. “Hey, Jack,” she said, getting up and walking to the other side of the diner so she could hear. “How’s Jamie?”