Page 37 of Second Start: Family
Instead, she said, “They all look pretty happy.”
“Why shouldn’t they? They’re still on a sugar high. Except Bobby. He’s already crashed.”
She chuckled. “Great, and now you’ve left me to deal with the girls’ crash.”
“Yup.” He grinned unapologetically. “Good thing about Bobby’s age is he just goes to sleep. That oughta give me some peace driving into town and trying to figure what to get the girls — presents, I’ve been told, come at supper.”
God, the things he hadn’t noticed.
“But it looks like the morning went well,” she said with a lilt of a question to it.
“Wrong cake and I can’t sing worth beans, but other than that, fine.”
He could see her wanting to ask questions, could see her interest. But she didn’t ask. Was that her personality, some eastern thing, or something else?
He wanted to make her ask. To wait her out until her curiosity expanded to the size of the sky and she couldn’t not ask.
But, hell, he had things to do today — like driving into town and getting birthday presents.
So he gave Kenzie Smith a succinct rundown of the morning’s disasters, pitfalls, and small triumphs.
“Things don’t have to go smooth as clockwork for a child to feel special, and remembered. You did great.”
He felt oddly warmed. “Thanks. Now to see if I can figure out a present for each of them.”
“Yes, well, I better go in now.” She started to walk away, then turned back. “See if you can find the first two books in the Owl Diaries.”
“I’ve seen those books. They’ve read them a lot. Must’ve taken them out of the library a half dozen times each and the other reads it, too, each time they check it out.”
“That’s the point — they’d love to have their own copies.”
*
The weekend came fast.
As soon as school ended Friday, Kenzie and Vicky started clearing the walls, carefully stacking materials so they’d be easy to put back up. Bexley, Ellyn, and Rebecca arrived not long after to help with getting the desks stacked into the center of the room and covering them with multiple layers to keep the construction dust out.
So everything was as ready as it could be when what felt like swarms of people arrived early — very early — Saturday morning.
They certainly seemed to know what they were doing, with no hesitation as stuff started happening everywhere.
Kenzie kept to the background at first, making coffee and filling water pitchers. But after an hour or so, with the population of workers clear in her mind, she ventured inside, handing someone a tool, being the gofer for a measuring tape, trying not to impede the maelstrom of activity.
“Look at all this mess.” Cambria Weston gestured to the writhing snakes of cords littering the floor inside the front door. “Boone would have a fit if he saw this.”
“Boone?” Kenzie turned away as she repeated the name, but clearly Cambria heard her.
“My husband. He’s sort of in construction. And he hates seeing hazards like this.”
“Sort of in construction,” Bexley repeated. “Right. Like owning Bodie Smith Enterprises. But we can’t use the inside plugs because Kiernan is running new lines to support computer use in both classrooms,” Bexley said. “Have to have the power off in here, so we’re drawing from outside.”
“Excuse me. I need to— There’s something in my trailer I think I left on.”
Kenzie got out the back door of the schoolhouse, but stopped at the corner of the building — out of sight of anyone looking out through the window or getting supplies from in front. She’d take a moment here.
It wasn’t like she didn’t know … Though Cambria Weston’s last name threw her off.
“You okay?”
