Page 20 of Tinsel & Tools
Gavin glanced at me. “Know any hot dance teachers?”
I barked out a laugh. “Not at the moment, but I’m sure we can find some.”
We headed outside. The ground softened as we neared the lake where the boathouse leaned toward the water. The siding had buckled and the roofline was sagging. I knocked a sill plate with the toe of my boot, and it crumbled apart.
“Stay out of the boathouse. The frame’s shot. No one goes in until I make sure it’s safe.”
Allie’s eyes lit up. “But later it could be a studio space. Maybe a game room.”
“Maybe. Not until it’s rebuilt.”
“Or this could be where Johnny takes Baby’s virginity,” Gavin teased.
I laughed before I could stop myself. “You’re a little young to know Dirty Dancing that well.”
He shrugged. “It’s a classic. Besides, have you seen Patrick Swayze shirtless?”
“I have,” I admitted, still grinning. “But that’s not what made me like the movie.”
“Let me guess, it was Penny?” Allie asked.
“Wrong. It was the music. My mom played the soundtrack nonstop when I was a kid. You hear “Hungry Eyes” enough times, it sticks.”
Gavin tilted his head, a grin tugging at his mouth. “So you’re telling me it wasn’t Lisa’s singing?”
A bark of laughter escaped me. “Definitely not Lisa’s singing.”
Allie threw her arms out in a mock performance. “Hula Hana of Kamana Whaleya…”
Gavin groaned and covered his face with his hand, but he was laughing too.
I shook my head and made another note on the clipboard. It was hard to look serious with those two cracking up behind me as I walked back to the house and into the kitchen where Mrs. Ross was preparing something in a bowl. I set the clipboard on the counter and ran my hand along the nearby window frame, where a slight draft slipped through a gap. The sash didn’t close all the way, and I pointed it out to her.
“It’s cozy enough most days,” she said, setting her towel on the counter, “but it gets tough once the temperature drops.”
“And once we start demo tomorrow, the doors will be open and the breeze will come in,” I explained to her as Gavin and Allie walked into the room.
“Well, if you’re tearing into the place, I don’t imagine it’ll be very peaceful here.”
Gavin frowned. “I don’t want you to feel pushed out.”
“You’re not pushing me anywhere. My niece in Burlington has been after me to visit her. This might be the excuse I need. I’ll come back once the worst of the noise and dust is over.”
“You’ll be the first call,” Gavin told her.
I left them in the kitchen and went to tape off the porch rail. Afterward, I hung a handwritten sign to close the front entrance. I stepped back just as Gavin and Allie came and joined me.
“Tomorrow we’ll take down the porch. After that, we’ll cover the furniture and start to tear down the plaster.”
Gavin blew out a breath. “Guess there’s no turning back once we start tearing down the porch and making holes in the walls.”
“No turning back,” I agreed. “We’re going to make this place beautiful again.”
Allie bumped his shoulder. “It’ll be worth it. You’ll see.”
I tucked my pencil behind my ear. “I’ll be here at eight in the morning to get started.”
The next morning, I had Pete in my truck and Ryan following in his pickup. Pete was off shift from the firehouse, and Ryan said things were slow at Dalton’s Auto Body, so they both had the day to spare.
