Rise: How a House Built a Family(61)

“You really do need a roof, don’t you!” he said, and thankfully didn’t turn in time to see me roll my eyes like Hope.

“What about these windows and the doors downstairs? When do you cut those out?” He knocked on the plywood covering one of my bedroom windows.

“It’s on the to-do list. But honestly I sort of suck with the reciprocating saw. It has a lot more muscle than I do,” I admitted, stepping in a puddle on purpose.

“Probably take me less than ten minutes to do the whole house with my chain saw,” the son said.

I raised my eyebrows, and probably dropped my jaw, too. “You could cut those out with a chain saw? No way. Not possible.” I really thought he was kidding, maybe a little cruelly even, messing with the woman who knew nothing about building a house but was trying to do it anyhow.

“Really. An hour tops.”

I bit my lip. When a thing sounds too good to be true … But then I thought, What the heck? He wants to try it, let him try it. What could possibly go wrong? “How much?”

“Fifty bucks. Doors and windows. Neat and trim.”

We shook, and he disappeared down the stairs. I stayed in my room, too embarrassed to go down and admit to the kids and Dad that I was stupid enough to believe that this nameless guy could do construction work with his chain saw. Five minutes later, he fired up his chain saw in my bedroom. I shook my head: There’s a thing not every girl can say with a straight face.

It took him about a minute to cut the first window, but the others went faster. He just dipped the tip of the chain saw through the wood and sliced down like he was drawing a line through butter. The perfect rectangle fell out somewhere around the kitchen downstairs. Definitely something to warn the kids about.

I ran for the stairs. Drew and Dad were already rounding the top of them, eyes wide. I grinned and left them to watch while I ran to warn the others. Jada and Roman came up to watch while Hope covered our lunch to keep it sawdust-free.

The entire process was so much fun to watch that I forgot to time him, but it couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes to do the entire house. He even ran from window to window to prove his point. The same job would have taken Drew and me a whole day of wrestling with the reciprocating saw. We would have left a jagged mess of wood along the edges and maybe a lost finger in the mix. The day was on my short list of favorite building days to date.

“Don’t suppose you want to come back later and carve that hickory out front into a large inkpot and feather?” I laughed, happily handing him his fifty bucks.

“I’m not much of an artist. But if you need a hand with any other quick cuts like that, holler at me. That was fun!” He was grinning as wide as I was. “Wasn’t really sure it would even work. Never done anything like that before.”

Well, great. I’m glad he didn’t lose a limb in the process. But really, even his confession didn’t stop me from smiling.

“Worth every penny just for the entertainment value,” Dad said, grinning wide.





–16–

Fall

Firefighters Have Hoses

The spring talent show at Hope’s middle school was a lot more entertaining than I had expected. Watching handfuls of awkward twelve-year-olds dance, sing, and act was a lot more fun from the parent side of the bench than when I had been a shy child working up the courage to take a stage. Jada had loved it the most. As a first grader, she had been starstruck watching the big kids.

She chattered and sang song bits all the way home.

“Mommy?” Hope’s voice edged up, laced with fear.

Fortunately, the kids were paying more attention to where I was going than I was, because as I drove up our driveway, a red Honda headed down it straight for us. It was Adam’s car, of course.

I backed out without looking for traffic, then took off down the road, dialing my cell while I took a corner through a neighborhood and toward town. If I had taken time to think it through, I would have headed straight for Ivana’s. Her house was only a mile from mine, but in the opposite direction and there was no easy way to turn back now. Sophie’s house was nearly ten miles away.

“Where are we going?” Jada asked. “I thought we were going home.”

I was relieved that she had been too distracted to notice his car, as though ignorance were a thing powerful enough to keep her safe.

“Shhh, I have to make a quick phone call,” I said, which was true, but I was also avoiding their questions for as long as possible. I glanced in the rearview mirror and ran my fingers through my hair as though primping was on my mind instead of a potential high-speed chase. Adam’s car pulled closer.

“Still there,” Drew said.

“How is getting away so easy in the movies?” Hope asked, her breath rapid and shallow, at the edge of panic.

I took three more turns and came out in another neighborhood. Ivana’s home and cell number had rolled to voice mail. I didn’t leave a message. If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.

Sophie picked up her cell on the third ring.

“He was waiting for us at the house,” I said, as panicked as Hope had sounded. “I know you don’t want me to call the police. I promised I’d always call you first. But we’re in the car, and he’s chasing us. You have exactly two minutes to get him away before I call the police.”