“No thanks. I’m a pro.”
A few minutes after Cait left, Meg had the boys strapped in and was on her way to town.
Cait walked into Honey B.’s and into bedlam. Danny, Joey, and little Mitch were playing together…at least it looked like they were playing.
“Hi, Honey B. Hey, Sis. Hi, guys!”
“Cait!” All three toddlers latched on to her legs and started babbling at once.
“So did you tell Meg?”
Honey B. shook her head. “It’s been a little crazy since the boys got here.”
Cait helped her sister get the boys settled again. Once they were playing nicely, she said, “About that bet. Just so you know, the money’s going to a good cause.”
“Really? Tell me more.”
Cait shook her head. “Honey B., why don’t you?”
“Well, it all started when that man stormed into my salon and carted me off on his shoulder.”
Meg sighed. “I still remember the flinty-eyed look and determined set of Mitch’s jaw when he came in loaded for bear.”
“Quaint expression, Sis,” Cait mumbled.
“He was so forceful,” Mrs. Doyle chimed in.
“He swept our Honey B. up like she was a sack of potatoes.”
“It’s true,” Meg chuckled. “Dan and I wished we’d thought to take a picture…the look on her face was priceless.”
“What are friends for if not to humiliate one another?” Honey B. said. “I thought Dan was more forceful than Mitch.”
“Oh really?” Cait asked, looking from Meg to Honey B. and back again. “Do tell.”
“That good-for-nothing Van Orden boy waltzed in like he owned the place, grabbed Meg by the hand, and was all set to kiss her,” Mrs. Hawkins said.
“When Dan stormed in and demanded that Van Orden let her go,” Mrs. Jones added.
“But it was the way Dan kissed Meg that had all of us cheering for him,” Mrs. Doyle said. “He was so obviously in love with you,” she said to Meg. “It did our hearts good to hear him tell Van Orden that he had his chance and blew it.”
“And it was right after you two declared your love for one another that handsome sheriff stormed in and all hell broke loose,” Mrs. Hawkins said with a smile.
“Now the eligible men in Apple Grove will have a higher standard of proposing to live up to,” Mrs. Doyle added.
Meg and Honey B. shared a smile. “Sometimes it takes some doing, but if a man’s in love, he’ll eventually realize it,” Honey B. said.
“And do something about it,” Meg added.
Tears filled Meg’s eyes and Honey B.’s. Meg sniffled and hugged her friend close. “How do you feel?”
“Crappy, how about you?”
“Better,” Meg admitted.
“Maybe that news will sway the betting,” Mrs. Doyle said, moving to stand closer. “Everyone knows that if you feel poorly, but look great, you’re going to have a boy…and if you feel great, but lose your looks, you’re going to have a girl.”
Meg looked at Honey B. “So, if you win, you’ll split the winnings with me?”
Honey B. shook her head. “Sorry, no can do.”
“Why not? I’d share with you,” Meg pouted.
Caitlin put her arm her sister’s shoulder and confided, “We forgot to tell you that whoever picks the woman, the date, and the time can choose who to donate the winnings to.” Meg’s eyes filled with tears again waiting for Cait to continue. “You know how some of our neighbors are in bad shape financially right now.”
“Does Mitch know about it?” Meg asked.
“He does,” Honey B. said quietly. “And he’s all for the idea. He and Dan are the driving force spreading the word and are one hundred percent behind the idea that the winner donate the money to one family, possibly two, depending on how much we collect.”
“Dan didn’t say anything,” Meg rasped.
“He promised he’d let me tell you,” Honey B. said, but your sister already let the cat out of the bag.”
“We’re in this together,” Meg said. “Let’s see if we can rustle up some more donations for the cause.”
Honey B.’s eyes filled with tears. Cait couldn’t remember ever seeing her sister’s friend cry. “What’s the matter now?” she asked, grabbing a paper towel and handing it to Honey B.
“The gown I bought for our vow renewal ceremony isn’t going to fit,” Honey B. said, changing the subject.
“Is that all?” Mrs. Hawkins asked.
“Since we didn’t get to have a real ceremony the first time, I wanted it to be perfect. I’ve loved Mitch for so long that I lost my head after he scooped me up into his arms and didn’t come back to reality until morning sickness hit me between the eyes.”
Cait already knew Honey B.’s story but never got tired of hearing it because it was proof positive that even a cautious man could move quickly when the situation called for it.
“I thought the simple ceremony at the justice of the peace in Newark was lovely,” Meg said, bending down to take the hairbrush out of one son’s hand so he would stop smacking her other son. “But I understand why you’d want to have the vow renewal—it’s a chance to have everyone with you, celebrating the love you and the handsome sheriff share.”
Honey B. sighed. “I didn’t realize how much I wanted a real wedding, so I bought a gorgeous dress online and was all set to dazzle my husband in front of all of our friends and neighbors, but that was before I realized I was expecting again.” Tears filled her eyes as she added, “And I…damn it, I don’t know how to sew.”
“I do,” Mrs. Jenkins said with a smile. “Don’t you worry about those alterations, Honey B. You’re going to knock Mitch Wallace’s socks off when he sees you walking toward him.”
“Just leave it to us,” Mrs. Hawkins told her.
“Peggy and Kate are making the cake.”
“You planning on having a green cake like Edie and Bill?” Cait asked.
Honey B. just smiled. “That was the craziest wedding cake I’ve ever seen. I don’t think I’m going to tell you what the McCormack sisters are planning for our cake. Something has to be a surprise since the whole town is in on everything else.”
The conversation in the room started to escalate as everyone volunteered their ideas on a how to make Honey B. and the sheriff’s vow renewal perfect. “If I ever get married,” Cait said suddenly, “I’m not having a big wedding, just me and the groom—like Honey B. and Mitch did over at the county courthouse.”
“That’s it?” her sister asked.
“And my family.”
“Ten people?” Mrs. Doyle shook her head. “That’s just sad. Weddings are happy times for family, friends, and neighbors to celebrate.”
Cait remained firm. “Up until Meg and Dan got married, I wanted to elope, but then I’d be breaking the family tradition of tying the knot in our barn.”
“Only our grandparents, Mom and Dad, and Dan and I got married in the barn,” Meg reminded her. “You could have Reverend Smith bless your vows after the fact in the barn…with a party for family and friends.”
“And neighbors,” Mrs. Doyle put in.
The ladies were tittering and laughing, so Cait didn’t think anyone would hear her when she reminded Meg, “Remember when I asked Pop if I could borrow a ladder to elope and he just laughed and said not to bother…just to take the stairs?”
Meg nodded. “You were eight years old and so serious, he couldn’t help but tease you.”
Everyone started laughing and Cait realized she should have known they’d be listening. Danny was tugging on Meg’s leg, so she picked him up before telling her friend, “I’m hungry.”
“Me too,” Honey B. said, “but I have customers.”
“We’ll watch the boys, Meg,” Mrs. Doyle offered, holding out her arms for Danny. “Wh
y don’t you go on over to the diner and pick something up for you and Honey B.?”
Meg smiled and picked up Joey, handing him to Mrs. Jenkins. “Be good for Mrs. Doyle and Mrs. Jenkins,” she told them. “Mommy will be right back.”
Three little boys called out, “Bye!”
After passing out kisses, she asked her friend, “What do you want?”
“Sausage gravy and biscuits.”
“That all?”
“Mmm. I’m not that hungry.”
Caitlin asked, “What would you order if you were really hungry?”
“Chicken fried steak, sausage gravy, mashed potatoes, and biscuits…why?”
“No reason.” Cait grinned. “Come on, Meg, let’s go get that food before Honey B. faints again.”
“Not funny, squirt!” Honey B. called out, using the nickname Cait hated as Cait closed the door. Once her sister’s friend couldn’t see her, she let go of the laughter she held.
“What’s so funny?” Meg demanded as they crossed the street to the diner.
“Nothing.” Cait smiled.
“Hey there, Cait, where’ve you been?” Kate asked as they walked through the door.
Peggy walked out of the kitchen and smiled. “I hear she’s been hanging around with a certain handsome doctor.”
Cait couldn’t control the urge to laugh; she gave in. “Well, we’ve been doing a little more than hanging around.”
“Wait a minute,” Kate said, “let me get a pencil and piece of paper. This might be worth putting in the Gazette.”
“Not funny, Kate,” Peggy told her sister before nudging her toward one of the customers holding up an empty cup. “You’re on coffee duty. Get lost.”
Cait was trying not to cringe at the thought of someone discussing the aspects of her relationship with Jack—it was still so new, she meant to keep it to herself—but she always did have a hard time holding back when it was Peggy.
“She wouldn’t really tell Rhonda—” Cait began, only to have Peggy interrupt.
“Don’t worry,” Peggy reassured her. “Kate’s a lot of talk lately, especially since she finally broke up with her loser boyfriend.”
Cait was trying not to smile when she said, “I didn’t really think that you would, but sometimes I do wonder about your younger sister.” When the younger McCormack sister waved her hand in the air as if to say “go ahead and talk about me,” Cait leaned close and whispered, “Peggy, Meg thinks I’m in love.”
Peggy squeezed Cait’s hand. “Why?”
“Well, it all started when Jamie ran across the road into my arms.”
“Wait,” Peggy said, “you’re in love with a dog?”
“That’s part of it…but that was the first time I saw Jack as a person and not just someone who graduated from school with Meg, joined the navy, and came home to pick up where his dad left off—looking down the throats of everyone in town and taking their pulse.”
Peggy reached out to rub a hand up and down Cait’s back but didn’t say anything.
Encouraged, Cait confessed, “He’s funny, kind, and has this great laugh—and is one hell of a kisser.”
While Meg was chatting with Kate, giving her a food order, Cait sat down on one of the stools. “I’ve never felt like this before, Peggy…ever,” she whispered. “And it scares the ever-living daylights out of me.”
Peggy leaned on the counter and whispered, “So, how good a kisser is he?”
Cait’s grin turned wicked. “You remember Tommy Stackhouse?”
Peggy’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”
Cait shook her head and whispered, “Better.”
“Oh. My. God,” Peggy said, fanning herself.
Cait started to laugh and pulled Peggy in for a quick hug. “I didn’t know if I was crazy or not.”
Peggy grinned at her. “Seriously? Tommy Stackhouse?”
Kate came out of the kitchen with Meg’s order and asked, “So, are you going to give me the lowdown on the town’s latest heartthrob?”
Meg chuckled as she thanked Kate. “That’s all you,” she said to Caitlin. “See you later, Sis.”
Watching Meg close the door, Peggy asked Cait, “Have you told him how you feel yet?”
Cait shook her head. “I wasn’t exactly sure of it myself. Besides, what if he doesn’t feel the same way?”
“Are you crazy? He’d be a fool not to fall for you.”
Cait’s heart lightened. “Thanks, Peggy.”
“No problem.”
They walked through the diner and out to the sidewalk. Standing in front of the diner’s picture window, Peggy asked, “So, does Meg finally know about the bet?”
“Yeah, we were just over at Honey B.’s and everybody filled her in.”
“Good,” Peggy said. “It’s a good thing what they’re doing for our town.”
“It is,” Cait agreed. “Sooo,” she said slowly, letting her gaze meet that of her friend. “If you were me, would you tell him?”
Peggy paused before answering, “Maybe not quite yet. You’ll know when the moment is right.”
Chapter 8
As promised, Mr. Johnson was waiting for Caitlin the following morning when she pulled into his driveway. After doing the walk-through, she knew this would be a job she’d love—expanding his barn to include a few more stalls.
“Caitlin,” Mr. Johnson called out, walking toward her car. “Where’s the truck?”
“It’s in the shop.”
Before she could elaborate, he was nodding. “Heard about the whole business, just thought it would be repainted by now.” She fell silent and followed him over to the long, low building he wanted to add on to. “Now,” the older man said, pointing to the left side of the building. “Here’s where I think you should build the stalls I need. How you do it’ll be up to you, as long as it looks like what’s already there.”
“Understood,” she told him. “If I call in the order to the lumberyard over in Newark, I can probably have all of the materials ready for pick up this afternoon. If I pour the slab now, I can start framing first thing in the morning.”
“You’ll squeeze me in your schedule?” he asked. “I know it’s busy since Megan started working part time.” He waited a beat before asking, “She feeling all right?”
Cait smiled. “She’s great and feeling better every day.”
“Good. Young women were meant to be mothers. It’s natural—”
“If that’s the case, then who would be building your horse stalls right now?”
He slapped his knee and chuckled. “Joe Mulcahy never did suffer a fool…didn’t raise any either,” he said with a nod. “You’ll give me a fair price?”
“Always, but I thought you and Pop already agreed on time and materials?”
“I talked to your dad about that, but the job is labor intensive…and the thing is, I just don’t have a whole lot of extra right now. I need to put money back into caring for the horses. I’ve got a lot of paralyzed and paraplegic kids coming to learn how to ride, and I need to find another instructor to work with them.”
“Pop says you already have the next two months booked solid, with a waiting list.” She looked over at the horses quietly munching on hay over in the corral. “You’re doing this community, and our county, a great service by starting up this riding program. How could we say no? We have to help you help these kids.”
“I’m grateful that your dad raised you three girls right…even if not one of you can cook!”
“Don’t believe everything you read in the Apple Grove Gazette. Besides, that was years ago, when I was in high school. Maybe I’ve learned to cook.”
He shook his head and pointed at the barn. “Work up your material list, get me the price, and place the order. Pour your slab,” he said. “The sooner we get things going, the sooner we’ll be up and r
unning.”
“When’s the next session start?”
“Two weeks.”
Cait stared at the building for a moment before coming up with a new plan. “Mr. Johnson?”
He stopped halfway to the corral. “Yeah?”
“If I get my dad to help me, we can have this baby framed out with the roof on in a day or so.”
“That fast?”
“We’re pouring some concrete slab, not digging foundations, and adding on to an existing structure…it’s not like the rebuild I did over at Mr. Weatherbee’s barn.”
“Thought you’d never finish it up and get to my barn.”
“How about it, want me to bring my dad in on it?”
“Think he’d do it?”
Caitlin grinned. “In a heartbeat. Retirement’s not as much fun as he thought it’d be. About all he has to do is work on the Model A pickup when Dan’s free. Those two are thick as thieves.”
“Family should stick together. I’ll leave a tarp by the side of the barn. You can use it to cover the wood you drop off later. Tell your dad I said thanks.” With that, he left her so she could call her father and get the lumber list together.
Her father taught her to be prepared, and she would have been if she were driving the F1. She went back to the car and pulled out the bags of concrete she’d stowed in the trunk that morning. She had the hoe she needed to work the water slowly into the concrete mix. What she didn’t have was a wheelbarrow. She’d have to call her dad, because she didn’t want to take a chance and ruin one of Mr. Johnson’s wheelbarrows if she didn’t get all the concrete washed out before it dried.
“Hey, Pop,” she said when he answered. “I’m gonna get started on Mr. Johnson’s slab and don’t want to wreck his wheelbarrow mixing the cement. Can you bring one by?”
“Have you staked out the area and measured the depths you need?”
“I will.”
“Do you have any scrap lumber pieces to create the form?”
“Yep.”
“Good.”
“Um…Pop?”
“Yes?”
“Mr. Johnson was hoping I could start right away, but was worried about not having enough money for time and materials, and working by myself—”
One Day in Apple Grove Page 11
