Something Old - Dianne L. Christner [56]
“I doubt that.” She did, too. In fact, the parting with her family after breakfast had been emotional and had left Katy, her mom, and Karen all teary-eyed. David set the frame in place. “Okay, hold that piece.”
She knelt next to her hope chest on the warm, restored-wood flooring and involuntarily smoothed her gray skirt around her. To dispel the intimacy of the situation, she blurted out, “You know how to use that tool?”
Working the screwdriver, David grunted, “I’ve worked on a lot of farm equipment.”
“You like fixing stuff? Working on equipment?”
“Nope, like driving—”
“Fast cars,” she finished for him just as Jake strode into the room and witnessed the flash of familiarity and ensuing laughter that passed between her and David. She glanced up at Jake’s face, and his disapproving sneer pierced her with shame. But a flash of anger quickly followed her guilt, because it was Lil who’d asked Jake to help them move, or maybe he’d volunteered. Either way, if Jake and David hadn’t helped, their dads could easily have done the work. She didn’t need to use them. The remembrance of David’s accusation from the night at the restaurant made her eager to finish with the bed assembly.
With her free hand, Katy tugged Jake’s sleeve. “Hey, can you hold this for David?” As soon as she touched him, an awareness of his masculinity surfaced old memories and emotions. “I’m going to go help the girls organize the kitchen,” she mumbled, backing into her hope chest.
“Don’t you think Lil will want to do that?” Jake protested, as he reluctantly replaced her hold on the sideboard.
No ready reply came to her mind so she just fled the room. Let them glare at each other. She bit her lower lip, knowing Jake wouldn’t appreciate serving as David’s helper. Thankfully, the moment she stepped into the kitchen where Lil and Megan were unloading boxes, the atmosphere lightened.
“We have food, too?” Katy couldn’t believe how much their parents had chipped in to make their empty doddy house a real home.
“We’ll need some groceries, but we won’t starve, either.” Lil lifted a small carton. “There’s cocoa mix and popcorn, here. The guys have been working hard all day. Should we bust some out?”
“Let’s unpack that last box first,” Katy replied. “Maybe then the boys will be done with the beds. Gotta make sure we got a place to sleep tonight.” Using them again? They volunteered, she snapped back at her conscience.
“We can always sleep on mattresses.” Lil turned to Megan. “And you have to stay over our first night.”
“You sure? I didn’t bring any bedding.”
Lil gave Megan a playful shoulder bump. “We’ll squeeze you in.”
“Awesome.”
Katy glanced fondly at Megan. Guess Tyler wasn’t the only one who used that word. It must be common at the college.
Megan flipped through the microwave’s instruction manual, and by the time the last box was unpacked, she had it figured out and was explaining the workings to Katy, who gave Lil the joy of operating the cookstove first.
“I smell popcorn.” Jake’s thick Dutch accent preceded him and David into the kitchen.
“Sit and enjoy our first meal,” Katy motioned toward the drop-leaf table by the window. The boys and Megan settled in, allowing Lil and Katy to serve them. Katy passed out small wooden bowls, old ones that had been made on her father’s lathe, then took a chair between Jake and Megan.
When Lil was finished serving, and there weren’t enough chairs for everyone to sit around the table, David jumped up and offered, “Sit here.”
“Katy can sit on my lap,” Jake urged, reaching over and tugging her sleeve.
“Stop it,” she hissed, jerking her arm away and glancing up at David, who was acting the