The Ride of Her Life (21 page)

Percy moaned. “Do I have to?”

“None of that. Doing what needs to be done is what makes you a man. They may have some heavy lifting that requires your strength.” He clapped a hand on Percy’s shoulder. “Tell them we’ll be along shortly.”

After watching the gangly youth trot off, Nick turned his attention to the rest of his crew. The men had worked hard despite the mud, and the work had gone well this morning. While some men worked on the engine house, others tackled the roller coaster structure itself. By the end of the week, they’d have most of the trestle bents up and braced if they continued at this rate. Then they’d be able to start adding the decking and rails. For the first time in days, he dared hope they might make the deadline.

“Nick, how tall is this next trestle supposed to be?” Milt Hawkins called from the work site.

Picking up his plans, Nick shielded his eyes from the sun and glanced from their location to his paper. “Forty-two feet. That one is still part of the coaster’s highest point.”

He watched Milt remeasure the section before giving Al the signal to hoist the top half of the trestle structure into the air using the small, steam-operated building site crane. Like monkeys, Forest and Archie swung into place on the horizontal beams, took hold of the section, and began securing it. His stomach wadded in a ball. They made it look so easy, but Nick knew that wasn’t the case. One wrong move, one slip, could mean a fall where a man could be seriously injured. He took safety seriously on his site, but that didn’t mean accidents couldn’t happen, and he felt guilty for pushing them. Working quickly could make a man careless.

For the second time that day, he said a prayer for the men and for himself.
Father, please don’t let my pride make anyone else fall.

Pacing from window to window in the front of the diner, Lilly kept her eye on the skunk. He continued his inebriated walk not far from the establishment, but there was still no sign of Eugenia.

Lilly went to the back door and cracked it open. Hearing voices, she paused.
Lord, please don’t let Eugenia get sprayed by the skunk. That poor girl has enough strikes against her already. And besides, I’d have to be in the kitchen with her stinking up the place for days.

“Ahhh!” The shout was followed by a familiar stench wafting through the crack in the door.

Lilly closed the door and moaned.
Lord, was it because I forgot to say ‘amen’?

But where was the skunk? She hadn’t seen anything.

“Levi, where’s the skunk now?” she called into the dining room.

“Stinky went around the side.”

The back door swung open, and Eugenia hurried inside with her nose plugged. Mr. Tallman followed, but neither of them reeked of skunk spray.

Lilly frowned. “I heard someone yell, but if you didn’t get sprayed, then who did?”

“I heard it too.” Mr. Tallman put his hand on the knob. “Smelled it even more. Glad it wasn’t you, Mrs. Hart. You ladies stay here. I’ll find out who it was and take care of the skunk. If what Miss Eugenia said is true, it’s a dangerous animal. Probably distemper.”

22

“Mrs. Hart, can you come out here?”

Lilly turned from the icebox in time to see the look of amusement on Mr. Tallman’s face. She set a jar of pickles on the counter, called to Eugenia to finish setting the table for lunch, and followed him outdoors.

“Oh, Percy!” Lilly covered her mouth and nose with her hand. Her heart ached for him. She’d grown fond of the boy who was trying so hard to be a man. “You got sprayed?”

Percy looked up from his seat on one of the Midway’s park benches. “I was coming to help you ladies in the kitchen. Nick said I had to, and the stinkin’ skunk got me.”

“Did he spray you directly? Are your eyes burning?”

“No, ma’am. I saw him raise his tail, and I dove behind a bush. Still got a little on me, I guess.”

Mr. Tallman laughed. “’Fraid so, son.”

“I’ll just go wash in the lake, Mrs. Hart.” Percy stood. “I’ll be back to help you shortly.”

Lilly held up her hand. “I’m afraid bathing in the lake will do no good. You need to get out of those smelly clothes right away. Mr. Tallman, if you’ll set up the washtub, I’ll have Eugenia help me get several jars of tomato juice from inside.”

“There’s no way I’m going to take a bath out here in front of God and everybody.” Percy’s eyes, a soft pecan brown, grew as wide as gingersnaps. “Wait a minute. Did you say tomato juice?”

“It cuts the stench, son.” Mr. Tallman picked up the shotgun he’d used to take care of the skunk and leaned it against the bench.

“Do I look like I’m ready for the soup pot?”

“Mrs. Hart, I’ll take the boy on back to my place so he’ll have some privacy. You can have one of the men bring over the tomato juice and a new set of clothes for the boy.”

Percy bolted up. “No! You can’t tell them. They’ll rib me for months about getting sprayed.”

Lilly’s head began to throb from the stench. “Nick will want to know, and your clothes will have to be burned.”

“But I ain’t got but one other set of work clothes. If he hadn’t made me come here—”

“Now, son, let’s get you washed, and we’ll worry about all that later.” Motioning to the paved walkway with the stock of the gun, Mr. Tallman indicated it was time to leave. He gave Lilly a nod and followed behind the slumping youth.

Lilly hurried inside to find tomato juice before the men arrived. She slid the stool across the wood floor, wincing when it screeched. She climbed onto the stool and once again noticed it wobbled a bit. One leg must be shorter than the other three. She needed to get that repaired.

Carefully, she stood. She reached for the first jar and tucked it in the crook of her arm, then reached for a second. They’d need at least four quarts, perhaps even five or six. Thank goodness Mr. Thorton had an ample supply of preserved goods. Unfortunately, she’d have to make several trips up and down the stool to secure enough jars without dropping any.

“What are you doing up there?”

Lilly startled at the sound of Nick’s voice. The stool wobbled. She grabbed for the shelf to steady herself, then glared at him. “You nearly made me fall.”

“Which wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t climbing around like a monkey.” He crossed the kitchen, took the jars from her arms, and set them on the counter. Then he returned and held out his hand to assist her down. “I know Levi calls you Chipmunk Mama, but that doesn’t mean you need to live up to the name every time I turn around.”

She turned back to the shelf. “I still need four more jars of tomato juice.”

“What for? Even my men can’t use that much at one time.”

“You’d be surprised.” She tucked another jar in the crook of her arm.

“I’ll get them.” Instead of waiting for her answer, he grabbed her waist and lifted her to the ground.

“Nick!” Her face flushed hot.

Giving her a devilish smile, he stood on his tiptoes, lifted another three quarts from the shelf, and set the jars with the others. “So, what are you making with all these?”

“A bath.”

Nick’s eyebrows peaked. “Excuse me?”

With a laugh, Lilly pointed to an empty crate.

Nick snagged it and began filling it with the jars. “A bath? Wait a minute, did someone get sprayed by a skunk? I smelled it when we arrived. And where’s Percy? He should have been helping you get these down. Sometimes I’m not so sure about that boy.”

Tapping the toe of her shoe, Lilly waited for Nick to put the pieces together. If he did so on his own, she wouldn’t be betraying Percy’s confidence.

He set the last jar in the crate and turned to her. “
He
got sprayed?” Laughter shook his chest.

“Your reaction is exactly why Percy didn’t want you or your men to know.”

“Does he honestly think he can hide it? Tomato juice doesn’t work that well.” Nick sucked his cheeks, apparently trying to stop his grinning, but another chortle escaped. “So where is the poor kid?”

“The skunk was sick. I had Eugenia fetch Mr. Tallman to take care of it, and he took poor Percy back to his place for a bath. He’s there waiting for the tomato juice. So if you’d kindly hand me the crate, I’ll deliver it.”

“You?” Nick hefted the crate in his arms.

“Yes, and you’ll need to fetch Percy another set of clothes. Mr. Tallman plans to burn what he was wearing.” Lilly tried to tug the crate from Nick. “Percy is concerned about his clothes. He says he has only one other set.”

Nick pulled the crate away, and the jars rattled inside. “I’ll take care of the clothes, and I’ll deliver these. The boy’s humiliation is bad enough without a lady seeing him naked.”

“I—I—I had no intention of allowing that to happen,” Lilly sputtered.

Turning toward the door, Nick grinned. “Maybe you should go get a drink. You look a little flushed.”

After the door banged shut behind him, Lilly patted her burning cheeks. For that, she wasn’t even going to keep a plate warm for Nick.

She rolled her eyes. Well, maybe she should if he was taking care of Percy.

Every man was hard at work by the time Nick arrived back at the roller coaster site with Percy. He patted his full stomach. Lilly had kept a plate warm for both him and Percy, and to his surprise, Eugenia’s corned beef had gone beyond palatable to downright tasty. Maybe Lilly would be able to teach her to cook after all.

“Now, don’t let the men get to you, Percy. Sure, they’ll give you a hard time, but it will only last until something else comes along for them to joke about.”

Percy shot him a glare.

Not since Nick had delivered the tomato juice had the young man said a word to him. Obviously, Percy felt his boss was somehow to blame for this, but how had this become Nick’s fault? “You don’t smell nearly as bad as before.” Nick clapped him on the shoulder. “Besides, it’ll wear off in a couple of days.”

Side by side, they walked the rest of the way until they met up with the others.

“Whoooo-eeee!” Forest pinched his nose shut. “Percy, you smell like a skunk dipped in ketchup.”

“Fellas, leave him be.” Nick pointed to the engine house. “Percy, why don’t you work with Archie and Frank today?”

“You’re going to make them be inside with him?” Forest snickered.

Nick couldn’t keep the corners of his mouth from curling upward. “On second thought, maybe you should continue your regular job out here.”

“Hauling boards?” Percy’s chest heaved, and he shot Nick another heated glare.

“Yes, Percy. That’s one part of your job.” He met the young man’s hard gaze and held it until Percy looked away. What was wrong with the boy? Nick turned to the others. “Let’s get back to work, fellas, and see if we can get as much done this afternoon as we did this morning.”

After Nick made sure things were well under way, he took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. Another set of hands—hardworking hands—would help this project out the most right now, and his name was the one on the line if this coaster failed.

And with things finally looking more encouraging with Lilly, the last thing he wanted was to let her see she couldn’t count on him.

How hard could it be to put a roast in the oven?

As soon as Eugenia had finally completed the task, Lilly made an excuse to get out of the diner for a while. If she stayed, she feared she might end up using a cast-iron skillet as a weapon. So much for the morning’s progress.