Batty, you and the kids had better get down to your cottage and pack up some of your things or they’re going to get ruined.’’
‘‘Oh, we were just talking about my roof,’’ she said as gleefully as a child. ‘‘Don’t worry, Gabe says he’ll fix it for me.’’
I lost my temper. Was I the only responsible adult around here? ‘‘Mr. Harper has just taken one tiny step back from death’s door. He isn’t about to be climbing up on your roof anytime soon. And even if he could get up there, that roof is going to take a lot more than a day’s work to fix.’’
Gabe looked away. The cheerful smile disappeared from Aunt Batty’s face. Even my kids started ducking their heads and shuffling their feet. I felt like the thundercloud that had just poured rain on their picnic.
‘‘Then I guess we’d better get busy,’’ Aunt Batty said quietly. ‘‘Come on.’’ She made a sweeping motion with her arm, and the dog, both cats, and all three kids followed her out of the room like she was the Pied Piper. I was left alone with Gabe.
‘‘I know that I’m still not completely well,’’ he said, fingering the mitten Arabella had left behind. ‘‘I’m sorry if I misled Aunt Batty about her roof. I didn’t mean to.’’
Something about the easy way he said her name struck me as wrong. It was one thing for her own family to call her ‘‘Batty,’’ but it seemed wrong for a stranger to do it. We stared at each other in silence for a moment before I remembered Sam’s clothes.
‘‘Here. Speaking of getting better, I think the roads are thawing out, too. If you can get yourself dressed, I’ll drive you to Deer Springs to see the doctor.’’
‘‘No! Thank you, ma’am, but no!’’ His answer came so swiftly, so forcefully, he startled me. It was like I’d offered to take him to a voodoo witch doctor for treatment. As Aunt Peanut used to say, ‘‘something smelled fishy.’’ I waited, my hands on my hips, letting my silence demand an explanation from him.
‘‘I...uh...Idon’t have any money,’’ he finally said. ‘‘I can’t pay for a doctor.’’
‘‘That doesn’t matter. Dr. Gilbert is real nice about letting folks pay any way they can. I could bring him a chicken and some eggs and milk—’’
‘‘No! Thank you, but you’ve done too much for me already. As it stands, I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you for saving my life.’’
I gestured impatiently. ‘‘Fiddlesticks! I plan to get plenty of work out of you once you’re feeling better—like fixing Aunt Batty’s roof, for one thing. I’m just not sure you’re out of the woods yet, and I’d rest easier if you’d let a doctor take a look at your leg.’’
‘‘I’ll be fine.’’
I could see by the way he stuck out his chin and held my eyes with his own that he wasn’t going to budge. As I stared back, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was more than the money he was worried about. A funny feeling suddenly shivered through me— what if he really was an angel? What if a doctor would be able to tell somehow?
I shook myself to dismiss such a silly thought. There were no such things as angels.
‘‘Listen, if you’re sure you don’t want to see a doctor, then I’d better go help Aunt Batty for a while. Can I get you anything before I leave?’’
‘‘No, thank you.’’ He sank back against the pillows, and I could see that he’d used up all his strength. I put Sam’s clothes on the dresser top and left Gabe alone to rest.
I spent most of the day hauling stuff up the hill from Aunt Batty’s cottage to my house. I’d loaded my father-in-law’s truck with empty apple crates and driven them down there, thinking she could pack up her things and store them in her bedroom where they would stay dry. But Aunt Batty had insisted on bringing all of her most precious books up here. This old farmhouse was already cluttered to the rafters with stuff, since it had been in Sam’s family for so
‘‘Oh, we were just talking about my roof,’’ she said as gleefully as a child. ‘‘Don’t worry, Gabe says he’ll fix it for me.’’
I lost my temper. Was I the only responsible adult around here? ‘‘Mr. Harper has just taken one tiny step back from death’s door. He isn’t about to be climbing up on your roof anytime soon. And even if he could get up there, that roof is going to take a lot more than a day’s work to fix.’’
Gabe looked away. The cheerful smile disappeared from Aunt Batty’s face. Even my kids started ducking their heads and shuffling their feet. I felt like the thundercloud that had just poured rain on their picnic.
‘‘Then I guess we’d better get busy,’’ Aunt Batty said quietly. ‘‘Come on.’’ She made a sweeping motion with her arm, and the dog, both cats, and all three kids followed her out of the room like she was the Pied Piper. I was left alone with Gabe.
‘‘I know that I’m still not completely well,’’ he said, fingering the mitten Arabella had left behind. ‘‘I’m sorry if I misled Aunt Batty about her roof. I didn’t mean to.’’
Something about the easy way he said her name struck me as wrong. It was one thing for her own family to call her ‘‘Batty,’’ but it seemed wrong for a stranger to do it. We stared at each other in silence for a moment before I remembered Sam’s clothes.
‘‘Here. Speaking of getting better, I think the roads are thawing out, too. If you can get yourself dressed, I’ll drive you to Deer Springs to see the doctor.’’
‘‘No! Thank you, ma’am, but no!’’ His answer came so swiftly, so forcefully, he startled me. It was like I’d offered to take him to a voodoo witch doctor for treatment. As Aunt Peanut used to say, ‘‘something smelled fishy.’’ I waited, my hands on my hips, letting my silence demand an explanation from him.
‘‘I...uh...Idon’t have any money,’’ he finally said. ‘‘I can’t pay for a doctor.’’
‘‘That doesn’t matter. Dr. Gilbert is real nice about letting folks pay any way they can. I could bring him a chicken and some eggs and milk—’’
‘‘No! Thank you, but you’ve done too much for me already. As it stands, I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you for saving my life.’’
I gestured impatiently. ‘‘Fiddlesticks! I plan to get plenty of work out of you once you’re feeling better—like fixing Aunt Batty’s roof, for one thing. I’m just not sure you’re out of the woods yet, and I’d rest easier if you’d let a doctor take a look at your leg.’’
‘‘I’ll be fine.’’
I could see by the way he stuck out his chin and held my eyes with his own that he wasn’t going to budge. As I stared back, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was more than the money he was worried about. A funny feeling suddenly shivered through me— what if he really was an angel? What if a doctor would be able to tell somehow?
I shook myself to dismiss such a silly thought. There were no such things as angels.
‘‘Listen, if you’re sure you don’t want to see a doctor, then I’d better go help Aunt Batty for a while. Can I get you anything before I leave?’’
‘‘No, thank you.’’ He sank back against the pillows, and I could see that he’d used up all his strength. I put Sam’s clothes on the dresser top and left Gabe alone to rest.
I spent most of the day hauling stuff up the hill from Aunt Batty’s cottage to my house. I’d loaded my father-in-law’s truck with empty apple crates and driven them down there, thinking she could pack up her things and store them in her bedroom where they would stay dry. But Aunt Batty had insisted on bringing all of her most precious books up here. This old farmhouse was already cluttered to the rafters with stuff, since it had been in Sam’s family for so
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