"At this rate I'll never get to see Heaven," he grumbled.
"Damien, you aren't going anywhere until you finish folding the laundry."
Damien sighed. "But Mom, it's Saturday. The only day of the week I can spend all day there!"
Mom frowned. "You're together all week, at school."
Damien shook his head as he smoothed out a bath towel. "We can't work on it at school!"
Mom laughed. "Can't you think of anything else besides that horse?"
He pulled a shirt out of the basket, and straightened it out. "Not when we have to get the barn built in under a month, or she has to go to someone else."
She nodded. "I'm proud of you for helping. But you can't ignore your responsibilities here, if you want to prove that you can help take care of a horse. If you can't handle this, how are you going to deal with homework and going over there every day to help take care of it?"
He sighed. "That's different. Heaven can cover for me if I need extra time, and I can do the same for her. It takes both of us to work on the frame, so we have to be together to do that."
Mom shook her head. "I don't know about that, you two both have the same classes, and get the same homework assignments. You'll both be busy at the same time."
His face fell.
Mom laughed. "Don't worry so much, you two can do this. Together you're a force to be reckoned with! A heavenly miracle worker and a devilishly motivated whirlwind."
Damien grinned. "Thanks, Mom."
She pulled out the last three items, and set them in front of her. She then turned the basket over, and gently shook it. "Well, it looks like it's empty. Don't you have somewhere to be?"
Damien bolted out the door, and seconds later he was sprinting down a wide dirt pathway. The vibrant green ptrees on either side were passed unnoticed, as was the blue sky above.
He stopped in front of a modest house, panting. "Hello, Mrs. Shultz. Is Heaven here?"
Mrs. Schultz smiled. "She's out back sawing some boards."
Damien smiled, then took off at full speed. "Thanks!"
He skidded to a stop in front of a pile of lumber. "Sorry I'm late, Mom made me fold laundry before I could leave."
Heaven looked up from her work, and grinned. "You'll just have to start getting out right after breakfast."
Damien groaned. "But then I won't be there when Mom gets the cookies out of the oven."
Heaven laughed. "My mom knows how to bake too!"
He blushed. "I know, maybe she will have some next Saturday?"
Heaven looked towards the house, and nodded. "I'll ask her."
The two children quickly settled into their work. Hours went by, and close to dusk Mrs. Schultz called them in. They quickly put everything away and ran into the warm, well lit house.
Mrs. Schultz was standing in the living room, waiting. "It looks like you two have been working hard. Do we have a barn yet?"
Heaven stopped in her tracks, and frowned. "Mom, we have a lot more to do. And you know we can't put the roof on. Dad's promised to take a few days off of work to do that, once we're ready."
The older woman laughed. "I know, I was only joking. You take everything so literally, though. Damien, I called your mom, and she said if you want to stay for supper you can. We're having spaghetti and meatballs, and apple pie for dessert."
Damien smiled widely. "My favorite! Thanks, Mrs. Schultz."
She looked towards the stairs. "You two wash up, supper will be waiting."
When it was time to leave, Heaven stepped out with Damien. She grinned and stepped closer. "My mom told me that your mom is going to let you come over and help with the barn every day right after you finish your homework," she whispered.
He nodded. "I thought she might. She knows I'll be over a lot after we get Cherry, so there's really no reason to not start now so we can get the barn finished."
Two weeks later, the friends stood in front of a roofless barn.
"I can't believe we did it," whispered Heaven, her eyes wide and shining.
Damien whooped with joy. "Cherry is ours! We're going to have the fastest horse in the county right here!"
A loud motor interrupted them.
Heaven looked towards the house. "That must be Dad coming home from work. Wait until he finds out we're done. He's going to be so happy."
They went out front to meet him, and were surprised to see a very long ladder strapped to the top of the car.
Heaven hugged him. "Hey Dad, is that for putting the roof on?"
He gently picked her up, and swung her around. "I sure don't plan on taking it to any fires," he laughed.
The three of them carried it to the back. Dad propped it up, and carefully secured it. "I see you've held up your part of the bargain. I'll get started on mine first thing in the morning."
The next morning, Damien almost swallowed his breakfast whole.
"Slow down or I'll start thinking you need seconds," chuckled Mom.
He coughed, and wiped a piece of toast from the side of his mouth. "I'm just excited. We're so close!"
She nodded. "I must say that I'm tempted to go with you today. Things really are getting exciting. Would you like a ride?"
Damien pushed his half finished breakfast aside, and jumped up. "I'll get your keys!"
They rolled into the driveway, then he hopped out and sprinted around the back. Hey, Heaven! How's it going, Mr. Schultz?"
Nobody answered. He looked around. "Anyone here?"
He made a full circle of the barn, and looked up. "Where could they be?"
Damien went to the back door, and knocked.
Silence.
He walked around to the front, and saw Mom standing on the front porch. She smiled. "How's the progress?"
He frowned. "I think something's wrong. Nobody is home."
Mom rang the doorbell, pushing it several times. "I noticed it was quiet. I rang right before you came back, and didn't hear anyone, but I thought maybe everyone was out back."
He shook his head. "They're not back there. Something has to be wrong."
Mom fished around in her purse, and pulled out a thin, sleek phone. "I'm going to call Heaven's mom, and see what happened."
A few seconds later, she hung up. "She's not answering..."
To be continued
