Chapter 9.2

Murphy was barking in the distance. Rosemarie’s heart started pounding. Georgi scrambled up to look over the railing. She relaxed.

“It’s just Neil,” she said.

“Afternoon, ladies,” Neil called up to them.

Georgi let the stairs down so that he could climb up.

“What have you been up to?” Rosemarie asked.

“I was just checking the area. And looking for a good fishing spot,” he said.

His boots were muddy. His hair was plastered to his face. He sat down and dangled his feet off the side of the treehouse.

Rosemarie raised an eyebrow. “Did you find a good spot?” she asked.

“Sure did. It looked like there were quite a lot of good hiding spots for large fish,” he replied.

“Aren’t you concerned about… you know… being snuck up on?” asked Rosemarie.

“Nah,” said Neil. “If you pay attention to your surroundings that isn’t a problem.”

She started chewing her lip as she thought about it. “Maybe you should take someone with you to watch your back.”

“You could come with me,” said Neil. Rosemarie looked down. She felt the heat rising in her cheeks.

“Do you still have your measuring tape?” interrupted Georgi.

“Yeah, it was in the trunk of my car,” Rosemarie said. “Might be under all that stuff he brought back.”

“Neil, will you..uh..stand watch while I rummage around Rosemarie’s car?” asked Georgi.

“Sure,” he said.

As soon as Georgi and Neil left the stairs, Rosemarie pulled them back up. She was sure she could put them back down in a hurry. If she needed to. She and Alex watched from the treehouse as Georgi started taking things out of the trunk of the car. Neil was glancing around the yard when he noticed Rosemarie and gave her a big smile. There was something comforting about the guy.

Georgi raised the measuring tape above her head. “Found it!” she said. “And a few other things.”

She pulled out the board games Rosemarie had managed to slip into the trunk without Randy raising a big fuss. Rosemarie watch as Georgi carried the boxes back to the treehouse and set them down near the stairs.

Georgi measured the distance between the cabin and the treehouse. Then measured the ropes that she also found in the trunk.  She scribbled some notes in her book and closed it with a sigh.

“I’m gonna make some lunch,” she announced.

“Yay!” said Alex. “I am hungry and bored.”

Me too, thought Rosemarie. Her stomach had seemed to settle down.

Neil stood watch over Georgi as she put together a hurried meal. More like she threw a bunch of stuff in a basket.

“Could you bring those buckets of dirt?” asked Georgi, grabbing the bag of seeds that they had brought back from her uncle’s house.

Rosemarie let them back up.  She took the basket from Georgi and peered inside. She had packed things to make peanut butter sandwiches and random things to go with it. Rosemarie laid the stuff out and went about putting them together. She handed the bag of seeds to Alex. Neil put down the buckets to the side then went back for the board games.

“What’s the verdict?” Rosemarie asked. She knew that Georgi would come up with a plan, but accomplishing it might be the tricky part.

“I think we have enough rope, but we’re gonna need some wood,” Georgi replied.

“Wood? I thought we’re making a rope bridge,” Rosemarie said.

“It has rope, but a wooden plank floor,” Georgi said. She marked out something in her book. “How are you at tying ropes?” she asked not looking up from her notebook.

Rosemarie shrugged, “I don’t know.”

“I have some experience,” said Neil. “I was a boyscout.”

Of course he was. I bet he was good one too, thought Rosemarie.

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