Chapter 24: Proposal

"Hey wake up!" Cleo stuck her head in and shouted.

"Huh? Wha?" I asked, still sleeping.

"Get up! Jump in the shower. I saved some hot water for you." Cleo again walked by my door, wrapped in a towel.

I sat up blinking. What time is it?

"Why?" I said automatically sniffing the air to see what was for breakfast.

"Jake called about 10 minutes ago. He wants to talk to us." She shouted from down the hall. "Get moving sleepy head."

I swayed to my feet. Jake? I walked down to her room.

"Cleo, please make some sense hey?" I leaned on her door jam.

Cleo was bent in half pulling a thong over her foot. She smiled at my sleepy face.

"Molly said, Jake called and wants us both up and at his place for breakfast. Go take a shower and get dressed." She threw her wet towel at me.

"Fine, Fine..." I mumbled and headed for the shower. "But I'm not wearing a corset."

I was under the water simply standing still and letting the marvelous shower wake me when Cleo came in singing.

"My, aren't we in a good morning this morning?" I squirted shampoo in my palm.

"Yup!" she turned on the hair dryer.

"Whatever." I wasn't thrilled with being awake.

The shower brought me back to life, slowly. Cleo continued to sing which I could barely hear over the dryer and the shower.

"Careful, I plugged in the iron." Cleo said and put the dryer back under the sink.

"How will I ever go back to a normal shower again?" I asked no one, wrapping a towel around my middle and stepping out of the shower stall.

"You will, but won't like it." Cleo laughed at me.

I brushed my teeth and dodged the curling iron, while watching Cleo in the mirror. Something had happened. We moved to our respective rooms to dress and met in the hall. My hair hanging loose down my back, only towel dried. Cleo's was curled loosely under in a long bob. It won't take long if she decides to grow it I thought.

"Hey. You got laid, didn't you?" I guessed. "Flo?"

Cleo laughed.

"Yeah I did. And I feel like me again. And yes, I'm very happy to be back."

I looked her up and down. Yeah she was back. A simple tan skirt, ending at the knee kept her thighs covered, hiding the last bruises on her thighs, now a light yellow. A cool silk button down blouse looked airy and had the tendency to show too much when she bent forward, as she was doing now. She slipped on tall black heels.

"Ready?" She asked.

I smiled. "Welcome back."

She leaned forward and kissed my cheek. "Thanks. And it wasn't Flo. I'll tell you on the way."

By the time we reached Jake's cabin I knew all the details and was thrilled Scott was such a help.

"Ah Lass! You look fit as a fiddle again." Jake pulled Cleo forward and kissed her soundly on the lips. "Lightens me heart to see it, it does."

"Was I really that bad?" Cleo asked lightly.

I kissed Jake's cheek and received my own hug. Jake steered us to the dinning room.

"We've been waiting on you ladies." Jake said as he lead us into the dinning room.

To my complete surprise at the table sat Billy sipping a glass of Orange Juice.

"Billy?" I asked softly.

"Ah you're here." His tone said it was about time too. He rose and gave me a hug before he hugged Cleo.

We took seats and Jake signaled for breakfast to begin. A buffet was set up at the back of the room and the tops were removed and we all rose again to fill our plates. Jake said he wasn't sure what we'd all have so he had a little of everything prepared. He promised it wouldn't go to waste, he'd let everyone in the house eat when we were through. I didn't tell him that felt a bit rude, feeding the servants after the lord of the manor ate and all that. There was no changing Jake, even if it had been my place to do so. We all chatted about the weather instead.

"I am a bit puzzled about this impromptu breakfast Jake." I ventured, when I'd finished my meal, hoping he'd let the cat out of the bag.

"Yes Jake, I am too." Billy slid his plate forward indicating he was full as well.

"Never discuss business at the table, it simple never sits well." Jake rose and we all followed him to his office. Once we were again seated he asked if we wanted drinks, nodding to the juices and sodas on the sideboard.

I'd never really watched Cleo at work. She didn't know what Jake was up to but knew it was business. She knew the office well and obtained a note pad and pen. Jake nodded at her.

"You'll need those." Once she was seated he began. "After our little trip I couldn't stop thinking about what you'd suggested Katrina."

I sat up a bit straighter. I hadn't expected him to pounce on the idea. I could feel Cleo and Billy's eyes on me.

"Oh!" I curbed everything that sprang to mind and tried to wait. Jake chuckled.

"Aye Lass. And I'm as excited as you are." Jake winked at me.

"Well do tell the rest of us." Billy said, unfolding his legs and leaning forward, catching the aura of the two of us.

Jake looked to Cleo to see she was ready for note taking. Taking the hint she crossed her legs and placed the open pad on her lap, pen at the ready she nodded back at him.

"Katrina here had the great idea to turn the Big House into a museum of sorts, to refurnishing it back to it's original state."

Cleo shot me a quick look then scribbled on her notepad.

"I've always thought the house was more of a burden then anything but at the same time never felt quit right in tearing down something that's remained standing through so many years. What I want to do, is have Katrina head up this project and do it right."

I blinked. I hadn't been expecting that. " I don't know anything about restoring homes Jake." I protested.

"Then you'll learn Lass." Jake continued on. "I'll want the lighting and the wiring on the house redone. I want it more subtle and hidden. So you only notice it if you're looking for it. The air conditioning is a must but the unit needs replaced and upgraded. The plumbing will have to done as we're tearing out the bathroom and kitchen that was added years ago. I want an historian hired to aid Katrina. When the time is right a decorator will be hired as well. But Katrina will have the final say."

I blinked at a total loss.

"Billy, you're here because you will oversee the new carriage house. I want it completely historical on the front yet modern enough to be usefull. You'll have to work with both he historian and Katrina. I want safety first, history second and ease of use third."

Billy nodded, he wasn't being asked, he was being told.

"Also I've an idea we'll discuss later for the horses which will be kept only for the Big House." Jake nodded at Billy who kept quiet.

"Katrina you'll have to do the research on the history of the house and the houses of the surrounding areas. I want to know about the main crops, the secondary crops, livestock and markets. As well as the house." Jake looked to see if Cleo was keeping up. "She's to have full access to the house Cleo and I want an expense account set up for this project. You're to help manage funds and keep me updated while I'm in the city." Jake paused and looked up at me.

"That is, if you want the job." All eyes turned to me.

"I ... I ... Ah." I blinked looking at Jake like he'd grown two heads. "Jake, this isn't something that's going to be finished in a summer. This isn't a project to take on lightly. The cost is going to be huge! There are permits to obtain and and and..."

"Yes yes. Do you want the job?"

"It could take years to do it right. No it WILL take years to do it right. There is no telling what we'll find if we start working. There could be structure problems and ... or..." I waved my hand in the air at a loss to even begin the problems that most likely will go wrong with a project of this size." I looked at Billy, who shrugged.

"I have no knowledge of how to begin there are so many things I don't know. I don't restore houses! I don't know a thing about decorating, I only know what I like and don't like, which won't be what you like or don't like and may be far from what was period."

I stood and started to pace ticking off reasons and problems.

"Then there is that old kitchen building, which you didn't even show me the inside of, that may have to be completely done, if it hadn't been touched in a while. Of course there would be landscaping to do which means undoing 100 years of gardening. We'd have to get the foundation inspected, there actually may be so many problems you may want to bulldoze it."

I stopped and stared at Jake. Finally finished.

"We?" Jake asked with a smile.

"I don't have experience in this kinda thing Jake."

"Katrina, you have a love of the time period yes?" Jake questioned.

"Of what I know of it, Hollywood's version and maybe some of it really is fact, but Jake that's not enough to..."

"You'll have help for the rest. I want you to treat it like you've just bought this property, It's 1860 and you know nothing of the impending war with the North. You have unlimited funds and you want to make this the dream house and the envy of the South. The technical stuff we 'll hire out for. We hire carpenters who have worked on historical projects, we hire a historian..." Jake waved the rest of the list away. "Yes or no."

I sat with a plop. I looked at Cleo. Cleo was busy with scribbles on her pad, she paused to look at me and smile.

"It would mean staying here when the summer is over. You'll have trips to the city of course, to access the larger library, to meet with Jake and give him more details then I would be able to pass on. You don't have a job waiting for you back home." Cleo shrugged. "You would be working for Jake." Cleo let that sink in.

My mind raced. I'd be here after the summer. I glanced at Billy. I wouldn't be alone, Billy stays here year round. I'd have a job. I know I'd been avoiding that the thought of being jobless, and what money I have was running out, with all the shopping I'd been doing. Did I want to tackle a job that would take years to complete? Doing something I'd never dreamed of doing? Restoring that old house to it's former glory, or better? Saving a part of the romantic old South? Hell yeah that was the best part. It would be work. Hard work. Very mentally challenging.

"I can't believe it. But ... yeah." I looked at Jake. "Yeah. I think I would like it."

"Perfect! If you would excuse us, Billy, we need to talk salary." Jake stood and ushered Billy to the door.

"I'll wait." Billy nodded to both Jake and I before heading to a seat just outside of Jake's office.

Jake, closed the door and returned looking very pleased, sat behind his desk once more. Suddenly the desk looked huge. A landscape between him and I. Jake lost his good ole boy look and feel and now was ready to talk dollars and cents. I felt small and meek.