Chapter 41: Rain Rain

The next few days were filled with more heat, and more work. I'd thrown myself into a working routine where there wasn't much time for Eddie or sex or play. The Big house work had been divided into smaller crews. The kitchen crew as I called it were working to strip the small apartment back to it's very walls and foundation. Once that had been done I made sure things were inspected again, with everything removed, including wiring and plumbing it was much easier to see what needed attention. Eventually the room would be made back into the kitchen it was meant to be.

The other crew was busy in what I'd dubbed the prep room. This room was the more modern kitchen which was being torn out completely and inspected much as the other was doing. Only this room would be turned into a room which servants would gather to take the hot food neatly and calmly into the main dinning area. The room would house period cabinets which in turn would hold crystal and china and flatware and even the linens needed for the dinning area. A simple room in theory, right now it was a shambles. From here too would be the servants stair way to the rest of the house. It had been bricked over and rediscovered only this week! Very narrow it allowed only enough room for one person to pass and only if they weren't too large themselves.

There was a man in charge of wiring throughout the house who's main job was removing all of it. It was very old, and unsafe and most wouldn't be replaced at all. We were only going to install enough electric to keep the house safe and usable, not livable. There was a difference as I'd explained to the electrician for the tenth time.

Talking Jake it was decided to till the entire land! Then he'd install new sprinklers, hardly period, but perfect for a museum. Then the grass would be planted and allowed to seed while we worked on the house. Earl was overseeing most of the yard work and the old kitchen while I dealt with the inside of the main house. I couldn't have asked for a better assistant. He knew when to come for me for direction and when to decide for himself.

"Miss Katrina!" Earl shouted over the roar of a tractor. "Storms rolling in." As if on cue the machine shut down and the silence made my ears ring.

I looked up, sure enough, the storm front was moving in fast. I nodded to Earl who, I think wasn't asking permission to let the men go early, as much as telling me to pack up my own paper work and move on. I'd been sitting outside using the tailgate of my truck as a desk. The wind picked up and a paper started to curl, threatening to blow away.

"Right then." I said to myself and quickly packed up.

In no time truck doors were slamming as the men took no delay in heading out early. I waved to one or two that passed me as I packed up too. I was heading into the house for a safety check, like I did every night at quitting time when Billy trotted up.

"Kat." He called.

Billy and I had avoided one another unless it had to do with work. I turned and put on a frozen forced smile.

"Yeah?"

Billy tapped a note book tucked under one arm. "Plans for the horses. Is it a good time, every one's leaving so will be quiet enough."

"Ah. Sure." My mind couldn't think of an excuse fast enough. I wasn't sure I wanted to talk with Billy yet.

We walked through the rooms, careful to avoid tripping over extension cords and work tools. I walked to where a makeshift table had been set up with two saw horses and old wobbly stools. Billy quickly brushed most of the saw dust off of the table and sat down carefully. I did the same. He was careful to sit across from me and as of yet hadn't made contact with me since I'd warned him not to. The thunder rumbled over head.

"Wait." Billy plugged in a cord and hooked up a work light near the table. It had already started to darken with the oncoming storm.

"Now, What I've done here is..."

Billy showed me his plans. They were complete for the most part. I nodded.

"The only thing I see missing is bathrooms. Granted, they aren't period but this is to be a working place as well as one for show. I'd rather not have you guys coming in to ... or for that matter doing it behind a tree." I was thankful he stayed quiet and let me go on. I showed him he could add a small restroom to the back of the stables and hide it, making it look more like a tool area on the outside but a full modern bathroom complete with simple shower, if needed. "The building is already going to have plumbing, it won't be any trouble to add it about here... ?" I pointed at his plan.

"Hmm no ... I don't want that so near the horses. And it could be heard if you were having a tour ... What about here? Behind this?" Billy suggested.

Time passed quickly and the air was charged with the slow moving storm.

"Ok. Make the changes, and any more suggestions you have and get em to me quickly. We wanted to get started on the landscaping but couldn't without this planned in. Jake says it won't look right to open with the place growing seedlings. And he has a point. Everything will need time to grow while we finish the repairs. And since we need it planned out first ... Winter is coming on fast, the planting will wait till early spring."

Billy nodded "Got it." Business over we were at a stand still.

"You're doing a good job here. I'm surprised ... well not surprised that you're doing a good job just th..."

I held up a hand. "I know what you meant. I think." I offered him a type of truce with that. " ... and so am I."

Billy nodded and shut up.

I stood. "I need to run upstairs and make sure the windows are all shut! I forgot!"

"I'll help!" With that we both ran upstairs and in and out of rooms. Most workers knew to close the windows but there were always one or two opened. Of course the storm arrived then.

We returned down stairs and Billy picked up his papers and tucked them away. I unplugged our light and gave the downstairs rooms a quick glance over. Together we stood at the door of the old house.

"The other night..." Billy began but I cut him off.

"Don't." I shook my head. "It's fine." And with that ran to my truck in the rain.

"With my head stuck in the past so much of late," I began to Cleo as I walked downstairs, fresh from the shower, "I can't help but wonder how they got by without showers."

Cleo laughed. "They dropped dead tired."

"No the rich. They didn't work overly hard and wore so many clothes!"

I padded around the house barefoot with only a pair of panties and a large loose button down shirt. Only tonight I'd added a bra. I opened the fridge and peered in.

"Storms tonight." Cleo said absently sitting at the island and propping her head on her hands, elbows on the island.

"Oh? Bad ones?" I dug in the back of the fridge for the last cola.

Cleo shrugged. "Molly left us to fend for ourselves tonight. Maybe she has another hot date with Jake. I didn't feel like cooking."

I chuckled. "And I do?" I opened the freezer and peered in. "Humph." I pulled out two quarts of ice cream and tossed one to Cleo. "Dinner." The other I scooped out into a glass and poured my cola over.

"Cola? I haven't done that since we were kids!"

"Want one? Gotta give that one back." I warned her, nodding at the quart she'd dug into with a spoon.

"Oh ok." she put the lid on and slid it along the island to me. I pulled another glass and scooped some for her.

"Are you ready?" She asked.

"For?" I poured the fizzie drink over the frozen ice cream, careful to keep it from overflowing.

"The Ball of course, Silly."

"Oh. I guess. As ready as I'm going to get." I slid her glass of "dinner" to her and put away the rest of the ice cream. "More importantly are you ready? Aren't you the one taking care of details."

"Yeah. I am." Cleo let out a big sigh. "I'm as ready as I'm going to get. The day of, of course, any number of things can and will go wrong I'm sure. Pass me a spoon? But ... nothing I can do about it, you know?"

"Here." I slid a spoon to her. "Yeah I know. I'm just happy to see that you're not stressing over it."

"Speaking of stress, how are things with you and Billy?" Cleo asked, looking into her glass like it was a complex meal which required her attention.

"Humph." I said, doing the same. "We work together." I shrugged and left it at that.

"And Eddie?" Cleo didn't want me to think she was singling out Billy, I supposed.

"Eddie is Eddie." I shrugged. "We have dinner, we have sex, we go home."

"Bored already?" Cleo asked, trying to read my face.

"Bored?" I dunked my ice cream into the dark cola. "No. But..." I wasn't sure what to say about it. I wasn't bored. Thankfully I was saved from answering from a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" I said, and put my glass on the island with more force than necessary. If it was Billy I wanted to prove to him his little temper tantrum the other night wasn't going to make me get fully dressed before answering the door. I'd do what I damned well pleased.

Cleo must have guessed because she choked on her ice cream fighting back laughter. She reached for a napkin. "By all means. Help yourself."

I gave her a sour look and headed for the door. At the door I looked down, and unbuttoned one more button and spread the top open a bit. I shook out my hair, ignored Cleo and opened the door.

"Delivery." Gus stood at the door, soaked to the skin.

"Gus?" I opened the door wide and allowed him inside.

"Nick's behind me." He stepped in and froze, his eyes traveling from head to toe over my body. "It's raining" He said simply.

Well it wasn't Billy, but I was sure word would get back to him in due time. He held a large white box with Kyle's flamboyant script on the front 'Cleo'. Nick walked in and stopped in his dripping tracks.

"Kat." He looked from my bare toes, over my bare legs, paused where the shirt reveled just a hint of light blue panties and then again paused where the swell of my breasts could be seen through the open shirt, finally he managed to meet my eye. "Kat?"

"Oh do stop and come in, I'm wearing more than I would be at the pool." I scolded softly, pleased.

"Yeah. Yours." He held up a large box and Kyle had written 'Katrina' over the lid. "More to come." Without glancing my way again he dropped the box on top of the sofa then he and Gus darted back into the rain.

On this trip they brought in two more boxes each, both labeled with our names. They had caught me bending over the first box peering at the tissue paper inside. Again both men paused and acted like unsure frozen robots. I stood and waved to the sofa.

"Right here, boys." I stressed the word boys, because of their behavior. Again secretly pleased. Oh yeah, Billy would hear of it first thing in the morning.

Nick carried over the two with my name on it and I didn't step back to allow him room. He had to brush by me in order to pass.

"We've more to drop off and the storm's increasing. We've got to run." Nick said but made no move to do so.

I leaned over the smallest box, giving Nick a show down the neckline of my shirt. My bra covered me but I did want to make sure he had enough to talk about for Billy's sake. The smallest box held green slippers, looking tiny in their tissue and ribbons. Gus was at the door enjoying the rear view as I bent over. I'd all but forgotten him. I looked over from the box and noticed Nick had a raging hard on in his shorts. The poor man. I shifted and moved to the medium box thinking quickly.

I could very easily take his cock and rub him through his clothing. It wouldn't take anything to give him the message that I was willing and eager for a romp right here on the floor. There wasn't a doubt in my mind Cleo would handle Gus for me. But that too would get back to Billy. And somehow the fun went out of my little game. I stood up and thanked the men for the delivery.

"Thanks Nick, Gus. It's always fun when we girls get to play dress up." I smiled at Nick and backed up a pace, allowing him through.

"Anytime." Nick said and with that I knew he meant more than the delivery of a few dresses.

At that time Cleo stood up and walked to Gus. She pressed her body tight against his and kissed him on the lips.

"Thank you Gus." Cleo said and poor Gus almost ran from the house he was so shy at her attentions. Nick walked over to the door and paused for Cleo. "And you..." Cleo stood on tip toe and pressed her body full length against Nick's. She too had on only panties and a T shirt, and knowing Cleo, no bra. Nick took the opportunity to grope and feel up both her ass and her boobs before Cleo ended the kiss. "Thank you." Cleo said, meaning more the grope then the delivery.

"The pleasure was all mine." Nick said and he too disappeared in the rain.

"Why you tease you! I've created a monster." Cleo said to me, bouncing across the floor to peer in her own boxes.

"Well I wanted..." I began.

"Oh I know what you wanted, and trust me, he'll hear all about it." Cleo grinned and pulled out the hoop slip which instantly sprang open to a full circle. "Let him eat his heart out."

The next hour was filled with girlish giggles as we unwrapped our gowns from the tissues and hung them to avoid wrinkles. Low rumbles of thunder and the driving rain smacking at the glass windows mixed with our delight, taking the threat right out of the storm.

It continued to rain all the next day, Friday. It kept me from the job site and in my office, which was fine. I had tons of paper work to do, bank accounts and receipts to manage and turn in, there reports on progress to be emailed to Jake and just a very long list. I found it funny that Cleo had to go into Jake's house, in his office that is, to receive the work that I was doing at home. I sent her a funny email saying as much followed by a long report on the progress.

Molly was downstairs with the vacuum roaring at full speed. This morning since I got started right after breakfast I still only had a shirt and pantie that I had eaten breakfast in. I saw no reason to dress when the rain raged outside and I was content to sit inside and work. That is until chilled wet hands cupped either breasts from around my arms as I typed.

"Ack!" I screamed.

"Jumpy are we?" Eddie nuzzled into my neck as his fingers pinched my nipples, now chilled by his hands.

"Yeah ... You're too quiet."

"No, Molly's too loud."

Indeed, the vacuum had covered his steps. "You could have called out."

"And spoiled this greeting? Never." Eddie turned my chair around so I faced him. "It's raining, surely you can take the day off."