AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"I'll make some calls. Please block access to students. We'll shift the PE classes to the cafeteria for the day while we figure things out."
"You got it."
"Thanks, Kristen."
"Everything okay?" Eve's sleepy question as I returned to my room to dress made me want to crawl back into bed, pull the covers over my head, and forget about mundane things like leaky roofs, but that wouldn't help anybody.
"Not really. The roof at McDonald High is leaking. I've got to make some phone calls and get it inspected, but I think we need to plan to move tomorrow's auction."
Eve shot up in bed, the sheet falling to her waist exposing one rosy breast. With effort, I pulled my gaze back to her startled expression.
"What? Everything's set for the high school."
"I know, and I'm sorry. Let me get the ball rolling on inspection and repairs, then we can put our heads together and try to figure something out. My first duty is to my students' safety."
"Of course, Brady."
Eve slipped into her clothes and reached for her phone.
I called Zander, who promised to pull a crew from another job and get them to the school.
Rushing through my morning routine, I dropped a distracted kiss on Eve's mouth before hustling out to my car. I needed to inspect the damage myself.
From the outside, the high school looked normal. The blocky brick building sat quiet at this time of morning. It was almost peaceful in the pre-dawn light. Only the janitorial staff and a few early bird teachers had cars in the parking lot. While snow lay heavy on the roof, there was nothing to indicate from the outside that the roof's integrity had been compromised.
I hustled through the echoing halls toward the gym, keeping an eye out for any other water damage. It was odd that the roof over the gym failed so quickly. Thanks to a taxpayer bond, we'd reroofed it only a few years ago. A sixty-year roof should have lasted much longer.
Kristen had locked the doors and put up a sign that the gym was closed as I’d asked. I used my master key to unlock and push open the heavy metal door. She'd set out buckets under the worst of the damage, but I didn't like the way the roof bulged inward. It looked dangerous, and I kept my distance.
I heard the door open behind me, and I whipped around, ready to discipline any students who'd decided to ignore the sign, relaxing when I saw it was Eve and Gwen. I extended a hand, and Eve grasped mine, leaning against my shoulder as she surveyed the damage.
"So, no auction in here tomorrow night?" she asked, sounding resigned.
"I doubt it," I said. "I'm sorry, Eve."
She and Gwen exchanged glances. "Do you think it's more than bad luck?"
Gwen frowned. "I don't want to believe it, but it fits. I'm going to call the Sheriff, just so we dot our 'i's."
"What should we do about the auction? Change locations or dates?"
I hated to see Eve so dejected. She'd worked hard on the event for weeks. Having it all wash out from beneath her seemed wrong.
"Do you want to use a different part of the school?" I offered. "Or I can call the junior high, see if we can move into their gym?"
Eve looked up at me, a shine in her eyes that tightened my chest. Seeing her upset made me want to give her anything in my power.
"That's sweet Brady. Thank you. Let me talk it over with Gwen."
I dropped a quick kiss on her mouth. "Let me know how I can help. I've got to get an update out to the staff then go meet Zander's crew so I can unlock access to the roof."
It felt wrong to walk away, but I had a duty to my students. I rushed through the morning, ticking off everything on my list, before letting Bill’s crew in to assess the roof. The grizzled older man's brow had wrinkled in concern when I explained the situation. He'd supervised his crew as they donned their safety gear and inspected the damage. I waited anxiously on the ground, dreading his conclusion.
"Welp. Roof's definitely going to need repair. We'll need to reseal that section after we clear the snow. Damnedest thing, it looks like the sealant failed, but just in that area. We don't usually see that."
Foreboding washed through me. "Is there a way to make it happen that way?"
Bill blanched, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. "Maybe with a careless crew. It's almost like someone spilled a bottle of sealant remover solvent in that area or it was a defective batch. You haven't had anyone up there recently working, have you?"
