Page 16 of Lakehouse Mistletoe
She picked up her cellphone and dialed Rebecca’s number. She picked up almost immediately.
“Helen! I was just about to call you. The power is off all around town. I talked to the electric company and it’s going to take them a couple of hours to get the power back on. And usually when they say a couple of hours, they mean realistically four hours. Has the generator kicked in? Kacey insisted we install one for the house.”
Helen’s eyes went wide. “No, it hasn’t. Is there something I need to do to make it work? What about my dinner? I just need one more hour of cooking.” She pressed her hand over her heart.
“Oliver called just before you did. He said he was riding over to check on you. I’ll text him and let him know about the generator not working.” Rebecca groaned. “This happened a few months ago. I thought the issue was fixed. Sorry about that.”
Helen glanced toward the driveway and saw an unfamiliar Dodge Ram truck pulling around back. Oliver got out.
“That was fast. Oliver is already here.” She watched as he zipped up his coat and headed toward the shed.
“Thank God. He said he would have called you directly but didn’t know how you would receive him calling. I think he seems to think you don’t like him.”
Helen cringed. “I don’t want him to think that. It’s just that …”
Rebecca chortled. “That you’ve been married for a long time and you are not used to talking to men who aren’t your husband.”
Helen blinked. “Something like that.”
Rebecca laughed. “We can talk about this later. You’ve got your hands full right now.”
Helen ended the call and reached for her coat on the hook by the door. Slipping her arms in, she opened the back door.
“Thank God you are here, Oliver.” She tightened the coat around her neck. The winter breeze was harsh and cutting to the bone.
He gave her a sheepish grin. “I hope I’m not late. When I saw the lights go out at my house, I wanted to make sure you had electricity. So, I called Rebecca.”
“The generator should have kicked on, but it hasn’t. I hope this doesn’t ruin Thanksgiving dinner.” Her lips quivered.
“Let’s go look at the main breaker box by the power meter. I’ll show you what to do next time this happens.”
She gave him a hopeful look. “It’s an easy fix? My Thanksgiving dinner isn’t ruined?”
He gave her a wide smile. “No, Helen. It’s not ruined.”
She walked with him around the house to the main breaker box.
“Ah, that’s the problem.” He pointed beside the main breaker panel to a switch labeled transfer switch. “All you have to do is flip this switch and the generator will kick on. Want to do the honors?” He arched his eyebrows.
She nodded. She flipped the switch and suddenly it kicked in. She glanced at the window and saw all the lights were on.
“It worked!” She grasped his arms with excitement. “Oh, thank you, Oliver. I don’t know how to thank you.”
He cocked his head. “How about some sweet potato casserole?”
She grinned and nodded. “Absolutely, but you’ll have to wait until after you’ve had turkey and dressing first.” She swallowed. “That is, unless you have Thanksgiving plans somewhere else.”
He shook his head. ‘I’m free. The restaurant is closed for the holidays, and my sister’s flight is stuck in New Jersey due to bad weather. She won’t get here until tomorrow. I would love to join you and your guests for dinner.”
She clasped her hands together. “Thank you so much. I think you just saved Thanksgiving dinner. Come on inside.”
Oliver followed behind her and smiled. “It smells heavenly in here.”
Helen smiled and took off her coat to hang on the hook. “Now, you head into the living room with the guys and enjoy yourself. I’ll announce when dinner is ready.”
He frowned. “You don’t need me to help?”
She shook her head. “I’ve got it. Now go enjoy yourself.”
