That was putting it mildly. If my mom had been one to throw caution to the wind, my dad had always held it close and tight. We walked with scissors. At even the smallestintersection we looked both ways. Twice. And when it came to ladders, you never went up alone.
“Ladder buddy?” Roo repeated. He looked amused. “I have never heard of that in my life.”
“Maybe it’s a dentist thing,” I suggested, assuming my normal position on the other side of the ladder, both hands gripping it tight. “Okay, you’re good. Go ahead.”
“You’re going to stop me from falling?”
“No,” I replied, a bit huffily, “but I will keep the ladder from collapsing underneath you, which would pitch you off to your death.”
“Death?”
“I’m a Payne,” I explained. “We’re a careful people.”
He considered this, and me, before saying, “Well, I’m a Price. We’re mostly known for sticking our fingers into light sockets.”
“All the more reason to make safety a habit,” I said. He snorted. “Just climb, would you?”
He laughed. “Okay, buddy.”
Up he went, while I, still gripping, contemplated when I’d escape the long shadow of my father’s safety practices. Not yet, apparently. As Roo pulled his phone from his pocket, I said, “What are you doing, exactly?”
“Mimi needs some roof work done, so Silas sent me down to grab shots of what needs repairing,” he replied, snapping one photo, then another. The ladder wobbled, and I gripped it harder.
“I thought Silas and Celeste were divorced,” I said.
“Twice,” he replied, lifting one foot to scratch it. “But he’s still family to Mimi. They take care of each other.”
“Both feet on the ladder, please,” I said before I could even stop myself.
He turned, peering down at me again. “You really are nervous about this, aren’t you?”
“I told you,” I replied. “It’s genetic.”
“Maybe,” he said, examining a shot he’d already taken on his screen, “but you are also part Calvander. And they leap off ladders. For fun.”
“Are you done?”
“Not yet,” he said cheerfully, turning the phone to landscape mode. He looked down at me. “Question: Does it make you nervous when I do this?”
Gingerly, he jumped on the ladder step once. Then twice. With both feet.
“You stop that,” I said in my sternest voice.
“What about this?” He widened his eyes, then dangled one leg off entirely. “Oopsie!”
“Roo. Just—”
“Boy!” Oxford bellowed from the porch of the main house. I jumped where I was standing. “Don’t you be acting a fool on that damn ladder, you want to crack your head open?”
Roo pulled all his limbs back on, quick, as I laughed out loud. Then he looked at me. “Some buddy you are,” he said. “What happened tosupport?”
“I’m supporting!” I said. “You’re the one acting a fool.”
BEEP, went the walkie suddenly. “Rubber Duck! You got the keys to the prize case? Someone just hit the jackpot on the bonus tickets and they’re getting antsy.”
“On my way,” Roo replied, taking his hands back. He signed off with a beep, then looked at me. “Duty calls. Thanks for the support, buddy.”
“You’re welcome,” I said.
