obeyed.
“How’re you holding up?” Gabe asked Mira quietly. She’d caught the brunt of it, he suspected. Zara had surprised him—hell, she’d astonished him—but she had to be sixty-five. And the two younger women . . . well, Maria-Elena wasn’t too bad.
“I’m OK,” she sighed. “But . . . there’s a lot.” He saw her blink back a tear or two.
“Tomorrow will be easier,” he said gently. He was pretty tired too, truth be told. They all were. “The hike in, all this work . . . it’d wear anyone out. You’ve done great.”
She nodded briefly, took a deep, uneven breath. “Thanks.”
The little band stopped in front of the neatly laid-out garden. “Close to the creek,” Gabe remarked. “That’ll make watering easier, anyway.”
“Spinach, lettuce, chard, coming up already,” Zara said, pacing the length of the plot. “Peas and radishes ready now too. Beans and cherry tomatoes pretty soon. Baby carrots now, I’ll bet, and beets . And other stuff to come later. All right. Lots here. This must be, what? Seventy-five by fifty feet?”
“About that,” Gabe agreed.
“Lots of weeding and watering,” Mira said a little bleakly.
“Oh, great,” Melody said. “I suppose that’s our job?”
“You said you hated being in the house all the time,” Zara pointed out. “Here you go. All kinds of fresh air. You can work on your tan.”
Gabe didn’t realize that Stanley and Kevin had come to join them until Stanley spoke from behind him. “A lot to fence, too,” the older man said, “if we don’t want the deer to get it all.”
“But the deer haven’t eaten it so far,” Melody objected. “Why would they come now?”
“Look here.” Stanley pointed to regular indentations in the ground, running along the garden’s perimeter. “They’ve had a deer fence here that they’ve pulled down, just to make sure we’ve got something to do. If we want to eat anything besides beans over the next few weeks, we’re going to have to get this fence built, and right quick too.”
“And until we do that, and get a corral up,” he continued, “it’s like John said. The men are going to have to be sleeping out here in pairs with the shotgun. Between the garden and the livestock, we’re going to be looking like one big supermarket to the animal population. We’ll have ’ em lining up to take a whack at us if we’re not careful. And Daisy can’t patrol all this by herself, can you, girl?” he asked the big dog, who was, as usual, by his side.
“Do you think there are really bears?” Maria- Elana asked nervously. “And wolves?”
“More likely to be coyotes,” Gabe said with a reassuring smile for her. “Nothing for you to worry about. But the animals can’t defend themselves well enough when they’re tied up. Oh, well. It won’t be much less comfortable out here than in the cabin anyway, since we don’t have those mattresses yet.”
“All right, then,” Stanley said with a sigh. “Let’s get the wagon unloaded and everything put away. Then we’ve got the animals, dinner . . . Kevin and I’ve got that chicken coop fixed up, and the chickens and tools in it too. Got enough wood. Everyone’s done real good so far. Just a couple more hours, and we’ll be all set.”
“We’ve got a proposal for you ladies,” Stanley said when the men had hauled in the final box of clothing and humped it up the ladder to their loft, and the women had put away the food supplies as best they could on the rough cabin shelves, started the beans simmering for their supper. “There’s a good swimming hole in that creek, just a bit farther downstream. This has been one tough day for y’all. Why don’t you take that nice white soap, go on down there while there’s still a little bit of warmth to the sun? Get cleaned up, rinse some of the dust out of those clothes. I know you’ll feel better after you’ve done that.”
“Don’t you want to get clean too?” Mira
“How’re you holding up?” Gabe asked Mira quietly. She’d caught the brunt of it, he suspected. Zara had surprised him—hell, she’d astonished him—but she had to be sixty-five. And the two younger women . . . well, Maria-Elena wasn’t too bad.
“I’m OK,” she sighed. “But . . . there’s a lot.” He saw her blink back a tear or two.
“Tomorrow will be easier,” he said gently. He was pretty tired too, truth be told. They all were. “The hike in, all this work . . . it’d wear anyone out. You’ve done great.”
She nodded briefly, took a deep, uneven breath. “Thanks.”
The little band stopped in front of the neatly laid-out garden. “Close to the creek,” Gabe remarked. “That’ll make watering easier, anyway.”
“Spinach, lettuce, chard, coming up already,” Zara said, pacing the length of the plot. “Peas and radishes ready now too. Beans and cherry tomatoes pretty soon. Baby carrots now, I’ll bet, and beets . And other stuff to come later. All right. Lots here. This must be, what? Seventy-five by fifty feet?”
“About that,” Gabe agreed.
“Lots of weeding and watering,” Mira said a little bleakly.
“Oh, great,” Melody said. “I suppose that’s our job?”
“You said you hated being in the house all the time,” Zara pointed out. “Here you go. All kinds of fresh air. You can work on your tan.”
Gabe didn’t realize that Stanley and Kevin had come to join them until Stanley spoke from behind him. “A lot to fence, too,” the older man said, “if we don’t want the deer to get it all.”
“But the deer haven’t eaten it so far,” Melody objected. “Why would they come now?”
“Look here.” Stanley pointed to regular indentations in the ground, running along the garden’s perimeter. “They’ve had a deer fence here that they’ve pulled down, just to make sure we’ve got something to do. If we want to eat anything besides beans over the next few weeks, we’re going to have to get this fence built, and right quick too.”
“And until we do that, and get a corral up,” he continued, “it’s like John said. The men are going to have to be sleeping out here in pairs with the shotgun. Between the garden and the livestock, we’re going to be looking like one big supermarket to the animal population. We’ll have ’ em lining up to take a whack at us if we’re not careful. And Daisy can’t patrol all this by herself, can you, girl?” he asked the big dog, who was, as usual, by his side.
“Do you think there are really bears?” Maria- Elana asked nervously. “And wolves?”
“More likely to be coyotes,” Gabe said with a reassuring smile for her. “Nothing for you to worry about. But the animals can’t defend themselves well enough when they’re tied up. Oh, well. It won’t be much less comfortable out here than in the cabin anyway, since we don’t have those mattresses yet.”
“All right, then,” Stanley said with a sigh. “Let’s get the wagon unloaded and everything put away. Then we’ve got the animals, dinner . . . Kevin and I’ve got that chicken coop fixed up, and the chickens and tools in it too. Got enough wood. Everyone’s done real good so far. Just a couple more hours, and we’ll be all set.”
“We’ve got a proposal for you ladies,” Stanley said when the men had hauled in the final box of clothing and humped it up the ladder to their loft, and the women had put away the food supplies as best they could on the rough cabin shelves, started the beans simmering for their supper. “There’s a good swimming hole in that creek, just a bit farther downstream. This has been one tough day for y’all. Why don’t you take that nice white soap, go on down there while there’s still a little bit of warmth to the sun? Get cleaned up, rinse some of the dust out of those clothes. I know you’ll feel better after you’ve done that.”
“Don’t you want to get clean too?” Mira
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