Page 23 of Cole's Joy
“I can’t wait to see it. However, I would like your permission to use this kitchen next summer if we are going to have a community pantry.”
“You have it, but only on the condition that I can help if you need it. I can’t stand at the sink for long, but I can sure sit and scrub vegetables. I don’t know how my hands will be next year, but if I can, I’ll snap some beans, or shuck some peas.”
“Wonderful, I’ll take all the help I can get. I’m not being paid to do this, but I feel like part of the family if I can grow things and then preserve them. Is there anything I should be aware of?”
“Like what?” Cole asked as he turned to Ryan when he approached them.
“Does anyone have any food allergies?”
“Well,” Ryan said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s not an allergy, but my Prudora hates peas, and Erin hates green beans. Have you seen the pantry in the large cabin you and Lorissa stayed in when you came for Lorissa’s interview?”
“Yes, it was full of peas and green beans. If the women hate them, why are they there?”
“Because Reid and I love them, and when we buy groceries, we store them there. When we want some, we’ve been known to go there and have a can of them for our lunch. We make sure we brush our teeth afterward.”
Lois couldn’t help it, when the other men gawked at Ryan, she laughed. She reached out and patted his bicep. “Good foryou. You found a way to eat your vegetables, but also to keep your women happy by not having them in the house.”
Ryan shrugged, his face turning red. “We do it because we love our women. Oh, don’t get me wrong, we don’t do it every day, but we know they’re there when we want them. When we have our get-togethers there are dishes with peas and green beans, and we eat them, but the women won’t.”
“Okay, is there anything else?”
“Pumpkin spice.” Cole snapped his fingers. “Naomi hates pumpkin spice, she prefers apple cider. I remember one Thanksgiving her father tried to berate her for not eating pumpkin pie. We told him to back off, because she loved apple pie.”
“Great, this is great news, but I can still grow the pumpkins and can it. I’ll just make sure it’s labeled properly. Pumpkin and squash looks the same in a glass jar.”
“Got it,” Cole said and they watched as the roofers put shingles on the roof. Ryan was called away, Cole had to take a call from his cell, and Ducky told Lois to follow him. When they arrived at the garden spot, she looked at him in awe.
“When did you plow it up?”
“Last week. When Erin gave her approval this past Spring to putting in a garden over at Broken, I spent the spring and summer cleaning this lot off. It’s not much, only half an acre, and I had Clem use the equipment Julie brought with her to work the dirt. It didn’t need as much work as the new plot will need, but I like to say this was refreshed.”
“This is perfect,” Lois said as she walked into the worked plot several yards, bent down, reached for a handful of dirt, and let it sift through her fingers. She looked at Ducky with a grin. “Let me go to my car and get what I need.”
“Which is?”
“Testing equipment. It’ll tell me if I need to add lime, or ash, or anything like that.”
“Ah, good.” Ducky nodded as she hurried away, and he waited for her to return. Fifteen minutes later, she stood next to him with a grin. “How is it?”
“Perfect. I don’t have to add anything. I’ll just need to get my rototiller over here to start making rows. I can probably plant tomorrow.”
“Follow me,” Ducky said and slowly turned to walk away. He headed toward an old barn, but new construction was going on behind it. He paused outside the door and slowly pushed it open. Lois helped him when she realized it was on a track above their heads. When the door was completely open, he pointed inside. “This was the equipment Julie had at her place in Arizona. The shed looks old because it is. This is her shed, and it came with the equipment. We thought if we stored it here, it would be out of the way, and we could use it whenever we wanted.”
“Wow,” Lois said as she walked inside and nodded when she saw the equipment. She looked at Ducky with a skeptical look. “Anyone can use this?”
“Yes, the only thing thatIask is that if you use anything, you either refill it with the gas,” he paused to point to the gas cans over in the corner. “Or, if we’re running low, then take a couple of cans and fill them. We haven’t gotten it set up yet, but Cole had mentioned something about putting a tank in that we can just drive up and fill the equipment. Erin has something like that over at Erin’s Way. I know there’s a section for gas, and a section for diesel. You can fill the can up over there, you’ll just have to fill out the paperwork so they can account for where the gas is going, and how much you take.”
“What a wonderful setup.” Lois looked around and grinned when she spotted a rototiller. “Do you mind?”
“Don’t hit me, but do you know what you’re doing?”
“I do, I ran a gardening center back home. I know what all this equipment is for.” She looked at him with a grin. “I even have the same stuff over at my place. I thought I’d have to haul it over here or over to Broken in the spring.”
“Nope, I’m in charge of the gardens. If you know how to operate that tractor with the plow and disc, how about you and me get the ground ready over at Broken after we plant carrots.”
“That sounds wonderful.” Lois nodded and with Ducky’s help, his help was to stand out of the way, Lois checked the machine out and started it right up. She walked it over to the garden and laughed as she worked the soil. It had been a couple of years since she’d done something like this, and she loved it! She was so into her work, that she didn’t see Cole step up to Ducky and watch her for several minutes.
“Did you create a monster?” Cole asked with a small smile. The joy he saw on Lois’ face made his heart beat faster and for the first time in a long, long time, he felt something below his belt that he couldn’t wait to explore, but not until later. Right now, as much as he enjoyed looking at Lois, he had his own work to do. He patted Ducky on the shoulder and said firmly, “Keep an eye on my girl.”
