Page 37 of Cole's Joy
“That’s all I can ask.” They sat there and sipped their cooling tea, and Lois leaned forward to lay her hand over his. She didn’t speak until he looked at her.
“What were you going to tell me Saturday night? About the project you’re working one.” She shook her head and spoke firmly. “It’s getting toward fall harvest, and other than the carrots, I won’t have anything to do. If there’s something I can help with, please let me know.” She laughed and shook her headwith glee. “You can ask Laurie and Lorissa this, but it’s not nice for me to have idle hands.”
“Why?”
Instead of answering, she stood, took his hand, and pulled him behind her. She walked down a hall, and opened a room she had converted into what she referred to as her project room. At the door, she looked at him with a smirk. “I gave away what I had back east, and this is only since I’ve been here. Eventually, they will be all over the house.” She nodded to the door and stepped back. “Open it if you dare.” She laughed at his look and watched the curiosity overtake his expression and he drew in a deep breath, held it, and opened the door. He let his breath out in a rush, and took a couple of steps inside. When she entered, he looked back at her in confusion.
“I don’t understand, what am I looking at?” All he saw was glass jars with water in them and green things floating on top.
“All these jars are cuttings from the plants I had back home. Most of them are houseplants. I had over fifty of them in my home. I’ll take these cuttings and plant them when they have a good root system, when they get bigger, I’ll take more cuttings, to make more.”
“Why? Don’t you only need one?”
“Yes, but this is how I get them to grow and I sell them. Or I did when I owned my own nursery back home.”
“I understand now.” Cole chuckled as he turned in a circle and ended up scratching his head. “How many jars do you have?”
“Last count was close to ninety, and any jar will work. Several of the boxes you helped load in that rental truck were these jars.”
“Wow, how long before you can plant them in dirt?”
“Not for at least three weeks.” They left the room, and this time they settled in the living room, and for the first time Cole caught sight of all the plants around the room.
“Wow, you definitely have a green thumb.”
“I do, oh, and if you happen to see white five-gallon buckets around outside filled with water, do not dump them.”
“What are they for?”
“I like to water my plants with rainwater, those buckets collect it.”
“Ah, I understand. I won’t ask, but I’m assuming you have a system for bringing it inside?”
“I do.” They settled on the couch and he sat in the chair and he nodded when he was comfortable.
“Okay, I’ll tell you what I have planned. I still have to go over the major details with Naomi, then if she agrees, then we’ll go to Erin with what we have and see what she thinks.”
“Why Naomi first?”
“Because New Double is hers. We’re only on Erin’s property. The horses, tack, and equipment all belong to Naomi. The land and buildings belong to Erin.”
“That’s right, and you want to change something, so you need her approval, then you’ll both go to Erin to see if she agrees, since it will happen on her property.”
“Correct. Anyway, The Double A, excuse me, but New Double raises racehorses. As much as I enjoy them, there’s not a track around here. There was only a small one back home, and the horses did great there. We’ve even had some go to Kentucky, but I feel that the horses we have are going to waste here. I know that sounds confusing, but they aren’t bred to be ranch horses, I feel, deep in my heart, that it would be better to sell off the stock and take New Double in a new direction.”
“New ranch name, new horses, new direction, starting fresh with a fresh start.”
“Exactly.”
“Okay, what direction do you want to go in?”
“I’m thinking of the ranch I worked on decades ago, the one where I worked with Petey.”
“A rodeo ranch.”
“Yes, I didn’t think about it back in Wyoming because we had the local track there and the horses were worked all the time. Since moving here, they don’t get the workout they need. Hell, we don’t even have a track they can run on. By the time we shipped them to one, they’d have to rest for a couple of days before running.”
“Which wouldn’t be conducive to their speed.”
