Page 3 of Crossing the Line
Mirella moved her handcart off and crossed the line into the butcher shop.
Pearl excused herself to go shopping and Janice looked back at Samantha. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"I was wondering if you're still interested in getting some chicks?"
Janice felt giddy at the reminder. "When... when would I have to have a place for them?"
She'd been toying with the idea of a backyard coop for a little over a year, but things never seemed to work out at the right time.
"Not right away. I'm asking because a few folks in town wanted some chicks, and I always put more eggs in the incubators than I need. I'll probably have somewhere between three and six chicks when the others have been claimed. If you're interested, we should get you started on preparations before they're hatched."
Having chickens was going to mean more effort at home. As it was, she watered her plants before work and after, keeping the watering in the cooler hours to help with water conservation. She'd have to feed the chickens and collect eggs when they were old enough, but other than that they'd keep themselves occupied which she was away. More humane than a dog who would miss her during the hours she was at the store.
"Yeah," she nodded at Samantha. "I think I really do want some chickens."
Samantha clapped her hands together and smiled gleefully. "Yes! You'll love them!"
Janice agreed readily. "I love the days I can visit you at the egg farm. So much fun. And they eat the bugs off of your plants."
Samantha nodded. "Another benefit. We haven't had more than a nibble on any of our veggie plants in ages."
"You said I'm not going to need a place for them at first, right?"
"Nope," Samantha shook her head. "It depends how early you want them. If you want them as chicks, you're going to need a box, food, water, and a warming light."
Janice raised a brow at that. "That sounds like a lot of opportunities for me to mess things up. I don't want to be responsible for hurting the little nuggets."
Samantha shook her head. "You run a store and run it like a boss, babe! You can have some fun with them while they're still little fuzzy things before they become dinosaurs with feathers roaming your yard."
Janice's eyes widened at that. "Uh... I've seen Jurassic Park, I'm not eager to have my limbs ripped off."
Samantha groaned. "They wouldn't be able to get high enough to rip off your limbs. And really, just give them a healthy supply of yummy foods like those bugs in your garden, you're going to be just fine."
Her friend's reassuring words helped and so did the idea of having a bunch of little fuzzy then feathery creatures hanging around the house felt good.
As much as she loved her store, it was going to be nice to do things outside of Landy's. To have a better reason to go home after closing.
"If you want, I have the names of a few people around town who could help you with a coop down the road for when they go outside."
Instantly Janice's mind was full of all of the cute coop ideas she had saved on Pinterest.
"Oh, that would be great!" Janice felt her spirits lifting.
"I'll email you tonight with the links to a few carpenters that other people have raved about."
"I can't wait."
Samantha leaned in and gave her a wink. "A few of those carpenters are not at all hard on the eyes if you know what I mean."
"You mean like those TikTok where they're so hot you don't mind if every stick of furniture in your home breaks?"
Samantha snapped her fingers. "That's the kind of hot I'm talking about."
"Then please," Janice whispered a little too breathlessly, "send me those links."
"You got it, boss lady."
BIXBY
