Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
“That’s a good idea,” Gale called over. “The snow gets deep.”
“I have things to show you just quickly outside,” Ada explained.
I put Misha down, and he decided that he wanted to see what Gale was doing and so ran to catch up, following him through the same kind of white picket gate that the man had around his place, up the stairs and into the house.
“You’re going to love it here,” Ada promised as we strolled.
“I have no doubt,” I replied softly.
She seemed so pleased.
In minutes, Gale came running out of the house, Misha right behind him, catching up to Ada and me easily.
“You built the fence and the gate around my place too?” I asked him.
“I did,” he replied, with a sigh. “I thought that if there were pets, like Misha, a small yard would be good. I was trying to make the place look a bit more inviting. Ada’s needed a caretaker for a while.”
“So when I said I rented this, you knew there was a job that went along with it?”
“Yeah.” He squinted then. “Wait, you didn’t?”
I shook my head.
His grin made his eyes sparkle. “Oh man, I would have told you.”
“Well, none of that matters now,” Ada said dismissively, brushing him off, slipping her arm into mine. “He’s here now, and he’s staying.”
“I certainly hope so,” Gale said under his breath, before he bolted away and Misha yipped excitedly and went tearing after him.
“You see that over there?” Ada asked, directing my attention to the barn. It was hard to do as she asked when all I really wanted to do was stare at the man who seemed to like both me and my dog. “Mal commissioned that for the girls a couple of years ago. I paid for it, but it was built to his specifications,” she explained. “He’s been very helpful.”
I glanced over to the porch where I thought he’d be, but the front door was open and both he and Misha had disappeared inside.
Ada continued to explain that Peter Kay, a local farmer who kept alpacas and sheep, came out and sheared the girls every spring. He, like Ada, kept his sheep for life—no selling them to slaughterhouses when they got a bit older and didn’t produce as much wool. They were his pets, like Ada’s. Dr. Coleman also made house calls and gave the sheep all their shots and kept them healthy. Ada made sure they got locked in at night and fed and watered.
She made it clear I was not needed to take over that task. “I’m capable of calling the girls in and making certain they’re locked in for the night.”
“How old are you, Ada?”
“A lady never tells,” she teased me. “Let’s just say I was born in the midfifties.”
“Okay,” I said, smiling at her.
“Now, at night, some of the cats sleep in the barn with the sheep and some sleep in my studio. It’s fine. We just don’t want the bats in there, or coyotes or anything else.”
“Got it.”
“You’ll have to speak to Misha about how chasing the cats is a no-no, as well as the rabbits, squirrels, opossums, chipmunks, and groundhogs.”
Or I could just make sure he didn’t do it by training him.
She pointed out her pottery studio then, which was more or less behind Gale’s house. She explained how there was a kiln in there and lots of shelves for her finished pieces.
“You can go in and grab anything you need.”
“Thank you.”
“You know, your eyes are really the most lovely shade of black, like melty onyx.”
I had no idea if that was a good thing or not.
“It’s a good thing,” she assured me. “Though it would be a hard color to make into a glaze,” she concluded, her eyebrows furrowing as if she were perplexed.
“Well, you can work on mixing up different colors until you get it.”
Instant smile. “Yes. Precisely. And now we need to take a look at your home because I’m famished. You must be as well.”
Breakfast had been hours ago, and I’d skipped lunch, and though in my old life I hardly ever ate properly—too many things to do and people to see in a day—over the last two months my body had gotten accustomed to regular meals.
“It was really nice of Gale to put up the fence,” I mentioned to her.
“Yes, although he could have painted it black.”
“White is more universal, yeah?”
“If you think so.” She sounded unconvinced.
“Hey,” Gale said, leaning out of the front door of my new home. “You two come eat. We can do the rest of the tour and look at the main house afterward.”
“You’re coming with?” I asked him.
“Of course. I’m the only one who’s armed.”
“Funny,” I replied drolly.
He shot me an odd look, eyebrows lifted.
“Don’t worry,” Ada said, patting my arm. “I have a mining helmet and a cricket bat for you. You’ll be fine.”