Chapter 13 #2
He did notice that the two rooms shared a fireplace and it did have a cookstove, a cellar, and a loft.
There were shelves in the kitchen, and in the cellar for storage, and in the bedroom and up in the loft, too.
He found going through the tunnel to the barn that he must have kept his wood there to make it easier to get in a snowstorm, because there was wood stacked against the tunnel walls.
The barn was simple. Three stalls, a small coop for chickens that opened up to an outside coop.
The barn had a loft, too. It also had a small corner that held all his tools, a wheelbarrow, a small plow, and a small wagon.
The man must have died, because all his tools had been left in the barn.
If Abe had his horse, a steer, and some chickens, he’d be all set.
He could get by with some powdered milk instead of getting a cow he’d have to milk twice a day.
The barn was big enough for a steer, maybe even a pig to butcher in the fall when it got cold enough to fill his smoke house.
He even looked around to see if he had one.
He did, but it was on the other side of his cabin.
You only had to take two steps outside of his door and there it was.
It did need a new door. It’s also when he found the wolf pup.
It was half frozen. He picked it up and put it inside his own coat to help it get warm.
He looked around to see if he could see his mother or any of its kin.
But he didn’t see anything. He put back on his snowshoes.
Happy with the cabin and knowing that Abe would like the isolation and knowing that he could set up Abe really well here.
He could even tame this wolf cub for Abe to keep him company.
He took the pup home and fed him until his little tummy was tight as a tick.
He fell asleep on an old towel that Sam gave him.
She loved how soft his fur was. He kept him in his room for the time being.
He also told her about his friend that had been injured in the war and was coming to Angel Falls to recuperate.
He also told her about the cabin he had bought for him just outside of town.
Sam told him to count her in on helping to clean it up and get it ready for him to live in as soon as it got warm enough.
She thought she and Angie could get it scrubbed clean in one day and also get everything they needed at the resale store without any trouble at all.
Travis smiled. He liked that about Sam. She knew him well and wasn’t afraid of jumping in with both feet.
Angie was just as ready to help him with the project.
None of them knew when Abe would arrive or in what shape he would be in, but the idea of him only having one leg made them want to help him all the more.
Angie talked to Henry about getting him a half dozen chickens, a young steer, and a piglet to grow for fall.
Henry thought that would be great. He was ready to give them to the returning veteran with only one leg just to help him out.
Tate agreed. He would get some supplies ready to take out in a wagon when they were ready for him to start cooking up his own meals in the cabin. Just tell him when, and he’d have Jill and Mike help him get the gear ready.
Travis was overwhelmed with all their enthusiasm at helping him get things ready for Abe to live in the little cabin when he arrived. It humbled him at what good people lived here in Angel Falls.
Mavis wasn’t going to be left out of the circle of helping people for Abe. She gathered up what he might need in his kitchen, towels, sheets, blankets, quilts, and even told him to give her his size and she’d get him some regular clothes for him to wear, too.
Travis laughed. “He’s hard to find clothes for, Mavis.
He makes me look small. He’s huge. About six foot seven or eight, I think.
I just know that the Union army had to make him a special uniform because he was so tall and big.
He weighs about three hundred pounds, but he’s not fat…
he’s all muscle. Or at least he was the last time I saw him.
He was wounded, and he may have lost some weight in the hospital and in recovery.
But I sure appreciate all you’ve gathered for him, so will he. ”
“I’ll get my largest clothes ready for him and if they’re not big enough for him, he can bring them back and we’ll sew him some to fit him. How’s that?” Mavis told him and they both laughed.
“That sounds wonderful, Mavis. I can’t wait for him to arrive and for spring to come. Did I tell you that I’m going to marry Angie in the spring? I can’t wait to make her my bride and become her husband and the father to Will and Bobby.” Travis told her with a huge grin.
“Well, I think Angie is one lucky woman to get you as a husband. Congratulations to the both of you.” Mavis told him and hugged him as he left.
Lydia came out of her painting room. “Did I hear Travis say that he was going to marry Angie? Whatever for? She’s a widow with two children for heaven’s sake…surely he can do better than that!” She said with her hands on her hips.
Mavis turned to her in a second. “I happen to think that Angie Howard is a very sweet woman. She and Travis are perfect for each other. He’ll be a wonderful father for her boys. I’m happy for them. You should be more like her, and you just might find a husband, too!”