Chapter 9
Mid-morning on a Saturday three weeks later, Lois pulled into the driveway to New Double and when she parked before the house, she put her SUV in park and sighed heavily.
Before getting out, she looked around and saw a lot of activity, but it was closer to the barns and hoped she didn’t have to go over there.
Not that she was scared, but she didn’t want to interrupt the work of the men.
She was there for a particular reason, and as much as she wanted to see and talk to Cole, she didn’t think he could help her in her reason for being there.
As she exited her vehicle, she looked around and sighed in relief when a gruff voice called out to her. “Help you?”
Lois whipped around and grinned when she saw Ducky standing there in shorts, a polo, and she giggled when she saw the work boots on his feet.
“Don’t I know you?” He scowled at her as he barely used his cane when he walked toward her.
“Yes, Ducky, I’m Lois Gibson.”
“Ah, hello, how is your granddaughter?”
“Good, she’s had the stitches removed and she’s walking with no problem. All the bandages are even off. The hardest problem now is trying to convince Tom that she’s fine.”
Ducky laughed and shook his head at her.
“Yeah, he comes by that stubbornness naturally. I grew up with his grandfather, the ornery son-of-a bitch.” The way he said it, Lois didn’t take any offense, and for some reason, she knew Tom wouldn’t either if he heard the other man talk.
“So, Lois Gibson, what brings you to New Double?”
“Actually, you do, Ducky.”
“Me, what would you want with me? I thought you were dating Cole.”
“I might be, but I haven’t seen him in a few weeks.”
“Yeah, it’s been bedlam around here. What can I do for you?”
“It’s only the beginning of August, and I was wondering if you could show me the area where you used to have a garden. I think, since that area had been worked before, it would be easier to plant some things for a late harvest.”
“Like what?”
“Carrots.” She laughed her answer and they were both laughing when Cole found them.
“Lois, what brings you here?”
“Me,” Ducky said with a grin, then waved his hand at the other man. “Go away now, Lois is here to see me.”
“Can I enquire about what?”
“The garden,” they said as one. Then Ducky laughed. “Lois thinks she can get a crop of carrots in.”
“Will you have time?”
“I believe so, they might not be as long as I’d like, but it will help.
Or I believe so. It only takes ten to twenty days before they germinate.
That’s when the seeds start growing. From there, we just let nature take its course.
I believe by mid-October we could harvest them.
If I had planted them earlier, I would be harvesting them now.
I’m here to see what Ducky’s old garden was like.
The area over at Broken they want to put a garden in next spring will need some work. ”
“What type of work?” Both Ducky and Cole asked.
“I’ll have to plow up the area, then disc it, and test the soil. I might have to add lime or ash depending on the soil content. Once that’s set, then I’ll have to run the rototiller through it several times to get the consistency of soil I will need to plant.”
“You know how to do that?”
“Yes, that’s why I’m here. I want to check out Ducky’s previous garden area, test the soil, and get to work. If all goes as planned, then we can have a crop of carrots planted by this time next week.”
“Follow me,” Ducky said firmly as he turned and took off toward the back of the house.
He paused and pointed to where a lot of work was going on.
“I liked the idea Pru had about putting in a community pantry, and I’ve cleaned up the canners my wife had.
I also inspected the summer kitchen, and found that it really needed a new roof. ”
“Wow, what about the inside?”
“I didn’t go inside until the roof was fixed. Let me rephrase that. The men wouldn’t allow me inside until the roof was fixed. They said it would be safer, and I had to agree.”
“Do you recall what type of stoves were in there?”
“If memory serves, there was a six-burner gas stove. I remember having it built to Sally’s wishes. She wanted a gas stove, there are propane tanks behind the kitchen. I imagine we’ll have to get someone out here to look at them. It’s been twenty years since they were last used.”
“Yes, that would be the safest thing to do. You’ll probably have to have new tanks brought in. Are there counters and cupboards?”
“Yes.” He closed his eyes, tipped his head back, and nodded.
With his eyes still closed, he talked. “There are countertops all around the walls, three of them. The other wall has an industrial sink, the ones you see in restaurants, three sections. With space to drain the canning jars. At least that’s what Sally used it for.
The island takes up the middle of the room, and there’s a sink in the middle of it.
That was where Sally had me dump the vegetables, on the island, and she’d clean them using that sink.
” He opened his eyes and looked at her and Cole.
“That’s all I remember. I remember it took a couple of years of tweaking things so Sally was proficient in working there. She said she liked the flow.”
“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 for you. 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?”