Chapter 12
Kevin rushed over to his house, and after he kicked off his sneakers, he dressed his feet in his work boots, and because he could, he hurried into the bedroom, then into the bathroom.
He practically screamed when he realized he hadn’t brushed his hair that morning and it was sticking up all over the place.
He shook his head as he wet it down, combed it out, and then he studied his five o’clock shadow, debating whether he should shave it or not.
He didn’t know how he felt about the gray coming in, but then again, he was damn near fifty years old, and he’d earned every single one of those gray hairs either from his job or marriage.
He shrugged it off, put on deodorant, a little bit of aftershave, though he hadn’t shaved, and walked out of the door.
He grinned when Yvonne came out of her door at the same time. They met in the middle of the road.
He lifted his arm and pointed. “Tony and Staci live there. I live here. The last cabin on your side is where Shay and Faith live, while Pedro and Myrna live beside them, then there is yours.” As he talked, they had walked toward the last two cabins, around a bend, and he saw her expression.
“What are those?”
“Bunktels.” He grinned at her shocked expression and took her into one. When she was done looking, she only had a confused look on her face.
“Why something like this?”
“Okay, think of it this way. Over at Broken Wheel, both adults and children come to use the horses for rehabilitation for whatever reason. Think of a ten-year-old child coming for six weeks. If you were the parent, would you want to stay in a hotel and drive in from Fool’s Gold or even Colorado Springs every day, then drive back every night?
Or would you like your family to be able to stay with you, all together.
The rooms are like a hotel room, but there’s privacy also in case another family is here. ”
“Leaving the kitchen and living rooms common areas.”
“Correct. While we don’t have any rehabilitation services here, we’ll probably use the bunktels for any owners, trainers, or jockeys that come to look at the horses that will be for sale. It’s not written in blood, but it’s my understanding the cabins are for the workers of New Double.”
“And that’s who we’ll be doing the background checks on?”
“Correct.” They walked back up the driveway to their cabins, and he turned to her with a grin. “The rest that I want to show you is too far to walk, do you want to drive a truck or golf cart?”
“Golf cart,” she laughed, and they walked over to a building, and when he opened the door, she stared in shock. She whipped around to stare at him with wide eyes. “Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many golf carts outside a club.”
“I said the same thing. Apparently, there was a country club that went out of business, and Erin was able to pick up these, and there’s the same amount over at Erin’s Way.
I’m not sure about Broken or Broken Two.
” They walked in and picked the first one in the line, and as they climbed in, she looked at Kevin.
“What?”
“Have you been working yet?”
“Yes, why?”
“I’m not being paranoid, but have you been driving your truck to the office?”
“Yes, why?”
“Again, not being paranoid, but with Washington plates on it, do you think that’s wise? I’m not saying that gang from Seattle will come looking.” She let the statement trail off and Kevin nodded.
“But, it might be better to ride with you, or take the golf cart until I can get them switched.” He nodded as he answered. “No, you are not being paranoid, now that I know that you had the same problem up in Denver, I’ll be more careful.”
“Good, you can never be too careful.”
“I agree, and we have a week to hopefully hear back from your former boss before we tell the others to be on the lookout for something fishy.” He had been looking at her when he spoke, and shook his head at her frown.
“You’ll learn fast enough, but we are a family here.
Both literally and figuratively. We’re going to want the SEALs to be aware of a potential threat.
That’s all it is right now, potential. I’m not asking permission, I’m telling you, that I won’t keep any of this from anyone. ”
Yvonne studied him intently for several silent moments, then nodded. “Okay, since I’m no longer an FBI agent, then I’ll have to rely on the former military personnel here.”
“Good,” Kevin said as he started driving, and pointed out things as he went. “As you can see, there are three horse barns here, two of them are in use, the other one was, however, those horses were moved to the barn closer to the track.”
“Where Pedro and Myrna work?” At his confused look, she told him about the case with Myrna, on the way, and how it had ended in the other woman’s favor.
At her conclusion of the tale, she looked at him with a grin.
“That’s how I came to work here. I asked Erin if she was looking for anyone to be a security guard.
She said yes, explained about New Double, and RRR both needing one, that she had someone else coming, and we would have to share the workspace. ”
Kevin nodded as they approached the barn with the other horses, and he explained as much as he knew, then he drove them closer to the main house. He paused and watched as an older woman exited a vehicle, and looked at Yvonne.
“That’s Lois Gibson, she’s Cole’s girlfriend, and they live together across the street.
Lois has put in a garden over at Broken Wheel, and a carrot patch here.
” He climbed out of the cart, and walked toward a brown patch to point.
“This is the carrot patch. Everyone feeds the horses carrots or apples as treats.”
“Cookies, too,” Lois said with a laugh. She held out her hand to Yvonne. “Lois Gibson, I do what he says. You’ll probably meet them, but my granddaughter, Lorissa is a vet, and farrier.” At Yvonne’s frown she laughed. “As Lorissa likes to explain it, she gives the horses pedicures.”
“I’m Yvonne Wilson.”
They exchanged laughs, and Lois continued, “Both Lorissa and her fiancé, are vets, Tom has his practice in town. Anyway, they came up with nutrients that can be mixed with other ingredients in order for us to make what is called horse cookies. It’s a treat, along with the carrots, but it’s healthy for them.
No unusual ingredients if you bought them in a store. ”
“Under no circumstances are you to give any horse on any ranch a sugar cube, unless specifically directed by Erin, Naomi, or Cole,” Kevin said with a grin. “Ask me how I know.”
Yvonne laughed. “I can only imagine.”
“Have you showed her the community pantry yet?”
“Nope, I was just getting to that.”
“Do you mind if I walk with you?”
“Not at all.” They started walking and both Kevin and Lois explained about the pantry, its purpose, and what Lois would be doing when it came time to harvest in a few months.
“Wow, will you need any help?”
“Maybe, this will be the first year we’ve done something like this, and I’m not sure yet.
Ducky helps me when he can, and I will probably need help with the weeding once the crops come up.
But,” she said firmly, and held up her hand to Yvonne in a stop motion.
“I do not want you to slack off in your duties in order to come over to Broken Wheel and weed the garden.”
“Understood.”
They walked into the pantry, and it took several seconds for Yvonne’s eyes to adjust, and when they did, she looked around in shock. “I’m assuming here, but eventually, all these empty jars will be full?”
“Yes, the only thing we ask is that if you go to town and have extra cash, please pick up more jars. It’s better to have too many, than not enough. This pantry will be run on the honor system.”
“How so?”
“If you take a jar of vegetables, then when you’re done with the jar, wash it, and return it. With both the ring and lid.” She walked over and took an empty jar from the shelf and showed her how to flip the lid.
“When I see it like this, then I know it’s been used.”
“Can you reuse the lid?”
“Yes, you don’t have to worry about that, I will handle it.
” She walked over to the other side and pointed to two gleaming stainless-steel doors, with several shelves between them.
“These two are also on the honor system. The one on the left is the freezer, the one on the right is the cooler. If you want to pick up extra things during your grocery haul, you can store them in here, there are totes on those shelves, just slap you name on them and use them.” She opened the door and Yvonne stepped inside to see what she meant.
“Oh, wow, I like this idea.”
“Good, now this is basically used for everyone for extra storage, if it’s in someone else’s tote, ask them if you can take some of whatever. The freezer is an entirely different entity.”
“How so?”
They walked over to the freezer, and when the door opened, Yvonne was shocked by all the white wrapped packages. She picked one up, read it, then set it down.
“I don’t understand.”
“Erin has cows along with the horses, but not a lot, no more than fifty. She sells them, then she also takes a few to the butcher to fill this freezer. Anyone is welcome to whatever is in here, we only ask that you donate.” They stepped out of the freezer, and Lois pointed to a coffee can on one of the shelves, along with a notebook.
“You don’t have to mark down what you pay, that too is on the honor system.
Erin uses that money to pay for the butchering and processing fee.
” Lois looked at the two of them and grinned. “That’s for the beef.”
“What about the chicken?” Kevin asked, because he had seen several of them in the freezer.
“That money goes to Pru, she has layers and meat chickens.” At their scowls, she grinned. “Layers, they lay eggs, meat chickens, they are specifically bred for their meat. Again, any donations left in the can with chickens all over it goes to Pru for the processing.”