Epilogue
As the errand guy for the day, Joel drove back to the main cabin at the Haven, carried in several loads of groceries through the front door, then drove around to the back where the extra storage was and quickly unloaded the rest of the foodstuffs there.
Then he headed over to the machine shop, where he unloaded various parts and pieces, and eventually backed up to the main barn, where he unloaded feed.
As he walked out again to hop into the vehicle, he watched as Chelsea got out of her vehicle and walked up to Timber, who gave her a big hug.
Joel immediately walked over himself to see what was going on.
“Hey,” he greeted them. “I didn’t think we would see you back here again. ”
Chelsea nodded. “It’s not that I’m back, but I wanted to offer a little bit of help if I could.
I mean, I’m a nurse, not exactly a veterinarian assistant, but I’ve always been a huge animal lover,” she explained with a smile, as she looked over at him.
“So, I figured, if I could give back to this place and could give thanks for all the help that’s been going on in my world,” she added, “I figured that this was a good place to start.”
“How is Sterling doing?” Joel asked her.
“He’s doing great,” she said warmly. “He’s made such a big change to the family farm already. It’s unbelievable.”
“Good, there was probably room for it.”
“There definitely was,” she agreed, “and he’s done a phenomenal job in a short amount of time. I’m really happy for him.”
“And you’re still there?”
“I am, and he doesn’t seem to want to let me go at the moment.”
“Are you surprised? He’s had no family all this time, and now all of a sudden that’s changed. I can’t say that I blame him for wanting to keep his cousin around.”
“I know,” she said, with a beaming smile. “It’s been pretty nice for me and for Grandpa too.” She looked back at Joel curiously. “What have you been up to?”
“Well, now that Sterling’s not doing all the runs to town …”
She burst out laughing at that and nodded. “Got it. Say no more. Anyway, I’ve got to head out myself.”
“No other trouble with your mother?”
“No,” she replied, with a sigh. “She confessed pretty publicly, with many witnesses, plus Richard got the worst of it on tape. So she wouldn’t fare well in a trial. It looks as if that’ll get wrapped up pretty quickly.”
“Good.”
“Seems everybody around here has had some issues and things to deal with.”
“Yes, but maybe not now.”
“Although,” she added, “I did pass somebody in a truck who I didn’t recognize when I was on the way in.
It was parked off to the side.” She turned to Timber.
“I meant to mention it to you when I first got here, but I was distracted by all the dogs.” She laughed, then turned somber.
“It seemed they were camping or something, but I wasn’t sure. ”
He frowned and asked, “Whereabouts?”
She tried to give a location, but Joel offered, “I’ll take a trip over there and see what I find.”
“I’ll head out as well. See you two later.” With a wave, Chelsea turned and headed back to her vehicle.
Timber looked at Joel and asked, “Did I detect a spark of interest there?”
“Well yeah,” Joel admitted, with a shrug, “but I’ve got my own issues too.”
“Sure,” Timber agreed, “but it seems as if the Haven is a good place to work them out.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” he muttered, followed by a snort.
Timber stared at him and stated, “Hey, I do know, which makes this place the best location to start a new life.”
And, with that, the two men split up, Timber heading into the house, and Joel heading down to check out what kind of trouble was coming this time.