Chapter 23
1085 Words
They spent the next few days looking at cabin designs and working on refinishing the furniture pieces currently in their possession.
“The beauty of bringing these back to life is that we can resell what we don’t wind up using,” Mike claimed as he scraped at old paint on a dresser. “I think that once we’re done building, I’ll continue doing this on the side.”
“This is a lot of fun. And very rewarding,” Crystal agreed. She was working on the frames they picked up in Des Moines.
“Well you can help me with anything you want. Or you’re free to start your own hobby. You did an excellent job with those boxes of decor!” He frowned.
“I still worry that you’ll feel like a—like a captive here,” Mike admitted after a pause. “I don’t mean to sound insecure. I do feel like I’ve isolated you from civilization.”
“Michael Wallace!” She scolded. “Stop that right now!”
“Yes ma’am,” he relented, as if his mother had caught him red handed.
“I LOVE it here! I love the peace and quiet and am here of my own free will.” Careful not to touch the dresser coated in stripper, she stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I love spending time with you.”
“I love spending time with you, too.” He kissed the top of her head.
“We’ll see people tomorrow.” She reminded him. Marissa and Edna were coming to visit.
“I know. I’m excited to see them! Hopefully the fridges cool fairly quickly.” He frowned again.
They were awaiting the arrival of two vintage, but very clean and mechanically sound Airstreams to house their guests. The delivery had been delayed due to a wreck in front of the carrier’s drivers that shut down I-80 for several hours. There was nothing the drivers could do but wait.
Once the Airstreams arrived, Mike would chock and level both campers then hook them up to the septic tank and electricity. Then there were linens, basic kitchenware, water and snacks to place. Crystal had tried her hand at making floral pieces and repurposed art from thrifted items. She was quite pleased with her efforts. Those were in the boxes Mike mentioned.
Jacob arrived a few moments after with something hiding in his shirt.
“What have you got there?” Mike asked.
“We accidentally ran over their mama,” Jacob answered as he removed two hissing kittens from inside his shirt. He held the two black and white babies by the scruffs of their necks. “They’re wild and feisty, but they seem healthy enough.”
“Ohh, look at them!” Crystal cooed. One was mostly black with white feet and sprinkles of white on the face and ears. The other was also mostly black with a white patch on the chest.
“Let me go find Squeaker’s old crate. We can put them in there,” Mike said as he rummaged around the barn. “Ahh, here it is.”
“They’re both males,” Jacob said as he placed the kittens in the crate. “They’re young enough they should be easy to tame and I’m sure they’ll make fine mousers, but that hoot owl will be looking for them,” he advised.
“Crystal, if you want to go buy some wet food for them, I’ll wait here for the Airstreams,” Mike suggested.
“Yay!” Crystal jumped up and down, clapping her hands. She gave Mike a kiss and ran out of the barn.
Mike and Jacob grinned at each other when they heard the Jeep start up and leave.
“That was almost too easy,” Mike laughed.
“I’m glad I could help,” Jacob smiled.
The kittens had been found yesterday and luckily, Crystal was hard at work on her decor for the Airstreams. Mike had asked Jacob to hide the little boogers knowing the quilts he had commissioned would be delivered today. He was gifting one each to Marissa, Edna and Crystal. Finding the kittens had been a Godsend. He knew Crystal would happily go to Petsmart. He also knew she’d bring back more than wet food.
Now Mike had time to wrap. He showered and changed clothes so he didn’t get any paint or stripper on the beautiful material.
**
Just as Mike had planned, Crystal was gone over two hours and had indeed returned with a Jeep full of kitten supplies. The Airstreams had been delivered and Jacob’s crew was helping set them up.
“If you gentlemen will excuse me, I’m sure the cat lady needs my help,” he joked. He hopped on the Polaris and headed to the barn.
Mike could see the Jeep was loaded with bags and boxes. “Did you buy the entire store?” He laughed and kissed her.
“Nope,” Crystal giggled. “There’s plenty left for the other cat owners.”
“I see a stick with feathers poking out back there. And what’s this? A cat tower? You silly woman,” he shook his head and started gathering up bags.
“There’s flea treatment, wormer, milk replacement, litter and boxes, three kinds of wet food—I’m not sure what else. I just took the employee’s advice.”
“It’s true when the shelters say a free pet isn’t really free,” Mike acknowledged. “Hopefully Jacob is right and they’ll earn their keep by being good mousers. Either way, Squeaker seems to be in love with them, though they don’t seem to like him much.”
She noticed the dog laying peacefully by the kennel. “Awwww. How cute.” She pulled out her phone to take a picture.
“I took about twenty pictures, too,” Mike admitted. “Uh, is that a double decker cat house?”
“Yes,” she grinned devilishly. “I’m going to tame those boys just like I did when I was a kid.”
Crystal’s grandparents had lived on a farm and there were often wild kittens to be found. Her grandmother had taught her to back the wild things into a corner and use a towel to pick them up. It was one of her fondest memories.
Mike set to work putting the cat house together while Crystal gathered newspapers, a towel and read medication instructions.
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