Search for the Phoenix: Phoenix Series Book 2 Page 13

  Soon, the clean straw was piled around the edge of the stall. “Good,” Kaleb said, “Now, use the pitchfork to scoop up the soiled straw and the piles of… the piles, and put them in the wheelbarrow.” He watched as she worked.

  “Some of the smaller pieces fall through. How do I get them out?” she asked.

  “Oh, you just pick them up by hand,” he said. She stopped and turned to him. “You’re just saying that to make me pick up horse poo, aren’t you?” she accused.

  Kaleb smiled, bent down, and picked up a small sample. “Honest, it’s how it’s done. I have gloves, if you’d like them.”

  “Yes, please,” she said.

  Kaleb pulled a pair of thick, rubber gloves from his back pocket and tossed them to her. “I thought you might want these,” he said.

  Megan smiled as she slipped them on. “They fit perfectly. Why do I get the feeling this was all arranged long before I offered to help?”

  He smiled and shook his head. “I’m not saying anything.”

  Megan began picking up the smaller pieces and tossing them into the barrow. When she had cleaned up all that she could find, she asked, “Are we done?”

  “No, ma’am. Now you sweep the floor, pushing all the dry, clean bits that are left out toward the walls with the rest of the clean straw.”

  After a few minutes of sweeping, most of the floor was clear and bare.

  “Now, we let it dry,” he said.

  “Good. I could use a break,” she said.

  He shook his head. “Not yet. Break time is when all the stalls are done.”

  “All of them?” she asked.

  “Yes, but don’t worry, I’m going to do half of them after I finish teaching you how to do it. Then you’ll be on your own,” he said.

  “Fine. So, what do I do now, if it’s not break time?”

  “Follow me,” he said as he pushed the wheelbarrow aside and set off at a brisk pace toward the middle of the stable. Between two stalls, there was a ladder, and Kaleb began climbing. He was halfway up when he looked down and saw Megan standing, watching him. “Follow me,” he said. Megan began climbing after him.

  Once they were in the hayloft, he walked along, pointing to stacks. “This is straw. It’s for their bedding. Over there, that’s hay. That is their food, along with the oats and grains we give them. Don’t mix the two up.”

  In a worried voice, she asked, “What if they eat some straw? Is it bad for them?”

  Kaleb shrugged. “Some horses will eat some of the straw from the floor of their stall. Others won’t. It’s a matter of nutrition. When we grow grains, like wheat, for example, we let it go to seed, and then we harvest the seeds. The stalks are cut and dried, and that is straw. Most of the nutrition has already been passed on to the grain. Hay comes from the same sources, but we cut and bail the stalks before they go to seed. That way, all the nutrients are still in the stalks. That’s what we feed to the horses.”

  “Got it. So, we want some straw to replace Ginger’s bedding,” she said.

  “Yes, and the other stalls, too. Grab a bail and we’ll drop some down to the ground. No sense climbing up and down the ladder for each stall,” he said.

  * * * *

  Megan was drenched in sweat, dirty, achy, and exhausted when she entered the house. She was also proud of herself. She had mucked out one half of the stable, including carting the soiled straw out to the muck pit. Kaleb said it would decay and eventually be used as fertilizer for the fields.

  Miguel, who was preparing lunch, turned and looked at her. His nosed wrinkled. “I can smell you from here,” he said with a smile. “You better go upstairs for a bath and clean clothes right away. Lunch is nearly ready, so don’t be long.”

  Megan suddenly realized she was ravenously hungry, and she was gripped by the sudden fear that she might miss lunch if she wasn’t fast enough. She slipped off her filthy shoes and carried them as she dashed for the main stairwell. As she ran, she thought, I need to buy some boots.

  * * * *

  When Megan returned to the kitchen, clean, but still exhausted, she found the table set for five. Ethan was already seated, and she noted that he was rarely second at the table. As she took a seat, Kaleb and Daniel came through the back door and sat. Miguel made several quick trips between the stove and table, and soon took the seat next to Megan.

  “This is nice,” she said. “This is the first time we’ve all eaten together.”

  “You were a guest, before. Now, you’re family,” Ethan said. “I thought it would be nice if Kaleb and Daniel joined us today.”

  “Thank you,” Megan said. “You have certainly made me feel like family in the short time I’ve been here.”

  “I don’t let just anyone muck out my stalls,” Kaleb said.

  “That’s true. He’s very particular about who touches his manure,” Daniel said. “He doesn’t even let me touch it.”

  “That’s because you stabbed yourself in the foot with the pitchfork the first time I let you use it,” Kaleb said. Miguel and Ethan laughed. Megan looked at Daniel’s hurt expression and suppressed her own laughter.

  * * * *

  “Are you sure you’re up to this?” Ethan asked. “Miguel said you looked pretty tuckered out before lunch.”

  “I’m fine. I’m used to hard work. I just needed a shower and a good meal,” she said. “So, where are you taking me today?”

  Ethan smiled. “In life, it’s always good to enjoy the journey rather than dwelling on the destination. The destination comes along in its due time.”

  “I think you don’t want to tell me where we’re going,” Megan said with a laugh.

  Ethan smiled and nodded. “Yep. Can’t fool you. I’m leaving my data unit here, so it will appear that you and Nolan took this trip without me.”

  “So, where are we going?” she asked.

  Ethan sighed. “Enjoy the ride.”

  The horses were walking in the grass beside a gravel road through the apple orchard. The ground was gently rising, and Megan could see the crest of the hill ahead through the trees with blue sky beyond. She realized they had already passed through most of the orchard, and she hadn’t paid any attention to it. She wondered what else she had missed in life while concentrating on a destination, deciding she was going to have to learn Ethan’s approach to life.

  As they reached the top of the hill, Ethan brought his horse to a stop. Megan stopped beside him and looked across a green valley lined with lush grass and dotted with thickets of trees. A bit farther on, the ground rose again, marking the base of a pine tree covered hill. As her eyes moved up, she thought she could make out a building in the shade of the pines near the top. “Is that where we’re going?” she asked.

  “That’s it,” Ethan replied.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “There you go again, worrying about the destination. Look at this beautiful view under a clear, blue sky. Listen to the breeze as it flows across the grass and through those trees. How many bird calls have you heard since we stopped here?”

  “Bird calls? None,” she replied.

  He nodded. “I’ve heard three that I could identify, and another I don’t know. Live life in the moment. You’re missing some of the best parts.” And with that, he set off down the hill. As Megan followed, she listened to the wind. It actually did make a sound as it passed over and through the long grass. The leaves on the trees in the thickets swayed and waved and there, too, the wind spoke. She didn’t know what it was saying, but it sounded like… peace… freedom… happiness. As they reached the floor of the valley, Ethan urged Molly into a gallop, and Megan responded by pushing Ginger to keep pace. They thundered across the valley. Now the wind was in her hair and her ears, and it said, ‘This is where you belong.’

  Megan was grinning broadly when they slowed to a walk near the base of the hill. Ethan turned south and followed the line of trees. As the tree line began to turn eastward, they came upon a road leading up the hill. Ethan turned onto the roa
d, and the pair rode in silence for a while. It was cool in the shade of the pines. The trees of the orchards were spaced out to give the trees room to soak up light and grow. The pines crowded together as though they desperately needed each other. The air smelled fresher here, rich with the scent of pine sap. “I love this smell,” she said.

  “What’s that? I’m sorry; I didn’t hear you. Were you asking me about our destination again?” Ethan asked.

  “No,” she replied with a smile. “I’m enjoying the journey. The destination will be there when we reach it.”

  Ethan smiled and laughed. “Good. You’re learning. Nolan loves the scent here, too. This is his favorite place in the world.”

  “Really? Here?” she asked.

  “Why is that so hard to believe?”

  “I’ve always thought of Nolan as a city dweller. I never knew he came out here,” she said.

  The road, having gone straight for some distance, turned sharply to the left and continued climbing gently as it gradually curved out of sight through the trees.

  “What bird was that?” she asked suddenly.

  Ethan smiled at her. “That was a western carling.”

  “It has a beautiful song,” she said.

  “There is a pair of them that nest in the trees near the top of this hill every spring. Nolan thinks of them as his birds,” Ethan said. Then, in response to the puzzled look she was giving him, he added, “It will make sense soon.”

  After a few more turns, the road ended at a small clearing, and in its center stood a house of stone and timber with a slate roof. Megan thought it was gorgeous, like something from a storybook.

  “Welcome to Nolan’s home,” Ethan said.

  Megan dragged her eyes from the house and stared at him. “Nolan lives in an apartment in Dawson.”

  “Nolan rents an apartment in Dawson. He stays there as needed for his job. Between jobs, he comes back here. This is Nolan’s home.”

  Her gaze returned to the house, soaking up all the details. A porch ran the width of the house and then wrapped around the near side and ran to the back. A short distance behind the house stood a stable. She dismounted. Lifting Ginger’s reins over her head, she led her toward the rear of the house. Ethan dismounted and led Molly after her.

  “There’s a small paddock by the stable. I’ll fill the water trough.”

  “Do you come here often?” she asked.

  “I air the place out every couple of weeks when Nolan is away, and Ginger loves the ride. I think if I ever let her go free, she’d come straight up here,” he said.

  “I can see why,” she said. “I would, too.”

  Ethan nodded and smiled his knowing smile. He went into the stable. A moment later, water began to flow from a pipe, filling the trough. The horses walked over and began to drink. After a few minutes, the water stopped and Ethan emerged from the building. “Let’s go and open some windows,” he said as he walked briskly toward the back door of the house.

  The back door opened into a large, beautiful kitchen, and Megan paused to take it all in. The cabinets were hardwood with a light finish. The countertops were butcher block, not the synthetic stone that everyone used. The floor gave a little under her weight as she stepped in, and she looked at it with a puzzled expression.

  “It’s a synthetic cork,” Ethan said. “It’s the only man-made material in the room. Most things bounce off it instead of breaking. Nolan is a very practical man.”

  She stopped by the center island and looked at the copper bottom, stainless steel pans hanging from hooks just above head height. “Organized, too, I see.”

  “Oh, yes, very organized,” Ethan agreed. “You can open the windows in here. I’m going on to the dining room and living room, through there,” he said as he gestured to an archway. “When you’re done, come and find me and I’ll show you the rest of the place.”

  After opening the kitchen windows, Megan moved to the dining room. There was a buffet and matching china cabinet in mahogany with a reddish-brown stain. The mahogany table in the room’s center would seat eight comfortably. She felt a breeze come through the open windows and knew that Ethan must have just opened a window at the front of the house. She took in the entire room again quickly before moving into the living room. Ethan was just finishing opening the windows along the front wall, and Megan sighed. The view across the valley was spectacular. Through the trees, she could see the spot on the edge of the apple orchard were they had paused before riding down into the valley.

  Without saying anything, she crossed the room and opened the door leading onto the front porch. Stepping out, she rested her hands on the railing and studied the scene in detail. “If an artist had painted this from her imagination, she couldn’t have made it any better,” she said. Ethan stepped out and stood beside her.

  “I expect you’re right,” he said. “That’s why Nolan built it here.”

  “Nolan built this place?” she asked.

  “I used to have a small cabin here. Years ago, Nolan used it when he wanted to get away from the city. He was always welcome at my house, of course, but he didn’t like to impose. He’d fly to my house and spend a few days with me. Then he’d borrow a horse, load some provisions, and ride out here for a week or two.”

  “That must have been a little disappointing, having him come to visit and then disappear like that,” she said.

  Ethan laughed. “Not at all. I rode out here almost every day while he was here. We’d play cards, hunt, or just sit and talk. Nolan doesn’t like to feel like a guest anywhere. While he was here, he felt like the host. I was fine with that since it made him more comfortable.”

  “So what happened to the cabin?” she asked.

  “Nolan’s visits became more frequent over the years. So, one day, I gave him the hill. I told him he could do whatever he wanted with it. He hired a crew to come in and they built the stable first, to have a place to store tools and materials out of the weather. Then they tore down the shack and built this place.”

  “This just seems so… un-Nolan,” she said. “I can’t picture him doing something like this.”

  “This is the most Nolan-like place I’ve ever seen. It has his mark all over it,” he said.

  “I guess I don’t really know him very well. I only know the city-dwelling, spaceship-designing Nolan.”

  Ethan smiled. “That Nolan is here, too. Come with me.” Turning, he went back into the house and Megan followed. He crossed the living room and turned into a hallway. The first door on the left opened onto stairs going down. He turned on a switch and descended. “Be careful on the steps; there isn’t much light.”

  At the bottom, she turned and stepped into a dimly lit room. The only illumination came from hundreds of tiny spots of light on the ceiling and walls. Ethan sat on a couch in the middle of the room and leaned back. Megan sat beside him and studied the view. Ethan pointed, “That’s Caldon, there—that blue light. The bright yellow one there is our star. I suggested he install a holo-projector to display a standard star chart, but he didn’t want that. He wanted an open space where he could relax and feel like he was among the stars.”

  “Wouldn’t the holo-projector have been more realistic?” she asked.

  “That’s what I thought, but Nolan said it was just a piece of technology. This, he said, was art.”

  “I understand. I can imagine sitting here with a glass of wine, relaxing,” she said.

  “If you’d like, you can stay down here for a while, but I need to finish opening windows.” He stood and walked to the stairs.

  “I’ll come with you. I’d like to see the rest of the house. I think I’d like to share this experience later, with Nolan.”

  Ethan smiled and nodded. “Let’s go and see the rest of the house.”

  The last room on the ground floor was Nolan’s study. Ethan opened the window while Megan looked around. One wall was entirely covered with shelves full of books. “Where did he get all of these antique books?” she asked.

>   “He’s been collecting them for decades. Most of these are available digitally, but Nolan prefers the real thing, as he calls them.”

  “They’re art, like the star room,” she said.

  “I suppose so. He enjoys them.” He pointed to a book on the desk. “He’s in the middle of this one. This tab sticking out—he says it’s called a bookmark. He uses it to mark his place when he puts the book down.”

  “That’s clever. Still, I think I prefer my data unit,” she said.

  “Let’s go upstairs and finish opening windows,” he said.

  At the top of the stairs, they went into the first room and each opened a window. The western carling sang, and Megan stood by the window listening. She remembered Ethan’s comment on the road up about Nolan thinking of the pair as his birds. “Nolan’s birds,” she said with a smile.

  “They began nesting here the year he finished the house. They’ve been here every spring since,” he said.

  “Is there a place where we can see them? I’d love to have a look at them.”

  “You can see their nest from the back bedroom. Nolan keeps a pair of binoculars there. He likes to keep an eye on them,” Ethan said.

  “Great minds think alike,” she said.

  “You and Nolan have an awful lot in common.”

  She turned to face him and chuckled. “Nolan and I are friends,” she said. “That’s all.”

  “Okay. Friends. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a lot in common,” he said.

  “Let’s finish the windows and then look for the birds,” she said as she stepped back into the hallway.

  In the back bedroom, they sat by the open window. Megan was looking through the binoculars, scanning the treetops for any sign of the birds. Occasionally one would sing, and she would try to pinpoint the direction. Finally, she found the nest with one of the carlings nestled in it. The body was mostly white, but the head had deep emerald feathers with a band of opalescent blue at the top of the neck. As she watched, its mate flew in and perched on a nearby branch. This one was entirely white. “I found them,” she said. “They’re beautiful. Do you want to look?”