Against the Grain Read Free

don’t know when, or even if, that is still happening.”
    She bit her lower lip slightly as she listened, but refrained from saying anything until I had dropped the other shoe.
    “Your other option is to see what’s left of your Mom’s place, if you think you can make it livable there again. I know you grew up gardening with her, and there are still some good people in town that can help you out.”
    “What about you? Where are you going?” She asked with a look that said neither of those options sounded all that appealing to her.  
    “That’s your third option,” I replied. “There’s a group of families about eight miles from here, back the direction you came from more or less. It’s the Harris’s that we went to school with. There are five families total living in three houses within about a mile of each other. The main house is the mom and dad of Breanne and her brothers. Bre and her husband Nick stay there with their two kids, her younger brother Andrew and his girlfriend…wife… whatever… they live with their two friends in the grand parent’s old ranch house across the road. The oldest brother Paul and his wife are in the last place a little further down.”  
    She nodded still listening, so I continued on.
    “They have a good set up going. They’ve got gardens and have some chickens and goats. Some neighbors nearby have sheep and horses so they all kind of trade with each other. It’s really a good group of people and everybody helps out where they can, but most of them don’t have the background of being farmers and ranchers. But they are trying and they’re making a go of it so far.”
    I wasn’t the best sales man in the world, but it was a fairly accurate rundown.  
    “And where would I fit in?” She asked intelligently.  
    “Well to start, you’ve got a medical background…”  
    “Lab work,” she reminded me.
    “…but you also know how to work in a garden and have a good head,” I continued on. “I think you’d probably fit in really well.”
    Actually, I knew she would. Megan and Breanne both had fairly similar styles and interests from what I remembered. They were both cute and strong and feminine all at the same time. They each were fun, yet responsible; carefree, yet caring. They were down to earth with just enough style to be dang attractive… to the right person.
    Besides Megan being able to fit in and get along, we plain needed more people out there because I was getting worn out. I filled in where I could and helped with hunting and security stuff, but they were just now starting to get past asking for my opinion or input on every little thing that went on. I might have had the broadest knowledge base and resources (or access to them) for primitive type living, but if they could just get a little more proactive, their confidence would rise dramatically. Besides that, I still had my own matters to attend to.
    “Of course it’s not like I’ve talked to them about it yet,” I reminded her. “But there are a few extra rooms and there is always work to be done. You feel like that’s something you could do?” I asked Megan outright.
    “And what happens if they don’t want me there or if I want to leave at some point?”
    Smart girl, thinking ahead.
    “Burn that bridge when you come to it. I’ll do what I can on my end to get you there, but you’ll have to do your part. If it doesn’t work out, you’ve still got Option One and Two to fall back on.”
    I wouldn’t say so, but all I had to do was ask and I’m sure the family would take Megan in on my word alone. I didn’t want either her, or the families at their Ranch, to be put in that position though, so they’d have to work it out between themselves.  
    “Alright, I can see you’re tired and I can guess your mind is racing now with all this. Do you think you can shut down for a bit and get some sleep?” I asked her.
    “It’d probably do me some good,” Megan answered.
    “Blankets are in that