Finding Home

Chapter Four

The oatmeal was ready along with the coffee, and I added some fresh fruit to a bowl in case he wanted that along with his breakfast.

He walked out right after I finished setting everything on the table, I put some milk and sugar on the table also, I never did ask how he took his coffee. He sat down "thank you for all of this, I'm starving" he said as he started to eat.

I sat down and put some fruit in my oatmeal to add a little bit of flavor, "you're welcome, I wasn't sure how you liked your coffee so there is milk and sugar in case you liked it that way" I said.

I watched him as I ate my breakfast, he had an appetite which was a good thing and his coloring looked good as well. He finished his meal and got up and put the dishes in the sink.

"I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Devon" he said walking over and holding out his hand for me to shake. I shook his hand, "I'm Athena" I said as I stood up and started to clear the table.

"Let me do this for you, it's the least I can do after you were nice enough to take me in" he said smiling. "Thank you" I said and grabbed my coffee and sat at the table while he cleared everything.

I let him know that the water had to be boiled to fill the sink since I did not have a water heater just yet. "How do you live out here with no power?" he asked as he turned around and looked at me.

"Well, I did have a generator for a few things but that busted so now I just make do until the new one arrives in three weeks" I told him.

He just turned around and went to get the water on the stove to get it ready to wash the dishes. I got up and fed the fireplace in both rooms. "Is this how you heat your home?" he asked puzzled.

I laughed "yes both fireplaces go nonstop to keep this place warm, and it helps the barn stay at a certain temp for my animals" I said as I went into my bedroom to feed that fire.

Devon followed me in and stood at the doorway watching me put a few more logs onto the fire. "I'm sorry if I am coming across as rude, I'm from the city and I know with roughing it out in the woods but not living it all the time" he said.

"I'm used to it, and honestly I used to live in the city, and it took me awhile to get used to everything out here but now that I have lived here for about three years it's like second nature to me now" I said as I walked into the family room.

"That reminds me, I need to get the tractor out and make sure the animals are okay by this evening" I said as I went to get my stuff on, "can I go with you?" he asked.

"Sure, just make sure you are bundled up really good, since it is still a blizzard out there, I have markers where the paths are but with that wind you will freeze to death in a matter of minutes if you are not careful" I told him.

I went out into the garage and started up the tractor and drove it halfway out of the garage, I went inside and watched as Devon made sure he was covered from head to toe.

It made me smile that he took me seriously which was a good thing, out here you can never be too careful, we went to the tractor, and I had him get on and sit to the side.

I put it into gear and once it cleared the garage, I turned it off and shut the door, so the snow did not fill it up. Once back on I made work of clearing the snow to the first barn.

I kept the tractor going and we went inside, once the door was shut, I saw all my animals come to greet me. "This is amazing in here, it's not freezing, and they all seem content" he said looking around.

"I pride myself on how I designed all of this for them" I said as I petted each of my animals, then went to work on making sure they had fresh water and feed, that the water troughs were good and full and that their stalls and the indoor arena area was cleared of any manure.

"You have done an amazing job Athena" Devon said as he kept looking around, it felt weird having someone around here seeing what I have done to the place. Only the workers a few years ago were here.

"You ready?" I asked as I was putting my hat back on, "as ready as I will ever be" he said as he bundled back up. We went out and I locked the barn door, we climbed back into the tractor.

"Good thing you have this cover over us" he said into my ear, I nodded my head. There was no way I would be able to do this if I did not have a cover. I drove around and cleared more snow away from the other barn.

Not bothering to go in there since they did not need any water just yet, tomorrow though I will have to check on them. I made a pass around the other sheds and around the house.

Making sure everything was all good while I did that. After clearing more of the drive-in front of the house I opened the garage door and put the tractor in. I shut the garage door and Devon climbed down.

We went inside and took off our stuff off and I went to put on the kettle and Devon went right to the fireplace. "I see why you keep the fires going, and not just to heat the house" he said.

"In this kind of weather, it is nice to walk into the house and be able to warm up fast" I said as I grabbed some cups.