CountryCore Series: Fixer Upper (WLW)

A Handful of Ideas

Kenna sat down beside Axel and began spraying his coat with a mixture concocted by Janet before grabbing his brush from her utility belt. After spending her first day back with her family, she was finally on Janet's estate and could smell the barbecue promised to her upon her return. Her mouth began to water, so she hurried back to her task at hand so that she might get inside for some of the food she missed in her time away. Janet was an amazing cook and also a food enthusiast, so she planned on incorporating some of Kenna's family recipes into her usual weekly diet.

In the time she'd been back on the farm lands, she'd come to terms with this being where she belonged for the time being like a fish to water, but her constant fear of being discovered still loomed overhead. Shaking herself free from her funk to try and put it to the back of her mind for the moment, Kenna sprayed some of the grooming liquid onto Axel and he laid down on the side she'd just finished. With a smile at how easily he relaxed under her care, she rubbed his brush through his coat until she was finished and stood after giving his neck a few pats. He raised his head long enough to regard her closing the gate for his enclosure in the barn, then laid it back down as someone walked up behind her.

"Lindsay used to do that for him once a week, but I can't find the time to do it as often since she left." Recalling the name of Janet's ex-girlfriend, Kenna turned her head toward the brittle voice as her boss joined her leaning along Axel's stall. "We adopted him literally just before she left, so right when he'd gotten used to his new surroundings and schedule. Wasn't the best thing to happen and I'm sure he appreciates you taking over the task. You're sure you don't mind?"

"Not at all. I love Axel. Still boggles my mind why anyone wouldn't want him around."

As Kenna stood up straight and began gathering her supplies, she spotted Janet reaching down to help her as she replied, "His previous owners moved and didn't want to take him. It happens more often than people think, but I hate the idea and have taken in a fair few from such cases." Watching her eyes as she handed over a few things, Kenna noticed how tired Janet appeared and as soon as she fully raised her head once again, she spotted dark circles along her lower lids. "If you could adopt an animal, what do you think it'd be?"

Intrigued that Janet had asked her another of these odd questions, definitely expressed to find out more about her, she stood up straight and thought for a moment. "Hmm... Probably a Berkshire Pig. They're adorable."

Janet was on a streak. She'd asked little questions about Kenna over the last few days after having a private discussion with her mother upon her parents' return from their anniversary. They'd both welcomed Janet with open arms, going as far as to separate them long enough for her mother and Janet to have a secretive conversation on their balcony in Providence that finished before she had a chance to eavesdrop. They'd even all shared phone numbers and her parents planned on staying with them the week of Neil's wedding. Still, it somewhat irked her as to what precisely her mother had told Janet and she was on the edge of her proverbial seat to find out, yet was unsure how to go about it.

Perhaps she could work it into their conversations the way Janet always did so seamlessly.

With each passing glance and answer to her many inquiries, Janet seemed to glow more as she gazed over at Kenna and opened the shelving unit along the barn's right wall. "Are you hungry?"

"Very. Is dinner finished?"

"It is. I worked on it all day while you were at your brother's house. Did your visit with the kids help, Kenny?" Janet glanced up into her eyes and waited with bated breath as she literally bounced in place.

Kenna sheepishly grinned and placed her supplies along with her utility belt onto the shelves, then nodded. "It did, yes. How was your day?"

"Good. I spent most of it with the animals, taking care of Bessie in particular." Janet's face fell as she ran her eyes toward her enclosure, which must have been the source of the hints of sorrow in her voice. "She isn't doing well. I don't think she has much time left."