AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Maybe for the entertainment value when you come to visit,” Sierra said, biting her lip to keep from laughing.
Cody shrugged. “Maybe. They’re both used to dealing with him. I think they know Jason and Laila are the bosses. So he waits until I show up to let his nasty loose.”
“Man fights with rooster. Rooster wins,” she said, grinning. “But it was an epic battle.”
Cody scowled at Sierra. “Maurice keeps that up? He’s going to be epic coq au vin.”
Sierra laughed, and Cody wanted to lean over and kiss her. He felt as if he’d won a prize. He’d made the self-contained, reserved lawyer laugh.
* * *
Sierra watched the pleased smile flicker over Cody’s expression and wondered what he was so happy about. But instead of lingering at the front of the coop, he moved to the side. He removed a padlock, then raised a long, narrow door and secured it.
Seven small compartments separated by wooden partitions lined the wall. Hens sat in two compartments, and another hen scrambled out of her compartment. The rest were empty.
Cody plucked a cardboard egg carton off the shelf and handed it to her. “Check each compartment. Pick up the eggs and put them in the carton. That’s all there is to it. When there’s a hen in the box, you can reach under her, slowly, and feel around for eggs. Slide them out and add them to the carton.”
He demonstrated, moving slowly and carefully, and the hen didn’t seem to mind. When he pulled his hand out from under her, an egg was nestled in his palm.
“Here you go,” he said, sliding the egg onto her palm, then cupping his hands around hers. His hands were rough, so he wasn’t just a desk nerd. Cody worked with those hands.
The warm egg had sawdust stuck to it. She stared at it for a long moment, realizing it had probably been laid that morning.
“Wow,” she murmured. “Amazing.” She set it carefully into the carton, then stepped closer to the row of nesting boxes and saw that the first two each had two eggs. She picked them up carefully, cradling the warm eggs in her hand and studying them before she put them in the carton. The next nest had one egg, and when she picked it up, it was slick. Moist. Very warm.
“This one’s wet,” she said. “Is there something wrong with it?”
Cody smiled. “Nope. It was just laid. It’ll dry off in a few minutes. Just put it in the carton.”
When she approached the first nesting hen, she flexed her fingers and watched the bird for a moment. The hen didn’t seem to mind Sierra’s presence, but Sierra was concerned about hurting her.
“Let me help you,” Cody said. He laid his hand on top of hers and guided her to the straw in the nesting box. Slowly he slid her hand beneath the chicken. Its soft feathers tickled her hand and she waited for the hen to jump up, but she didn’t react at all.
Cody left his hand above hers as she moved around, and a few moments later, she felt the smooth eggshell. Curling her fingers around it, she slowly extracted her hand from beneath the hen.
Cody tightened his fingers around hers for a long moment, then let her go. She missed his touch, but instead of reaching for him again, she slid the egg into the carton.
“You should check again. There are often several eggs in one nest box.”
When she slid her hand beneath the hen again, she found two more eggs. She removed them one at a time and placed them in the carton.
The other broody hen had one egg in her nest. She’d found ten in all.
She stared at the almost-full carton of eggs, mesmerized at the sight of them lined up in two rows. She’d never given much thought to where her eggs came from. Searching the nests, wiggling her hand beneath the hens to find the hidden treasures, had been eye-opening. Amazing.
“Ten eggs,” she said, staring at them. “That was really cool. Even picking up the dirty ones was a kick.”
“That’s what soap is for,” he said, taking the carton. “I’ll put this in the barn refrigerator.”
He returned a few moments later, and Sierra asked, “Do Laila and Jason sell their eggs? Ten in one day is a lot for two people to eat.”
“Good question,” he said. “Yeah, they sell the extras in town. The hardware store owner has a cooler in the back of his store. He sells eggs from the surrounding farms and gives the money to the farmers. A lot of people in the town buy their eggs from the hardware store.”
“Sounds like it works for everyone,” she said, remembering the bakery where her parents had bought eggs when she was a kid. Her mom always said they were much better than the ones from the grocery store.
As Cody lowered the door behind the nest boxes and slipped the padlock through the hasp, a flash of white flew into the fence below them. Startled, Sierra jumped back, then looked down to see that Maurice had attacked the fence.
Cody shook his head. “That bird is an idiot. He charges the fence every time someone collects the eggs.”
