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Cricket leaned forward and took his face in her hands, kissed him on the mouth.
“What was that for?” he asked once she’d sat back again.
“Just because. Also I needed a second to think about what to say next.”
“Think away,” he teased, and dug his fingertips into her backside.
“Well I can’t when you’re doing that!” she told him, and they both laughed. “Hmm, lemme see. I came up here because land is pretty cheap and I thought I might be able to have a one-room cabin on a little homestead. Just a few acres with some chickens and goats. Maybe some sheep and a cow. It would be smaller than my grandparents’ place and it’s been a while so I’d have to learn how to do things up here, but I figured I could have a greenhouse and do some canning and freezing and have a root cellar to keep me through the winter. I hadn’t worked out all the details and maybe I never will because it seems pretty overwhelming. But I’d like to try. Especially now that I’m feeling better.”
It had been impossible to imagine being able to have a farm in real life when she’d been so tired and worn out all the time, but now she realized her Daddy had not only given her better sleep and better health, but he’d given her hope too. That was priceless.
“I can’t guarantee that you’ll be able to have a farm if we go out to Enclave,” her Daddy told her. “But I can promise I’ll try to make that happen.”
“That’s good enough for me, Daddy. Thank you.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
After he’d put Cricket down for her nap, he had a phone call to make.
“What’s up, doc?”
Taj was a man with a lot on his plate, and Owen wasn’t exactly flush with time so he dove right in.
“Since you and I started talking about the possibility of me moving out there, circumstances have changed and I wanted to see if the offer still stood. No hard feelings either way, I just need to make plans for what’s next.”
Owen wasn’t sure what he’d do if Taj said no thanks to Cricket’s farm or to Cricket herself. He’d cross that bridge when he came to it but damn he hoped there was something there instead of just a wide flow of rapids.
“Being prepared isn’t just for Boy Scouts,” the big man agreed. “What’s going on?”
“I met a woman.”
“I know that story. Did she shoot you?”
Owen laughed because that’s how Taj had met his wife. Jolene had been squatting in the boss’s remote cabin and took offense to him asking nicely for her to leave. Owen liked Jojo a lot but he’d leave handling that spitfire to the former Navy SEAL. “No. She’s not really the guns and ammo type, which is part of why I’m calling. You might know her, actually. She was an infrequent flyer at Covert. Cricket? Curvy redhead?”
“Yeah, I remember her. Only saw her a couple times, and she was with some guy I didn’t know. Total knockout. That your girl?”
“Yeah,” Owen confirmed, liking a whole lot having Cricket called his girl. And selfishly glad things hadn’t worked out with that other guy—who clearly wasn’t very bright if he’d let Cricket get away.
“Well if what I saw at Covert is any indication she’ll fit right in here. You worried about something?”
“I wasn’t a package deal before and now I am. You know I’m not going to be able to pull my own weight in terms of hunting and building and all that—”
“For all the times you’ve flown out and taken care of injuries or consulted with Gwen when she was treating people, for coming to see Jojo and Sabby as soon as the weather would allow, and for having been on call for nervous first time parents 24/7, you could sit on the beach all day and I wouldn’t complain.”
Owen huffed. “I appreciate that. And you know I’ve got no intention of loafing around. I like to keep busy, and I’m looking forward to doing some hunting and fishing and maybe some trapping. I’m happy to help out with other projects where I can but I’ve got other responsibilities.”
“Don’t we all.”
This was going great so far but he was getting to the point where the rubber was going to meet the road.
“But that was the deal when it was just me, not with a Little girl in tow. I know Jojo and the other girls help out a lot but Cricket’s not a tromping through the woods kinda girl. She’s more than willing to work, but she’s got her heart set on farming. I don’t know how you feel about having chickens and goats and whatnot out there. She wants a greenhouse too to eat fresh in the growing season and then can, freeze, and store the rest. She grew up on a farm but hasn’t worked one in a long time so it’d be a steep learning curve and she’d need help.”
There was a beat of silence, and Owen braced himself. It wouldn’t be so bad to stay in Anchorage for a while or be out on Enclave less than he’d hoped or buy some land for just the two of them. But with the work it would take to get even a small farm off the ground and how often he had to be flying out to remote communities he’d really been hoping—
“Are you kidding me? Get that woman out here now. I’ve got an island full of fucking Gastons. How many chickens can she raise at once?”
The vise around his ribs loosened. That was the biggest hurdle, but there was still one more. “I don’t know, and I’m not sure Cricket does either. We’ll have to do some research and planning.”
