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He thought maybe they were building something that would last a lifetime. He hoped so.
“We just wanted to stop in and say hi. We’re headed back over to the little house.”
“You can eat here if you want to,” Priscilla offered.
“I think the kids are probably over there, and we should get back and let Nelda have a break. The poor lady.”
“Yeah. Poor lady, doing exactly what she loves to do. You’ve made her day.” Caleb walked back over to the table and sat down. There wasn’t too much that got between him and his food.
“You know, you could make her day, and get married and have some children of your own,” Ezra said.
“I guess when God drops a woman into my lap like he dropped one into yours, I’ll let you know. Also, by the way, there was no suspicious activity around the ranch today, just in case you were wondering.”
“I do appreciate you keeping an eye out for that. Thanks. We got a PFA in place, although he’s out of jail.”
“We’ll continue to keep an eye out for things, listen for the dogs barking. You know, maybe you’d want to take one over to your house.”
“I guess we could. How do you feel about that? Anyone allergic?” He looked down at Alaska, who seemed to appreciate the fact that he was standing beside her. He knew his family could be a little overwhelming, with all of the people and the noise and the way conversations went back and forth from subject to subject.
He had been told that by his friends at times, although most of them grew to love being included in all the hubbub.
“No. Not that I know of. And I think the kids would really love it.”
“Want to take Barney? He is a good one.”
Barney was some kind of mix they’d picked up along the road about a decade before. They had no idea how old he was when they got him, but he’d been a good dog, loyal and protective, and patient. With the children, that might be the key.
At the sound of his name, Barney padded into the kitchen.
“I guess he wants to go,” Ezra said, looking at the dog who had stopped beside him and looked up with soulful eyes. “Is Barney okay with you?” He needed to remember that it wasn’t just him anymore. Of course, it had always been his siblings and him, but now he needed to make sure that he checked with his wife before he made any serious decisions.
“Sure. That’s fine. He looks like a real sweetheart. Has he ever been around children?” Alaska asked, as she knelt to pet Barney. He allowed it, and put his nose on her cheek.
It seemed to charm her, because she smiled and gave him a hug.
“Yeah. He was around mine, and they love him.” Priscilla sounded a little sad. Of course.
No one else said anything, and the room was quiet for a bit.
Ezra figured Alaska probably wondered what was going on, and he thought that maybe he’d have to tell her a little bit about Priscilla’s background, and her nasty divorce. But, maybe not today.
It might be something that Priscilla would want to tell herself.
They moved through the kitchen, going out the back door, and down the steps.
“We probably ought to make some kind of driveway that stops at our house, so we don’t have to walk through the farmhouse to get to ours.” Ezra spoke as he mentally put that on his list. When they bought the place, it hadn’t been a big deal, but now that it was going to be his private residence, he figured Alaska would want a little privacy from his family.
“I can’t believe there wasn’t one.”
“There might have been at one time. I’m sure the original farmhouse was where the kids grew up, and then probably someone wanted to get married, or else the parents wanted to retire. Whatever it was, someone moved out of the big farmhouse into the little one, and I’m guessing they had their own driveway and all of that. But, as years went by, whoever bought it didn’t use the little house. For whatever reason. And it just grew over. But, I think there may be a fence or two that we’ll have to move if we want to get enough room so that we can turn around comfortably.”
“I don’t want to be a major imposition. I... I’m fine with it the way it is.”
“You might be fine, but you deserve to have a little bit of privacy, and you certainly deserve your own driveway. Don’t worry about putting people out. That’s what life is about. You do things for others, and that means that you can’t do something for yourself, and that’s okay. That’s life. And, as Christians, we want to do that. We shouldn’t want to spend all of our free time on ourselves.”
“You’ve said that before, but you’re right. I just... I’m not used to it. Where I come from, everybody is pretty much out for themselves. It’s unusual to find anyone who will do something for you without payment, or some kind of compensation. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours, so to speak.”
“Yeah. That’s kind of the way people want to be, but Jesus teaches us something completely different. It’s a harder thing to do, but it’s much more rewarding.”
