Micah's Ordeal, page 18
“What?” Jake’s mind was still on the goose they’d just patched up.
“Maybe you can work all the hours of the day, but the rest of us need breaks and food and sleep,” he said in a voice that sounded like he’d practiced it a couple of times.
“Um, yeah. Of course,” Jake said feeling apologetic.
“That goose could have waited a half hour. The foot wasn’t infected. The injury was already a couple days old. It wouldn’t have suffered if it waited for us to grab some food and sit down for a little bit.”
Jake looked at his student, but Truck was intently staring at the clean counter that he kept wiping. “You’re right,” he said realizing the truth of it. “I’ll tell Merrilee that we will close for meals, and she can work the appointments around that.”
Truck looked startled. “You’re okay with it?”
“Yeah.” Jake looked at the clock. It was already after one. “Take a break now, and I’ll see if I can wrap up a couple more things.” He checked the waiting room which was still as full as it had been this morning. He called Merrilee over and told her the plan. “I want a break from eight to nine for breakfast, noon to one for lunch and five to six for dinner. We don’t usually go overnight.”
“I’ll make new signs,” Merrilee promised eagerly. “I like it. Now I won’t have to grab bites in the breakroom whenever I can.”
Jake took on the next few patients alone sending his students to lunch. He realized that he was learning some curious things from them in return. And in the long run it was making his life better, too. It made sense that they all needed breaks, but when it was just for him, he felt guilty. Making new systems for the students was an easier call.
When he finished with the last patient, Merrilee told him it was the switchover, and Sam had the next one. “Your class starts at three.”
And Jake realized he had over an hour of free time. Normally, he’d go wrestle with the paperwork, but that wasn’t his problem anymore. He was feeling at loose ends when Dolly beckoned to him from the door of her office. “Do you need me?” he asked.
“Well, I’m hungry and I thought I might go into town and try out that new place.”
Jake frowned. “Okay. Um, you can take your breaks whenever you want.”
Dolly rolled her eyes. “Jake, I’m inviting you along.”
“Oh.” He glanced down the hall to his office where he felt the dogs waiting. They wanted to go for a run, but he was hungry. “Let me ask Pete to take the dogs out, and I’ll meet you in the garage.” He trotted away before hearing her answer.
His brother was happy to take the dogs out, as he knew he would be. Jake hurried down to the garage. Taking the van into town would get him there faster than the bus and give him all his gear in case of a call-out. He made sure he had his radio. Dolly was waiting by the side of the van, and Jake had a strange tingle go through him at the sight of her.
“Have you ever had pizza?” Dolly asked.
“Never heard of it.” Jake got into the van and drove it out to the street. The snow was bright under a deep blue sky. It was a perfect day for a run, but he much preferred being here with Dolly.
Chapter 45
Micah finished up his report on the incident thinking it was the easiest one yet. Well, aside from the cold and wet and the two dead. Olga wanted to build a boat dock, and Jake had suggested some sort of heavy chain across the river that they could raise in an emergency to catch anything adrift. That made Micah wonder how many animals or people had been helplessly carried by without their knowledge. It gave him a sick shiver to think what or who they might have missed.
It was one thing to watch the roads for trouble, now having the river as another sort of highway was something else altogether. He knew they were going to need a new kind of guard. A sort of navy, with boats and divers. He’d seen pictures of special gear for cold water and underwater work. He needed to get someone to research that. Willow had told him that the new arrivals were fisherman. Maybe they would be interested in setting up some kind of water patrol.
Bear knocked on the door. “Ready for lunch?”
He left his papers and joined her. Regardless of the weather, meetings or other issues, they went home for lunch every day. The dogs were on their feet and out the door a step ahead of them. Micah was down to a cane with a promise from Jane that the cast could come off next week. He had his own car now, which made things easier.
His time around the table with April, Bear and Annalisa was so important. They were his family now. April seemed to change every day. Her personality was showing, and Micah was amazed by it on a regular basis. He could see recognition in her eyes when he greeted her. And her happy smile melted his heart.
“I heard they got the mountain lion,” Bear said as she dished out stew.
“Badly,” Micah grumbled. “But no one other than the cat died.”
“Did they have to do that?” Annalisa asked sadly.
“It was a killer,” Micah said. “It’s one thing if a predator takes a lamb or a goat, but this one was attacking more than a single prey. That means there’s something wrong with it. To kill and eat is natural. To attack lethally and randomly is not. And the fact that it went after me means it wasn’t afraid of people.”
“Oh.”
Micah could see she was disturbed by the death, so he changed the topic. “It looks like we might be getting some fresh fish into town.”
“From where?” Bear asked.
“The new folks are fisherman. Willow’s trying to talk them into setting up nearby. They seem cautious, but I’m sure she’ll win them over.”
“I should interview some of them,” Bear said. “I wonder if they all want to be fishermen.”
“Why not?” Micah asked.
“I heard they were living on an island. That doesn’t give you a whole lot of choice.”
“I suppose,” Micah said thoughtfully. “When I was a kid, I just assumed I’d work in the mill. It was all there was. If you don’t have any choices, you go with what’s in front of you.”
“But now they have choices,” Bear said. “They might want something different.”
Micah agreed to avoid any arguments. Mealtime was golden. He refused to talk about anything upsetting or disrupting. He turned the conversation to April’s latest achievements. Annalisa was very good about keeping them up to date with the day’s stunts.
Going back to work after lunch was hard sometimes, but today he was eager to get at it. Dunny had set up a meeting with some of the new arrivals. Digger and Dawdle seemed like they felt his excitement. They jumped into the back of the car when he opened the door.
Bear was still in the Town Hall and walked the few blocks back to her office. Micah drove over to the arena noting the cleared streets and sidewalks and the number of people out shopping. The town was slowly coming around. By the time he got back to the office, people were already waiting. Micah apologized blaming his limp when it was really the second helping of dessert that had delayed him.
Two grim men and a stern-faced woman sat around the table with him. Dunny brought a carafe of coffee and mugs. Micah introduced himself, but they stoically refused to respond in kind. He nodded to Dunny to pour and took the first full mug. “I’ve asked you here for advice.”
“On what?” one of the men snapped.
“Willow said you were fishermen. I’m assuming you know about boats and all that.”
A few quick glances were exchanged.
“Well, see your arrival made us aware that we aren’t set up for any kind of water rescues. And you aren’t the first. Right after the blizzard, we had a bunch of cattle that we had to pull out of the river. It just seems like this is a warning of more to come. We’re thinking about a dock and probably some boats. Do any of you know how to build that sort of stuff.”
There was a long, stunned moment before anyone spoke. “Are you hiring us?” the woman asked in a neutral tone.
“If you can do the job, yes.”
“And you’d pay us?”
“With tokens, but we can barter if you prefer that,” Micah said.
More looks were passed, but no one spoke.
“There’s no rush,” he said. “You can talk it over. But take a look at the riverbank and see if there’s one place that might be better than another. We’ve got a couple of diggers, so we can clear out a section if need be. And we can order the lumber.”
The woman frowned at him. “Order the lumber,” she repeated slowly as if the words were foreign to her. “Where does it come from?”
“There’s a sawmill out by High Meadow. We can put the order in and get the delivery on the trains.”
“The trains,” she said looking to her companions.
“Trains are running, and they’ve got freight and livestock cars,” Micah said.
“I had bacon and eggs for breakfast,” one of the men said proudly. “And toast. With butter.”
Micah smiled at him. He was older and might remember the world as it had been. “We’re making progress here. First thing we set up was the food supply. Can’t get anywhere on an empty stomach.”
“How long have you been here?” the other man asked.
“Less than a year.”
“How long are you staying?” the woman asked.
The question hit Micah hard. Random thoughts coalesced in his brain in a way they never had before. He almost felt the physical tug of roots going down into the clean earth. This place was important to him. It was a starting point and a landmark and milestone all rolled into one. He felt the belonging of the land and people. “This is my home,” he said with a pang of emotion. “I’ve got a good woman, a baby girl and a house of my own. I’m not going anywhere.”
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Did you love Micah's Ordeal? Then you should read High Barrens by Alice Sabo!
Flint thought that growing up in the dangerous frontier town of Far Enough, with six older brothers, would prepare her for anything…until she met the monster.
She had waited and worked hard for a chance to study at the school for Wizards and Weirdlings, but things went sideways when powerful magic turned her world inside out. Seeing a cruel injustice, Flint had to take a stand to protect the life of a dangerous being.
The carefully planned journey she started out on took an exciting and dangerous detour of monsters and forbidden magic showing her a very different future than she had imagined.
Read more at Alice Sabo’s site.
Also by Alice Sabo
A Changed World
Lethal Seasons
Scattered Seeds
Gleanings
Lessons Learned
Desperate Measures
A Changed World Box Set
Asher Blaine Mysteries
White Lies
Dark Deeds
Blood Relations
Asher Blaine Mysteries Collection
Children of a Changed World
Willow's Run
Circuit Breaker
Willow's Town
Micah's Ordeal
Children of a Changed World Bundle
Interstellar Protectorate of Earth
Station Down
Oleander's Irregulars
Arcane Detective
The Released
Tales of Haroon
High Barrens
Greenvale
Shattered Landing
River Flowing
Obsidian
Tales of Haroon Books 1-3
Transmutation
Facade
Charade
Dilemma
Entangled
Crux
Transmutation Box Set
Standalone
Unintended Consequences
Watch for more at Alice Sabo’s site.
About the Author
Alice Sabo is the author of character driven stories in post-apocalyptic, space opera, fantasy and mystery series. Across genres, her characters deal with trying to make positive choices in difficult and often dangerous situations. Whether seeking lost cultures in an unforgiving galaxy or finding a murderer on the streets of LA, her books have strong world building, multi-layered characters and a satisfying culmination. For more information on upcoming books, series order and extras see her website: https://www.alicesabo.com/
Read more at Alice Sabo’s site.
Alice Sabo, Micah's Ordeal
