Archie hurried off, with Gordon running behind him.
“I wish I could bottle his energy,” Harvey said as he sat back slightly in his chair. As if to bring them back to their topic of the weather, the windows flashed and a low rumble vibrated the entire house.
Mark pulled out his phone to check the radar and gulped down the last of his dinner.
“That came out of nowhere,” Clay said as he pushed back his chair. “Is everything battened down?”
“I need to check the goat houses,” Mark said, and hurried out the back door and across the yard as the sky lit up once more. He hurried as the wind picked up, blowing dry grass and a few old leaves around his feet. He found the first herd of goats in the shelter. Mark counted them and spread some additional hay for them and made sure they had water before closing the door. Then he ran to the second field. The goats were inside, and he counted quickly, realizing one was missing. He made sure there was food and water and shut the door before heading out to find his wayward goat.
The sky streaked with lightning, and thunder split the air. He checked the perimeter of the field and finally found his missing girl curled up against one of the posts. “Shit,” he swore out loud, realizing she was in labor. He didn’t dare leave her and only hoped she wouldn’t bite him, but what the hell. He scooped her into his arms and hurried back toward the small enclosure separate from the others, getting inside just as the sky opened up.
His arm covered in fluid, he set her down carefully and backed away. Rain pelted the roof as he checked that there was some hay for her. A bucket sat on one of the shelves, and he set it outside in the deluge, the bucket filling in a few minutes. When he turned to check on the birth, he found a kid with its mother, being cleaned as it nursed. Apparently he’d gotten her here just in time.
The rain continued, but mama and baby seemed okay, so he closed the door, leaving them alone and trudged in the downpour back to the back door of the house.
“Where were you?” Dell asked.
“Saving a mama and baby from being washed away. They’re both fine and in the birthing shed.” Mark wiped the water from his eyes. “But as you can tell, I’m a bit of a mess.” Still, he was glad he was there and able to get the mama to shelter before she gave birth. “As soon as the rain lets up, I’m going to get home and cleaned up and dry. I’ll see you all in the morning.” He didn’t dare set foot inside. Mark’s shoes squished and his shirt stuck to his skin. All he wanted was to get dry and rest for a while. He was going to need to be up early in order to check on all the animals, make sure there was no damage, and get the milking finished. Work on a farm was never done.
Chapter Two
“Where are you going?” Jacob Keller asked, blocking Isaac’s path out of the small home he’d grown up in along with his sisters, Hannah and Ruth. His father never asked anything in a normal voice. It was always as though he were in the Army barking an order. Like anyone in their community would actually disobey him, or even think of standing up to him.
“To work,” Isaac answered softly. “I got a job working with the goats on a local farm.”
“And they’ll pay you?” he asked incredulously.
“Yes,” Isaac answered. It was his father who had insisted that he go out and find some work somewhere to bring in some more money for the family. “I need to go or I’ll be late.” He took his wide-brimmed hat and the pail his mother had packed for his dinner and left the small central room of the house, going outside into the warm summer air.
Instantly the world seemed to brighten a little. He spent all his life on the family farm or working on the other farms in their community. There was very little time spent away from the community unless his mother sent him to town. Then he’d walk the three miles to get there, buy what she needed, and walk three miles back. It would probably surprise most people to know that he looked forward to those walks, at least when the weather was good. It gave him a chance to think and to breathe, away from the rigid expectations of his father.
Isaac turned in the direction of town and walked along the country road surrounded by fields of corn. The farmhouse came into view, and he crossed the road and walked down the drive.
“Isaac?” a man asked as he strode closer.
“Yes,” he answered quietly, as he’d been taught.
“I’m Mark West.” He held out his hand, and Isaac took it and shook it briefly before pulling his hand back. “I run the goat operation for Clay and Dell.”
“Isaac. Mr. Kartwell hired me yesterday and asked me to be here at four.” He hoped he hadn’t taken too much time getting here. The only clock he had to go by was back at the house, and Isaac hoped he’d judged the time well. At their farm, they operated by the sun more than by arbitrary hours. Still, he knew that others were different and that the rest of the world didn’t run the way things did at home. That was part of the reason he had hoped to get a job away from the community. Isaac wanted to know something of the outside world.
“You’re a little early,” Mark said with a smile. “Come on and I’ll show you our operation and explain what we need.” He motioned across the yard, and Isaac followed him to one of the fields. “We have two herds that we keep separated to prevent the fields from being overgrazed, with a milking shed between them. What we need you to do is help with the milking and care of the goats.”
“No problem,” Isaac answered a little nervously. “I took care of the community’s goats until last year when that job fell to another member.”
“Have you used milkers?” Mark asked, and Isaac held up his hands. “We have automated milkers that allow us to do ten goats at a time. Come on, I’ll show you how they work. It isn’t hard, and the principle is the same.”
Isaac watched Mark intently the first time and then performed the task with the milking cups. It worked well, and Isaac moved to the next goat in her station, attached the milker, and went down the line.
“Where does the milk go?” Isaac asked, following the tubes with his eyes.
“To the room with a refrigerated tank right over there. Dell and Clay will then use it to make the cheese they sell. The whey is used a lot in the kitchen, and we pour it as fertilizer for the garden. The farm up the street also uses it to feed to their chickens, which is really good for them, and they give us eggs in return. Nothing goes to waste,” Mark explained, and Isaac thought things here were a lot like they were at home. Nothing ever went to waste there, from clothes that were passed from family to family, to the fruits and vegetables in their gardens. Even their water was reused to water plants.
Isaac nodded and returned his attention to the task at hand. Once the first group of goats was milked, Mark walked him through the process of bringing in the next set and Isaac went through the milking process all over again. Other than the machines, he knew the process well and went about his task.
“If you have any questions, just call. I’ll be nearby,” Mark said, and Isaac couldn’t help lifting his gaze to watch Mark leave. He knew he shouldn’t, and his father would be furious if he could have read the thoughts that raced through Isaac’s mind at that moment. Isaac was about to lower his gaze when Mark turned and caught him. Isaac immediately went back to his work and refused to look up again until he knew Mark was gone.