Page 35 of Kevin's Destiny

“Yes, the only thing we ask is that if you go to town and have extra cash, please pick up more jars. It’s better to have too many, than not enough. This pantry will be run on the honor system.”

“How so?”

“If you take a jar of vegetables, then when you’re done with the jar, wash it, and return it. With both the ring and lid.” She walked over and took an empty jar from the shelf and showed her how to flip the lid.

“When I see it like this, then I know it’s been used.”

“Can you reuse the lid?”

“Yes, you don’t have to worry about that, I will handle it.” She walked over to the other side and pointed to two gleaming stainless-steel doors, with several shelves between them. “These two are also on the honor system. The one on the left is the freezer, the one on the right is the cooler. If you want to pick up extra things during your grocery haul, you can store them in here, there are totes on those shelves, just slap you name onthem and use them.” She opened the door and Yvonne stepped inside to see what she meant.

“Oh, wow, I like this idea.”

“Good, now this is basically used for everyone for extra storage, if it’s in someone else’s tote, ask them if you can take some of whatever. The freezer is an entirely different entity.”

“How so?”

They walked over to the freezer, and when the door opened, Yvonne was shocked by all the white wrapped packages. She picked one up, read it, then set it down.

“I don’t understand.”

“Erin has cows along with the horses, but not a lot, no more than fifty. She sells them, then she also takes a few to the butcher to fill this freezer. Anyone is welcome to whatever is in here, we only ask that you donate.” They stepped out of the freezer, and Lois pointed to a coffee can on one of the shelves, along with a notebook. “You don’t have to mark down what you pay, that too is on the honor system. Erin uses that money to pay for the butchering and processing fee.” Lois looked at the two of them and grinned. “That’s for the beef.”

“What about the chicken?” Kevin asked, because he had seen several of them in the freezer.

“That money goes to Pru, she has layers and meat chickens.” At their scowls, she grinned. “Layers, they lay eggs, meat chickens, they are specifically bred for their meat. Again, any donations left in the can with chickens all over it goes to Pru for the processing.”

“What about the eggs?” Yvonne asked. “Kevin brought some over and we shared them for breakfast.”

“Same thing, Pru gives them away, and any donations go toward their feed.”

“So, basically, though New Double is a different entity from Erin’s Way, and Broken Wheel, we are all under one entity?”

“One big happy family,” Kevin said with a grin, and everyone laughed at his analogy of the way things were laid out. They stepped outside, and Yvonne pointed to a building close to the house.

“What’s that?”

“The summer kitchen,” Lois said. “That’s where I make the horse cookies, and where I’ll be doing the canning.” They walked over and Yvonne was impressed by the setup. They left ten minutes later, leaving Lois to do what she had come for, and climbed back into the golf cart. Kevin drove past the main entrance, and out to the road. He turned back and stopped as they admired the sign that had gone up the day before.

He looked at her and smirked. “I know you know this, but I wanted you to get a feel for what people see when they arrive here at New Double. I’m not talking about the workers, I’m talking about the people coming to see the horses in order to purchase them.”

“Got it,” Yvonne said as she looked around, then waved for him to move forward. As they rounded a slight curve, he stopped and pointed.

“What?”

“That’s our office,” he said as he pulled before a log cabin the same size as the one she had moved into the day before. She hadn’t even realized it was there.

“What? I didn’t see it.”

“That’s the way Clark, Erin’s brother, had it designed. He wanted it to blend into the surroundings so that if someone wandered in off the streets, and didn’t belong, then we would see them before they saw us.”

“Wow, it worked.” They exited the cart, and when they went up onto the covered porch, he pulled out a set of keys, unlocked the door, and had her enter before him. He watched her face as she entered, and smiled at her shocked expression.

“It’s like walking into my cabin.”

“Correct, but the kitchen is on the smaller scale, while the living room area, if that’s what you want to call it, I refer to it as the reception area, is larger, but it’s functional. Down the hall where the bedrooms are in our cabins, these are two offices, with a bathroom in the hall, not in the bedroom.” He nodded and she walked down the hall.

Inside of one office, Kevin went to the desk, opened the drawer, and withdrew a key ring, which he brought back and handed to her. “This is your key to the front door. I lock it after I leave for the night.” He took her across the hall and pointed to her desk. “In the center drawer is a set of keys to the filing cabinets in here, along with keys to your desk.” He stood back and let her explore everything, and when she looked up suddenly, he only quirked a brow at him.