The Garden

The place looked pretty badly run down, at first glance. A closer look made the fairly nervous group of seven men, a woman and two teens realize that the fire-trap appearance was mostly cosmetic...it was all facing, placed there on purpose by a builder for some reason. This realization had them exchanging spooked glances, because why the hell would someone pay somebody to do that?

"They want us to move our shift's operations here?" Chet asked nervously. "Why?"

"Dunno, but the shop has already inspected the offered facilities and moved both the squad and the Beast." His captain answered, his tone dubious. Two different bays and driveways. Report said it was a nice set up, if misleading in some ways."

They took a closer look at the rest of their surroundings, which had green, lush plantings all over the place, scattered, full bird baths and feeders could be seen along with a large number of songbirds...something you could not do in this part of California without ample irrigation. As they stepped onto a gravel path, they took note of a sign suggesting people to stay on it if they wished to remain dry; although, it completely disclaimed responsibility for wind carried spray, which was reasonable, really.

This area was gorgeous...apparently, braving that ramshackle front carried a reward in beauty. It was in this area they passed the engine's drive and it's bay, the door standing open to the garden and the clear mountain air. A bit further and the other drive was found, this bay holding a new, larger, upgraded squad and it's door also open. A hundred feet past the squad, the side yard began sloping downhill and steps led down to a sidewalk that disappeared around the back corner of the house. Handrails were thoughtfully placed for whoever wished to use them, on both sides of the steps.

"Well, evidently it's not as bad as we figured." Marco stated in a thoughtful tone. "Misleading and then some I'd say."

The further into the property they moved, the more pretty flowering plants, shrubs and trees became food plantings, fruit and nut trees or berry-bearers, as they turned the back corner, the lush lawn and heavily fruiting orchards gave way to the even rows of a very large vegetable patch.

"That's a lot of food." Mike noted. "Apparently, the offer was made in good faith."

"Explains why she requested Charlie's inclusion."

"How would she know about me, though?"

"Reckon we'll find out." the Captain told them. "And it's not like I mind having an extra paramedic."

"Point!" Roy and John agreed in unison. "We got one of the new squads, too, it looked like one of the five-seater extend cab duelies, which is cool." Roy added."

They heard a distinctive hiss from several directions...sure enough, on this windless day, the sprinklers fell short of the path as the back garden got it's late afternoon wetting, though the chef's eyes were on the rows of heavily fruiting plants being given their drink.

Ahead of them, a young woman was standing on a deeply-shaded patio area well out of the wet. She almost seemed transfixed by their approach. After a moment two things became clear, her eyes were on just two of their paramedics...and were filling with tears. Their captain swore softly, but held the engine crew and Charlie back several paces. Both Roy and John knew that she was anything except calm.

"That would be how she knew, right there." Chet mused. "Between you, Joan and Jane, we're gonna be eatin' really good. My guess is, you're the only one of us she's willing to allow to use her kitchen."

"For very good reason...I'm the one who taught her how to cook." Charlie chuckled. "Did you notice the poultry run? Means a dependable supply of eggs and the freshest of fresh chicken meat. We saw her herds on the way in, too...she's got common goats and both beef and milk cattle, too: Means two basic types of milk, cheese and butter, plus beef."

"Seriously, it's a really good, self-sustaining farm...and that rat-trap front keeps away the curious, I bet." Marco agreed. "But it will be best to let Johnny and me handle butchering, she can manage, but she won't have to now. You city types ain't up to it. And I saw some Merino sheep, too: Wool producers, not meat."

Roy reached her first and she stepped close, running her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly, the others watching him return the embrace. She asked him a question and got a nod, but what shocked them was when John stepped in behind her and what she did next.

She'd trembled in his arms, and though her tears had been clearly in evidence she wasn't sobbing. Johnny's hand shook when he laid it on her shoulder after Roy had had his turn. She slide her arms around his neck and laid a lip-lock on John Gage that stunned almost everyone...except Roy and his wife.

Roy stepped back to the rest of them and chuckled.

"She asked me if I was still married. I said yes. She's staking a claim on John, I believe. No-one has ever loved him like she does...and he knows it."

"She'd have taken you both, you know." His wife told him softly, "If I had ever been stupid enough to turn you loose, she would have."

"I know. However, I'm still very much in love with my wife...plus, it would feel weird, I've been her acting male parent in every way that matters since she was tiny."

"True. Chris and Crystal might as well be her siblings...and I'm sort of her mother, yeah, that wouldn't be less than several layers of really strange."

The rest of them watched as Gage finally understood what was going on and reeled her in, very much willing to be claimed, by all appearances. She wasn't some random broad, after all...and he wouldn't hurt her like that. And after a while, when they paused for air, she told him something, got a decisive nod and launched herself at him again. He settled her down after a few moments and, grinning, gestured the others onto the patio.

"I can't believe even she would put up with Gage...OW!" Kelly felt like a mule had kicked him in the jaw, he'd been punched so hard in the mouth that he'd landed on his backside, skidding for several feet and when he looked up, she was already setting up for another go at him.

"Okay, now...let's not put the idiot on inactive status, honey...go back to Johnny." Roy laughed, pulling her away from Chet before she killed him and giving her to his chuckling partner. "Charlie, check Kelly's jaw, will you? I need to stay between her and Kelly until she calms down. He knows better than to pop off like that and I think she punched him pretty hard. She usually does. When she was little she'd get him where it really hurt."

"I've got her busy, Roy." John had distracted her by nipping her left ear.

"Nothing broken, not even teeth, but yeah, he's going to be sore for a few days." He answered. "On soup, because I think chewing anything would be a bad idea for him for a bit."

"Good thing I saved the freezer-burned corn, he can have really loose mushed corn bread." She told Charlie mulishly.

"That's not nice." Charlie laughed. "Cold-burned corn doesn't taste good as bread or porridge, but I'll use it for soup and it'll be fine."

"It's good enough for that little dweeb. I was gonna use it to make dog bread for him, the stinkin' mutt. You'd think he'd learn to leave my Johnny alone!"

"Jaaane." Roy warned. "That's enough." He met his wife's eyes and she nodded. He had stepped back into parenting mode as though she'd never been gone.

"That's enough from you, too, Kelly." Hank Stanley admonished his fire fighter. "You brought that on yourself. At least it wasn't your wedding tackle this time."

"He gets to do all the mowing on the west side and the front." Jane told Hank. "I only have one mower that he can use and it's a push mower."

"That's fair."

"Aw, man..."

TBC