With those chores done, Lenore really was ready to focus the rest of her day on building a solar power system, and she couldn’t believe that she might have water by the end of the day as well.
She warned herself not to get too far ahead of the game. Just because Mitch showed up with a water barrel didn’t mean it would be full that day. Still, having three thousand gallons of water at her fingertips felt like striking gold, and a fresh wave of gratitude overwhelmed Lenore at the generosity of Brandon’s friends.
She had just put her plastic bottles in the recycling bin when she heard the crunching of tires come up the lane.
Three trucks, one right after the other—as if they’d planned to meet somewhere off-site and arrive as a unit—came toward the house. Henry drove one of the trucks with Finn Ackerman in the passenger seat, and Lenore waved at them as if they were old friends and she hadn’t just met them a few days ago.
Henry parked next to her truck, and Conrad, who came next, parked next to him. Finally, Colt rumbled onto the ranch andtook his spot way down on the end, leaving the front of the cabin open for the food.
“Good morning,” Henry called as he got out of the truck. “I hope we’re not too early.”
“Not for me,” Lenore said.
Henry chuckled. “Probably for Brandon, though.”
“He’s building the water tower,” Lenore said, moving forward to shake the man’s hand. “I guess Mitch is bringing that water barrel a little bit later.”
“Oh, sure,” Conrad said. “What time is that happening?”
“I think Brandon said ten,” Lenore said.
“Great,” Conrad said. “I’ll call David and let him know.”
Lenore watched him tap out something on his phone and lift it to his ear. He turned his back on the group and sauntered away a couple of steps.
“Who’s David?” she asked, her eyes landing on Colt.
He shook her hand too and said, “He drives the water truck.”
“The water truck?” Lenore asked.
Colt grinned. “Yeah. What’s the point of having a water barrel if you don’t have any water?”
Finn grinned at her too, but it faded quickly when he realized she did not have a smile on her face.
“He doesn’t have to fill up my water barrel,” Lenore said.
“Three thousand gallons is seven hundred and fifty dollars,” Finn said. “And that’s Conrad Walker.” He raised his eyebrows as if asking her if she knew who Conrad Walker was.
Yeah, she knew.
The familiar frustration and stubbornness came forward and rooted itself in the front of her mind. “I just feel like I’m taking advantage of him.”
“Well,hedoesn’t feel like that,” Henry said. “And this is what we do. I can’t afford to fill your water barrel, so I’m here to help.”
“Conrad’s here too,” Lenore said.
“Yeah, because he wants to learn how to do solar,” Finn said. “So he’s going to see it through to the end.”
Lenore studied his face. “What does that mean?”
“All right,” Conrad said, interrupting them. “Water will be here at four-thirty.”
She pinned him with a glare. “Conrad, you do not have to buy everything for my homestead.”
“I know that,” he said easily. “But you should have heard my wife. When I told her about our meeting on Thursday, she said if I didn’t make sure you had water before I left today, I might as well not even come home.” He chuckled. “She can’t evenimagineliving without water.”
Lenore could—because she had, for a long time—and a slip of humiliation and foolishness moved through her. “Well, thank you,” she said. “And I appreciate you all coming to help.”
