He’d been so damn proud when the local mechanic had agreed to let Lawson clean up behind him in exchange for letting him watch the magic of the mechanics in action.
He’d always loved machines and engines.Taking them apart and putting them back together was a better version of the jigsaw puzzles he and Fox had finished.
The memories lifted his mood, and Lawson grinned as he looked around for a dry space to set up the drone.
The gardens and the area where the gang had set up a hockey rink were soggy messes, but there were a few benches set up along the rink’s edge, probably where they’d changed into skates.
Lawson wondered if he’d be here once the snow started to fly.He hoped he could make a go of things.He needed to support the farm and bring in some income as well.Knox figured keeping the farm’s machinery in shape would be a full-time occupation, but Lawson wanted something else.Something more.
He wasn’t an expert in farm machinery, not yet anyway, but he imagined neighbors might appreciate a nearby mechanic
He might even set up a restoration shop in the barn.That would be a dream come true.Local junkyards and fields had to full of old vehicles he could buy.He’d love to spend time bringing cars and trucks back to life, and polishing them until they gleamed.
For now, he opened the box and put the drone together.Because he wasn’t familiar with drones, and it had been months since he’d flown it, he skimmed the manual for the basic commands.
Then, he connected the drone’s camera to the app on his phone, allowing him to watch what the drone saw in real time.
It would be a great way to get an overview of the farm and its layout.Much faster than walking four hundred acres.
Grinning, Lawson sent the drone up, and flew a few laps around Gray’s garden area.
He played with the direction, velocity, and altitude commands until he was sure he had solid control.Then he sent the drone over the farmhouse and into the orchard.
He spotted himself on the bench and then explored the surrounding area.He circled the equipment barn, which would be his domain, and then he sent the drone out of his range of vision.
More trees.So many trees.He zoomed in closer until he could see the buds that should blossom any day now.It would be a pretty sight.
Sending the drone higher, Lawson spotted a larger barn.This was the harvesting barn where they would separate and clean the apples.A large cold room at the back was full of apples they’d harvested last fall.Apparently, they tasted as fresh as the day they’d been picked.
Moving on, Lawson sent the drone to find the next building.The task would be more difficult once the blossoms were out.
It took him a few seconds to recognize the Worminator, where his brother and Thea were indeed working.When they looked up at the drone, he waggled it from side to side in greeting.Sure enough, Knox waved back.
Lawson realized he was grinning like a fool.His previous sour mood lifted away with the drone.This was going to be fun.
He zipped the drone upward again to search for the pond next.And then the cider cabin.
Then he’d bring the drone back.By then, he’d be ready to check out his barn.
Maybe he wasn’t a dumbass after all.
Arms full of plant pots, Dani Richards twirled in the spring air as she made her fourth trip out to her field.Vermont was warming up nicely, and her bees would be happy.They weren’t the only ones.
Dani loved the various seasons in Vermont.In the winter, she spent more time in her metal art workshop, which she loved, but there was nothing like spring.Nothing like the joy and hope of rising temperatures and sunshine.
Not even the mud could get her down.She wore rubber boots and a dress that reminded her of her great-grandmother.Frannie B had been the most interesting and encouraging person during Dani’s youth.
The older woman had been bold and sassy.She defied the expectations of prim and proper, especially in an era that hadn’t encouraged women to be brave.Frannie B was from an age when women hadn’t hyphenated their own names after marriage.She’d done it, anyway.She’d built a cosmetic business from nothing, and had taken great pleasure in shocking the establishment with her goals and gumption.
It took Dani years to believe she had enough gumption to set her own goals.Some days, she still wasn’t sure she had enough.
But thanks to Frannie B, Dani had her own home, businesses, and joys, far from her family’s rigid expectations.She had no desire to be the vapid, dutiful daughter who married to support the family business.
A shudder ran through her despite the sun and encouraging warmth of the day.She wrapped Frannie B’s sweater around her.The cozy wool showed its age, but Dani hoped it would last many more years.She’d bought similar warm and chunky sweaters, but there was nothing like wrapping herself up in an original from Frannie B.
Dani tramped through her backyard and into the fields and forests beyond.Back in New York, her fifty acres would cost millions, and be clogged with people and pollution.
Dani preferred sharing the forest and the quiet joy of Vermont with her dog and bees.
