I text Wesley and walk over to the living room where my dad, Jesse, Ella, and Cody are sitting watchingThe Dukes of Hazzard.
“I’m going to the farm. Wesley’s fixing something,” I announce.
“If he needs a hand, let me know,” Jesse says over his shoulder.
Ella scoffs. “What about my feet?” She’s stretched out with her legs over Jesse’s lap, getting them massaged.
“Never mind,” Jesse tells me, rubbing harder.
“I don’t have feet to rub; you can call me,” Cody adds.
“Right,” I say and spin on my heels.
As I head towards the door, I pass Mason coming out of the bathroom. He’s in his police uniform, heading into work soon.
“You leaving?” he asks.
“Yeah, Wesley’s working on stuff.”
“Oh, okay. Well, don’t distract him.”
“I’m not. I’m a great helper, good moral support.” I get my boots on before I grab the keys to the side-by-side and leave.
Since Wesley’s family farm backs up to our property, it makes sense to take the shortest possible route, which isn’t the road. We own a little over 1000 acres, and we all live on it. All my brothers have their own cabins and there’s the Big House my parents and I live in. My cabin is last on the list to build, given I’m the youngest and all, but it is currently underway. I’m not in a rush; I like living at home. But I think by the time it’s done I’ll be excited to move out and have my own space.
We also have a guest lodge, which is where the clients stay when they come out for a hunt.
Fall is our busiest time of year here at Dakota Flight. I’m not a guide—just Dad, Jesse, and Cody do that. My job is hospitality management. My mom and I are the ones to feed everyone and clean the guest lodge in between each group of hunters. The lodge sleeps up to fifteen people but we rarely have that many at one time. Still, it’s a lot of work to feed everyone. We do a lot of meal prep in the offseason to help us out.
We also tend a pretty big garden over the summer to save on buying food. We can and preserve a lot, and we have chickens for eggs and meat.
The ten-minute ride over to Wesley’s is a path I know by heart. I could travel it with my eyes closed and not hit a single rut. We’ve been friends since we were kids, making this trip to each other’s houses since we were in elementary school.
Once you get to the tree line, you find the creek and follow it for about two miles. Then, you’ll get to a bridge that his dad built for us to cross over the water in a safer fashion. After that, you reach a field. From there, follow the tree line all the way down, and take the beaten path until you get to their cattle barn. Across from that is their stone farmhouse.
Now, if you’re looking for Wesley, nine times out of ten you’ll find him in the green pole barn beside the houses, fixing some piece of farm equipment.
“The cavalry is here,” I announce, walking through the side door of the barn. It smells like grease and sweat.
Wesley pokes his head out from behind the tractor and smiles before stepping out.
His boots are covered in mud, along with his jeans. He grabs the rag from his back pocket to wipe the grease off his hands.
“It’s about time.” He laughs and tosses the rag up on the work bench. “I’ve been waiting for my lighting assistant.”
“Where’s Blake?” I ask, looking around the barn.
“Sierra was having a rough week with the baby. I told him I was good.”
Blake and Sierra moved up here from Georgia to work on the farm. They have a one-year-old boy named Caden. I babysit him often. They’re related to a country singer…well, used to be. Kayce Warren is Blake’s brother-in-law, having married Blake’s sister.
Before Blake, it was just Wesley and his dad, Rob, working the farm. They were long overdue for an extra set of hands.
“Aww, look at you being all generous,” I tease.
“I’m always generous,” Wesley says and then proceeds to pull on something forcefully. He lets out a groan of physical distress.
I set my phone on the work bench before I hop up beside him.
