Chapter 157 Chapter 157

Chapter 157 Chapter 157
Talon’s POV

"Morning, boss," Marcus said, keeping his voice down so it wouldn't carry upstairs. "I just walked the north line. Everything looks clean. A deer tried to jump the lower wire near the creek last night and snapped one of the wooden stays, but the actual fence held up fine."
"Did it knock down the trail camera?" I asked, handing him a mug of plain dark roast.

"Nah, camera's fine," he said, taking a sip. "It caught a clear shot of a twelve-point buck taking a chunk out of Mr. Gable's side of the brush line, then taking off toward the ridge. I'll take the side-by-side out around eight and nail a new stay into the post."
"I'll come down and give you a hand with the tensioner once I finish my coffee," I told him. "We need to clear out those dead branches near the culvert before the grass gets too high to pull the trailer through anyway."
"Sounds like a plan," Marcus nodded, setting his empty mug in the sink. "I'll get the tools staged in the bed of the utility vehicle so we're ready to roll when you come down."

He headed back out the mudroom door, pulling his gloves back on as he went. I picked up the two hot mugs and walked over to the French doors, unlocking the latch and stepping out onto the back deck. The morning air was cool, but it didn't have that sharp bite it had back in April. Down the slope, the greenhouse glass was reflecting the early morning sun, and the raised garden beds we put together last month were already full of green shoots poking up through the dark soil. Over to the side of the main barn, the white door to Kira’s lab was closed tight, the small vent fan hummed quietly on the side wall.

I heard the deck door click open behind me, followed by the sound of socks sliding across the wood boards. A second later, she wrapped her arms around my waist from behind, resting her cheek against my back right between my shoulder blades.
"You're up early," she said, her voice raspy from sleep.
"Wanted to get out here before the sun hit the valley," I said, turning around in her hold so I could hand her a mug. "Marcus was just in, a deer popped a stay on the north fence line last night."

She took the mug, wrapping both hands around the warm ceramic. "Did it mess with the test plots down by the lower field?" she asked.
"Didn't even touch them," I said. "It stayed down by the creek, took a bite out of Mr. Gable's brush line, and headed up the ridge. Marcus and I are going down to fix the post around eight." She took a sip of her coffee and leaned her shoulder against the deck railing, looking out toward the outbuildings. "Good. I took a set of core samples from those lower plots yesterday afternoon, and I need to run the nitrate and pH levels in the lab this morning before we plant the rest of the crops."

"How are the early samples looking?" I asked, leaning against the rail next to her.
"The soil composition is actually getting way better," she said, her eyes lighting up a bit as she talked about her testing. "The organic matter we turned into the soil back in March is finally breaking down. The nitrogen levels in the north plot are right where we want them, but I need to test the acidity near the timber line today. If the pine needles dropped the pH too low, we'll have to spread some lime before we put anything in the ground."

"That explains why you had six different mason jars full of dirt lined up on the lab counter yesterday," I grinned.
"That was just the preliminary screening," she said, bumping her shoulder against mine. "I've got the centrifuge set up in the lab to run the full density breakdown today. It takes a couple hours to filter through the reagents, but it'll give us the exact breakdown of what nutrients we need to add."

"Sounds like a full morning," I said. "Mr. Gable called last night, too. He wants to bring his tractor over on Tuesday to pull out those three big cedar stumps near the property boundary."
"Did he ask about the soil mix for his tomato beds?" she asked, looking up from her coffee.
"Yeah, he wanted to know if your lab tests showed whether his compost pile had too much manure in it," I said.
She laughed softly. "Tell him to bring a half-pint sample over on Tuesday. I'll run it through the spectrometer and give him a full report so he stops worrying about his plants."

"He's going to think you're running a government operation up here," I said.
"It's just basic data analysis," she smiled, stepping closer to put her free hand on my arm. "Soil doesn't lie. You run the numbers, you check the balance, and you know exactly what you're working with." Down by the equipment shed, Marcus fired up the utility vehicle, the quiet hum of the engine echoing off the hill as he drove it around to the side of the tractor bay to load up the fence posts and heavy wire reels. He gave a quick wave as he drove past the deck, and I nodded back.

"Are you going to be in the lab all morning?" I asked her.
"Until about eleven," she said, looking out over the yard. "I'll run the soil tests first, get the data logged into the system, and then I can come down to the lower creek to help you and Marcus clear out that culvert."
"You don't have to haul heavy brush," I said.

"I've been staring at test tubes and spreadsheets for two days," she said, looking up with a firm expression. "I need to get out of the lab for a bit. Besides, if I don't check the soil moisture around that culvert myself, you two will just pack mud all over the drainage line."
"Fair point," I grinned, reaching out to touch her jaw. We finished our coffee on the deck while the sun came up over the tree line, warming up the yard. Kira turned around to head back inside to change into her lab coat and work boots, and I went inside to grab the truck keys and my gloves off the kitchen counter.

Kira's POV

By mid-July, life at Oakridge had settled into a steady, comfortable routine. The constant tension from our past in Manhattan had finally washed out completely, replaced by the simple work of keeping up with the property. Every day started with the sun coming over the ridge and hitting the fields, and ended with the quiet sound of the woods at night.