October 7, 2023 – 3:05 PM
The bell above the door jingled as Helen and Lin stepped into Grayson's Hardware & Supply.
The familiar scent of lumber, machine oil, fresh-cut rope, and fertilizer filled the air.
Every inch of the old building seemed packed.
Rows of nails.
Power tools.
Fence posts.
Chains.
Water pumps.
Shelves stacked to the ceiling with everything a farmer could possibly need.
Behind the register, Tom Grayson looked up from a clipboard.
His weathered face broke into a grin.
"Doctor Zhang!"
Helen smiled.
"Afternoon, Tom."
His eyes shifted to Lin.
"Back again?"
Lin laughed.
"Don't sound so surprised."
Tom folded his arms.
"You cleaned out half my inventory last month."
"I'm trying."
He pointed toward the back of the store.
"You almost succeeded."
Helen chuckled.
"Richard needs fencing staples."
Tom nodded.
"Already put four boxes aside."
He disappeared into the stockroom.
Lin wandered slowly through the aisles while waiting.
She stopped beside the camping section.
Portable propane stoves.
Cast iron cookware.
Axes.
Water filters.
Solar lanterns.
Her eyes lingered on the shelves.
Still plenty.
For now.
A forklift beeped somewhere in the warehouse.
Someone rolled a pallet jack across the concrete floor.
Then she heard a familiar voice.
"I figured you'd be here eventually."
Lin turned.
Adam Walker stood near the plumbing aisle, pushing a flat cart piled surprisingly high.
Much higher than anyone would expect from a normal shopping trip.
Fifty-pound bags of livestock salt.
Heavy-duty tarps.
PVC pipe.
Water tanks.
Hand tools.
Boxes of bolts.
A manual grain grinder.
Several coils of steel cable.
Three rolls of welded fencing.
He caught her looking.
Then looked at his own cart.
He smiled sheepishly.
"Looks worse when someone else sees it."
Lin glanced at the overflowing cart.
"Big project?"
"Always."
He nodded toward her.
"You?"
She gestured toward several boxes of fencing staples waiting near the register.
"Apparently my father believes fences reproduce."
Adam laughed.
"Mine too."
Tom returned carrying four heavy boxes.
He dropped them onto the counter with a solid thud.
"Richard wasn't kidding."
He looked toward Adam.
"Still waiting?"
Adam nodded.
"Special order."
Tom checked the office window.
"Truck should be here any minute."
Lin raised an eyebrow.
"Special order?"
Adam rubbed the back of his neck.
"Nothing exciting."
Tom snorted loudly.
"That's one way to describe it."
Adam gave him a look.
Tom ignored it completely.
"Biggest non-commercial order I've had all year."
Adam sighed.
"Tom..."
"What?"
Tom shrugged.
"I'm complimenting you."
The front door opened.
A delivery driver wheeled in two large pallets wrapped in plastic.
Tom immediately walked over.
"Right on time."
He checked the invoice.
Then whistled.
"Everything's here."
Lin couldn't help looking.
The labels were impossible to miss.
Freeze-dried food.
Water purification tablets.
Hand-operated well pumps.
Pressure canners.
Heavy-duty shelving.
Large fuel containers.
Even several hand-crank radios.
Enough supplies to stock a small emergency warehouse.
Tom signed the paperwork.
The delivery driver left.
For a moment...
Nobody spoke.
Finally, Lin looked toward Adam.
"...That's quite a camping trip."
Adam grinned.
"I don't like running out of things."
"Neither do I."
Their eyes met for a second.
Neither asked the obvious question.
Instea, Adam nodded toward another stack sitting behind the counter.
"Looks like you've got a special order too."
Lin followed his gaze.
Tom was dragging out several sealed boxes.
Industrial water filters.
Replacement pump parts.
Heavy-duty batteries.
Solar charge controllers.
Helen looked between the two younger people.
Then toward Tom.
Then back again.
Tom scratched his beard.
"You know."
He looked at both overflowing orders.
"I'm starting to think I attract a certain type of customer."
Adam chuckled.
"Prepared?"
Tom nodded.
"Prepared."
He looked toward Lin.
Then Adam.
"Most folks buy one flashlight."
He pointed at Adam's pallet.
"You bought twenty-four."
Then toward Lin's order.
"She bought thirty-six."
Lin smiled innocently.
"Bulk discount."
Adam immediately added,
"Can't argue with math."
Tom narrowed his eyes.
"Uh-huh."
He wasn't convinced.
Not even a little.
But after forty years in retail, he'd learned something important.
Customers volunteered information.
Or they didn't.
His job was to ring up the sale.
Not pry.
He slapped the invoice onto the counter.
"Well..."
He looked between them.
"Whatever you two are building. I'd sure like to see it when you're done."
Lin and Adam answered at exactly the same time.
"It's nothing special."
The synchronized response hung in the air.
Tom slowly looked from one to the other.
Then burst out laughing.
"Well, if that isn't the most suspicious thing I've heard all week."
Even Helen started laughing.
Adam rubbed the back of his neck.
Lin pinched the bridge of her nose.
Neither of them realized they'd answered in perfect unison.
October 7, 2023 – 3:40 PM
Tom was still chuckling as he finished scanning the last barcode.
"That'll do it."
Adam reached for his wallet.
Lin did the same.
Tom looked back and forth between them.
Then grinned.
"Now here's the real entertainment."
Helen raised an eyebrow.
"Tom."
Too late.
Tom pointed toward the loading dock.
"Whoever gets their truck backed in first gets loaded first."
Adam looked at Lin.
Lin looked back.
Neither moved.
Tom laughed.
"Well?"
Adam smiled.
"Ladies first."
Lin shook her head.
"Your order weighs twice as much as mine."
"Exactly why you should go first."
Tom folded his arms.
"You're both being entirely too polite."
Helen smiled.
"It's refreshing."
Tom muttered,
"It's suspicious."
Everyone laughed.
Outside, the afternoon sun hung low enough to cast long shadows across the parking lot.
Lin backed her pickup toward the loading dock with practiced confidence.
Adam watched for a moment.
"Nice parking."
She shut off the engine.
"I've had practice."
"Backing trailers?"
"Construction sites."
He nodded.
"Same difference."
Tom and one of his employees began loading Lin's supplies.
Industrial water filters.
Pump components.
Replacement batteries.
Heavy-duty extension cables.
Solar charge controllers.
Everything was carefully stacked and strapped down.
Adam leaned against his own truck while waiting.
A battered one-ton diesel with mud still clinging to the wheel wells.
Definitely a work truck.
Lin glanced toward it.
The bed was already half full.
Chainsaws.
Fence posts.
Fuel cans.
Several toolboxes.
A portable welder.
Tom walked past carrying another box.
He shook his head.
"Every time I think Adam can't fit another thing in that truck..."
He pointed.
"he proves me wrong."
Adam smiled.
"Years of experience."
Lin looked over.
"Looks like you rebuild half your farm yourself."
"Most of it."
He shrugged.
"Can't always afford to hire people."
Lin understood that.
She'd spent the last month learning exactly how expensive contractors could be.
Tom secured the final ratchet strap.
"There."
He slapped the side of the truck.
"Good to go."
Lin thanked him.
As she signed the receipt, another freight truck rolled into the parking lot.
Tom frowned.
"I wasn't expecting another delivery."
The driver climbed down holding a clipboard.
"Special delivery for Walker Farms."
Adam looked confused.
"That's tomorrow."
The driver shook his head.
"Dispatch bumped it up."
He opened the trailer doors.
Inside sat several enormous plastic tanks.
Along with pallets stacked shoulder-high with blue food-grade barrels.
Lin immediately recognized them.
Fifty-five-gallon storage drums.
The kind commonly used for emergency water storage.
Tom scratched his beard.
"Adam."
Adam sighed.
"I know how it looks."
Tom crossed his arms.
"Looks like you're preparing for Noah's flood."
Adam laughed.
"No..."
He pointed toward his fields.
"Drought insurance."
That wasn't entirely unreasonable.
Water storage for livestock wasn't uncommon.
Tom nodded slowly.
"Makes sense."
Lin silently agreed.
A perfectly believable explanation.
Adam caught her eye.
There was the faintest hint of amusement.
Almost as if he knew exactly what she had been thinking.
He lowered his voice.
"People sleep better when they're prepared."
Lin answered just as quietly.
"Depends what they're preparing for."
Their eyes met.
For just a second.
Then Adam smiled.
"Fair point."
Tom interrupted before either of them could say another word.
"Walker!"
He pointed toward the pallets.
"You planning to unload all that yourself?"
Adam looked at the towering stack.
"Unfortunately."
Without thinking, Lin spoke.
"Need another pair of hands?"
Adam looked genuinely surprised.
"You don't have to."
She shrugged.
"I've been unloading trucks for six weeks."
Tom laughed.
"She's not kidding."
Helen checked her watch.
"I've still got one house call at four-thirty."
She smiled at Lin.
"If you want to help for a little while, I'll meet you back at the farm."
Lin nodded.
"Sounds good."
Adam smiled.
"I'd appreciate it."
Tom rubbed his hands together.
"Excellent."
He looked entirely too pleased with himself.
"Nothing builds community like moving several thousand pounds of supplies."
Helen laughed.
"Only you would call manual labor community building."
Tom grinned.
"Works every time."
A forklift rumbled to life inside the warehouse as the first pallet rolled toward Adam's truck.
Neither he nor Lin noticed Mrs. Porter slowly walking past the storefront across the street.
She paused.
Adjusted her glasses.
Saw the two of them loading supplies together.
A knowing smile spread across her face.
Then she continued walking.
She didn't stop.
She didn't wave.
She simply headed toward the café.
Information in hand.
And Maple Creek's fastest news network had just gone back online.