Page 24 of Burke (The Haven #2)

T he pattern held like that for the next couple days, with evening discussions about the two whiteboards, as Shirley quickly organized all the different projects and all the different buildings, including the addition of a machine shop.

Yet it was just a start. She needed to get out her laptop and start a new project spreadsheet to do it properly.

She had project management software that would organize the details beautifully.

The whiteboards were for the men, but they couldn’t begin to handle the full scope of the integrated jobs.

As soon as Timber had seen that, he just groaned. “This will be insane.”

“Of course it’s insane,” she agreed, with a knowing cackle. “All good things take work.” He glared at her, and she just laughed. “And I know I’m the one who’ll keep pushing and organizing this, but I’m not trying to be a pain in the butt.”

“Yes, you are,” he declared, and then he laughed. “But you did deliver on the cinnamon buns.”

“It’s brownies today,” she muttered absentmindedly. The men stopped, looked at her, and she shrugged. “I just thought maybe you guys could use a break from cinnamon buns.”

But when they continued to stare at her, she started to laugh. “Maybe I was wrong about that. Maybe there is no break needed in any way, shape, or form from cinnamon buns,” she stated, starting to giggle.

Burke was absolutely loving how well she had fit into the place and how everyone was accepting and open to having her here. And she had very quickly made herself useful with the animals, but very much so when it came to organizing the charts—and to baking cinnamon buns.

She also carried a notepad that she was constantly making notes on.

When Burke asked her about it, she explained, “The two whiteboards are really just a start. Honestly, we would need quite a few more to do it right, so I’m trying to avoid that expense.

I’m using my software for the bulk of the information and then the whiteboards are for the summaries as a visual for the men. ”

“And all those notes you are taking?”

“So… I’m constantly keeping notes on the side, rewriting things. Plus, I’ve got separate spreadsheets for each one of these individual buildings,” she added. “It’s really a matter of prioritizing the jobs. So that’s what I’m doing.”

He just stared at her. “That sounds absolutely fabulous.”

“That’s good,” she said, “because I’m not sure everybody else feels that way.”

He smiled and added, “Doesn’t matter, this is the job.”

“I know,” she agreed, “and it’s also partly why this job isn’t something I really want to do longterm because not everybody appreciates being told what to do.”

“Of course they don’t,” he said, with a smile, “but that doesn’t matter, at least not here, because everybody knows what you’re trying to do is keep Timber organized so his dream project, this Haven, comes to life.”

“And he was doing a great job with getting his thoughts down on the recorder,” she shared.

“Honestly, with the amount of work, with the various projects and all the stuff that had to happen so fast, that is where the problem came in. Without being able to track and to keep things in some sort of alignment and on schedule, it just all went to hell.”

“That is exactly what happened,” Burke admitted. “Seems three dozen or more men showed up initially, and then a handful or more showed up, and another bunch stayed, with some leaving and others coming back,” Burke recapped, with a laugh. “At which point I showed up.”

She smiled. “As long as everybody is helping, it’s huge. Things are getting done, and that’s really where the bottom line is.”

“Things are getting done,” he agreed, with a nod, “and we’re all very happy to give Timber a hand.”

When a weird howl split the air, everybody froze.

Timber got up, walked over to the side of the front porch, and stared out into the evening.

They had resumed their positions outside for another lively discussion on the work and what needed to be done, what had been done, what she could move off the whiteboard list, and what else got added on.

As soon as one job got finished, it seemed to create twenty-seven more.

As soon as those got dealt with, there were always more to take their place.

Burke walked over to join Timber and stared out into the darkness. “Any idea what that was?” he asked Timber.

“It was a wildcat,” he replied calmly.

“Not Billy Bob?”

“No, Billy Bob’s not here right now, so I’m not exactly sure what it was.”

“But you don’t like it?”

He turned and stared at him. “No, I don’t like it at all.” Then he rejoined the men gathered around.

The discussion returned to work and to the issues people were having on various aspects of their tasks, but they had changed in tenor, and the conversation rapidly wound down.

When Timber got up and casually moved over to the side of the front porch again, everybody stopped and waited.

One of the men asked, “Is it safe to head to our bunks?”

“Give it a few minutes, will you?” Timber suggested.

The men just stayed where they were, but Shirley asked, “You guys all seem to be okay with whatever is going on out there. Could somebody fill me in?” Her voice was low and hesitant.

Toby looked at her intently. “That was a sign of distress,” he explained. “When it comes to animals here, that is not something we ignore.”

“Of course not. The horses are all in the barn, and I’m not sure what animal that would have been,” she said, looking at them curiously.

“That’s one of the things that makes this place special, since it could be any number of different things,” Toby replied. “But, if Timber says it’s a bobcat, mountain lion, wildcat, or something along that line, you can pretty well expect him to be right.”

Even as they watched, Timber walked down the front steps and out to the edge of the fencing, where he stayed for a long moment.

When he slowly made his way back, he looked over at the men.

“Something out there is injured and needs help,” he shared, “but it’ll take a bit for that animal to get comfortable enough to come in. ”

“Of course,” she muttered, frowning.

Timber added, “Which means everybody needs to be on high alert and to stay close, you hear me? Don’t head out on your own at any point in time over the next day or so.”

She just looked at him but didn’t say anything.

Burke nodded and replied, “Will do, and, if you need a hand, let me know.”

Timber frowned, looking around, “Yeah, I might.… I’m not sure.” Then he stopped and added, “Did we make allowances for any rooms for wild animals?”

“Only in the treatment centers,” Toby replied.

“We may have to do some rough field medicine,” one of the men suggested to them. “Though we’re not sure what’s even going on yet.”

“Were traps ever used on this land?” Burke asked.

“I hope not,” Timber snapped, as he swore, “but that’s something that needs to be noted, so we can ask Andy about it.”

“I’ve got that marked down,” Shirley noted, “and I sure hope the answer is no.”

“You’ll find that, for most places around here, it’ll be a yes,” Toby replied, with a nod. “And that really could be what we’re looking at now.”

With that, Timber walked a little closer to the area in question, staring out into the darkness.

Burke found it unnerving. Yet he was reassured because his friend appeared not disinterested, but not bothered by it either.

Simply cautious. When Burke heard a weird low hum, he realized it was coming from Timber himself.

As he listened, he could sense an almost soothing tone to it. He edged closer and closer to Timber.

When Timber heard howling, he stopped humming and asked, “Burke, you want to come give me a hand?”

The two men followed the wails and found a large mountain cat. A trap was clamped on its leg, hampering the big cat’s ability to walk. It was otherwise free but could hardly walk with the trap on him.

“Good God, we’ll need some tools for this,” Burke muttered.

“I’m trying to figure out what would be best.”

Burke looked at it for a moment. “I’ve got an idea.” Then he quickly headed to the woodshop and came back almost immediately with pliers, two pry bars, and a couple other tools he thought might be necessary.

Timber took one look and nodded. “That should do it.” As they both stepped closer to the big cat, Timber added, “We’ll need to keep our energy very calm, very stable, very relaxed. You can’t move suddenly or challenge him by looking at him too much.”

Understanding exactly what Timber was saying, Burke just nodded, then replied, “If you can work on the trap, I can work on releasing the paw.”

“Good enough,” Timber replied.

And it wasn’t easy by any means, but, using these tools, Timber managed to pry open the trap, and very quickly Burke had the big cat’s paw free. The mountain cat stared at him, the paw dripping with blood. Burke frowned. “That will need treatment.”

That’s when Shirley appeared behind him. “I’ve got a dose of antibiotics here and some medical tape and gauze and antibiotic powder,” she explained.

“Good,” Burke replied, then turned to Timber. “What are the chances of her putting on a bandage?”

“We won’t force the cat to stay, but he’s lying right here, not attempting to run, so let’s try this.” When she stepped up closer, Timber told Burke, “Use the pry bars to keep that paw just where it is.”

*

Shirley moved as slow as anybody had ever seen and gradually knelt beside the big cat, giving him time to adjust to her presence.

Mustering a great faith in wildlife, she then sprinkled the antiseptic powder all over the paw.

She struggled to wrap it and was afraid that the bandage wouldn’t seal very nicely.

Timber watched and whispered, “He’s not fighting you. In my experience,… once they realize you’re helping, they’re willing to let you, as long as you don’t do anything to upset the apple cart.”

“We do need to give him the shot of antibiotics though,” she reminded Timber, holding out the syringe.

“Let me try.” Timber managed to inject the antibiotic into the large cat, surprising them all.

The cat howled and hissed but stayed exactly where it was.

She quickly checked the bandage once more, and then, with a word from Timber, they both stepped back ever-so-slightly.

The large cat eyed Timber, who remained close by.

The big cat flexed its paw a time or two, then slowly stood up and raced several steps away.

There, it stopped and looked back at him.

“He’s walking at least,” Burke noted.

“Yes, but why is he stopping and looking at us?” she asked in confusion.

Timber explained, “He’s just making sure we’re still here, that everything is okay.”

And, with that, the large cat quickly disappeared into the darkness.

Timber grabbed the trap with a growl. “Gotta ask Andy how many more of these we need to disarm and toss.”

She let out a shaky breath. “Any chance the wildcat will come back and let us change his bandage?”

Timber laughed. “Not a hope,” he declared, with a smile. “Chances are, depending on how well you put it on, it’ll stay there until he can chew it off.”

“He shouldn’t be able to do that for a little bit,” she noted, “at least long enough for it to heal.”

“He may have it off within seconds, depending on how much it’s bothering him,” Timber shared. “But we’ve done what we can do, and right now that’s literally all there is to be done.” With that he let out a sigh, looked at the two of them, and nodded. “Thanks for the help.”

She smiled at him. “No thanks necessary. Opportunities like that are what you’re doing this for, right? How do you manage to keep injectable antibiotics on hand?”

He looked over at her and smiled. “Tiffany, my girlfriend. She is our local vet and keeps us stocked up on supplies. I’ve also had some field training as a medic, so it’s all well recorded and legit.”

She patted him on the back and muttered, “Good job.”

He laughed and asked, “Why do I get the good job pat on the back?”

“Choosing a veterinarian for a girlfriend,” Burke quipped.

“Oh, shush,” she teased, with a smile, turning back to Timber. “Because, without your calm energy, we would never have been able to approach that cat,” she explained. “It’s only because of you that we could help him.”

“Let’s hope we don’t need to do it anymore.”

“I think he’ll be fine,” she shared, as she looked into the darkness, where he’d disappeared. “Hopefully, if he needs more help, he’ll know to come back. The fact that he let us help amazes me.”

“Not just that he knew to come in the first place,” Burke clarified, “but that he was willing.”

“Exactly,” she stated, with a smile. And, with that, she looked at Burke and Timber. “I really am grateful that you’re letting me stay here. It’s given me a completely new viewpoint on life, one that was sorely needed.”

He smiled at her. “Hey, as long as you keep making cinnamon buns, you’re gold here.”

She laughed. “So the brownies will pass muster too maybe?”

He shrugged. “Maybe. It all depends on how good they are.”

“Oh, they’re great,” she stated, a grin on her face. “But you can always tell me about it tomorrow.”