26. Galen

Chapter 26

Galen

F riday morning was hot again, but Galen's team operated in tandem with each other, digging the last of the knapweed, stuffing the knapweed in black plastic bags, then spraying the area with soap and vinegar. All while taking breaks to drink cold water or iced tea from the cooler, then getting back to it. He couldn't be more proud.

It was after lunch, when Galen was going over the remaining work for the afternoon, and how fun it would be to tell them to quit work early so they could go to John Henton's Tavern for their two-week celebration, complete with new refurb phones, cold beer, and a arousing thank you from Leland Tate himself.

Except, just as they were about to head out to the path up to the ridge, Gabe caught up with them.

"Hey," he said. "You got a minute?"

"Sure," said Galen, gesturing to his team that they should stop and see what Gabe wanted. "What do you need?"

"What's up, boss?" asked Toby, then he elbowed Owen, as if to make sure Owen saw how funny he was.

"I've got good news and bad news," said Gabe, but he was smiling, so Galen knew that the bad news wasn't very bad.

"What's up?" asked Galen.

"Well, Leland can't make it to the tavern tonight," said Gabe. "Evidently it's a special occasion for him and Jamie, so he's busy. Says he can make it tomorrow, if that's okay with you and your team."

"Sure." Galen looked at Toby, Owen, and Bede, each in turn, and he could tell that they didn't quite remember that he'd told them about the outing, but then he'd told them on their first day in the valley, so it was understandable. "That okay with you guys? For our outing to be tomorrow?"

They nodded, so Galen turned his attention back to Gabe.

"Here's the fun part," said Gabe, tipping his cowboy hat to the back of his head with a smile. "There's a bunch of canoes in Cheyenne that need picking up,"said Galen. "And after you pick ‘em up and bring ‘em back here, I imagine they'd need testing. Who here knows how to operate a canoe?"

Oddly, Owen raised his hand, and then Galen raised his.

"We can take care of that for you, Gabe," said Galen, and the afternoon suddenly seemed a whole lot more fun.

"I'll text you the address and invoice," said Gabe. "And I'll let Leland know you're good for tomorrow."

As Gabe walked in the direction of the paddock, Galen turned to his team.

"I say we put our tools away and get going."

There was a race to see who could get to the tool shed first, and then a race to the truck.

"Shotgun," shouted Bede, running as fast as he could, looking like he was tempted to trip up Toby, who was close behind him. Owen, with his long legs, was right behind Toby, and last came Galen. Who didn't have to race to the truck because he already had a front seat.

"Starbucks again this time?" asked Toby, panting as he got into the back seat of the truck.

"Pup cups for everybody," said Galen, grinning as he started the engine.

Galen hummed as he drove, his hands loose on the truck's steering wheel as they headed down the blacktop road to the highway that took them into the small but still bustling metropolis of Cheyenne. And all the while, Bede smiled as he looked at Galen out of the corner of his eyes.

The sporting goods store was in the southeast part of Cheyenne, in a strip mall that had a Starbucks. So after they went into the store to get the four flat bottom hulled canoes, one blue, one yellow, one green, and one red, and strapped them into the back of the pickup truck, they traipsed over to the Starbucks. There to mill around considering the many options, getting in the way of regular customers, creating a little party all their own.

After a short absence, Toby came up with a little paper cup in his hand. In the cup was a pile of whipped cream. He proudly announced that he'd lied that he had a dog in the truck, and they'd given him an honest to God pup cup.

"Is it real whipped cream?" asked Galen. Toby grinned and swiped a taste, and announced proudly that it was.

Back in the valley, Galen pulled the silver truck into the shade of the pine trees that loomed over the gravel parking lot.

"I say we unload the canoes, grab our suits, and try them out. Sound good, team?"

Every man on his team gave a shout of affirmation, and happiness welled up inside of him. Everything was working, going his way, and it was a moment he wanted to mark, somehow, so he wouldn't forget how good it felt.