decent company, too.”
Before he could act, she started to casually date one of the neighboring ranchers. Every time he saw them together, it gnawed at him. Idiot , y ou messed up. She seems to be happier than any time since she moved here. That could be me enjoying her company. Not to wish him any bad luck, but I hope this doesn’t work out. Becky was right, not many like her, and I missed a chance to get to know her better.
That friendship ended on a bad note and he didn’t waste any time in following his friend’s advice. Where the neighbor tried to impress her with money, of which he had plenty, John was just himself. They went for long rides over the ranch, often at night when the moon was full. She depended on him for companionship and guidance in ranch matters, though she was quickly catching on to the business. By mutual consent, they drifted into a trusting professional relationship and a warm, easy friendship.
He often took her to dinner in Searcy or Conway and occasionally to Little Rock. Dinners at home were their most relaxing, enjoyable times together. She thoroughly enjoyed her renovated kitchen and proved to be an excellent cook. He grilled steaks, chicken and fish as his contribution. Once he prepared an entire Cajun meal. The spicy hot gumbo, red beans and rice, and boiled crayfish were new to her palate, however she managed to go back for seconds and thirds.
She returned from one of her trips to California to be greeted by a meal of quail, creamed potatoes & gravy, hot biscuits and green beans. A steaming apple pie fresh from the oven completed the meal in grand fashion.
Chapter Nine
“John, why don’t we dig out the spring and create a stone pool with stone benches on either side? It is such a pretty little area anyway, so shady and cool. I think it would make a nice picnic spot. We would use native stone to blend with the bluff and be as unobtrusive as possible. I have an idea of what I want it to look like. I’ll let you look at the plans to see what you think.”
Pleased with her line of thought, John replied, “Believe it or not, I’ve often thought of that myself. That would be a great idea. Get your plans and let’s decide what and how to do it. It is a pretty spot. With the right stone work it can really nice.”
They looked at her sketches and some pictures in magazines to determine the best approach. Some of his ideas were incorporated as well to come up with a plan for a pool about three feet deep, eight feet wide and twelve feet long with a “U” shaped stone patio about ten feet wide tied into the bluff.
They rented a small backhoe and dug into the job. All went well until they were about two feet down. Suddenly the machine stopped as if it had hit solid rock. They wrestled with the problem for several minutes with no results. John got a piece of rebar out of the truck and probed into the mud in a back and forth pattern.
“There seems to be a line of rock right about here. Dig along this line and let’s see just what is down there. Just dig down to the rock, don’t try to move any of it. I have an idea, but I want to see first.”
Jenny skillfully dug along the line he indicated. Soon she had a line of rock exposed. John probed along the inside to a depth of almost six feet without hitting any solid bottom. Outside the rock, a solid stop was hit at about three feet. More probing outlined an oblong about ten feet by six feet tied into the bluff.
“Want to guess what we have here?” he asked. “I’ve heard of these things, but I’ve never seen one. There are supposedly quite a few of them scattered about if one knows where to look.”
“I have no idea, unless it is some type of building.” She paused a minute, and then exclaimed, “This is an old spring someone fixed up years ago! They did what we are trying to do now. Can we clean it out and use it again?”
“It depends on how sound the rock work is. Drainage will be a problem until we can
Before he could act, she started to casually date one of the neighboring ranchers. Every time he saw them together, it gnawed at him. Idiot , y ou messed up. She seems to be happier than any time since she moved here. That could be me enjoying her company. Not to wish him any bad luck, but I hope this doesn’t work out. Becky was right, not many like her, and I missed a chance to get to know her better.
That friendship ended on a bad note and he didn’t waste any time in following his friend’s advice. Where the neighbor tried to impress her with money, of which he had plenty, John was just himself. They went for long rides over the ranch, often at night when the moon was full. She depended on him for companionship and guidance in ranch matters, though she was quickly catching on to the business. By mutual consent, they drifted into a trusting professional relationship and a warm, easy friendship.
He often took her to dinner in Searcy or Conway and occasionally to Little Rock. Dinners at home were their most relaxing, enjoyable times together. She thoroughly enjoyed her renovated kitchen and proved to be an excellent cook. He grilled steaks, chicken and fish as his contribution. Once he prepared an entire Cajun meal. The spicy hot gumbo, red beans and rice, and boiled crayfish were new to her palate, however she managed to go back for seconds and thirds.
She returned from one of her trips to California to be greeted by a meal of quail, creamed potatoes & gravy, hot biscuits and green beans. A steaming apple pie fresh from the oven completed the meal in grand fashion.
Chapter Nine
“John, why don’t we dig out the spring and create a stone pool with stone benches on either side? It is such a pretty little area anyway, so shady and cool. I think it would make a nice picnic spot. We would use native stone to blend with the bluff and be as unobtrusive as possible. I have an idea of what I want it to look like. I’ll let you look at the plans to see what you think.”
Pleased with her line of thought, John replied, “Believe it or not, I’ve often thought of that myself. That would be a great idea. Get your plans and let’s decide what and how to do it. It is a pretty spot. With the right stone work it can really nice.”
They looked at her sketches and some pictures in magazines to determine the best approach. Some of his ideas were incorporated as well to come up with a plan for a pool about three feet deep, eight feet wide and twelve feet long with a “U” shaped stone patio about ten feet wide tied into the bluff.
They rented a small backhoe and dug into the job. All went well until they were about two feet down. Suddenly the machine stopped as if it had hit solid rock. They wrestled with the problem for several minutes with no results. John got a piece of rebar out of the truck and probed into the mud in a back and forth pattern.
“There seems to be a line of rock right about here. Dig along this line and let’s see just what is down there. Just dig down to the rock, don’t try to move any of it. I have an idea, but I want to see first.”
Jenny skillfully dug along the line he indicated. Soon she had a line of rock exposed. John probed along the inside to a depth of almost six feet without hitting any solid bottom. Outside the rock, a solid stop was hit at about three feet. More probing outlined an oblong about ten feet by six feet tied into the bluff.
“Want to guess what we have here?” he asked. “I’ve heard of these things, but I’ve never seen one. There are supposedly quite a few of them scattered about if one knows where to look.”
“I have no idea, unless it is some type of building.” She paused a minute, and then exclaimed, “This is an old spring someone fixed up years ago! They did what we are trying to do now. Can we clean it out and use it again?”
“It depends on how sound the rock work is. Drainage will be a problem until we can
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