I’ve got Racer, my own company, and the great outdoors to satisfy my needs.
And speaking of which, there’s a tree nearby that I need to locate before lunch andKaleb down to sizeas they say around here.
“Racer! Come!” I call out, Racer bounding over toward me as soon as I make my command. “Good boy.”
I ruffle Racer’s black fur and the pair of us walk deeper into the woodland as it curves around the edge of the river. Ryan Trask has given me the coordinates for the tree that needs to be felled and a photo too. Although to be quite honest, he probably could have just told me where it was, and I would have found it.
I’ve covered every square inch of this wonderful woodland so finding a dying tree ain’t going to be that much of a challenge for me. In fact, I think I have another two trees that have come to the end of their time near here so will see if I can set to work on prepping them to be felled too.
That’s if this storm doesn’t come on too quickly.
“What do you think, Racer?” I ask, glancing up at the sky once more and seeing that the crystal clear blue is rather quickly being replaced by a cloudier outlook. “One bark forstorm. Two barks forwho cares!”
Racer barks twice and I laugh.
The dog knows me too well. Come rain or shine, I love my work.
“And here we are…” I say, approaching the tree in question and casting my eye over it, taking in the fact that it looks like it could in fact be saved. “Hmmm. I think Trask might have got this one a bit wrong.”
I take my phone out and check for signal.
One bar. Not great, but it will do…
Kaleb: At tree location now. Sick, but not terminal. This one doesn’t need to come down.
I don’t have to wait long for a reply either. Almost as soon as I hit send, Trask replies…
Trask: Okay, I trust you Kaleb. But let me guess, while this one might not be right, you know of some that do need the Kaleb Ruhst treatment? And I’m not talking about boys either…
Right. Trask’s trying to be a funny guy again. Hell, I don’t know how many times I need to tell him. I’m not looking for a boy, a Little, or a damned relationship. Trask might like hitting the big city and partying in Daddy & Little clubs, but that just isn’t me. I tried a night club once back in my twenties and seriously it was the worst damn night of my life.
Awfulmusic.
Terribledrinks.
Andwaytoo many boys who just couldn’t stop talking and squawking the whole time. Nope. I’ll stick to my day to day routine thank you.
But seriously, Trask is a decent guy. And he’s probably as close as I’d get to having a friend too. Well, if you don’t include Racer that is.
I put my phone away and walk a little further on into the woodland. Deeper. Darker. The kind of place that for me is a walk in the park—literally—but for someone inexperienced could be quite dangerous.
“And here it is,” I say, putting my hands on my hips and looking at the rather sizeable branch that seems like it’s one strong gust from snapping. “What do you say, Racer… shall we take it down?”
Racer wags his tail and shoots off into the undergrowth.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” I chuckle.
And with that, I set my heavy backpack down on the ground and take out equipment. This branch is thick enough for something electric, but it’s also already partially broken and weak at the joint too.
“I’ll count this as my workout for the day…” I mutter, selecting my heavy saw and carefully placing it on the ground as I take off my grey t-shirt.
Judging by the clouds, I’ve got a couple of hours before I’ll need to get the hell out of here so there’s no time to waste.
It’s time to Kaleb. Or, to put it more accurately,saw.
But you know what I mean…
“Oh yeah, come to Daddy,” I chuckle as the sight of a piping hot bowl of lentil soup and the thickest of thick crusts beckons.