Birdsong and Sunrise

She pulled the barn door open slowly, hoping not to wake the sleeping house behind her, and froze in place as the hinges let out a loud creak.

“I’ll have to find the oil for those tomorrow,” she said to herself, leaving the door ajar just enough to slip back out after her work was done. A sliver of silver moonlight illuminated a small path in front of her, and she could see herself, silhouetted on the barn floor. As she lifted her head, she froze once again, surprised by the light coming from the backroom where she was headed. She wondered who she would find as she made her way past the stalls filled with the early harvest.

She thought everyone would have been sleeping after a long day in the orchards. She should have been sleeping too, but after an hour of tossing and turning, she decided to make use of her wakefulness and start trying to determine what was plaguing this year’s harvest from the South fields.

She’d brought enough basic tools and books from her lab that she was semi-confident she could find the name of the disease. She believed it was a fungus of some kind, remembering images from her professor’s slides years ago that showed similar markings. And, she just needed to get the samples she took from the fields that day under a microscope.

She felt a sense of urgency to figure out what was ailing those trees, if not to bring them back to health, at least to contain their illness and minimize the damage to the harvest, and Ben’s family farm. But, as these things often do, whether carried on wind or on wing, the spread was likely and would occur quickly. They’d likely have to treat the entire property.

Lucy was grateful, in that moment, for her morning walks of the grounds with her team and for one of Ben’s interns that first alerted Lucy to the branches with curled leaves and coloring just slightly off from the rest of the field.

Thank God for students that pay attention to detail she thought to herself. Just the week before, that same tree had been healthy. So, she wanted to get this figured out quickly and treat what needed treating.

Lucy opened the door to the workroom and froze, for a third time. This time, though, her breath caught in the back of her throat and a rush of blood flooded her body from her toes to the top of her head. Somewhere, deep in her gut, she felt a stir, as adrenaline coursed through her veins. She breathed out slowly, willing her heart to follow suit.

She watched him for a moment, admiring the sharp angles and lean beauty caught in the methodical movement of arms flexing and releasing from a rafter. A runner’s body, she thought, and smiled to herself, stopping short of laughing. She didn’t want to startle him, after all.

She cleared her throat instead, “It’s a bit late for exercise, isn’t it?”

He looked over, eyes wide, and paused mid pull-up. She wasn’t sure if the flush rising in his cheeks was from surprise at seeing her, exercise, or something else.

“Yes, I guess it is,” He dropped from the rafter gracefully. “I couldn’t sleep. Thought I’d come out and try to fix Sky’s saddle. I noticed it needed a little love when we were out riding today.” He grabbed his heather gray t-shirt from the workbench and wiped the sweat from his brow before slipping it over his head. “I figured maybe I’d oil that barn door too,” he smiled, “I heard you come in.”

“Well, I’m glad I didn’t scare you, then.” She walked past him, heading toward her bags.

“No. You know I don’t scare easily,” he teased, “I’m just trying to use my time before I head back.” He picked up the saddle and hung it next to the others on the stable wall and began gathering up the tools scattered on the table, “The saddle’s fixed. but, it was still early. So,” he paused, pointing to the rafter, “I thought I’d take advantage of the best home gym money can buy.”

“Some people tell me that spending the summer in the city has made me soft. It’s all fancy treadmills and beachfront body builders,” He said, deepening his voice for what she took as an impersonation of either his brother or his father, “That’s according to him, though,” He trailed off, looking thoughtful.

“I’ve heard stories,” Lucy laughed,” You going for a run after this, I suppose. Take advantage of the forest trails?”

He smiled, white teeth shining, “Maybe. He says I’ve lost my legs too. He’s full of it, though. Just tryin’ to rile me up. I might go out for a quick mile or two, now that you mention it. Care to join me?” He looked at her, eyebrows lifted in anticipation.

“I’ll think about it. It’s been a long time since I’ve laced up my trainers, you know. “Lucy paused, studying him for a moment. Trying to discern the thoughts behind the lifted brows and bright eyes. “But, maybe…”

“I’ve got to figure out what’s going on with the trees in the South fields before anything else. I know your dad is worried.” She began laying out her own tools and materials where he had just gathered his own. “I want to get a head start on setting the samples so I can get a good look at them tomorrow. Whatever it is that’s eating those trees still has a few days unfettered before we’ll be able to get things under control. Josh has everyone working to check for spread. I’m not trying to slow thing down.”

“Thanks for doing that,” he said, more serious now, “For coming out. I know it’s a bit of a hike for you to come in from campus. Dad asked for you specifically, knowing you’re a big shot at the U now, and everything.” He stowed his bag away with the saddles and walked back to the table where Lucy had set up her own mini lab. “So, tell me what you’ll do with the samples you pulled. I mean, I get the basic science behind it. But…” he trailed off, waiting for her response.

“Well, I have a few ideas of what it could be, based on the tree leaves. I think it’s fungal. But, there are a few things that look off to me. I want to make sure it isn’t a parasite, or even a beetle.” She laid the samples each in their own stainless steel dish and began pointing out observations about their appearance and what a healthy plant should look like. He listened intently, and went about the barn finishing small tasks.

After she finished her set-up, they closed up the barn, the door closing quietly this time, having now been oiled. Lucy felt calm and exhilarated by the light reflecting off the lake and the cool air. She took a deep breath, deciding, “About that run…”

He turned to her, with that wide white smile, bright eyes, and lifted brows, “I thought you’d never ask!”