Jaden nodded. “I would love my own room. Even if it is tiny.”

  Rolly grinned. “It will be ready for painting after lunch. You guys can move in tonight.”

  “I think we’ll go home tonight and move in tomorrow.” He raised his head. “Unless we need extra security. We can stay tonight if you need me.”

  Rolly waved his hand. “Tomorrow is good. I’m just happy to see you guys here.”

  “I’m glad we’re here too,” Bill replied. “I’ve got my truck full of boxes of canned goods. Can I grab someone to help unload it?”

  “Steve needs a break. He’ll help.” He turned to Jaden. “Allison asked me to tell you that she has a special job for you today if you want to help. She should be back soon. She went to the house for supplies.”

  Jaden nodded. “Should I fill some nail aprons until she is ready?”

  “Nah,” Rolly said. “I think she’s working on medicine today. Better not be getting your hands all dirty before you do that. Now let’s go down so we can finish these bedrooms up here.”

  Allison met Jaden at the bottom of the step.

  “Good morning,” she said. “I’ve got to make some medicine today and I thought you might be interested.”

  “Yes!” Jaden replied. “I want to watch.”

  “Well, I was hoping that you’d want to learn - not just watch.”

  “Yes, please.”

  Allison grinned. “Well come on. Today we are making a lavender tincture.”

  “What’s a tincture?”

  “Come on, you’ll learn all you need to know.”

  They left the barn and entered the house through the back door. Jaden smelled the herbs as soon as she stepped in.

  “I have all my herbs growing in my front windows, but I’m going to have to move them to the barn before winter comes. I don’t plan on heating the house.”

  She led Jaden to the living room. Wire racks placed in front of the south facing windows held dozens of pots. A slight breeze blew through the open windows creating a heady scent that immediately calmed Jaden.

  “Whoa!” She walked to the middle of the living room and stared at the plants. “This is amazing! Are all of these herbs?”

  “They are,” Allison said. “Today we are going to be harvesting lavender.”

  “Which ones are lavender?” Jaden asked.

  Allison pointed to a large pot sitting in the window on the east side. Tall spikes topped with purple flowers filled the pot.

  Another large pot below it looked similar without the flowers.

  “Is that lavender also?” Jaden asked.

  “And here is an important herbal lesson,” Allison said. “I want you to touch the herb on the top. Just gently rub the plant. Then smell your fingers.”

  Jaden did.

  “Now, using your other hand, gently rub the other plant and smell.”

  Jaden smiled after smelling her left hand. “I love that smell. What is it?”

  “The first one you sniffed was lavender. The one that you loved was rosemary. They look similar but are very different and have totally different uses.”

  “So, if we are going to be harvesting lavender, what kind of uses will that tincture have?”

  “Lavender has antiviral and antibacterial properties. It’s great to use to help speed the healing time for scrapes and insect bites. I also add it to my homemade fly spray because it is an excellent insect deterrent.

  It is also an anti-inflammatory which means it can help reduce swelling. As an antiseptic, it helps discourage the growth of microorganisms. And it is best known to help with calming. Many people use it to help them sleep.”

  “I haven’t been sleeping very good. Would this help me?”

  “Most likely. Before we are done here, I’ll help you make a sleep pillow.”

  Jaden nodded. “Okay, now the big question. What is a tincture?”

  “We make a tincture by combining our herb with alcohol. We can use any alcohol but I like to use either vodka or a strong grain alcohol.”

  “That means you have to be twenty-one in order to use your tincture? Because kids don’t drink alcohol.”

  Allison laughed. “When our tincture is done, the dosage is only a half teaspoon for someone your size. It’s perfectly safe. You won’t get drunk off that. The dose for someone James’s size would be about a full teaspoon.”

  “Okay. So, tell me what to do.” Jaden ran her finger over the lavender plant again and brought the scent to her nose.

  “The first thing we do is cut the flowers.” She opened a drawer and pulled out small shears. She handed them to Jaden. “Just cut the flowers off. I’ve got a plate here. Just keep cutting until I tell you we have enough.” She set the plate next to the plant. “You’ll learn how much to cut. It’s not rocket science.”

  While Jaden snipped the flowers, Allison set up a pint mason jar with a plastic lid.

  “Alright, Jaden. That’s plenty. We are going to put our flower pieces in this mason jar. But, in order to make sure we get a good strong tincture, we’re going to cut up the flowers a bit. That exposes more of the surface to release juices. Just snip the pieces into the jar. We want the jar to be about 3/4 full of the herb we are using.”

  Jaden held the jar up. “Is this about 3/4 full?”

  “It’s perfect. Now we add the alcohol. I’ve got a 90 proof vodka here. We want to fill the jar above the herbs. The herbs need to be below the liquid. We use a plastic lid because we don’t want a metal lid to corrode. If we didn’t have a plastic lid, we could put a baggie or plastic wrap under the lid before screwing it on.

  “Then we shake it and make sure the herb is covered and then put it in a cool, dark place. Several times a week, I will shake it and check to make sure the liquid is still above the herb. Herbs exposed to air can introduce bacteria and mold.

  “In about six or seven weeks, our tincture will be done,” she continued.

  Allison reached into the drawer and pulled out a pen and a pad of paper. “I will write today’s date and the ingredients - which is just lavender and 90 proof vodka. It will sit in the cabinet for six or seven weeks except for the times that I bring it out to shake it.”

  “So why do you shake it?”

  “We shake it to help release the oils of the herb. We also use this time to check to make sure the liquid is still above the herb in the jar.”

  Jaden picked up the jar and peered into it. “In six or seven weeks it will be medicine?”

  “Well, if we needed to, we could start using it in a couple weeks, but it takes six or seven weeks to make sure that we get the most essential oils from the herbs. You could actually leave it for a couple months, but it will be good and strong after a month and a half.”

  Jaden swirled the jar, watching the herb blossoms twirl around in the liquid. “What happens when it is good and strong?”

  “When it is ready, we will use a funnel to pour it into a dark colored bottle. I have cheese cloth that I use to strain it. Some people use a t-shirt. Others use a coffee filter. I just put my cheesecloth in the funnel and pour the tincture through it. Then I squeeze the cheesecloth to make sure I get all the good stuff into my medicine jar.”

  She reached out and took the mason jar from Jaden. Using a piece of tape, she secured the paper she’d made her note on to the jar. “Some people put something like a coffee filter over the top of the open jar after they have strained it. That helps the alcohol evaporate. I don’t worry about evaporating the alcohol.”

  “Then do you just drink the tincture?”

  “You can,” Allison said. “You could add a teaspoon to a cup of tea. You could also add a little of the tincture to a little oil and rub it on your skin. You could put it in a spray bottle with water to use as a spray. But the best way, in my opinion, is to place the tincture under your tongue. Your sublingual artery is located there and it will absorb the medicine into your body in about thirty seconds. You can then swallow the medicine or spit it out.

  “If you choose to drink the tincture, it will be absorbed into the body through your liver, but it takes a lot longer. Under the tongue is a much faster way to get the healing properties of the herb.”

  Allison put the shears and other supplies back in the drawer and carried the tincture jar to a closet in the hallway.

  “If you are interested in learning, I’ll be happy to teach you. Once they finish the bunkhouse, I’ll be moving the herbs out there.”

  “What’s the bunkhouse?”

  “The rooms they are building in the shop,” Allison said. “They’ve started calling it the bunkhouse and it kind of fits. Come on, let’s go out and I’ll show you where the herbs are going to be.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Allison and Jaden entered the barn from the side door. Jaden smelled the fresh paint as soon as she stepped inside. She looked up to the room Rolly had said would be hers to share with her father. The blond-haired woman had a paint roller and was rolling light blue paint on the wall.

  The front of the barn faced south and several men were busy nailing boards to framework where the overhead doors hung.

  Allison led Jaden to the center of the big room. To both sides and behind them, a mezzanine stretched in a u-shape. Several men were installing doors on the rooms. Several other men, including Jaden’s father, were painting the walls.

  The blond woman turned and smiled. Jaden smiled back.

  Allison pointed to the open spaces where two overhead doors used to be. The doors were still there, but they were wide open.

  Both openings were ten feet wide by twelve feet tall. The workers had framed a wall in each opening and were carefully setting windows in the frames. Each window was four-foot-wide by four-foot-tall. There were four windows going in.

  Allison pointed to the new walls. “The barn has six-inch-thick walls. If you notice, all the hardware for the doors is inside the barn. So, I had them build the walls four inches thick and keep them flush with the outside wall. With the windows they are putting in, I will have plenty of space to have shelves built and put all my herbs in the sunny windows. I’ll have plenty of room for more herbs than I have now.”

  She stepped closer to the doors. “And look,” she said. “The doors will still open and close. At night we can close the overhead doors and that will help keep the bunkhouse warm during the winter. We can open them in the morning and the sun shining through the windows will help heat the bunkhouse.”

  Jaden looked at the doors which were directly overhead. She lowered her head and looked at the buttons on the wall between the two walls that were being framed. Unsure of whether to say something, she looked back up at the doors.

  Finally, she took a breath and blurted, “I don’t think that will work without electricity.”

  Allison grinned. “Not much gets past you. Does it, Jaden?”

  “Well, it sounds like a good plan, but how are you going to open and close the doors without electricity?”

  Allison pointed up. “See those chains hanging from each of the doors?”

  Jaden nodded.

  “Those are emergency chains. If you pull them, it unlocks a mechanism that allows you to manually open and close the doors. We’ll be using those for a while. But, before winter gets here, Steve is going to build a solar generator. I’ve got the parts he needs.”

  “I’ve got a book on solar panels and how they work. Maybe I can help,” Jaden said.

  Allison put her hand on Jaden’s shoulder. “I have a feeling that you and I are going to be best friends. I’ll make sure that Steve knows that you want to help. In fact, I’m hoping that we can find time that Steve can use the solar generator to teach a few of us more about solar electricity. What’s the title of your solar electricity book?”

  “It’s one of those solar books for dummies. It has a lot of information but I don’t understand all of it. I know that you need the solar panels and, if you are using batteries, you need a charge controller. But I don’t really know what a charge controller is. Then you also need an inverter if you want to run things that plug in like in a house. I understand what you need, I just don’t know exactly what they do. But I want to learn.”

  “Don’t feel bad, Jaden. I have six books on solar electricity. I understand about the same amount as you.”

  A man Jaden recognized, but didn’t know, leaned over the railing from above. “Are you guys talking about solar electricity?”

  “We are,” said Allison.

  “You just gave me an idea. The fumes from all this paint are driving me crazy. Let’s go take a look at what you have. Maybe I can rig up a couple fans to work.”

  “Come on.” Allison led them out of the shop, through the stable and into the arena. A flight of steep steps led to the hayloft above the stable. The loft was about thirty feet wide and at least forty feet deep. Along the west side were bales of sweet-smelling hay. Along the east side, dozens of plastic totes were stacked.

  Allison led them past the plastic totes and stopped at three stacks of solar panels leaning against the wall.

  “This stack is the 100 watts,” she said pointing at the first stack. “And the rest are 300 watts.”

  Steve whistled. “Nice,” was all he said.

  He looked around. “You said that you had wiring and controllers. What I’m hoping you have is an inverter that will plug into a car cigarette lighter.”

  “Actually, I think I do.” Allison moved to the totes stacked next to the panels. “But I thought you had to have the car running to use those. We don’t have a lot of extra gasoline to waste so I didn’t think we’d want to use that.”

  Steve pulled an inverter out of the second tote. “This is exactly what I hoped you would have. It will work as long as my truck is in ‘Acc’ mode. I can run a few fans for at least a half hour. And, if the smell doesn’t clear out by then, I can start and run my truck for a short while. Let’s go do this.”

  “Are you sure that won’t run your battery down?” Allison hurried behind him.

  “It shouldn’t. As long as I don’t try running a couple fans for very long. But I think we can air out the bunkhouse in a half hour or so. Can you bring me that orange extension cord that’s hanging on the west wall of the bunkhouse?”

  He exited the barn through the stable. Jaden ran to catch up.

  “Can I watch what you do?” she asked.

  “Certainly.” He slowed down so she could catch up. “My truck happens to be parked close to the barn so I don’t even have to move it. This is a simple inverter that you can plug into a car or truck cigarette lighter. You can buy them for about $20 on Amazon - although this one looks like it may be a little bit more expensive.”

  He opened the truck door. “I just need to plug this end of the inverter into my cigarette lighter and turn my key to accessory mode. Now, if I use the accessory mode for very long, it will run the battery down on my truck so I’ll use it for twenty minutes or a half hour and see if that clears the air in the bunkhouse. If not, I’ll turn the truck on and let the battery charge a little so it doesn’t go dead.”

  Jaden nodded. “I studied a little bit about solar. You connect solar panels to a charge controller. Then you connect the charge controller to batteries. Then you connect the batteries to an inverter to make house current. So, all you are doing here is using your truck battery that’s already charged so you don’t need the solar panels and the charge controller.”

  “Exactly,” Steve confirmed. “I’ll be building a small portable system exactly like you described. I thought I’d wait until we had the bunkhouse completed, but now it appears that the sooner I build it, the better.”

  Allison appeared with the extension cord.

  “I was just telling Jaden that I’ll probably put that portable solar system together sooner rather than later. I think I’ll do that tonight.”

  “No!” cried Jaden. “Allison said that I could help. I won’t be here tonight. My dad said that we’ll be moving out here tomorrow. Can it wait until then?”

  Steve looked at Allison. “I guess I could set everything up tonight and then Jaden could help me put it together in the morning.”

  “Thank you,” Allison said. “I want to help as well.”

  “Alrighty then. We’ll plan on that. Ready to go see how well this set-up works?”

  Chapter Twelve

  Jaden yawned. They’d stayed up late last night packing anything they thought they would need or could share. Jaden had stood firm on her books.

  “Baby, there are four full boxes of books there. You don’t need that many,” Bill had said.