Off the Market by Audrey Wick

Author:Audrey Wick [Wick, Audrey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance
ISBN: 9781950510993
Publisher: The Tule Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2019-07-10T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

“These pits don’t run themselves.” Cole heaved another armful of post oak wood into the firebox. On Wednesday, Hutch and his friend, Brody, had worked a job trimming trees, bringing a truckload of what was usable by The Hut after closing time. Sourcing locally and using resources responsibly was an important part of how the brothers ran the business.

And it was one of the secrets to the barbeque market’s succulent and savory flavors.

“Good job on this one.” Cole helped to unload the wood. “Tree’s been dead a long time.”

“It wasn’t hurting much of anything where it was. Not near a house or fence. But the owner got worried about his grandkids playing around it.” Hutch stacked the rounded pieces in long rows. “It was time to go.”

“Should be easy to split these in a couple of months.” The dead wood was nearly ripe and ready for use, but the best wood to use in grilling was the driest. The Hut had storage for that purpose. The drier the wood, the better it would cook. And the harder the wood, the hotter the burn.

“No shortage of post oak in these parts.”

“Not even as much as this place uses.” Brody kicked around words that had crossed Cole’s mind a time or two over the years. Would there ever be a shortage of post oak?

Post oak had a much shorter lifespan than live oak, and it was a drought-tolerant species. No wonder it liked growing in this part of Texas. The trees were ubiquitous in the area, and they had been for generations.

Just like the Hutchinson family.

Cole paused, hefting a single piece of wood up and down like a dumbbell. “Sure feels good.”

“Don’t get attached,” Hutch warned. “Remember, that’s our livelihood.”

“I wouldn’t forget it.” Nor did Cole ever take it for granted.

“Good.” Hutch took a moment to catch his breath. “Because you’re holding the key to our future and our profits.”

“Believe me,” Cole threw the piece of wood he was holding onto the top of their stack, “profits are never far from my mind.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” Hutch grabbed another armload of wood from the back of the truck.

Cole liked keeping a generous bounty of wood at the ready. Increasing the supply during the summer months was especially important so that when weather later in the year made it too challenging to harvest new wood, they wouldn’t have to worry about it. Hutch, for the most part, was the tree trimmer. Cole stayed in charge of the pits. “And lighting all these on fire is my favorite part of the job.”

“You sound like a pyromaniac,” Brody teased.

“Or a man who’s good at his profession,” Cole corrected.

The men worked side by side. Physical labor was just a requisite part of what they did.

Surprises, however, shouldn’t be.

So Cole nearly jumped out of his Timberlands as Brody slammed his hand into the side of the truck panel and cursed.

“What’s wrong?” Cole turned from the truck tailgate.

“Boss, we have a problem.” He kicked the ground near the back part of the stack they had nearly finished.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.