CountryCore Series: Fixer Upper (WLW)

Day One: Part One

Janet Garza opened her eyes and greeted the new day with a smile as she always did, feeling a rummaging along her backside that could belong to only one other. Turning over in her bed as she raised her arms overhead and stretched them out, she eyed her closest friend, Blaze. The fox hopped up and down with his front paws along her side and she hurriedly grabbed him, flipping him onto his back. He laughed... Yes, laughed as she rubbed his belly and she was filled with that constant giddiness he brought with his lively spirit in everything he did.

After rescuing him about three years back, Jan had loved seeing him thrive, much like herself, upon the land which she called home. He'd made himself comfortable there on her forty acre hobby farm and had even found a mate, though Poppy was never as energetic or outgoing as him. Blaze was a bit of an oddity, remaining with people most of his days and enjoying the company whereas most fox were quite skittish around humans. Still, it had never been much of a deterrent for him and for that Jan was very grateful.

With laughter billowing in her chest, Jan got out of bed and hopped around with him for a moment until he jumped out of her bedroom. He ran into the hallway, then back to her several times as if he wanted to show her something and she knew precisely what that something was, having deduced his pride long before his kits were born. She followed him down the hallway and into the only other room in her single wide home, then fixed her gaze on the sleeping kits in the center of the bed. With a sigh, Jan ran her fingers through her hair and eyed the built-in cubbies that lined the wall backing the large oak bed.

There was Poppy curled up into a ball in one of the many nooks there sleeping none the wiser to the person approaching her. "Hey, mama fox. What are y'all doin' here? I made ya such a nice beddy bye in the livin' room, hun."

Poppy momentarily lifted her head, but went right back to sleeping as soon as she recognized Jan, making her chuckle. It wasn't as if she desired them slumbering elsewhere, though the room was promised to another and she had only just changed the sheets. Now, they were crumpled into a cocoon of sorts with the little kits sleeping in its center. Jan nodded and released a long breath through her nostrils as she racked her mind for a way to possibly deter them from nesting in the room, but she knew it was folly.

Her fox had free reign of the house and she would have it no other way. This was an animal sanctuary after all. However, she needed a place for her new tenant to sleep, hang her hat, and the only other option offered was still a bit of a mess. Her mind made up, Jan left the room and fixed herself some coffee before heading out of the house. Setting her coffee maker up the night prior as she always did, she needn't worry about waiting for it to brew and carried her mug outside with her. There off to the side of her small barn was a camper and she quickly made her way there after checking the time as she heard feet scampering her way.

A honking sound followed and she smiled as she turned, coming face to face with the newest member of her family. There stood Axel, an Anatolian Donkey she'd taken in from a person within town who was moving soon and couldn't bring him with her. Gladly accepting him, Jan found his cheerful face staring right back at her as if he was expecting something and she grinned.

"Come on, buddy. Let's go get some food, yeah?" He honked back at her again and she rubbed the side of his neck as they walked toward her small barn that would soon be replaced with one she hoped would be much, much bigger with her latest purchase.

Adding to her forty acre plot, Jan had bought the property nearby and hers now consisted of eighty acres, two homes and a barn. Although the second of the homes was in desperate need of repairs and she was beyond excited to not only fix it, but to also have more space for her family as she'd consulted a local contractor to erect a large barn as well. Soon, she would move her family there and her farm yard as well, growing both as large as she could manage. Jan glanced over the serene expanse of her land as she mosied over to her older barn and sipped her coffee, content, yet feeling an odd kindling within herself that she sensed was growing stronger daily.