The Bet

While Traci cleaned the fish Sam gathered some wood and built a fire for her to cook over. He also got out the few ingredients he thought she would need to prepare the meal. They both finished their tasks about the same time. Sam sat on his chair and talked to Traci while she cooked and they ate their meal. After they finished the meal, he helped her clean up then they headed into the woods for their last piss of the evening. When Sam came back to the tent it was almost too dark to see. He crawled into the tent and saw Traci on her air mattress with a sheet covering her. He crawled into his sleeping area and Traci murmured, "Night, Sam."

"Nite, Trace."

The next morning Sam woke and jerked back. He was snuggled against Traci's back with his morning wood nestled against her fine ass. He had a hand full of soft tit with a hard nipple. When he moved Traci turned her head to Sam and smiled. She said, "Good morning."

When Sam continued to pull away Traci broadened her smile and said, "Oh, relax, Sam. Are you trying to tell me you didn't expect something like this to happen? I certainly did. Now I'm not saying we're going to have sex, but I'm not saying we never will, either. I'm not ready to let you fuck me but I AM sleeping with you and I really liked waking up like this. This tent is much too small to expect separation of the beds anyway. What we do while we're asleep is just that. We're asleep. If I didn't trust you and like you a little I sure wouldn't have agreed to spend the next four years with you. Now, calm down and let's get busy."

Sam was sitting in his chair watching Traci prepare breakfast as he went over their notes from yesterday. Occasionally he would make a comment or ask a question about the notes. After going through them completely once again he said, "You know, Trace, before we jump on spending money we probably should stop a minute and think about where we can maybe get more of it to spend."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Any ideas?"

"Maybe. After we make a list of things we need to buy I think we need to go into town and hit the library or maybe call on some contractors to see if the barn wood is saleable. It looks like there are several walnut trees here on the place too so we can pick up and sell walnuts this fall. We might be able to cut and sell firewood, also. We still need to think about finding part time work in town. I have some lawn tools so we can maybe pick up some yards to mow this summer and maybe even some handy man work. My old chain saw is in good shape so we can cut firewood. After we get enough for our use this winter we'll keep cutting to get a supply to sell. As much as I hate to do it we might consider using some of our money to buy a wood splitter. Remember, we only have $4327.66 in cash to spend so we have to be darn careful about expenses until we have money coming in though. I'm scared to death that one of us will become ill or get injured and rack up a large medical bill. That would kill this deal immediately."

The next day they went to town and put notices on several bulletin boards in grocery stores, self service laundries, and other retail establishments advertising their availability to mow yards and do odd jobs and simple repair work. They also called three contractors and visited four hobby shops trying to sell the old barn wood. They had samples to show and an estimate of how much wood there might be to sell. Many of the hobby shops expressed an interest in the wood but they didn't commit to purchase any.

As much as they hated to do so they decided they needed to hire someone to come out and clear off a large area for a garden. On the way home they stopped at one of the neighboring farms to see if the owner would get the garden ready to plant for them. The man agreed to clear, plow and prepare two acres for planting for $125 if it wasn't too overgrown. He agreed to do the work within the next week.

The next morning the partners began carefully tearing down the old barn. As they removed wood and metal roofing from the structure they sorted it and piled similar pieces together. As they worked they carefully uncovered the tools and old farm machinery buried underneath the fallen structure. They also worked carefully to uncover the wooden boxes containing who knows what when it collapsed. They were tempted to immediately go on a treasure hunt but forced themselves to continue with the original job. From time to time they had to move some of the items in the barn but they spent minimal time doing so and looking inside them. Six days later the old barn was completely razed and the wood sorted into piles. They also had two large piles of metal roofing and siding. The unusable pieces of metal were piled separately to be hauled to the recycling center. They took a load of recyclable metal every trip they took to town.

By the time the barn was torn down the garden was ready for planting. Sam and Traci spent the next three days planting their garden. They planted all the common vegetables, tomatoes, peppers and other quick growing plants. The garden was situated so it could be watered from the stream using a ram jet pump or with a little effort from the spring using gravity flow. Sam intended to purchase PVC pipe for a gravity flow irrigation system and perhaps later he would purchase the Ram Jet pump if they needed more water than they could obtain from the spring.

After the garden was planted the couple discussed their next project. Sam said, "Well, unless we get a job in town I suggest we begin looking at the things that were stored in the barn. I might be able to get that old tractor running if we don't need too many expensive parts. That would make work here easier and cheaper since we wouldn't have to hire machine work, assuming the implements don't break when we begin using them. Some of those implements look old enough for the metal to be brittle. I would also like to see what's in those boxes and crates. We also need to cut some firewood for the winter. I think we should do that first thing in the mornings while it's still cool and work on sorting the items in the barn and repairing the machinery and tools during the heat of the day. Some of the sorting and repair work can be done in the shade."

They hadn't even finished looking the machinery over when they got a phone call. One of the hobby shops ordered a load of barn wood to make picture frames and decorative shelves. They promised to load and deliver it the next day so never finished looking at the items in the barn. That one load would generate almost $2,400 in income for them. The shop ordered 800 board feet of wood at $3.00 per board foot delivered! That was only about 20% of the usable wood from the old barn.

After the delivery the couple deposited the check in their bank account, keeping $400 in cash for expenses. They purchased a few items and quickly returned home to work. While they drove they discussed their need for shelter during the winter. Sam said, "We have two choices as I see it. We can either try to build a small cabin or we can purchase a small travel trailer. Either way we will be living in each other's pocket. The days we are stuck inside will be pretty boring. No way will we have enough money to rent a place even if we were allowed to live elsewhere.

"If we build a small cabin I think 20X20 feet is about as large as we could afford to build. I think if we do all the work we can complete it for about $10,000-$12,000. That is a bare bones one room building. We MIGHT be able to put an inside toilet in it but that is all. The good point of that is we could heat it with wood so heating would be nearly free.

"If we purchase a used travel trailer we could get one for under $4000 with maybe half the space inside. We could not heat it with wood and I doubt it would be as energy efficient as we could make the one we build. In that case we would have to purchase Propane to run the heater all winter and to cook with."

After they got home they put their cold food in crates and carried it to the spring to stay cool. While Traci prepared a late lunch Sam sat staring at the pile of machinery and jumble of boxes where the old barn had been. His glance flicked over to the side where the old galvanized metal grain bin squatted in the midst of rusted farm implements and weeds. All at once he stood and began walking toward the grain bin. When he got there he walked around it tapping it occasionally. He looked it over carefully. He found the ladder built into the side of the bin and climbed to the top where he scrutinized the roof.

By the time Sam was on top of the grain bin Traci had followed him to it. She stood on the ground and yelled up to Sam, "What are you doing Sam? Why did you just quit talking and come over here? Is something wrong?"

"No, Trace, I just had an idea. Give me a minute." Sam moved to the very top of the bin and opened the top cover over the hole through which the bin was filled. He looked down into the bin then closed the lid and climbed off.

He took Traci's hand and pulled her to the side door. With a little effort he opened the door and looked around inside before he climbed into the bin and pulled the door closed. In the pitch dark Sam turned a circle looking at the walls and top. He smiled and opened the door to see a very puzzled Traci. She said in exasperation, "Are you going to tell me what the hell you're doing or not?"

Sam smiled and held his hand out to Traci. He said, "In a minute. Come in here with me, please."

He helped Traci climb over the three-foot high threshold to enter the bin through the approximately three foot by two foot door in the side. As she stood beside him, he put his arm around her waist without thinking. He said, "I think we can convert this old grain bin into a house. It needs to be cleaned out to get the little remaining moldy grain out of it but I think it would work fine for a house. I closed the door and I can"t see any holes in the sides where light comes through. If no light comes through it's probably still water tight. I don't see any evidence in the dust that the structure leaks. There is a concrete floor already installed. It looks like it's about 24 feet in diameter. We can either build a floor about eight feet up and have a two story house or just put in a ceiling and insulate over it and have a one story house. I think we might be able to do two stories and have the bed on the second level with a cooking area and sitting room down here."

Sam took out his cell phone and loaded the calculator ap. After punching the buttons he said, "If this is a 24 foot wide building there is about 452 square feet of floor space. An upstairs bedroom would double that excluding the space needed for the stairs. We would have all the room we need and then some."

Traci looked around inside again, this time with a thoughtful look on her face as she mentally tried to fit herself into the building. Finally she said, "What would it cost if we did that? We'd still have to buy a lot of material wouldn't we?"

"Not as much as you might think. We could buy 4" thick Styrofoam sheets for insulation and either leave them white to help lighten up the inside or we could even paint them. We would have to be really careful of open flames if we did that because Styrofoam is highly flammable but it's great insulation. We could use the large 6 X 6 beams from the barn for the second floor supports and floor joists. We would have to purchase plywood for the floor itself but other than that I think we have everything we need to make the conversion. Of course we will have to buy the stove and some wiring if we put electricity in. If we want water in the building we need to plumb it and buy a hot water heater. My vote would be this first year to just run the gravity flow water down here and plumb the building and do the hot water heater next year. We can heat water on the stove for washing dishes and bathing. That would save several hundred dollars."

Traci crawled out of the bin and returned to her chair with Sam following. When they were seated once again they looked at the bin for a moment. Traci said, "Sounds good to me. Let's do it. Come on, let's begin making a list of things we need to buy while we eat lunch so we can get started. Can we cut at least one window in the wall, though? Please?"

"Yeah, I can do that, but it will be a bitch to seal it I think."

"Oh, come on. So it costs a little more. We really need SOME natural light inside. Surely one decent sized window wouldn't cost that much. And could we make a real door into the bin? It would be hard to climb in that little hole with an armload of wood or groceries. And a roof, sort of a porch roof, over the door would be nice to keep the rain off."

"No problem. I agree about the door and porch roof. I would like to make sort of a carport on the south side also to keep rain and snow off the truck and car. Maybe we can even make it large enough to put the tractor in if we get it running. I think we have enough metal roofing from the barn to do all that and maybe even put sides on at least part of it."

That afternoon the young couple began cleaning out the trash and getting the bin ready for occupancy. Traci continued taking pictures of each step of their work. She even stopped several times during the day and made notes. After the trash was cleaned out of the bin they cut the 6 X 6 supports and took them inside that day also.

That evening while they were eating their supper Sam looked over at Traci and asked, "Traci, why are you taking so many pictures and making so many notes as we work? We could get a lot more done if you didn't stop so often and do that."

Traci blushed slightly and said, "I thought I might make a record of everything, and this winter while we were not doing anything else I would try to write a book about our project. I thought with all the interest in reality TV shows that if I do a good enough job I might be able to sell the book and make even more money. I'm sorry you think it's taking too much time. I can stop if you want me to and make my notes after we quit for the day."

"Hey, I never thought of that. That's a really good idea. Do you need any help? OH, I'm sorry. I guess this is just your project. No, that's fine now that I understand."

"What? NO! That's not what I meant. Of course you can help. We're in this together. We're a team. I couldn't do this without you and if I can sell the book you'll be an equal partner just like we are in the rest of this deal. I would really love to have your help. You can write part of the stuff and proof read what I write. We can do this together just like we did our papers in class."

The next day they spent the morning planning their new home. They made careful measurements and made a list of items they needed to purchase. After the list was completed they went to town and bought everything on the list they needed immediately.

The next two weeks all their time not spent on the garden was spent working on their home. Before they began working on the interior Sam decided where they would put the carport and front porch roof. He drilled holes in the metal walls and bolted angle iron on the outside to attach a roof to the bin after first placing rubber washers over the bolts to prevent leaks. Next they drilled holes in the support posts and bin wall to bolt the uprights to the wall. After that was done they cut and fit the Styrofoam insulation inside the old bin then cut and attached the floor joists to the support posts. The stairs to the upper level came next, curving around the outside wall as they rose. The upper floor was laid down then support posts for the ceiling were set. After the supports and ceiling joists were in, insulation was installed for the upper level walls. They used the Styrofoam sheets over the ceiling joists for a ceiling. This made sure it was well insulated.

Next Sam ran wiring and placed wall outlets and two light fixtures, one in each ceiling. They purchased the cheapest light fixtures they could find which turned out to be florescent shop lights. They weren't a fashion statement by any means but they did throw enough light to live by. Next came the installation of the stove and its pipe. Sam placed the stove almost dead center of the first floor. He cut a circular hole in the upper wood floor almost 36" in diameter to run the stovepipe through. The pipe continued straight up to exit the house through the hole originally used to fill the bin with grain. A metal flange was used to keep water from coming down the pipe. The ceiling Styrofoam was cut back away from the pipe two feet and fiberglass insulation was placed up to a metal dead air chamber where the chimney went through the bedroom ceiling. The stovepipe was single wall to the bedroom ceiling and triple walled from there on for safety's sake. The single wall pipe was used in the living area to harvest more of the heat from the smoke as it rose up the chimney. A small metal protective rail was set around the pipe in the bedroom so they wouldn't stumble against it or step into the hole in the floor.

Between the window in the door and the one window facing southeast in both the upstairs and downstairs the interior was light enough during daylight that artificial light was unnecessary unless they were reading.

After the interior was completed Sam cut cedar poles to use for the support poles on the porch and carport roof then they completed those roofs. The day they finished they stood back and looked at their new home with pride. Traci wrapped her arms round Sam and gave him a kiss. She said, "Thank you, Sam. It's perfect. It may not look like much but its cozy and I think it will be nice and warm this winter. I know we spent a lot on it but this little house will last us as long as we need it and still be strong and sturdy."

"You're welcome, Trace, but you know we really didn't spend that much on it. You know we've only got about $2,700 in the materials and the cheap little wood stove. The best part of it is we can cook on the stove in winter. I'll build us an outdoor rock fire pit and BBQ we can cook on under the porch roof for warmer days. We have enough blocks and metal lying around we can do that easily. I even think I can cobble together an outside oven so we can bake things."

"When we can would it be ok if I bought a real bed? I can get by with the home made table and counters but I would really like to have a more comfortable bed. Please? And maybe get a couple of more comfortable chairs for downstairs? And I would really like a cheap refrigerator if we can find one."

"Yeah, no problem. I would like a good bed also. I think if we go to a second hand store we can get some pretty good stuff pretty cheap. But let's wait until we get ready to move in for the winter."

Much of the rest of the summer was spent caring for the garden or preserving their produce. During their spare moments the young couple did move the old junk machinery and metal from around their house to a location behind where the old barn once sat. If they could use the machinery and it was repairable, they would do so. The remainder would be hauled to the salvage yard. They also spent some time going through the boxes that were in the old barn. Near the bottom of the pile they found several old liquor boxes inside some partly rotten wooden crates.

When Sam pulled the crates out of the pile of rubbish and opened them they stood and stared. The crates were filled with old beer steins, elaborate liquor decanters and even some neon advertising signs for beer and liquor. One of the cases had records from a liquor store from the 1950's through 1975. Traci began madly pulling the pieces from the box and looking them over before carefully putting them down beside her.

Traci sat back on her heels and looked up at Sam. She said, "Sam, can you believe this? I think some of these things are worth hundreds of dollars! I need to take pictures of this and we need to go to town so I can look them up on the internet. I know this one Jack Daniels decanter is worth over $300 dollars because my grandfather had one just like it and he sold it for that several years ago. Look, some of them even still have the whiskey in them. Sam, we're rich! Well, not rich rich, but if we can sell these we will have a lot of money to live on here."