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- As Things Change
- Part XXIII
Next morning…
Matt wakes to the sound of raindrops hitting his tent. He sits
up, not comprehending at first what’s going on. He sees
water gathering in the corners of the tent. “Oh, crap!”
He crawls out of his sleeping bag, unzipping the mesh opening,
grabbing his clothes and the sleeping bag before making his escape.
He runs to the front of the cabin, taking refuge under the porch.
He drops his wet gear and pushes open the door. Sully is sitting
at the table drinking coffee. He grins at Matt. “We were
wonderin’ when you’d get in here. Didn’t your
momma teach you to come in outta the rain?”
-
- He frowns. “I just woke
up. Someone could have come out to get me.”
-
- Sully laughs. “Nah,
where’s the fun in that?”
-
- Matt walks over to his backpack
and fishes out dry clothes, glaring at Sully as he makes his
way to the bathroom to change. Blake grins at Sully. “It’s
nice to have someone else for you to pick on.”
-
- “Ol’ Asa wouldn’t
want us to take it easy on him. If he’s going to be a Buchanan,
he’s got to toughen up.”
-
- Stefi sets a plate in front
of Sully. “I think ya’ll are being mean for no reason.
Matt’s being a good sport but you should be nicer to him.”
-
- Sully glares at her. “Is
that right, missy? Seems your sweet on him, ain’t ya? I’ve
never heard you stick up for any of the greenhorns before.”
-
- Stefi crosses her arms, staring
Sully down. “I don’t need to be sweet on Matt to think
you’re a mean, nasty man, Sully.”
-
- Blake grabs her by the arm,
pulling her away from Sully before he blows his top. “Don’t
pay her no mind. She’s not a morning person.”
-
- Stefi starts to protest but
Blake puts his hand over her mouth, shaking his head, giving
her a warning glare. Matt walks out of the bathroom, unaware
of the conversation. He walks to the fridge, pulls it open, grabs
a juice carton and pours himself a glass before he realizes how
quiet the room is. He looks to Blake. “What?”
-
- “Nothing. We were just
discussing the weather report. Looks like we’re going to
need an extra day out here. Forecast says rain and storms the
rest of the day.”
-
- Matt nods. “What are
we going to do out here all day?”
-
- Sully stands, glaring at
Stefi. “Just stay out of my way.”
-
-
- Nora wakes slowly, hearing
the rain splattering on the balcony outside their room. She snuggles
in closer to Bo, enjoying the warmth of his skin against hers.
He shifts in his sleep, pulling her closer and she starts to
trace patterns on his chest, gently tickling him. He squirms
with a small groan. “What are you doing, honey?”
-
- She smiles up at him. “Did
I wake you?”
-
- He opens one eye and peers
down at her. “No, of course not. You know what happens when
you start the morning that way.”
-
- She leans up and kisses him.
“Hmmm… A little replay of last night wouldn’t
be such a bad thing.”
-
- He opens both eyes and looks
toward the balcony. “Seems we’re going to have a wet
day. Welcome to Texas weather.”
-
- “Did you know it was
supposed to rain?”
-
- He shrugs. “I haven’t
seen a weather report for a couple days. They’re not very
accurate down here anyway. The weather has a way of doing what
it wants.”
-
- “Do you think Matthew
is okay? Maybe we should go pick him up.”
-
- “He’s fine, honey.
There’s a cabin out there so they’ll just have to stay
inside if it rains too hard and there’s lightning. Sully’s
an old hand, he’ll make sure the men are safe.”
-
- “As long as you’re
sure he’s okay.”
-
- “I am.”
-
- She starts to sit up. “We
should get up and head back to the ranch too. Asa is coming this
afternoon.”
-
- He pulls her back to him.
“We have plenty of time. And checkout’s not ‘til
noon.”
-
- “What about the breakfast
part of this B&B?”
-
- He whispers in her ear, “There's
something I'd much rather have than waffles and peach compote…”
-
-
- Rex and Lauren arrive at
the airport well before flight time. Rex wants to meet with the
pilot and make sure he is prepared for any problem Lauren may
have in regards to her pregnancy. Lauren is mortified that Rex
is making such a big deal of her flying. The pilot calmly assures
Rex that his crew has had ample training to handle any medical
emergency, since Asa’s last heart attack. He lets them know
that departure may be delayed by storms in Texas and invites
them to wait in the private lounge until they are ready to board.
Rex thanks him for his time as he takes their bags and leaves
to finish his pre-flight prep.
- Lauren puts out her hand.
“I need change for the vending machine.”
-
- Rex grins as he digs in his
pocket. “You’re going to turn this kid into a junk
food addict before it even gets out.”
-
- “Don’t start with
me, Rex. When you make me crazy, I eat. And right now junk food
is available. I’ll have an apple when we get to the ranch
if that will make you feel better.”
-
- Rex drops the quarters in
her hand. “Eat whatever you like, dear. I’ll keep my
comments to myself.”
-
- “That would be wise.”
-
-
- Bo and Nora are headed back
to the ranch in what has become an increasingly more intense
rainstorm. Lightning flickers in front of the Jeep as Nora peers
through the windshield wipers, trying to see the road. “Is
that hail?”
-
- “A little bit.”
-
- She jumps as the thunder
cracks. “Can you see where we’re going, Bo?”
-
- “Yes, we’re almost
to the turnoff for the ranch.” He slows the speed of the
Jeep and turns the wipers on high. “These kinds of storms
are pretty common here in the summer. It usually blows through
as quickly as it came up.”
-
- Nora digs in her purse. “I’m
going to call Matthew and make sure he’s all right.”
-
- “Sully won’t let
them go out in this, honey. He’s an experienced hand.”
-
- “So you keep saying.
But Matthew is not and I want to make sure he’s staying
dry.” She dials and puts the phone to her ear, waiting for
him to pick up…
-
- Matt and Blake are sitting
in chairs on the porch, watching the rain cascading around them.
Matt pulls his cell out of his pocket and checks the ID with
a frown. “Hello.”
-
- “Hi, sweetie. It’s
Mom.”
-
- Matt puts his finger in his
ear. “Mom? I can barely hear you. There’s a really
bad storm.”
-
- “I know that. Are you
all right? You’re not outside, are you?”
-
- “We’re at the cabin.
Don’t worry. Sully’s not letting us go out. We’ll
need to stay…”
-
- Nora presses her finger to
her ear. “I can’t hear you, Matthew. Are you okay?”
-
- Matt shouts into the phone.
“I’m fine. I said we need to stay an extra day…”
He pulls the phone away from his ear as the signal goes dead.
He turns to Blake. “Reception sucks out here.”
-
- “In this storm, she’s
lucky the call got through at all.”
-
- “You don’t know
the lengths my mother will go to to keep track of me.”
-
- Blake gives him a small smile.
“You’re lucky, man. At least your mom bothers to worry
about you.”
-
- “I guess. It can get
annoying sometimes.”
-
- “I’d like to know
what that feels like…”
-
- “I’m sorry, Blake.”
-
- “Don’t be. Being
sorry doesn’t change what is. Do you mind if I ask, is that
what you were fighting with your parents about the other night?
Her being overprotective?”
-
- “So you heard us?”
-
- Blake nods. “Not on
purpose. I was going to see if you wanted to take a night ride.
I didn’t want to disturb a family discussion.”
-
- Matt shakes his head with
a sigh. “Don’t sweat it. It wasn’t about me at
all. My mom has this idea that she’s going to adopt another
kid.”
-
- “You don’t like
the idea?”
-
- “It’s complicated.
We had some problems before we came down here and I just don’t
think it’s a good time to start bringing other kids into
the mix, that’s all.”
-
- “That makes sense, I
guess. Do you think your parents will adopt anyway, whether you
like it or not?”
-
- Matt shrugs. “I don’t
know. They said we would discuss it again. I don’t want
to think about it right now.”
-
- “Sorry. We can talk
about something else.”
-
- Matt stands. “Thanks.
Why don’t we check out the DVD collection and see what we
can find.”
-
- “Sounds good to me.”
Blake follows Matt into the cabin.
-
- Nora tosses the cell into
her purse. “I lost the signal. I think he said they were
staying inside. It was hard to hear him.”
-
- Bo reaches across the seat
and takes her hand. “I’m sure he’s fine.”
-
- Nora puts his hand back on
the wheel. “Pay attention. We need to get out of this weather
too.”
-
- “We’re almost back
to the house.” He glances over at her. “Did you get
a chance to talk to Matt about the adoption before he left?”
-
- Nora sighs. “Yes. He’s
still not thrilled about the idea.”
-
- “Well, you didn’t
think this would be an easy sell, did you?”
-
- “No, but I didn’t
expect such a strong reaction either.”
-
- Bo shrugs. “He’s
a teenager, honey. He’s unpredictable on a good day.”
-
- “I know that. He did
say something interesting. He asked me if there was another way
to help and he suggested we explore that.”
-
- “Maybe that’s not
such a bad idea. Is there a way for us to help, short of adoption?”
-
- “I’ve been thinking
about it and I guess we could talk to Andrew and explore other
avenues. Maybe a program through the Center to bring kids and
potential adoptive families together or maybe provide more support
to foster parents to give kids a stable environment that’s
more long-term.”
-
- “That sounds like something
you could work on when we go back to Llanview.”
-
- “Yeah, but it won’t
help Miki.”
-
- “You don’t know
that. Why don’t we both meet with Andrew when we go back
and see what we can come up with? I’m sure he knows more
about what would help the kids, since he works with families
all the time.”
-
- “You don’t want
to adopt Miki either, do you?”
-
- He sighs. “I’ll
be honest. I don’t love the idea. I think Matt may be on
to something in that we could be more helpful in other ways.
But I’m not saying no. Let’s just keep our options
open, okay?” He pulls up in front of the house. “We’re
here. You go on in and I’ll grab our stuff.”
-
- Nora dashes into the house,
getting soaked in the short distance between the Jeep and the
front door. She is shaking off in the front foyer when Chuck
finds her. “Good to see you back, Nora. How was the trip?”
-
- “It was wonderful. It’s
really coming down out there!”
-
- Chuck waves her off. “Just
a little Texas shower, that’s all.”
-
- Bo comes through the door
with a bag in his hand and a jacket over his head. He drops the
bag in the foyer and hangs the jacket on a hook. “Hi, Chuck.
How are things?”
-
- “Better now that I don’t
have to worry about you out in this weather. Asa would fire me
on the spot if anything happened to you or your son.”
-
- Bo grins. “I’m
not a little kid anymore, Chuck. You can’t ground me for
being out in the rain.”
-
- “Well, I’d worry
less if I could.”
-
- “It’s just lots
of rain and a little hail, but I’ve seen worse. You said
the pastures need the rain.”
-
- “That they do. I heard
from Sully earlier. He’s keeping the boys at the cabin.
They’ll go back out tomorrow when the weather clears and
check the herd.”
-
- Nora jumps as a loud clap
of thunder shakes the house. Bo puts his arm around her. “Just
a little noise, honey.”
-
- The lights flicker as another
wave of lightning flashes across the sky. Chuck walks toward
the living room. “Better get the candles ready in case we
lose power. There’s a generator in the barn so the horses
will be okay. Sometimes they get spooked by all this racket,
so I’m going to go out and check on them.”
-
- Bo nods. “I’ll
go with you.”
-
- Nora turns to him. “Are
you sure you should be going out in this?”
-
- “It’s just to the
barn, honey. It’s covered.”
-
- Chuck pulls some candles
out of a drawer and sets them on the mantle, lighting them with
his cigarette lighter. “You’ll be fine in here, Nora.
This old house has seen its share of these storms. There’s
plenty of candles in the drawer and in the nightstand near your
bed upstairs if we lose power.”
-
- “Thank you, Chuck. I’m
sure I’ll be okay.”
-
- Bo leans down and kisses
her. “I’ll be back in a little bit. Let me just help
get the horses settled and make sure they’re all right and
then we can cozy up and ride this out.”
-
- “Do you suppose Asa
and Rex will get in today?”
-
- Chuck shakes his head. “Our
little airstrip won’t operate in weather like this. They’ll
definitely be delayed and most likely they’ll come in tomorrow.”
-
- “I guess it’s best
not to take a chance.”
-
- Bo follows Chuck to the mud
room and they don rain gear before making their way to the barns
in the downpour. Nora settles on the sofa, wrapping a blanket
around her feet to ward off a sudden chill. She listens to the
steady beat of the rain on the patio while she waits for Bo to
return from the barn.
-
- The pilot approaches Rex
and Lauren in the lounge. “I’m sorry but we’re
going to be delayed. There are storms in Texas and the airstrip
is not allowing landings.”
-
- Rex shrugs. “It’s
okay. Asa’s not here yet anyway.”
-
- “Yes, it appears Mr.
Buchanan has been delayed. I’ve alerted Nigel to our weather
issues. I’m afraid it may be a couple of hours or more.
If you would like to go home, I could call you if it appears
we’re going to get clearance.”
-
- Lauren looks at Rex. “I’m
kinda hungry. Maybe we could get something more substantial than
vending food?”
-
- The pilot nods. “That’s
a good idea. There’s a restaurant in the main terminal that’s
very good as far as airport food goes.”
-
- “We’ll do that.
Thank you.”
-
- “I’ll let you know
when we get word on a takeoff time.”
-
- Nora is dozing on the sofa,
lulled by the sounds of the rain. The worst of the storm has
passed but the rain continues to pound down. She is startled
by the sound of the phone ringing. Since no one else is in the
house, she stumbles off the sofa to answer it. “Hello.”
-
- “Nora, darling. It’s
Renee.”
-
- “Renee, hi. We’re
having a terrible storm down here. I can barely hear you.”
-
- “Is Bo there?”
-
- “Bo? No, he’s down
at the barns helping Chuck with the horses.”
-
- “I tried his cell but
couldn’t get a signal. I really need to speak to him.”
-
- “Is the flight delayed?
I’m not sure the plane can land around here. It’s a
pretty bad storm.”
-
- “It’s not about
the storm, Nora. It’s Asa.”
-
- “What happened? Is he
hurt?”
-
- “No… Asa…
Nigel found him in his office. He’d had a massive heart
attack. Asa died, Nora.”
-
- Nora sinks into a chair.
“Renee, it’s a bad connection. Did you say Asa had
a heart attack?”
-
- Renee nods, tears flowing
down her cheeks. “Yes. He didn’t make it…”
-
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