Chapter 1
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Jack opened his eyes and glanced at the alarm clock. Three minutes and it would ring, bringing about the normal routine. He looked at Lisa, his wife of six months, who was still fast asleep.
3:59… one minute and the house would start the morning commotion. At 4:45, the commotion would increase when everyone else's alarms went off, and Ty, Peter, Lou and Amy got up. Jack groaned as the alarm clock rang and Lisa rolled out of bed; he hit the 'off' button as he got out of bed.
"You want to make breakfast, or start laundry?" Lisa asked.
"I will start breakfast."
Jack smiled. Same question every day; same answer: Jack made breakfast and Lisa went for a run.
"Oh surprise, surprise!" Lisa said with a smile, and pulled on her running shoes.
"Same thing every day," Jack smiled.
"If you want to mix it up, then you can put the laundry in the wash and go for a run and I will make breakfast," Lisa teased.
"How far do you run in the thirty minutes you're gone?"
"Five kilometers," Lisa said, still smiling. "I used to do fifteen."
"I will stick with routine," Jack smiled back and kissed her.
"Routine is good," Lisa said, heading for the laundry room while Jack headed to the kitchen. Lisa looked out the window; the sun had just stared to rise over the horizon.
Amy hit her alarm's 'off' switch at 4:45. She quickly changed and rushed in to the hall.
"I am up first Lou. I get the shower first!" she yelled smugly. She walked in to the kitchen where Lou and Peter were already sitting at the table.
"Shhh! You are going to wake up Sammy!" Lou snapped.
"Wait, how are you always up before me?" Amy sighed, as she lost the shower battle yet again.
"It's a secret." Lou said, with the same smug tone Amy had used earlier.
"No, it's called setting the alarm to 4:45," Peter said.
"Now that is just cheating. It takes the fun out of the sport!" Amy retorted.
"Are you two still at it?" Lisa asked, walking in to the room while braiding her hair that was still wet from her shower.
"Yeah, did you hear Amy yell?" Jack asked, handing Lisa plates of food which she passed around the table 'til everyone had one.
"Hard not to. Why not take turns? "Lisa asked with a smile, knowing her suggestion went in one ear and out the other.
"Turns are no fun. We are competitive, that's why it is so fun." Amy smiled and looked at Ty. "Grandpa, you gave Ty more sausage than me."
Amy stole one off of Ty's plate.
Ty slapped her hand. "HEY!"
"Would you two stop it!" Jack grumbled.
"Here: eat mine. I have to leave anyway," Lisa said, and pushed her plate to the middle of the table. Ty, Amy and Lou dove for the two remaining sausages on her plate.
"How old are you three?" Jack asked as they scrambled and fought.
"Bye. I will see you at lunch," Lisa said, then kissed Jack. "Love you."
Lisa walked in to the laundry room and pulled the wet clothes out of the washer. She put them in a basket and took them out to the clothesline and pinned them up. Once she was finished, she left for the track, on time, just like routine.
Lisa looked at her car's digital clock: 11 am. She was nearly thirty minutes late getting home. She looked down the stretch of road in front of her. A horse trailer was barrelling down the road in the wrong lane. Lisa gasped before the impact and sounds of smashing metal and horse screams rang through the countryside.
Jack walked into the house expecting various aromas from Lisa's fancy lunches, but instead, he was hit with the stench of grilled cheese burning on the stove.
"Lisa?" he called out.
"She is not here grandpa," Lou replied from Sammy's room.
Jack tuned off the stove and walked towards Sammy's room. "Where is she?"
"I don't know," Lou answered.
Ty walked into the house with Amy and he instantly turned up his nose. "What is that smell?"
"Lou's cooking," Jack grumbled, walking towards them with Sammy.
Ty looked at his cell phone when it rang shrilly. "Yeah, Scott?" he answered. "Okay… I will be right there."
As soon as Ty hung up the phone, he headed for the door.
"Ty what's wrong?" Amy asked.
"Scott needs me. There was a trailer accident on the road about a mile from here. There are a bunch of injured horses." Ty sighed.
Amy gasped. "I'm coming with you."
"Amy," Ty looked at her doubtfully.
"I am coming with you. You will need help, and I am known for my work on trailer accidents," Amy smiled, referring to her YouTube video.
"I am coming too," Jack said. He was not about to sit by idly when he could be helping.
As soon as Jack pulled up With Ty and Amy, he identified both vehicles. One was Briar Ridge's trailer truck. The other was Lisa's silver car.
"Oh, no," Amy whispered, getting out of the truck. The horse trailer was half side-ways leaning up against some trees with Lisa's car almost completely underneath it.
Jack's stomach dropped. So much for routine.
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