Chapter 9
Plans were made to celebrate Memorial Day at the farm. K.E. and Ben had offered to help with the fence while Leanna and Carla fixed lunch. Jack had become a cake baking expert so had offered to fix the dessert, and Ennis had made sure there were several different flavors of ice cream in the freezer.
"Can you fit the sweet tea in there?" Ennis asked, as Jack leaned over to survey the inside of the refrigerator.
"It'll go up here. Good thing we're usin' the ice chest for the beer," Jack said.
"Looks like it's gonna be a good day," Ennis said as he looked out the window. It was barely light enough to see anything. They'd used the flood light to tend to the dogs and cats when they'd first gotten up.
"The dogs know somethin's goin' on with us bein' up this early," Jack said.
"Yeah. Did you have to wash Snowball's face this morning or was he still clean?" Ennis asked.
"Ever since I started keepin' his face hair shorter he's stayin' cleaner. That is when ya don't give him ice cream," Jack chuckled.
"Too bad Shorty's not still here. Heather would have gotten a kick out of him."
"Well, yeah, but him not bein' here means he found his permanent family, and that's a good thing."
"Sure is." Ennis cleared his throat. "I forgot to mention who I saw at the Humane Society on Friday."
"Who was that?'
"Allen Clarkson, his wife, and boy."
"Oh? Did they go in lookin' ta adopt a dog?"
"Yeah...I noticed them going inside, and they left with a medium sized mutt with a furry tail bouncing along after Brandon."
Jack smiled. "That's great. I'm glad ta hear it. I felt so bad for Brandon the day they had Sonny put down."
Ennis didn't respond. Jack had the feeling that there might be more to the story. He was apprehensive when he asked, "Were ya able ta avoid 'em?"
"Oh, yeah. I was quite a ways out in the yard. I saw them from a distance as they went in, but I knew who they were right away."
"They see you?"
"I don't think they did on the way in, but on the way out Brandon saw me and shouted hello. I waved to him, and Allen and his wife looked my way. They had sunglasses on, so I couldn't see their eyes, but I'm sure they weren't happy, and Allen steered Brandon off to the car right away."
"Well, as long as he didn't make a scene, guess that's all we can hope for."
...
Jack pointed out where everything in the kitchen was and told the ladies to make themselves at home. The men left them busily preparing the food while they set off to do some fence work. Heather could be heard fussing about having to stay inside when what she wanted to do was go out to play with the dogs.
K.E. chuckled as they walked toward the pasture. "She has a mind of her own, real stubborn. Now you see why we can only handle one."
"We really appreciate you two offering to help today, it being a holiday and all," Ennis said.
"Say no more. We're glad to help. Besides that, it beats being stuck in a hot kitchen."
"Looking real good, guys. You've done a lot of work," Ben observed as he saw the fence posts in place.
"Still a lot to do," K.E. said. "The horses would escape in a minute in a fence like this," he laughed.
"Real funny," Ennis said as he bumped K.E.'s shoulder with his own. "Actually, the posts were the hardest part. The rest won't require near as much time and effort."
"We still have the gate ta build though. That's gonna require some thinkin' ta get it right," Jack said.
"Let's try and get some of these rails up this morning. I don't think they'll need cut if we did a good enough job positioning the posts," Ennis said as he set down a three gallon cooler of Gatorade.
"The posts look real good, evenly spaced," Ben said.
"Here's the level," Ennis said as he picked it up. "And I like the hammer, but if you like the nail gun better, that's okay, you can use that."
The three of them got to it, working together like a team, and Jack was relieved that Ben and K.E. hadn't acted any differently toward him. He hadn't seen them since Ennis had let them know that the person who had caused the disturbance up there was someone from Jack's past. Ennis had been embarrassed to tell them, and he'd come home in a bad mood afterward.
Leanna and Carla had acted normal too. Jack tried not to feel like he was responsible for Pat's actions, but he couldn't help but feel that way at times. He wondered what K.E. thought knowing his ex was the type of person who would sneak around and look into people's windows at night. He hadn't called his mom, and he wondered just how often she and Pat were in touch. He didn't think it was often, being his dad was always around. Maybe they just talked if they ran into one another downtown or something. Obviously she'd heard about Pat's visit to the farm, but he bet Pat left out the part about trying to spy in the windows.
After a few hours the men closed up shop and headed back to the house. As they got closer, the aroma of food could be smelled filtering into the yard. "Whatever they've been cooking is sure gonna be tasty," Ben said, sniffing deeply.
"Mmm-Mmm, smells delicious," K.E. said. "I know the main dish is Buffalo-Chicken macaroni and cheese, but I'm not sure what else they planned."
"Whatever it is, it smells good," Ennis said.
"We worked up an appetite, that's for sure," Jack said. "I think I might smell biscuits bakin'."
Heather appeared at the door with Snowball. "Daddy!" she shouted. She pointed across the yard toward Abby. "Fat, fat," she shouted.
K.E. laughed. "Hey, little one, have you been helping Mommy and Aunt Leanna cook?"
"Yes, beans," Heather said.
"Ah, baked beans I'll bet," K.E. said.
Carla and Leanna came out the door with plates and utensils. "You guys are just in time. Lunch is nearly ready," Leanna said as she gave Ben a quick peck on the lips.
"I'm a mighty lucky man," Ben said. "She's beautiful and she can cook."
"Ennis, I don't know when you found time to make this gorgeous picnic table," Leanna said as she set the plates down.
"It wasn't hard, and Jack helped," Ennis said.
"Well, you did a great job. This is so nice," Leanna said as she stepped over to give Jack a hug. "This place up here is so peaceful and private. Just perfect for a nice family holiday. Thank-you so much for letting us all come up."
"We're glad ta have ya...Hope you'll come back real often," Jack smiled.
"That's why I built the table. Figured we'd have plenty of opportunities to use it. The park's nice and all, but this is quieter," Ennis said.
Just then, as if on cue, several of the dogs began to bark, growl, and tussle with one another, bringing laughter from all. "Fighting," Heather squealed, obviously quite concerned. "Rocky!"
"No, honey, they're just playing," Carla said.
"It's good to have Rocky back," K.E. said. "I think he was as glad to get home as we were to have him, although he was treated like a king at Mr. Weaver's place."
"Can we get some help bringing out the food, guys?" Leanna asked.
"This is a nice change having a kitchen to cook in rather than me having to cook on a barbecue," K.E. said.
"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed a little rest from holiday cooking," Carla said.
K.E. let out a laugh. "Rest? Did I hear you right? I was doing anything but resting out there in that pasture. Ennis knows how to work a crew, that's for sure."
Between joking and talking, all of the food made it safely to the table, and everyone dug in. The men complimented the chefs throughout the meal. As Ennis reached for seconds he said, "After we're through we'll set up the horseshoes and have a game, and maybe we can throw the Frisbee and show you how Jingles and Lobo can catch it."
"Fisssbeee," Heather said as she reached down to feed Snowball a bite of her food.
"Are you done, honey?" Carla asked. "You can get down and play with Snowball if you want. I think we're having the dessert later on."
Heather headed for some shade with Snowball's tennis ball in hand, the little dog following close behind. "You know, when Heather's a little older, I'd like to have her come out when one of your litters are born. I think it'd be good for her to see that," K.E. said.
Ennis raised his eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? Well, I think that could be arranged. What about it, Jack?"
"Sure, if ya want. It's okay by me."
Carla seemed to be in favor of it. Leanna furrowed her brow, but didn't comment. "How bout we get the horseshoes going," Ennis said.
After a few games they moved on to Frisbee. Everyone, humans and dogs, ran themselves ragged. Jack showed Rocky how to catch the Frisbee by encouraging him to take it from his hand, then playing tug of war. Then he rolled it on the ground, and Rocky instinctively knew what to do with the target. Jack and Ennis threw for Lobo and Jingles, and Rocky soon caught on and was leaping and catching it himself.
"Did you see how fast Rocky learned that?" K.E. asked, quite elated.
"I think it has something to do with Jack being a good teacher," Ben said. "It was amazing how fast you had him doing that," he said to Jack.
"Jack knows dogs, no question," Ennis said. Jack heard the pride in his voice and his heart skipped a beat.
"You're gonna be teaching in the park again this year, aren't you?" K.E. asked.
"Yeah, sure am. We start in a week."
"Jack trains dogs, obedience, and even how to hunt," K.E. told Ben.
"And he has other talents too," Ennis started, becoming flustered. He went on, "Uh, like baking cakes...well, you two tasted his cake the night you were out here," he said, as he looked in Leanna and Ben's direction. Ennis seemed to think better about bringing up that night and quickly said, "It's devil's food this time. Jack, how bout we get the cake and ice cream?"
As they sat and ate their dessert, Leanna looked at Ben. "The next cake we eat will probably be our wedding cake."
"Yeah, the day's coming fast," Ben smiled.
"I hope it's as beautiful a day as this has been," Carla said.
"If K.E. will get serious when he walks me down the isle, it will be a very good day," Leanna said as she shot a glare at her brother.
Ennis snorted out a laugh. When Leanna, Ben, and Carla weren't laughing, Jack saw him stop abruptly and try to wipe the smile off of his face.
K.E. sat quietly grinning. "It's not me you need to worry about. I don't know what you were thinking to ask a two year old to be your flower girl." He could hardly get the words out he was chuckling so hard.
"I have confidence in my niece," Leanna said, barely able to hide her amusement. Jack saw her stifle a laugh.
"Mommy's going to help her. She'll be just perfect, " Carla said, her voice full of affection. Heather sat on the grass with Snowball. She certainly wasn't worried about her role in the wedding, oblivious to the conversation going on.
K.E. snickered louder. "Stop laughing, buster," Carla said as she punched K.E. on the arm.
Jack hoped the wedding would be everything Leanna dreamed of. He was looking forward to it.
...
The remainder of the holiday weekend had been spent alone at the farm doing more work on the fence, but mainly relaxing and enjoying each other's company. Tuesday morning brought the irritating sound of the alarm clock, bringing back the reality of a new work week. Ennis would soon be finished at the Humane Society, but he wasn't at a loss for work. People were always calling needing jobs done. Jack would soon be working late due to the dog training classes which would mean less time with Ennis. He felt bad that Ennis would be the one left to finish most of the fence, but Jack needed money if he wanted to buy a horse, and this was one way to get at least some of what he needed.
It had been a busy day at the clinic, and it was only half over. With the holiday they had extra borders. Even without a holiday they had plenty. Dr. Edwards had told Jack that the word had gotten out what a good caregiver they had at ABC, so that was why they were usually full.
Lureen had left to run errands on her lunch break, so Jack ate alone. That gave him enough time to start calling the names on the list of people who had signed up for the obedience classes. Jack dialed numbers, making notes next to the names as to who was confirmed and who he had to call back. At the tenth name, Jack stopped and stared: Clarkson, Amanda and Brandon.
Must be bringin' the new dog that Ennis saw 'em takin' home from the Humane Society. Jack smiled to himself, but then he had a moment of dread...what if Mr. Clarkson comes with the dog? What'll happen then? No, Jack, it says Amanda and Brandon, not Allen. It'll be okay...but what about Amanda? Is she like her husband? Shit.
Jack dialed the number and tapped his fingers on the desk as he listened to the phone ring, wondering who would answer. He tried to hide his nervousness as he heard someone pick up. He waited for the voice hoping that it would not belong to Allen Clarkson, but Clarkson wouldn't know his voice anyway, would he? Stay calm, Jack.
"Hello," a boy's voice said.
Jack breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, hi...is this the Clarkson residence?"
"Yes, sir."
"This is Jack Twist callin' about the trainin' classes you signed your dog up for. Is this Brandon?"
"Yeah, hi Jack. Do you remember me? We met at the clinic. You showed me the dogs."
"Yeah, Brandon, of course I remember you. I'm thinkin' ya must have a new dog? Is that right?"
"Yeah, we just got him. He came from the pound. He's about two years old, and he needs help," Brandon said. Then he laughed softly. "Well, my parents think so anyway."
"Well, you're comin' ta the right place then. I was just callin' ta make sure ya remembered that we start on Monday at five-thirty."
"We'll be there for sure...hey, why are you calling? Are you the teacher?" Brandon asked, clearly excited at that prospect.
"I'm the assistant trainer," Jack answered.
"Cool," Brandon exclaimed. "I'll see you Monday then."
"Okay, lookin' forward ta it. You can introduce me ta your new dog then, and we'll get him started."
"Thanks, Jack."
"No problem, Brandon."
Jack sat and looked at the phone, taking a breather before continuing. No problem...hold that thought, Jack.
To Be Continued...
