Hi everyone. Wow, so I hope everyone is safe and healthy during this pandemic. Crazy the global impact it's having. I was initially laid off for 3 weeks but found out the other day it's indefinite until things settle and the government gives the okay to start back. I thought I'd be writing more, not less since I'm off. But every time I turn on my laptop it's news news news and I can't seem to focus on this story. Any reviews would be greatly appreciated to keep me motivated right now. This is more light family stuff. Nothing too deep. Enjoy!
Chapter 26- Copycat Scout
"I'm so bored!" Danny was laying on the couch cupping the back of his head in his hands.
"Well, here's a thought… you could pick up your dirty clothes off your bedroom floor," Willow suggested as she sat at the kitchen table playing Solitaire.
"Nah…" Danny waved his hand. "Too much work."
Sam opened the oven and smoke engulfed her. "Ugh! I hate cooking!"
"Are you sure you don't want some help?" Willow asked.
"No, it's okay," Sam said as Danny jumped up and filled a cup full of water, then poured it on the burnt ham and kept repeating it.
Sam groaned. "Your father's cooking from now on. He always used to."
"Make Willow cook," Danny suggested.
Sam furrowed her eyebrows. "Danny!"
"What?"
Willow shrugged. "I can cook some things. The basics."
"See?" Danny said.
"Willow, I don't want you to feel like you have to cook for us," Sam said. "Drew is a good cook."
"I don't mind, really," Willow said. "Maybe Drew and I can take turns."
"Is this your new house, Cookie?" Alexis' voice announced her presence as she followed Drew and Scout inside.
Scout nodded.
"It's lovely," Alexis said.
Drew lifted his nose in the air and sniffed. "Is something burning?"
Sam placed her hand on her forehead.
Danny chuckled. "I don't think Mom was expecting company. She burnt dinner."
Sam groaned.
Alexis wrapped an arm around Sam. "It's okay, sweetie. Happens to the best of us."
"Well, not all of us." Drew winked at Sam, then walked into the kitchen. "You guys sit down and visit, I'll make dinner."
"Can I get a tour first?" Alexis asked.
Danny scrunched his face. "Tour of what? Our shack?"
"Danny, be polite," Sam said. "Yes, I'll show you around."
Sam led Alexis through the hallway.
"Don't show her my room!" Danny called down to them. "Willow keeps dumping her dirty laundry all over my floor!"
Willow punched his upper arm.
"Ow! Mom, Willow hit me!"
"Good!" Sam called from Scout's bedroom.
Scout sat down on the couch.
"What did you guys do today?" Drew asked as he filled a couple pots with water.
"Nothing," Danny said. "Absolutely nothing."
Willow rolled her eyes. "That's not true. We cleaned, played cards, and went for a walk."
"Exactly," Danny said. "Nothing whatsoever."
Willow grinned. "And I kicked your butt at 9-5-2."
"It was my first time playing! You had the advantage since you taught us that game."
Scout's head whipped back and forth between her siblings as they argued.
"I still did better than you at the poker games Sam taught us," Willow said.
"Yeah but Mom beat you! If we were playing for money instead of breadsticks, we'd both be broke! Race me from here to V-Town via the lake and we'll see who wins."
"Daniel, that is not happening," Drew said.
Willow crossed her arms. "Well, I'll challenge you to chess sometime and we'll see who's the most strategic."
"Knowing you," Danny said. "You probably joined all the nerds in chess tournaments growing up! In fact, you were probably the nerdiest of them all and even the normal" he made air quotes when he said normal, "nerds didn't want to be friends with you!"
"Danny," Drew cut in. "Apologize to your sister."
"It's fine," Willow said. "Can I please help with dinner though?" She glared at Danny. "Anything to get out of your orbit…"
"Fine…" Danny sat beside Scout and crossed his arms. "I'll just sit back, relax, and watch you slave away for us."
Drew rolled his eyes and held out a knife to Willow. "All right, want to chop up some veggies?"
"Sure." Willow took the knife and started to help Drew.
"Why don't you like Willow?" Scout asked Danny.
Danny leaned over and whispered. "I do… just don't tell her that."
"But why are you so mean to her?"
"That's just what siblings do," Danny said. "They bug each other to no end. That's how they show each other they care."
"Oh."
"Well, it's very cozy here," Alexis said as she and Sam returned to the living room/dining room/kitchen. "It's nice to have a break from the castle…" She plopped down beside Danny and Scout and wrapped an arm around them and winked. "And visit my grandchildren."
"How's Grandpa?" Danny asked.
Alexis frowned. "Still no change."
"But he'll wake up soon and be back to teasing your grandma in no time at all," Sam said. "In the meantime, I'm glad you came for a visit."
"All right, dinner is served!" Drew announced sometime later as he and Willow set the table.
Danny sat next to Scout, and Willow hastened to the seat on the other side of her, likely to avoid sitting next to Danny. Sam leaned over Scout and cut up her steak for her, then sat between Alexis and Drew.
Alexis took a bite of the sweet potatoes. "Mmm, this delicious."
"You guys make a good cooking team," Sam said. "You sure don't get your cooking skills from me."
Scout knelt under the table.
Sam scrunched her face. "Are you okay, Scout?"
"Yes, it's always nice to find good cooks in our family," Alexis said. "They're few and far between. Kristina's not a bad cook. She got it from her dad."
Scout sat up straight and Danny raised an eyebrow.
"Do you guys want a 6-handed game of Euchre after this?" Sam suggested. "I swiped a deck from Wyndemere before we left. I've been teaching the kids some games."
"Well, I'd be happy to learn," Alexis said. "So, I have news, I thought you kids would be happy to hear. Though I'm not too thrilled… Annabelle the Second is pregnant."
Danny's eyes grew wide and Scout's face lit up.
"Leo said she mated with another dog on the island."
"Mom, can we adopt one of the puppies?" Danny asked.
"Um, well, your father and I will discuss that," Sam said.
Scout bit her lip, then suddenly dropped her socks into Danny and Willow's water glasses.
Danny gawked at his glass. "Ew!"
"Scout!" Willow gasped.
Sam smacked herself in the forehead.
"Scout—" Drew started to say.
"I love you, Danny. I love you, Willow." Scout smiled.
"That's a strange way to show someone you love them," Alexis said.
Danny grinned and patted her back. "We love you too, sis."
Sam clenched her jaw.
