January 11th 2021

Chapter 11
Our Move Toward Legacy

Riding in the minivan with a pack of eager children, on their way to Sullivan Stables, Lucas felt like a bus driver on a field trip, and going by her smile, Maya felt it, too. It was not their first time out to the ranch, not by a long shot, especially for Nellie, with her horseback riding lessons. Haley went and watched a lot of the time, too, even as she was left to mope at the fact that she was still too young and would have to wait a few years before she could start doing like her big sister. Right now, the prospect of the foal left them in a state of giddiness that defied familiarity.

"Can we go see Hopper, too?" Nellie asked as they passed the archway. Maya looked to Lucas for the answer, figuring he'd be the one to know.

"Uh, probably, but I'll need to check, alright?" he asked, looking into the rear view mirror to find the young rider nodding.

When they parked and started to get out, Lucas directed Maya to go on ahead with the kids while he went to inquire on the current status of Hopper. She agreed, starting off the way she knew to go, until Nellie detached from the group and followed her big brother. She liked to follow 'grown-ups' around nowadays, the better to learn from them. Plus, she might get to see her horse sooner that way.

"You're hiding something," Nellie declared as they went, and for a moment Lucas looked back at her like he wanted to be sure this wasn't Gracie.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I came with Gramps once, we just got to go and see him. I think you're up to something," she raised her chin with a smile like 'ha ha, I caught you, aren't I clever?'

"That doesn't mean that I..." he started to tell her, but then he paused, reflecting for a moment on how this was all likely to unfold. Whatever he told her, she would go and say something to either Gracie or Maya, or both, and then everything would fall apart, right when they were so close to pulling it off. "Fine, it's a diversion," he confessed, and that grin on the Hunter girl's face... It brought up her resemblance to her older sister to the max.

"From what?" Nellie asked.

"From everyone else getting the house ready for Maya's baby shower," Lucas revealed, much to Nellie's immediate giddy gasp. "You can't tell her, okay? Or any of the others. Swear it," he presented his pinky finger. Nellie stared at him. She was ten years old: pinky promises were law. She hooked her pinky with his, no hesitation.

"I promise. Can I see my horse now?"

Cara's project was nearly done even as her friends showed up the day before. It was only pure chance that she even had one of those to do. If she didn't, then they would have invented one... or they would just have said she was having a sleepover with her friends. It was long overdue for her to bring them around anyway. Having a project to lean on made things easier though. It offered the first motivation for getting Maya out of the house. Cara had already texted to say she and her friends were on decoration mode.

Going to see the horses with the kids was a fortunate extra motivator, as it enabled the Clutterbuckets to join Cara and the others and see to the food. But the whole reason for the stable trip and the breakfast beforehand, all of it hinged on another deception, another surprise.

It had been only by necessity that they all agreed to deceive the little Hunters, too. They reasoned that everything would feel better the moment they all returned to the house on the lane, with the mass of friends, and family members, when they all spotted Katy and Shawn present within their numbers. They wrote to confirm their arrival even as Lucas looked on to Nellie brushing at her good friend Hopper.

Meanwhile, Maya sat on a bench nearby where Gracie, MJ, and Haley were all sort of respectfully hovering about Chance and his mother, as they got their own private lesson on the growth of the young horse, courtesy of Juliet. She'd been nearby as Maya was leading her siblings on their way to see the pair, and so she offered herself to tag along. Haley was very familiar with her by now, and she remained at the woman's side, clinging to the end of her vest and looking from her to the horse as she spoke. Her fascination knew no bounds.

Maya had met Chance, had visited him a few times in the weeks since he was born. He was not the first foal she'd seen before, but there was still just something about him. Maybe it was that she was pregnant now, or that Lucas had helped to bring him into the world on that first day, or maybe it was the notion that Sullivan Stables would pass to him someday. However long it would be before that happened, Chance would grow, there before their eyes, just as their Marianne would do. Maya had been dreaming about seeing the two of them together. Maybe Marianne would ride Chance someday, that'd be something.

Ever since Lucas had made his choice, made Sullivan Stables the place where he'd take his talents and his education, he had seated it into their family's life. And for all that, it hadn't been nearly as powerful until the day Juliet had expressed her plan to put the ranch back in Sullivan hands… Friar hands… One day, Lucas would be in charge of… all of this, and from there, who knew what the future would hold. One day, maybe Marianne would take over from him… her or any possible sibling to come along and feel that same sort of drive. Maybe none of them would feel it, and that'd be okay, too. If anything, Juliet's presence showed how it didn't have to be gone forever.

Whatever did or didn't happen, the one thing that was just about for certain was that they would be spending a lot of time here, in the place where she and Lucas had been married, two years ago. It would be a part of them, of their lives, and their children's lives. Just like Chance… The baby was moving around, she could feel her, and in her mind, Maya decided that maybe she felt it, too.

"What took you so long?" MJ asked, when he looked back to find Nellie walking to join them, with Lucas in tow.

"We got to see Hopper," Nellie told her little brother with a smile turned back to Lucas.

"There wasn't a lot of time," he shrugged, explaining to the boy. He had to work consciously not to look to his wife, not to give any sign of there being anything for him to hide, not a single thing. Maybe luckily for him, this was just about the time when Haley went up to her, which pulled her attention away from any questions. She would definitely pick up on inconsistencies, given the chance. Haley though…

As awed as she might have been for the little horse and his sweet temperament, she was that much more intrigued by the small human growing inside her sister's belly. She had some touch of her detective of a sister in her when it came to knowing when Maya was feeling Marianne move, and the moment she knew it was happening, she would scurry over, so she might feel it, too. This was like the total reverse of the strangers coming at her with no invitation. Maya would see that eager little smile in her sister, and she'd echo it, pointing just where Haley would find what she was looking for. Then, the girl would go and carefully place her small hand, fingers spread as wide as they'd go, the better to feel something, anything. Sometimes she'd get there too late, and everything would be quiet and still again. But other times… Oh, how she brightened to feel it. She looked to Maya, and Maya looked back to her. If she could have moments like these all through her life… She would be content.

"Can we go see Troop, too?" Nellie asked now, and Lucas had to hand it to her, she sold it very well, even if she was doing it at his request. Maybe that acting gene was giving her a hand in there… Katy would like the idea of it, for sure.

"Oh, I think so, yeah?" Maya nodded to her, turning to Lucas, who nodded along. "Yeah, you guys can come over for lunch, too, then we can drive you back, how does that sound?" Going off the kids' reactions, they'd say it sounded great.

The other thing they had intended for this morning, after the talk at breakfast, was a call out to their parents 'in Los Angeles,' so that they might figure out what to do for their group costume, potentially split with Katy and Shawn becoming one third of this group thing with their children back in Austin. When MJ asked if they could do the call now, as they were getting back in the minivan to drive to the Sanderson Farm, Lucas just had to keep himself from meeting Nellie's gaze, perchance she figured that part out, too… her or Gracie. If they tried to call their parents, weren't they all going to figure out that they weren't actually in LA but here, in Texas?

"If you hold on, we can call them from the house, while lunch isn't ready yet. You'll even have an artist on hand to draw up whatever you land on," Lucas pointed out, and Maya was happy to spell out this idea by pointing to herself with both index fingers, which made her siblings laugh. So, that settled the question… for now. In the end, they would find that they could discuss this whole matter directly with their parents, and that would just be the way to go, wouldn't it?

"Do you want me to get that?" Maya asked, when Lucas' phone gave a notification tone, and then another, indicating that he had received not one but two text messages.

"It's alright, it can wait," he shrugged as he went on driving, doing his utmost best to come off like it was really nothing, and the messages could wait. In all likelihood, that would be proven so, though he couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit like he would arrive at the house and find that something had gone horribly wrong because he hadn't picked up his messages. Anyone from Maya to his father would say that he was hitting critical 'about to be a dad' stage, where his ability to let his mind wander down paths of potential troubles was getting worked overtime. It was nothing like that, just a baby shower. But he wanted it to remain a surprise. It was Maya's first time experiencing anything like this, and he wanted it to be special for her. Whoever was texting him, he hoped that it was actually separate people, and each message was fine on its own… especially when a third bell was heard.

"A lot of people or one person is very eager to talk to you," Maya intoned. In the back, Nellie laughed quietly. "Are you sure you don't want me to look?"

"More than sure," Lucas told her, hoping that his record for being a careful driver, and never more than now, would carry the weight of this subterfuge.

"Alright, I mean, it's your call," Maya smiled, and Lucas resisted the urge to let out a breath of relief. In a few minutes, it'd all be over, and the look on her face would be all that mattered.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners