Chapter 57

Around three hours had passed since Rods truck had departed the mini-mall, and while the Kankers were quite excited about seeing their grandparents ranch for the first time, the combination of a heavy lunch as well as the early morning had lead to overwhelming feelings of lethargy. Accordingly, all of the passengers, had taken turns drifting in and out of consciousness as the vehicle made its way down the last leg of route 71.

As usual, Tabby had taken the duty of driving the vehicle, with May and Katie seated next to her in the console and passenger seat, respectively. Tabby had taken hold of the steering wheel with her left hand, resting the elbow of her left arm on the doors armrest, allowing the fumes of her smoldering cigarette to exit through the cracked window; on the opposite side, Katie rested her right elbow on her door rest, cradling a cigarette of her own. In the middle, May stared downward toward her phone, a device which had dictated their route for the duration of the day. Of course, the remaining girls, Lee, Lindsay and Marie, had taken their place on the rear bench, staring out the windows with wide-eyed stares, amazed at the unfamiliar, omnipresent beauty of rural Texas.

Despite the Kankers viewing Peach Creek as sparse compared to the city they had grown up in, their current surroundings made their quaint suburban home seem like a bustling metropolis. After passing through a small town, acting as the business district for the area, any trace of what one would call a typical building had disappeared. The long, asphalt covered road was surrounded on all sides by an endless plain of green grass, ending only at the base of the beautiful hills in the distance.

The landscape was not without any human-made structure; as they traversed their path, the girls took note of the occasional barn, often with an accompanying tractor or combine, reflecting the cultural atmosphere of the community. In addition, several wooden fences peppered the area, acting as corrals of sorts. Within these corrals, herds of cattle of various sizes stood, some grazing on the green grass, while others gazed towards the oncoming vehicle, chewing their cud and waging their tails as they did so.

As the truck passed one such herd, May decided to initiate a conversation with an exuberant smile.

"Ooooh look!" yelled May, pointing out the windows, "Cows! Aren't they cute!"

"This is so cool" said Marie, using her phone to snap a picture of the landscape, "This would make a great painting. I can't wait to show these to Double Dee."

"Yeah, the cows are pretty cool alright," said Lee, "We might as well get used to seeing them, cause there ain't nothing else to look at. We're in the middle of nowhere."

"They are pretty cool huh?" asked Tabby, "I'm sure you'll get to see a whole lot more of them up close and very personal. Daddy says Grampa owns a huge herd, about 200, and knowing him I'm sure he'll want to get you girls out to the field to help him out."

Tabby paused, taking a draw of her cigarette.

"We may be in the middle of nowhere, but I'm sure you girls won't be bored." said Tabby, "Between that, and the fact that Granny's probably going to want to show off her horses, there will always be something to do."

Lindsay stroked her hair.

"I think I'll pass on the cows if that's alright," said Lindsay, "But the horses sound fun!"

"I love Granny's horses!" yelled May, "Remember when we were in pre-School, we used to visit Granny and Grampa when they used to live right outside the city. They had horses back then, too. I liked all of them, but I'll never forget Trigger. I loved him, and he loved me. Granny said one day I would be able to ride him, but he was too small back then. We used to just hang out in the stables and share carrots together."

May sighed.

"I miss him," said May, "I really do hope Granny let's us ride again."

"Trust me," said Tabby, "She'll anything for you three and the knucklehead sitting in the passenger seat. Me not so much."

At the conclusion of Tabby's statement, there was a long bought of silence as the convoy continued on its way down the road. Due to lack of traffic and other vehicles, the Kanker convoy was for the most part, able to proceed uninhibited at comfortable 45 miles per hour; though they did have to come to reduce speed every quarter mile or so to obey a stop sign at an interesting road.

Eventually, Tabby activated her turn signal, and maneuvered the vehicle onto a smaller, unpaved road. After traveling for around a quarter mile, the GPS on May's phone announced two much welcome words: "You've arrived."

"Well girls," said Tabby as she maneuvered the truck trailer combination into the driveway, "We're here."

The girls eyes widened as the sight of their grandparents Texas residence came into view. At the foot of the driveway, a traditional mailbox was mounted on a wooden post, above a modest-sized displaying the houses address, as well as the last names of the occupants.

Further down the driveway, a small, four door jeep sat in the driveway, directly in front of one of the two doors leading into a detached garage. The door in front of the jeep was closed, it's white color beautifully reflecting the rays of the setting sun, and providing nice contrast to the dark blue vinyl siding. The second door was left open, revealing the spacious interior as well as its contents; a vehicle hidden from view due to being covered by a protective car tarp. Despite the limited view, one could make out the general shape of the contents beneath: a classic muscle car from the late sixties. The vehicle was more than likely in a state of repair, as its large V8 engine had been placed on a stand and partially disassembled.

Next to the driveway, a small set of stairs led up to a lawn of sorts, which contained a gravel path leading to the front door of the Lonergan residence. The house itself was quite impressive; a large, two story home in the "Craftsman Style", complete with a sizable porch that wrapped around the side of the abode. The wood siding was dark blue in color, with white flashing adorning the windows, a color scheme meant to perfectly match that of the attached garage.

Wasting no time, Tabby brought Rods truck to a stop directly behind the green jeep, placed it in park, and deactivated the engine. One-by-one, the six women vacated the vehicle, each performing a stretch to alleviate the stiffness brought on by their six hour drive. Soon after, the family made their way up the stairs in a single file fashion, with the younger girls leading the way, followed by a smiling Katie. Tabby, being less than enthusiastic regarding her current situation, trailed behind in a sluggish fashion.

The exuberant and cheerful May was the first to reach the area of the front door, where she immediately pushed the illuminated doorbell button. From within, a whimsical tone reminiscent of wind chimes sounded to familiar tune, as they waited to be welcomed inside.

Within seconds, a small, dark silhouette appeared from behind the glass embedded into the wooden door. The sound of the lock disengaging filled the air, at which point the door slowly rotated to the open position, revealing a woman who appeared to be in her sixties.

The woman standing before them was around 5'3" in height, and maintained a youthful posture despite her apparent old age. Her medium length graying hair was tied up into a tight bun, fully revealing the diamond rings that adorned her ears. A pair of large glasses sat atop her nose, the lenses reflecting so much light that her eyes seemed to disappear; a gold chain was attached to the ends of the temples, passing around the back of her neck, and acting as a safety net in the event that spectacles fell. Her somewhat wrinkled face was remarkably similar to May's, in both shape and appearance, as was pastel pink colored sundress; completing her outfit was a pair of light tan slip on shoes.

Almost immediately, the small older woman adopted a wide, genuine smile, holding her arms out towards the three Kanker girls.

"There's my three pretty granddaughters!" yelled the woman, her voice high in pitch and containing strong traces of a southern accent, "Come here and give me a hug, I missed you so much!"

"Hi Granny!" said all three girls, embracing their grandmother in a tight but loving squeeze.

"Did ya'll have a nice trip?" asked Maelynn.

"Sure did!" said Lee, "Mom really set the bar high on this one!"

"I can tell!" said Maelynn, "Ya'll look as excited as a possum eating a sweet tater."

At that point Maelynn turned her attention towards Marie, whom she hadn't seen in person since Christmas Eve.

"Well kiss my grits!" said Maelynn, taking hold of Marie's face when her hands as if examine her closely, "I've seen the pictures Daddy sent early this year, but now I finally get to see two pretty green eyes instead of one in person. Perfection at its finest."

"Thanks Granny," said Marie, "But I owe it all to someone special."

Maelynn and Marie shared a brief smile, at which point Lee turned her attention towards Lindsay, who was currently standing behind the remainder of the girls in silence. The redhead took hold of her friends hip, pulling her towards her as she did so.

"You remember Lindsay, right Granny?" asked Lee.

"Of course!" said Maelynn in a cheerful manner, "How could I forget those pretty blue eyes! Welcome to the Lonergan ranch, as long as you're here, you're like family."

Lindsay smiled.

"Thanks Ms. Lonergan," said Lindsay in a somewhat shy manner.

"Shoot, call me Maelynn," said Maelynn, "Or you can even call me Granny, I don't mind. Just don't call me late for dinner!"

The girls shared a slight laugh at their grandmothers old school joke, at which point May decided to interject.

"Oh Granny, I can't wait to see the horses," said May, "But first, I gotta tell you about all of the cool stuff we've done over the last week. We saw a Broadway show, then we went to the beach, and then we went to Georgia to meet moms old friend."

"Is that so?", asked Maelynn, moving to the side as she did so, "Well I'd like to hear all about it. Come on in and make yourselves at home, I got some chocolate chip cookies waiting for ya on the counter. But don't eat too many, Grampa will be back from the pasture soon, and I'm planning a big ole family dinner to celebrate all of us bein' together again. Aunt Nicole's out in the kitchen marinading the roast, and Aunt Brooke and Uncle Georgie should be here in an hour!"

The four rambunctious and excited girls made their way past their grandmother, passing through the large living room and into the country kitchen as they rambled on in an excited manner. After observing her granddaughters exuberant antics with a smile, Maelynn turned her attention back towards the porch, spotting the two older Kanker sisters. Katie stood front and center, her hands clasped in front of her as she smiled from ear-to-ear; Tabby stood behind her, remaining slightly hidden from view while staring off into the distance with a scowl.

"My oh my," said Maelynn, "There's a beautiful face I haven't seen in over 15 years!"

"Hi Mae!" yelled Katie as she dashed towards Maelynn, squeezing her in a loving embrace , "You don't know how happy I am to see you! It's just like old times!"

"Sure is," said Maelynn, patting Katie on the back as she shared her embrace. Eventually, the older woman pulled away, examining Katie's face as she did so.

"Look at you," said Maelynn as she pinched Katie's cheeks, "You were always the prettiest one, but you look like you've been through quite a lot over the years."

"Yeah," said Katie, "It's been quite a ride."

"Well don't you worry, cause I understand," said Maelynn, projecting her voice as if to ensure that Tabby heard what she was saying, "Those two always picked on you, but I'm going to make sure up you have a great time here at our humble abode. Come on in, have a seat. I'll make some tea, and you can tell me all about everything you've been through."

Maelynn moved aside, allowing Katie entry into the house. Immediately after, Maelynn proceeded to follow her, attempting to close the door behind her. However, before the door was able to latch, it was brought to a stop by Tabby, who had placed her foot between the door and its jam.

"Forgetting someone?" asked Tabby in a sarcastic manner, staring at Maelynn through the slightly open door.

Maelynn rolled her eyes.

"Oh my," said Maelynn in a snarky manner, now displaying a personality completely different than the benevolent grandmother she has previously projected, "I guess I did."

Maelynn opened the door, standing to the side and allowing Tabby to enter.

"You're late by two minutes, just to let ya know," said Maelynn.

"Yes Maelynn, I know," said Tabby grinding her teeth as she walked into the living room.

"It figures, you are always slow with everything you do," said Maelynn, "I've seen you cook breakfast, poor Roddy is probably lucky if he eats before going out on a hard days work. Ya got a job yet?"

"As a matter of fact I do," said Tabby

"Finally", said Maelynn, "There's be a cold day in hell while I sat around and watched Big Georgie work all day. I raised my kids, cleaned the house, cooked dinner, and taught horseback riding lessons during the day. I'll never understand why my boys gravitate to you girls."

"Whatever," said Tabby, "I'm here because the girls wanted to see you and Big Georgie, no more no less. If I had the choice I'd have sent Roddy and stayed home."

There was a slight pause, at which point Maelynn decided to speak.

"Don't think I don't know why you're here," said Maelynn, "You're trying to make things right, aren't ya?"

Tabby sighed, turning towards Maelynn as she did so.

"Look," said Tabby, "We obviously can't stand each other, but we can both agree that we need to do what's right for them, and our family as a whole, right?"

Maelynn remained silent, staring at Tabby with a neutral expression.

"Did you hide anything related to them like we talked about on the phone?" asked Tabby.

"Yes, I did," said Maelynn, "It's all away in the attic."

"Good," said Tabby, "Just to let you know, I told Annalee everything. She has agreed to keep quiet for now, but I know it's eating her every single minute."

There was another brief pause, at which point Maelynn broke the silence again.

"It's not fair Tabb," said Maelynn.

"I know," said Tabby, "Nothing about this was, you know that."

The two women remained locked in a mutual gaze for several seconds, both appearing as if they were deep in thought. Their trance was suddenly broken by the loud sound of a V8 engine, emanating from the vicinity of the driveway. The sound prompted Maelynn to turn towards the window, at which point she spotted the sight of a familiar 1980's Chevrolet C20 truck; green in color. The trucks tires appeared quite soiled, as if it had been being driven through mud, with its status as a working vehicle further augmented by the presence of a large cattle field container in its pickup bed. As the truck pulled into the driveway, the sun illuminated the cab, revealing silhouettes of the two occupants within; a man wearing a large, ten gallon hat, boasting what appeared to be a boisterous mustache, and his canine companion, a large bloodhound sitting in the passenger seat as if it were a human.

"There's Big Georgie now," said Maelynn, "I better get to fixing dinner."

At that point Maelynn began making her way to the kitchen, but not before delivering one final statement.

"She's going to find out eventually," said Maelynn, "Better it just be from you, rather than a surprise."