I'll be Around Sometime

It was almost a week before Carol made another appearance. Carolyn had been on pins and needles waiting for her call and Mike had gotten angry for her making Carolyn wait. He insisted that he be there when the meeting took place. They left Jenna with her sitter and drove out to the country where Carol said she'd be.

Mike was indignant on Carolyns behalf and mad enough to chew iron and spit nails over the arrogant treatment she'd received.

He pulled up to a parking space that said visitors and they got out. He took Carolyns hand and they moved into the building. It was an indoor arena with stalls down each side. He spotted Carol sitting in a lawn chair watching what was going on inside the arena. He stomped toward her. She glanced over at them and got up out of the chair. It was obvious that she was in pain.

She turned to face them and waited for them to get closer. "I'm glad you could come. I'm sorry it was such a long drive."

"What happened to you?" Carolyn asked gesturing to the arm she kept close to her side.

"A horse fell on me. I wanted to call you and talk to you before I leave. I have to be back in Michigan tonight so I need to get on the road. Thank you for coming."

"Wait a minute. A horse fell on you? That's all you're going to say?" Mike demanded.

"It happens. When you have a 1500 lb horse with a brain the size of a pea, it's not a matter of if, but when. Anyway, I wrote down my cell phone number and an address where I get my mail, if you want it. I get my mail once a week or so and usually can be reached by phone, unless I'm somewhere were they don't allow it. I'd really like to see if we can establish some kind of relationship, Carolyn. I don't expect it to be a close one, there's too much resentment for that, but some kind of connection would be nice. Who knows someday it may come in handy."

"Can't you stay a little longer? You look like you're hurting. If you need someplace to crash for a few days…." Carolyn surprised herself by offering.

"Thanks, but I can't. I have people waiting for me. And it's best if I leave. Too much togetherness isn't good for us right now."

"Can you….Can you at least tell me how many brothers and sisters I have?" Carolyn asked tentatively.

Carol looked thoughtful for a minute. "I guess you deserve to know. In fact it may come in handy. You have seven half brothers. I'm your only sister. That was named in the will. The only reason I'm telling you this is because I think you should be ready just in case. Not all our siblings are upstanding citizens and don't believe everything they tell you. You'll learn soon enough about them."

"What about you? Do you have to be careful of them?"

"Nope. They know better than to mess with me. Good luck, Carolyn and Mike. Take good care of my niece and I'll be around sometimes. Come on, let's get them loaded. We have to leave."

Carol walked into the arena and gestured for the final two horses to walk into the trailer. The rattle of those big animals loading drowned out the sound of Mike calling to her "You can't just up and leave like this."

She either ignored him or didn't hear him. "I'm going in there. She can't just leave you hanging like that." He reached for the gate.

Carolyn laid a hand on his arm. Gentle, restraining. "Just leave it, Mike. She wants it this way and I think I do too. We can't force a relationship. It'll come. I have her number and address and she knows where we live. I'll see her again. Next time, it will be when we both want it. Let's go home."

The huge semi with a great big horsetrailer moved out of the end of the barn arena as Mike and Carolyn walked out of the other end.

Complete