Chapter 6 – News

Farm duties didn't escape us once we returned home. It was back to work from the moment we stepped foot on our property. Ella got changed into more appropriate clothing while I remained in what I'd worn to school, since it wasn't much different than my work clothing anyway. I waited at the end of the hallway, tapping my foot impatiently for her to put on shorts and a tank top. Jeez, you'd think she was preparing for her wedding.

Our old farmhouse had been remodeled since we moved in about six years ago. It was too big for a family of three, so big that my mother considered fostering children for a while, but that idea never got past its infancy. The upstairs had three bedrooms, two belonging to Ella and me, while the downstairs had the master bedroom and another spare room. This was the greatest house to live in when you're a kid because you could spend endless hours playing hide and seek, which came in handy whenever Ella and I babysat Angel and Gabriel Moore.

When Ella finally finished getting changed, we headed out to work at the stable. Our daily schedule on a school day was as follows: get up in the morning to muck the stalls, feed the animals, etc; after school, exercise the horses and clean the riding equipment; after dinner we would feed the farm animals again. The only part of the routine that I enjoyed was this time of the day because I got to bond with my beautiful bay mare, Gale.

She was restless when we reached the stables, anticipating my arrival like a true friend. I came up to her and rubbed her muzzle, cooing to her like a baby. "Hey, Gale, you're so pretty," I said, and she sneezed in my face as she'd done this morning. It was her common greeting. I laughed as I placed the halter around her giant head. Holding a good grasp on the reins, I coaxed her out of her stall after I'd unlatched the gate. I equipped her with her saddle and made sure she was strapped in tightly. Behind me, Ella was saddling her horse, Estelle. I rose onto Gale's saddle and steered her outside.

The best place to ride her was along the old horse trail set up by the farm's original owner that rounded the entire property. It led all the way toward my mother's vet practice, and was separated from the roads by a white picket fence. I switched between trotting and cantering with Gale so that she could stay in shape and be prepared for our next competition. It took us a good hour to finish riding the trail.

As we returned, I saw Ella in the small ring we had set up by the stable filled with jumps and other obstacles to maneuver around. In front of the barn was parked a very ritzy Bentley. I rolled my eyes but laughed when I realized who it was.

I latched Gale's halter to a hook on the outside of the barn and unstrapped the saddle. I grabbed the hose to cool her off. When I started wetting her, another bay emerged from the barn with her owner. Monique Johnson was the eleven-year-old daughter of a wealthy lawyer who housed her prized thoroughbred, Krystal, in our barn. Her tangled brown hair was thrown back into a pony tail and her caramel skin was accented nicely with the white tank top and riding pants she was wearing.

"Hey, Max!" she called excitedly as she led her horse to where Gale and I were.

"Hey, Mo," I said, putting away the hose.

"Oh, my god! How was your first day of school? I don't start until tomorrow 'cause I go to that private school out of town, you know the one with that cute school skirt. I really like it, but we can't accessorize the way I'd like to. And I bought this totally cute waist belt that we can't wear over our sweaters. I always think it's weird that we have to wear them in September. Don't you think that's weird? It can get really hot this time of the year–"

"Mo! Calm down, jeez." I'd walked into the barn while she was talking to grab some leather cleaner and a sponge, and when I returned she was still talking. My headache was creeping back. In case you didn't notice, Monique was a chatter box. The only way you could really shut her up was by duct taping her mouth, but even then I'd think she'd find a way to talk. Talk about talent.

"Sorry," she apologized with an oversized grin.

"Mo!" Ella called as she pulled Estelle next to Gale. "How are you?"

"Good, so how was your first day? Any cute boys? Because I met this really cute guy over the summer at the mall outside of Claire's. I never figured out why he was outside of a jewelry store, but then again he could be buying something for a friend or his mother. I need to find something for my mom because her birthday is coming up, but Dad wants me to buy her gift with my own money. Like, we have tons of money, I don't see why he can't just give me the money…" She trailed off after the stern looks Ella and I shot at her. Recognition flashed across her face as she realized she was rambling.

"See ya," I said to her once I'd finished cleaning the riding gear. "I'm heading in for the day."

"Bye," Mo said. I returned Gale to her stall and walked back to the house, hearing Mo and Ella's conversation about boys echoing off the large building.

When I got inside I sighed heavily. My day hadn't ended, but I wanted to go to bed. It all started with my father this morning. He was the bane of my existence. My life would be much less complicated if he would just leave me alone for once.

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cupboard. I scrounged around for the tablets of ibuprofen. I downed two pills with the water and sighed again, thinking about ridding myself of this headache.

Mom's heals tapped on the hardwood floor as she entered the kitchen. I turned toward her and she smiled. "Hey, honey," she said as she came up and gave me a hug, despite the fact that I smelled like wet horse. "How was your day?"

"Okay, I guess," I said. I didn't feel like telling her that I'd gotten detention, although that wouldn't have surprised her.

"Just okay?" She looked concerned. "Was it hard? You didn't meet any new friends? You know high school isn't that much different than middle school."

"I did meet a couple guys…" I said, not really wanting to tell her. Don't get me wrong, Mom and I are close, but boy talk wasn't really our thing. It never came up in my life, so we never talked about it.

"Guys? Were they nice? How'd you meet them?" She acted as interested as Ella and Monique.

I rolled my eyes. "It's nothing, really. They're just friends. I hardly even talked to them."

"Oh." She sounded disappointed. "Well, at least it's a start." She smiled and squeezed me again.

"Hey, Mom," Ella said as she came inside. She hugged Mom.

"How was your day?" she asked, knowing she'd get more info from Ella.

"It was fun, but all my friends are in different classes. That's one of the reasons why I hate middle school because we are constantly changing. Like last year we were able to schedule our classes together, but this year they wouldn't let us rearrange without a good reason, so I'm stuck alone. I think wanting to be with your friends is a good enough reason. Although I sit next to a cute boy in Science."

"Ella," Mom said in a stern voice. "Your education is more important than hanging out with friends. Besides, you can make new ones in your other classes." She paused and looked at the two of us significantly. "Now that you're both here, I have some news to share with you. I want your opinion on this."

"What is it?" Ella asked.

"Well, when Jeb stopped by earlier…" She paused again as she felt my tension radiating in the space between us. "And he mentioned that he knew someone in social services who was looking for a home for a child in foster care. Now, I know this is short notice and that we hadn't considered fostering for a while, but I wanted to know how you feel about getting a foster brother."

It had been a while since we'd considered sharing our home with kids in need, but I was never against the idea. It would switch up our usually monotonous lives on the farm. What concerned me was that this was Jeb's idea.

"You know for sure that it's a boy?" Ella asked, excited. "Oh, my god, that would be awesome! How old is he? I hope he's my age, and really cute."

"Ew, do you know how disgusting it would be to hook up with your foster brother?" I asked. "Talk about rumors spreading like crazy, with people knowing that you live with your boyfriend. Everyone would get the wrong idea."

"Ella, I don't know much about this boy yet," Mom said. "I don't know how old he is or what grade he's in, but all I know is that his name is Marco. This was very sudden, and at first I was hesitant, but the more I thought about it the more fun I thought it would be. We could teach him about the farm life. It would be a good learning experience for him."

"Well, no matter how old he is, I always wanted a brother," Ella said.

"But neither of you are against it?" Mom cut in, looking excited and nervous at the same time.

"Of course not!" Ella chirped.

"No, it would be awesome," I added.

Mom smiled. "Good, I'll let Jeb know tonight that we're interested. I don't know how long it will take before he's allowed to move in. No matter how old he is, he is definitely not staying in the spare room upstairs."

So I said I wasn't going to introduce Nudge for a while, but as I was writing this chapter I realized I could do it now. It fit with what was going on, so I gave everyone a treat just so that you wouldn't think this chapter was completely useless, but it's not. It's very important people!

I'll try posting another chapter tomorrow morning, but I'm leaving for New York then. If anyone knows any place good to eat, let me know! Like I said before, I hope to post some things while I'm gone, but there are no guarantees. And I'm gonna try to keep a blog of my trip. So kuddos to anyone who checks it out. A link is on my profile.

Thanks for all the lovely reviews! But keep reviewing folks if you want updates while I'm on the road!!