January 15th 2023

Chapter 15
We Haunt the Stables

Marianne's horse was called Truffle. It was not the match that Lucas would have expected, and he had definitely wondered as they had started addressing the subject just where their pumpkin would end up. Making his rounds everyday, he would look at the horses almost like he was interviewing them, looking to see which would be best suited for her. He might have known that when it came down to it no one would be better placed to know than Marianne herself.

As it happened, he might have had better luck if the horse had been among them longer than a week when Marianne came to get started. He hadn't even considered the young horse, seeing as she was still settling in at the time. She didn't even have a name, not really. She must have had one, but she'd come to them with little to no information on her history or condition except that she was in need of a place to call her own and thrive in. Marianne had first met her in that capacity, and she had been devoted to helping her feel that was where she was, that she was home, and the horse had responded to her at once.

Lucas had watched them together and, right on the day where his daughter had proclaimed that her name would be Truffle, he'd known there'd be no turning back. If she was going to ride a horse, it would be this one. They would work their way up to that, and Lucas couldn't think of anyone better to lead Truffle on this journey than his Marianne.

They were out there today, as Lucas looked on, and if a horse could look like they were smiling same as their rider, Truffle was there, leading her merry young friend along. Lucas smiled, recording the moment just a bit, the better to share it with Maya. Their firstborn had no ambitions toward becoming a competitive rider, not in the slightest. She just liked to ride, and her happiness in being there was clear for anyone to see. She was in the moment, she was alive, she was…

"Oh! Wait! Over there, over there!" Marianne gasped all of a sudden, leading Truffle around. The horse smoothly responded to the summons and turned. Lucas blinked, caught off guard, and moved to follow.

"Hey, where are you going? Annie?" he asked, but she was already moving to climb down from the horse, which she could do very well, and then she was moving further on foot, sprinting over and crouching. When she stood back up again, it was with a grin of giddy victory on her face and a small plastic ghost in her hand.

"Daddy, I got another one!" she showed him. Lucas laughed.

"Good job," he nodded. "How many does that make?" She didn't even have to think.

"Twenty-six," she told him, pointing at him in a way he knew to mean 'can you take the picture?'

She had entrusted him with Maya's old camera, the one her mother had given her ahead of this 'game,' while she was riding, but she never came to the ranch without it. She had wanted to take part in the hidden figurines challenge for Halloween, but she also saw herself, being a Friar, a Sullivan by blood, as needing to stay out of 'official contention.' So, with her camera in hand, she'd gone hunting for the figurines and, whenever she found one, she took a picture of it, showing its number and its location, before promptly hiding it back where she'd found it. She wasn't after the prizes, just the thrill of the search.

"Come on, Truffle, we can find more," she went to get a hold of her horse and lead her along. Lucas had a chuckle to himself, thinking of a truffle looking for hidden little treasures, and he explained it when Marianne asked why he had that look on his face. She found the whole thing very amusing, too, not to mention that she saw it as a good sign that, with her horse friend by her side, she would be very lucky in her search.

Whether that had anything to do with it or not, by the time they would return Truffle to the stables, Marianne would have three more pictures on her camera. She had wanted so badly to get one more for a round thirty, but they really needed to get going and her 'five more minutes' had already become ten without success. So, the hunt was put on pause, and father and daughter left the ranch, making for home.

While the two of them had been at the ranch, the triplets and little sisters had been with their grandparents across the road, the better for the house to be left to the carvers. As had become a new and already beloved tradition in the house, a list had been made of recipients to be gifted with a personalized pumpkin for Halloween. The girls had gone out together the day before, walking the Friars' pumpkin patch to select the ones they'd need and, after years of growing them and expanding their efforts, they had quite the selection. It was enough to decorate the house - and ring in Marianne's birthday - and to do a load of cooking and baking, and now to make these gifts.

The team of carvers had assembled today, and there was plenty of talent in it between Maya, Sam, Dora and her mother Dot, Stella, and Barton Day. The kids had been shuffled off across the street because they knew better than to put curious eyes and, more importantly, curious hands anywhere near the carving tools. Accidents could happen so quickly, as a few of the carvers could attest that day. When Lucas returned with Marianne, he found that about half of them had bandages on one or more fingers that hadn't been there when he'd left. The good news though was that the results had been completely worth the trouble. They were just about done with the pumpkins, and they were soon packed up in the minivan to be delivered. That was a job for Lucas and his merry band of little blondes. Marianne, Kacey, Remy, Lucy, Mackenzie, and Aubrey were all going with him, ready to make some people's days with big 'ta-da!' eyes and carved gifts.

Their first stop was the Hunter Hart house. There was a bit of an excess of hands when it came to carrying the present inside, with all the girls right down to tiny Aubrey wanting to be handed the thing. Sensing a lot of these woes at every house they would hit, Lucas got a look at all the pumpkins, looking at them specifically from a perspective of 'which one is least fragile?' and going up. This first one was thus entrusted to Lucy, who smiled and held out her arms at once, like she was going to receive one of her little sisters back when they'd been babies. From there, they were all set.

The grandparents and great grandparents were guaranteed to be those with the best reactions, and they got some of that right here with Katy, Shawn, and the Clutterbuckets. Tanner was the one to come and open the door and despite the great beard covering so much of his face, the great tall man looked upon the pack of small girls, upon little Lucy staring up at him, and he was full of light. He lifted her up, pumpkin and all.

"Is that for us?" he asked in his deep voice. Lucy nodded at once. "Thank you very much. Very much," he tapped her cheek, and Lucy squirmed and laughed.

A similar scene would meet them at the elder Friars' house. There was little to no contest on who would carry that one. Marianne brought it to the door, and when she opened the door, Melinda Friar was in Granny heaven. All her little blond ones in a mass and the first of them front and center, with a smile that echoed hers and the pumpkin in her hands... It was a wonder that they were able to leave and continue on their way. Melinda led them inside and asked the girls to decide where they should put the pumpkin, which was a very complicated decision, considering all the debating and running around that was involved. There was a second pumpkin, this one destined for the senior Friars out in Houston, which Lucas brought in. Thomas and Melinda were going out there that evening and would be entrusted with its delivery.

From there, they made four stops in relatively quick succession. They brought one each to the Orlando and Babineaux families, and then brought another to Rosa and Jenna. The former, being just over halfway through her surrogate pregnancy and a fellow Halloween nut, received the gift with what they would call frustrated (at herself) tears of gratitude. The girls were confused, and Lucas tried very hard not to laugh. Afterward, it was on to Theo's, to bring him and Tori their pumpkin. It was nearly as hard to leave as it had been back with the girls' Granny Mel, but they finally did leave… with Tori joining their delivery squad.

"Where's Mommy's one?" she asked as they all got settled back into the minivan, peering into the various containers that kept the pumpkins safe.

"It's back home," Marianne told her young niece. "Uncle Asher is going to bring it to her with the one that's for him and Uncle Ray, and the one for Aunt Sophie and Aunt Chiara."

"Oh!" Tori nodded. "I want to see it."

"You will," Lucas promised her. "Let's get you guys in your seats, yeah?"

Their next stop was the comic book store, where they delivered the pumpkin that was Marianne's clear favorite of the batch to Peter. The man took great pleasure in showing the gaggle of small girls some comics that might interest them. Lucas had half a mind to leave them there while he did the last deliveries, but the moment he even suggested it, they contested. They wanted to give all the gifts, especially those of them who had not had their turn. So, they went on, and they visited the Days, who had the absolute delight of watching tiny Aubrey Friar hold on to the pumpkin destined for them… even as her father held her up to ensure she wouldn't drop it.

Their final stop would eventually mean a return to Sullivan Stables. They might have had one more stop to make, but Lucas had very discreetly insinuated that Juliet might want to call in at her former home and place of work, so she was there, along with Donna, and Carson, and Cristina… There was nearly a bit of a pumpkin mash as the girls tried to hurry on and deliver their gifts at the same time, but thankfully all the carved pumpkins reached their destinations unharmed. Everyone was so happy, which in turn had the girls hopping and squealing. They'd accomplished their mission!

"Daddy, Daddy! I got it! Thirty!" Marianne came running up to him, waving the camera around before holding it up so he could see. He hadn't even noticed her getting away, but, going by the picture and the location it showed, she'd only been a few feet away.

"Good job, pumpkin," Lucas chuckled and held out his hand for a high five. Marianne didn't just reach up; she jumped and returned the high five mid-hop.

"Can I go look for more? Please?"

"You know the rules, yeah?" he asked her, and she nodded energetically. They had long told her what she could and couldn't do if she found herself on her own on the ranch property, where she could and couldn't go, and they trusted her enough – as well as the employees of Sullivan Stables – to let the nearly eight-year-old girl wander… a little. "Say hi to Truffle for me," he called out as she took off running.

"Okay, Daddy!" Marianne called back without stopping. She had figurines to find.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners