Chapter 220 – Distractions
John, Peter and Bill cleared their plates and headed to the office.
"Let me know." John said.
"I will." Gran said.
"Can I see if Mom left my swimsuit?" Opal asked.
"Not yet." Trish said. "We don't know where the horses are, so it is better to not go out right now. It will be okay. We will get it in a little bit."
Abigail cleaned up Cody and set him to play with his horses Nathan had made him. Opal went over to play with Cody. Elizabeth, Lee, Becky, Maddie and Missy made quick work of cleaning up from lunch. When they were done, Lee headed downstairs. He had told Elizabeth that he wanted to check a few things on his laptop.
"Becky, Opal, Maddie and Missy." Elizabeth said. "Why don't you come to the library with me."
"Me too." Cody squealed.
"Yes, you can come as well Cody." Elizabeth said.
Elizabeth took the kids to the library. She had them sit down and then went to grab the large box that had come earlier.
"Now you have to share." Elizabeth said. "I ordered some toys and books. They were mainly meant for Opal when she is up here, but there are things that you all can play with. Do you promise to share?"
She watched as all the kids nodded. The first thing that she pulled out was the Jacobs ladder. She gave one to each of the girls and showed them how to use them. The next thing that she pulled out was the wooden tops. Again she gave one to each of them and two to Cody.
"These are the only two things that you can take home." Elizabeth said. "The rest are to play with here."
Cody went running off to show off his new tops.
"What else is there?" Opal asked.
Elizabeth showed them the barrel of monkeys game, the mosaic tiles and Tangram.
"These are for you to play with up here." Elizabeth said. "The rest can wait until another time."
"Let's play with the barrel of monkeys." Opal said.
"Okay." Maddie said. "Just until we can go swimming."
"Okay." Opal said.
The girls set the other toys aside and opened both barrel of monkey games and started playing. After a few minutes, Elizabeth headed back to the kitchen.
"Thank you, Elizabeth." Abigail said. "You didn't have to do that."
"It is okay." Elizabeth said. "The girls got Jacobs ladders as well as a wooden top. I told them that they could take those home, the rest of the stuff is to be up here to share. They are currently playing with the barrel of monkey games. I also gave them the mosaic tiles and Tangram. That should keep them busy for a while. I kept the rest for later."
"Sounds good." Gran said.
"Thank you for the distraction." Trish said. "I know the girls wanted to help, but they aren't experienced enough to deal with spooked horses on the loose."
"That is why I stayed as well." Elizabeth said.
Abigail and Trish went about putting the cookies away. Gran sat at the table sipping her coffee and looking at the radio. Elizabeth made sure that all the chairs were pushed in and she hadn't missed anything in the kitchen. She then came and took a seat by Gran.
"Any word?" Elizabeth asked.
"They caught one." Gran said. "Still looking for the other."
"How are the riders?" Elizabeth asked.
"No word." Gran said. "I am staying off the radio, so they can communicate about the horses."
"Margaret." Trish said.
"Yes." Gran said.
"Do you want to put the bread in?" Trish asked.
"As long as the oven is preheated." Gran said.
"Not quite." Trish said. "It has a few more minutes."
"Let it heat." Gran said. "I am not sure what else we are going to make this afternoon, especially since Frank is back yet."
"We can get the meat and cheese trays ready." Abigail said. "We need more potato salad and there are potatoes here we can use. We can boil eggs and make an egg salad as well or even deviled eggs. You had Frank picking up another six dozen eggs. There is more fruit and veggies to cut up. There is plenty to do. I was going to ask about laundry."
"There are probably enough towels to do a load." Gran said. "I told the boys that they needed to deal with their own laundry."
"I have stuff that needs to go in." Elizabeth said. "It is only one load."
"Let's head down and deal with that." Abigail said. "Hopefully, they catch the other horse and Frank gets back. We will have plenty to do then."
"Okay." Elizabeth said. "I will help this afternoon, or I can keep an eye on the girls."
"We will figure it out." Gran said. "There is plenty to do, but we are in the house until the horse is caught."
Abigail and Elizabeth headed downstairs. Elizabeth went to her room to grab her laundry. Abigail headed right to the laundry room. There were more than plenty of towels to start a load. When Elizabeth got there, Abigail saw that it was mostly personal items and a few shorts.
"Here." Abigail said. "We can throw your towels in with the other load. Then with your things and the pile from Gran, I think there is plenty to start a load. Elizabeth put her things in the washer and Abigail filled out the load. Once they had both washers running, Abigail looked around.
"Are there sheets from Rosemary?" Abigail asked.
"Yes." Elizabeth said. "I haven't stripped the extra bed yet."
"Why don't you do that?" Abigail said. "Between those sheets and the rest of the towels, we will be able to put a third load in."
Elizabeth went back to strip the bed and brought the things to the laundry room. Abigail waited for her.
"Since we have a moment." Abigail said. "I wanted to see how you were doing?"
"Okay." Elizabeth said. "I am upset, but she made her choice. I wish it was different, but it is what it is right now."
"You have every right to be upset." Abigail said. "She treated you horrible. I was going to ask if you wanted me to invite my niece over. She is nineteen. She is working part time in town. She is going to school in town as well. She is off this summer."
"What is she studying?" Elizabeth asked.
"She is studying to be a social worker." Abigail said. "She wants to work with kids. Given all that we went through with Becky and Cody as well as her own experiences. She wants to work as an advocate for children."
"Do you think she would like to come out tomorrow or on the Fourth?" Elizabeth asked.
"I can ask." Abigail said. "I don't know what her plans are. Her parents, my sister and her second husband are in the city, so I am sure that Caitlin would like some time with us. I know that she doesn't have a lot of friends."
"Let's ask Gran." Elizabeth said. "I want to make sure that she is okay with it."
"I am sure that she will be, but we can definitely ask." Abigail said. "Then I can text her and she will let me know if she can come tomorrow. I am pretty sure that she doesn't have plans for the Fourth, because she asked what we were doing a few days ago."
"Can I ask why she doesn't have a lot of friends?" Elizabeth asked. "Does Jack know her?"
Abigail led Elizabeth out to the sitting area for a moment. She motioned to sit.
Jack, Doug and Nathan arrived at the track to what could only be called controlled chaos. There were a number of hands trying to move horses that they had been getting ready to run in controlled races. Others were trying to continue to calm an agitated horse that was being held by two hands near the first turn.
Doug had barely brought the side by side to a stop and Jack was out, over the fence and going toward the agitated horse.
"Woah boy." Jack cooed to the horse as he got close.
Jack pulled a mint out of his pocket and crinkled the wrapper. The horse flicked his ears forward and sniffed the air.
"You want this boy?" Jack asked, holding the mint out in his hand.
With his other hand, Jack made a small motion for the hands to step back and let go of the bridle. They did, but kept hold of the reins. Jack stepped forward and the horse stomped his foot.
"Woah." Jack said, closing his hand. "You need to calm down or I won't share."
The horse snorted.
"I mean it." Jack said. "I know that you are scared, Irish Charm."
Jack was glad that he was close enough to read the nameplate on the bridle. He knew that horses responded better to their name.
"His barn name is Bob." The hand said.
"Bob is it." Jack said.
When Jack called the horse by his barn name and held out the mint, he gave a small whiny. Jack let him have the mint and then Jack gave Bob a rub on his muzzle.
"Has he been checked?" Jack asked, still giving the horse his attention.
"We couldn't get close enough even though we had a hold of his bridle." One hand said. "Everytime one of us moved, he stomped and snorted, so we were just going to let him calm down some more."
"I will check him over." Jack said. "But don't let go of those reins until I say."
"Yes, Sir." The first hand said.
Jack continued to pet the horse so that he was more comfortable with him.
"Can someone tell me what happened?" Jack asked.
Once Abigail and Elizabeth were both seated, Abigail took a deep breath.
"I normally wouldn't share this." Abigail said. "But in this case, I think Caitlin wouldn't mind. She finds it hard to make friends because of what happened to her when she was about the twins' age. All I will say is that her parents were going through a bitter divorce and her biological father wasn't a nice man. He did things that he shouldn't have and hurt Caitlin.
After that, she found it hard to trust people. She tries, but she finds it hard. You can talk to her about what happened if she wants to share. I have a feeling that you two would be good friends. The reason that I think you would get along is your heart for kids. Caitlin likes dance and music as well as art. I just thought that since you both could use a friend that it might be a good idea. I think Jack has met her once or twice. I know that she has come out here and rode with Becky and Peter on the trails."
"As long as it is okay with Gran." Elizabeth said. "I think it would be great to include her. Not that I mind being the only girl, but it is kind of weird."
"Then I will ask Margaret and then call Caitlin." Abigail said.
"Let's head back up." Elizabeth said. "I want to see if they have caught the other horse. I know that the girls are anxious to get in the pool."
"I think you are right." Abigail said. "But they can't until we get the all clear. The twins will understand, Becky and Opal, maybe not so much."
"It will be fine." Elizabeth said. "When we came down, they were busy playing a new game so that should help."