June 26th 2023
Chapter 177
We Remind the Stables
It was not uncommon for Lucas to get called to the ranch in the middle of the night because of some situation that required his intervention. He was a light sleeper to begin with, having the kids and all, so it wasn't a big deal. When the phone rang that night, he was of course already on edge thanks to the ongoing wait for Ella and the baby. But this call wasn't about his daughter or any of the horses.
Cristina was summoning him to the bed and breakfast. Specifically, some of their guests were summoning the owner of Sullivan Stables to discuss the 'condition' of their stay. Lucas could hear through Cristina's tone enough to piece together some of context. It went something like 'these two were already a pain before this, so of course it had to be that they'd end up with a genuine issue.'
With that in mind, Lucas got ready to head out there, the better to pull out - as Maya claimed he would - his most visible invisible hat and go full Huckleberry charm on them. He had dealt with enough of this type to have a good idea how to respond to them and their issue, so he did. When it was over, he went upstairs to meet with those who had created this issue.
They'd all been sent back to their respective rooms before Lucas had been called, but now he summoned them all to return to 'the scene,' also known as the attic. This still showed signs that they had been here earlier, with plates, and wrappers, cups, cans, and bottles... The campers had evidently banded together to have a small, late night party, which had ended up being lively and loud enough to wake the couple below and disturb them enough to go seeking the source.
"They were so rude, and kind of scary," one of the girls explained.
"And they were getting all in their faces," her friend indicated their youngest campers. "We had to do SOMETHING."
"And throwing cake was that something?" Lucas asked as he worked very hard not to laugh and keep serious instead. The kids didn't have that much of an issue, with how they giggled to themselves. "Guys, come on..."
"We just wanted to have a birthday party," one of the boys shrugged. "They didn't have to be like that."
"No, they didn't," Lucas had to agree there. "I'm going to help you guys clean up all of this, then everyone off to bed. In the morning, it'll be up to Cristina to decide what happens next, alright?"
There was some grumbling, especially from those who were already falling asleep, but they got through it in the end. Cristina waited for him down below, and when he came down she walked with him back to the parking lot. They both agreed that the whole thing could have been handled smoothly if the couple had not gone up and harassed the campers as they'd done, just as they agreed that... comical as it was from their end... the kids' response could also have been better. They were on the other side now, and they would deal with it.
Cristina felt bad, and didn't see herself punishing the campers all that much. She'd been aware, to some degree, that they were planning to have this party, and she had heard them up in the attic. It really hadn't been all that noisy, or even all that late when the actual incident had happened. To her knowledge, the guests would be out at the time, so they wouldn't have been disturbed, but they'd returned early, unbeknownst to her, so...
By the time Lucas returned after breakfast, the couple had checked out early, something both he and Cristina saw as no great loss. He found her sitting out on the porch swing with Bishop, while Rafa was nearby, inspecting some of the curious bits of rock, wood, leaves, and flowers that miss Evangeline Nicholas had found in the brief time since she'd arrived. She was with Bishop this week, alternating with staying at her mother's, and the eight-year-old was very happy because it meant more occasions for nature expeditions. She was rarely seen in the summer without dirt or grass stains over face, hands, limbs, or clothes, and she had a fast partner in this when Rafa was around.
Since they had no one coming in for the next couple of days, Cristina had the brilliant idea to have her boyfriend and his daughter stay up in the bed and breakfast, and they had quickly accepted. Their respective children were both thrilled at this, both excited to spend more time with each other and their parent's boyfriend or girlfriend.
As the situation was generally handled, down to the campers being particularly helpful that morning at breakfast, Lucas wandered around for a while before ending up where he often did when his feet didn't take him to one building or another. He ended up at the hoop and found his ball, started tossing it, retrieving, tossing...
He could do this at least, but even then it did not feel the way it used to, before his attack. There was still some pain, and even though he could push through it most of the time, there would be limits, the kind he would come to regret if he ignored them. So he didn't ignore them. Could he do more than shoot at the hoop, or do some one on one with one of his daughters? Maybe, if he started practicing some more, but he wasn't there yet, or at least... Oh, he didn't know... Basketball had been such a big part of his life, becoming his sport for how it had united him, his friends, Maya... In time, it had become something that he shared with his daughters, and it had been this team he'd joined, this community, really, with their spouses, their children...
They still counted him as one of them even though he'd relinquished his spot, and it didn't surprise him. It also did not surprise him to hear that they had yet to find someone to replace him. They said that it was because none of them had found anyone that was interested, but he highly doubted that. Far likelier was that they wanted to give him more time, to continue in his recovery and maybe in time rejoin the team as an active player. He would be lying if he said that he didn't want that, too, but then he was also honest enough to recognize the chances of it. He was happy enough to carry on as he was now, and he had just the candidate for them in recent Austin transplant Dr. Ray Choi.
After leaving the hoop, Lucas headed into his main office, resting his back on the small couch in the corner as he looked into updates regarding their incoming exchange campers. One of them was easy enough. They had a sixteen-year-old boy on his way from Missouri. His name was Brett Wilson-Anders, and he would be hosted by Jake Bennett and his mother and brothers. They had signed up to be hosts as they had contemplated Maia's room after graduation. She would be moving out, and she didn't want the space to be kept as a shrine to her, so now they'd have this guest room, all set for the incoming XC.
The more complicated case came in the form of their second XC. It had been this half-formed idea for a long while now for them to reach out and host kids from outside the country, and finally they were making it happen with Gianna Longo out of Italy. She was seventeen years old and would be spending the coming school year in the company of Noor Kaur and her parents.
The hope as of yet was to have this year with Gianna be a test run, for them to see how they would do. The most difficult parts were being played now, in making sure they did everything right to get her here, and with Noor's family, and in school, all of it. The next year, they were looking at the possibility of taking on four XCs, two Americans and two internationals, whether they ended up at Maya's high school or not.
A knock at the door made him look up and he smiled as he saw who had arrived. It would be inevitable that, if or when any of his younger girls became pregnant, it would be very striking to see them advance through the months, but it was already that when it came to their big sister. Ella carried these last days of pregnancy like the treasure that they were to her. Everyone would be all over her to just sit and wait, but she couldn't do that. Reasonable as she would be, she had things to do, and they were important. For instance...
"I know it's kind of short notice, but I was thinking we could have Tori's birthday party here..." she explained as she sat next to her father, who worked without a word to ensure that she was comfortable.
"Ella..." he gave her a look, and she smiled.
"Oh, I know that I could tell you I wanted this party in an hour and you'd do it for her..."
"I'd do it with five minutes, but yes," Lucas cut in, and it made his eldest laugh, settling her hands over her belly for a breath. She needed to get her point across.
"She's gotten better about sharing us with the baby again, she's looking forward to getting to know her sibling, but now with all the tension, waiting for the birth, and HER birthday getting so close, I just don't want her to think it will get brushed to the side. When her day comes, there will have been a baby in the house for a couple of weeks, we'll be exhausted..."
"Hey, you just let us worry about the party, all of it. Consider your mom and I your personal party committee. You just write, or call, and we'll be all over it."
"I figured you would be," Ella smiled in thanks, and Lucas reached out to squeeze her hand. She squeezed it back, and he grinned, feeling the baby move as the back of his hand rested against the full-term bump.
They left the office together, the better to take a brief walk as they waited for Taylor to join them. He had dropped off his wife to go see her father while he got the car parked and went to visit Bishop at the dog retreat. As Ella told it, they weren't looking to bring a dog into the house now, with the baby so near, but depending on how things went, they wanted to see about maybe getting Tori a back to school/belated birthday present...
"Hey, let's stop over there for a second?" Lucas suggested, pointing to the nearby dance studio/arts and crafts room.
"Okay? Why?" Ella asked, slowly redirecting.
"Not to be Alarmist Dad," he started, which made her chuckle, "But you're looking a bit tired all of a sudden."
"I don't know if tired is the right word," Ella looked to her father, and he blinked. He wasn't telling her anything she didn't know; if anything, she knew plenty more. "I didn't want to say anything until I was sure, especially after the last couple times when it wasn't actually happening..."
"And now?" Lucas asked, heart leaping. Ella took a deep breath, nodded firmly. This was the real one, the baby was coming. He couldn't leave her, but they were almost at the studio, so they kept going, and he called out for help. Donna and Britt came hurrying out at once, needing no words to know what the situation was. If they were going to have anyone setting things in motion around here, it would be them.
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
