Graham Quartet - Part 2

Happy Day-After-Independence Day FFFs!
 Right now I'm in a hotel room with my best friend. We're in Grand Forks, ND. Before long we'll head out and begin the last leg of the journey to Canada!

If you are feeling in the mood to read some patriotic things, you might want to try "The Medford's Independence Day" or my poem "Liberty."  

Let me tell you a bit about our trip so far. We've had enough "excitement" for the trip before we even started. My dad, best friend and I went to pick up our rental car this morning, but they wouldn't give it to us. :P It was an invalid deal because I didn't use my own credit card (I don't own one) to make the reservation. And if I wanted to do any of the driving, I had to have a credit or debit card in my name. (Don't have either.) So. . . It was a good thing Dad was there or there would probably been tears in the office. :) As things ended up, we are taking my mom's van now. But it was crazy! And not much fun for a while.
We arrived safely in KC after driving through some heavy rain. Spent the night at Grandparents. 

Neither my best friend nor I slept very well Wednesday night which made a long day of driving rather daunting, but we started off at 5:53. (That's when we left the house.) After dropping off BF's younger sister who had hitched a ride with us to visit some friends, we continued on up north. We drove and drove and drove. We did have a little friend who came along that we named "Del."

This is Del

The "Sergeant Floyd"

We had several stops and some were more "picture friendly" than others. :)

I loved the tall grass and wind in SD!

Our original plan was to drive all the way up to the northeast corner of ND, but we were so tired of driving and another couple hours in the car just seemed too much. So we called home. My mom got to work looking for cheap hotels and then got my brother going. Soon he had us a nice room in a nice hotel for the price of a cheap hotel room. Wonderful brother! We'll have an extra hour to drive tomorrow, but what's 4 or 5 hours when you've spent 12+ hours in the car the day before?
 

Me and Best Friend - Lovely room!

If you didn't take my advise last week and read "The Graham Quartet and the Lonely Cabin," take some time and do it right now or this next part won't make much sense. And if you don't like how or where this part ends, come back next week and then the next week and the next. Right now I have 5 new parts written and I haven't seen the end yet. But I was told to make it as long as I wanted and that longer was better. So . . . Enjoy!

Graham Quartet - Part 2

    As heads nodded, Matt stood up. “Then we’d better get going. The sun’s going to be going down soon and with it any warmth it may have offered.”
    “Matt,” Tim suggested, “maybe we should check all the windows and see if we see any signs of life out there first. If Selena thinks we were being watched—”
    “Good idea. But, if we were, whoever it is knows we’re here. How could they not with a blazing fire going and tracks all around the cabin?”
    The Graham Quartet looked at each other.
    “Perhaps,” Elsa began slowly, “they’ll think that Guy is still here and won’t follow or bother us.”
    Matt, glancing at the sky which now held a hint of pink, said, “It’s not likely anyone will bother us now, but if we don’t get back soon, we’ll worry Mom. Come on. Tim, make sure that window is securely fastened. You didn’t try the windows in the loft, did you?”
    Tim shook his head. “Not when I checked upstairs earlier. I’ll run up and check.”
    Meanwhile, the girls had been getting their coats on and preparing to leave the warm cabin for the bitter outdoors as Matt carefully put out the fire.
    “Matt!” Tim’s excited, but low voice came from the loft and everyone froze. What was Tim excited about? “Someone is outside spying on us!”
    “What!” In a flash Matt was up the ladder while the girls waited breathlessly at the bottom.
    “Where?”
    “Right over there, behind those bushes. Don’t you see that dark object?” Tim pointed.
    The waiting girls couldn’t hear Matt nod, but they heard Tim continue. “I looked out and saw him move from that tree. Do you think there are any more?”
    A long moment of silence followed Tim’s question. Then Elsa said in a low but distinct voice, “Selena, check the windows on the west for any sign of life. I’ll check the east. Tim, keep an eye on that one figure and Matt, check the north side.”
    Soon every eye was scanning the silent snowy lands surrounding the cabin and remembering how it had all started.

*        *        *

    The snow was rapidly falling from the leaden sky and a cold wind blew down from the north. Seventeen-year-old Matt Graham picked up another log to add to his younger brother’s load. “You sure you can carry one more, Tim?” he asked.
    “Sure I’m sure,” and Timothy, who was five years younger than Matt, grinned as the last log was placed onto the stack he was ready to carry to the house. “See.”
    Matt merely grinned back and picked up a large armful himself and then together the brothers headed back towards the side door of the house. It was the perfect night to enjoy a blazing fire in the large fireplace. No doubt Dad would tell a story, Mom would sing and Elsa had said something about popcorn. Reaching the door, the boys stamped the snow off their boots and then looked at each other. With their arms full of wood, neither of them could open the door.
    “Kick it,” Tim suggested, and Matt did.
    A moment later fourteen-year-old Selena answered their summons. She didn’t say anything, but her laughing brown eyes told of her amusement at her brothers’ predicament.
    Soon a blazing fire was crackling, snapping and hissing in the fireplace, casting strange and fantastic lights and shadows on the walls and faces of the Graham family settled about the cozy family room in their home deep in the northern woods of Minnesota; a room filled with the wonderful smell of burning pine and oak mingling with that of golden popcorn which danced and jumped in the wire popper Matt was shaking briskly over the flames.
    It was an evening full of warmth and comfort and one the children remembered for some time because of the events which followed it.
    The Graham Quartet, as the four children of David and Hannah Graham were called by all who knew them, were much alike except in ages and therefore sizes; all had brown hair and eyes, rather square faces and could nearly always be seen in the company of at least one other sibling. They were a fun loving yet helpful group, always seeming to stumble upon some adventure or another.
    When the last of the popcorn had been eaten, Mr. Graham stretched himself and yawned. “I’d say it was about time to turn in.”
    “Dear, did you get those boxes taken out to the barn?” Mrs. Graham asked.
    Mr. Graham gave a groan of dismay. “I completely forgot them, Hannah. I’m sorry.”
    “What boxes, Mom?” Matt asked. “How many are there? Where do they go?” Matt always liked as much information as possible at once.
    “There are three boxes and they have the Christmas decorations in them so they need to go back in the storage room of the barn.”
    Glances flashed between the quartet and then Elsa, the oldest, said, “We can take them out, Mom.”
    “Yeah, a walk in the snow when it’s dark will be fun!” Tim added with excitement.
    Giving a sigh of relief, Mr. Graham smiled. “Three boxes for the four of you?”
    “Someone has to carry a light,” Matt replied and scrambled to his feet. “Come you guys. Let’s get our coats on.”
    “You all might want your snowshoes,” Mrs. Graham called after them.

    Fifteen minutes later, bundled in coats and hats, the four siblings made their way over the snow towards the barn, thankful for the reminder to use their snowshoes. All around them snow fell silently and in the stillness the noise of their footsteps seemed extra loud. No one suggested Selena turn on the flashlight she carried though it was dark; it was more enjoyable without it.
    At last the dark shape of the barn loomed up before them and Matt shifted his box to one arm as he reached for door. With a loud creak of protest, the door slid open enough for them all to slip inside. It was pitch black inside.

So what did you think?

What do you think happens next?

Any suggestions, questions or comments?