Graham Quartet - Part 25

Welcome to Friday, FFFs!
Winter has returned to us and we are supposed to get sleet, freezing rain and snow over the weekend. And we thought spring had come. Well, I don't know why we thought that since it wasn't even March yet and we seem to get at least one big snowfall in March which comes one day or night and is gone the next. Crazy.

I spent most of Monday night planning and researching for Triple Creek Ranch, so I was only able to get about 200 words written. But things got better Tues. and Wed. and last night . . . I reached and passed the 1/2 way mark in Book 3! Now all of you Triple Creek fans can celebrate with me and eat a cookie (if you have any around the house). But please, don't stop praying. I'm going to try to get the other half written by the first of April. We'll see. I'm pretty sure some of this will go quickly, but I don't know how many times I'll get stuck or something new will pop up to add to the story. Some new characters have been introduced in this book and some old ones have hung around a little longer so I'm better acquainted with them. :)

S and I babysit the kiddos tonight, so I won't be writing. And then an old friend of Mom's is going to be here Sat and part of Sunday so I don't know if I'll write any on Saturday night or not.

But I hope you all enjoy this next part of

The Graham Quartet and the Mysterious Strangers

Part 25 

This story has been removed to publish it.

Thank you!

What should the Quartet do now?

Was Guy one of the ones on that train?

What are your thoughts on this situation?

Will you be back next week to see what takes place? 

P.S. Let me know if you are going to join the celebration by eating a cookie or something today. Or whatever day you read this. :)

Graham Quartet - Part 24

Hello Friday Fiction Fans!
We had a warm spell come through this week and it was actually 71º! It's chilly right now. I don't know if it's above freezing or not, but this morning the sun is out and it's supposed to be 60º later on.

I did a lot of writing this week. And it was mostly on TCR-3. I can't remember how much I wrote Friday night, but on Saturday it was 1,100 words, Monday 1,200, Tues 1,500 and Wed. 1,800 words. Over 5 1/2 parts and the weeks not over yet. Last night I was stuck! Completely stuck. I didn't know where to go or what to write. I even tried Dr. Morgan, but was stuck on that too. :( I'm going to try again tonight, so keep praying. I have so many ideas for the book, I just have trouble sometimes when I have to figure out what happens next because sometimes something I had never thought of comes along to add to the story.

For those of you who enjoy reading about Priscilla de Silvosa's travels across the United States, there are a few NC letters posted on her blog. I was going to write Day 5 this week, but each time I sat down to write, the internet decided not to work. And it's very difficult to write about a place you've never been to if you can't use the web site. :P Yesterday the internet was working, but I was not in the mood to write, so I went and read.

I do hope you are all still enjoying the Graham Quartet and aren't tired of it yet because you have 10 more parts counting today's. I told you this was a long story.

The Graham Quartet and the Mysterious Strangers

Part 24 

This story has been removed to publish it.

Thank you!

What would you do with a day off of school?

What would you do if you were a member of the Graham Quartet?

Was "Elsa's stranger" spying on them?

Will you be back next Friday?

Graham Quartet - Part 23

Happy Valentine's Day, FFFs!
Thinking back on the last half a dozen years or so I think I've spent more of those Valentine days babysitting then I have spent doing anything else. And this evening will be no different. Sis and I will have 8 kiddos ages 7 and under. We'll have our own niece and nephews as well as another friend's 3 kids. Should be fun! Don't you wish you could drop off your younger siblings or join in the fun too? Just be sure you bring a box or two of Annie's mac & cheese because that's what's for supper. :)

I've been writing this week and so far I have 6 and 1/2 parts of TCR-3 written and am hoping to at least finish part 19 tomorrow evening. That means I'm almost 1/3 of the way done! It was a little slow in some places but things are really starting to move now. Keep praying because I still get stuck and have to sit and stare at NEO for a while some times or else I give up for the time and go do something else.
Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Dr. Morgan completely. I'd still like to work on it, but if I want to finish writing TCR Book 3 by my birthday, I have to work on it. And any questions, suggestions or ideas for Dr. Morgan or Triple Creek Ranch Book 3 would be greatly appreciated!

How is your weather? Ours has finally decided to start warming up! Nearly all our snow is melted and it was nearly 50º yesterday! It is cloudy right now and even rained a little. Not much but enough to enjoy the pit-pat-patter-pat on the skylight while I had my quiet time this morning. The sun is supposed to come out later and tomorrow it's supposed to be nearly 60º! Yay!

I hope you all are still enjoying:

The Graham Quartet and the Mysterious Strangers.

Part 23 

    “And Guy didn’t give you any hint when he’d be back?”
    All four brown heads were shaken. “He didn’t even write this note in code, Dad,” Tim pointed out.
    For several minutes Mr. Graham was silent. “I’m afraid I don’t really know what to tell you,” he said at last. “If the note was not written in code, then he was either assuming that no one else would find it or that it really didn’t matter if they did because he’d be long gone by the time it was discovered.”
    Selena spoke up for the first time then. “I don’t think Guy really went to the train station.”
    “Why not?” demanded Matt quickly.
    “Because I’m sure he would have written that in code if he was. I think he just had to be somewhere else and wasn’t sure when he’d be back and didn’t want us to worry about him not being there.”
    Mr. Graham nodded. “That sounds like it’s a possibility. As for the stranger, his car might have gotten stuck and then he figured that by the time you kids got home he would have found someone else to help him.”
    “But he was spying on us, Dad,” Tim protested.
    “You think he was,” Mr. Graham corrected. “How long was it that you actually saw him?”
    Tim looked over at Matt and then shrugged. “I don’t know.”
    “Could it be that he was just trying to see if it was a real house?”
    “Maybe he was tired and sat down a few minutes to catch his breath,” Selena suggested softly.
    “But Dad,” Elsa interjected, “what about Guy?”
    “What about him?” Mr. Graham turned to look at the slightly worried face of his eldest daughter.
    With a sigh, Elsa replied, “I guess I’d just feel better if I knew he made it safely back to the cabin tonight.”
    When the rest of the Quartet nodded, their father promised he’d drive out and check the cabin first thing in the morning.
    “Can we go with you in the morning, Dad?”
    Mr. Graham smiled. “If anyone is up and about, they are welcome to go. Now you four should probably head upstairs. Tomorrow is Sunday, remember, so don’t stay up too late.”

    Matt and Tim had joined their sisters in the girls’ room before they split up for the night. They were all worried about Guy, and Tim wasn’t convinced at all that the stranger had really been looking for help. “I know he was spying on us,” he insisted for the tenth time.
    “We know that, Tim,” Matt groaned. “I think he was too. But why? And where and how does he fit into the picture?”
    “What do you think about the stranger?” Elsa turned to Selena.
    Selena shook her head. “I don’t know. He didn’t seem like a bad guy, but I would have said the same about Aaron Burr. And how they all fit together, I don’t know. It’s so confusing!”
    “Maybe we should go over all the clues again,” Tim suggested, settling himself a bit more comfortably on the end of the bed.
    “I have,” Matt sighed. “And they’re all a mess. We know that something is going on either at the furniture factory or with it, but what does Communist paper, Aaron Burr, Hong Kong, Vanderbilt, Aster, Siam, trains, Mr. Hinken and now this stranger have to do with each other?”
    “And don’t forget the message about hens laying and hounds getting closer, that Guy received,” Elsa added.
    For several minutes the Quartet sat and puzzled over every clue they had discovered and any possible connections they might have with each other. At last, hearing the distant chime of the clock down in the library, Matt stood up and shook his head. “It’s no use to think more about it tonight. We’ve got to be missing some important information because we’re getting no where. Let’s all sleep on it and perhaps we’ll dream up a solution.” Matt rolled his eyes as he added the last words.
    “I don’t know if I can sleep.” Selena’s quiet voice turned Matt back from the door.
    “Why?”
    “I can’t help thinking about Guy.”
    Elsa put an arm about her sister. “I do too.”
    Stepping back to the bed, Matt said, “I think we should pray for him right now.”
    Without another word, the four heads bowed and Matt prayed for their friend.

    Mr. Graham had been right when he said he would go out early in the morning to check the cabin. It wasn’t even light when he tapped lightly on the two bedroom doors of the Quartet. Even though it was early, all four siblings were ready and anxious to go along. However, the trip was disappointing. There was no answer at the door of the cabin, and when Mr. Graham opened the door with his key, everything was as the Quartet had left it the night before. There was no sign anywhere of Guy. While Mr. Graham and the girls looked inside the cabin, Matt and Tim went at once to the place where the stranger had been hiding.
    “Look,” Matt pointed. There was a set of tracks leading to the cabin.
    “I wonder if these join a set of tracks leading away from the cabin.”
    “Huh?” Matt looked at his brother. “Oh, you think that even though it looked like he was heading straight towards the road, he might have doubled back to this track?”
    Tim nodded. “Think we can check it out?”
    Shrugging, Matt turned to the cabin which was being shut again. “Let’s ask.”
    When the question was put to him, Mr. Graham hesitated a moment and looked at his watch. “Well, if it doesn't take too long. Mom will probably have breakfast ready when we get back, and we don’t want to be late for church.”
    “Thanks, Dad,” Matt smiled.
    “But we should see where he went when he left,” Elsa put in. “Just in case he didn’t go the same place.”
    “Good idea. Let’s split up.”

What do you think they'll find?

Can you make anything out of all their clues?

Do you agree with Selena about Guy?

Or did he really catch a train?

Dr. Morgan - Part 16

Hello Friday Fiction Fans,
Winter greetings from the cold and snowy mid-west. It is certainly winter here. :) If it weren't so cold I'd be tempted to head outside just to enjoy the snow, not that our inch and a half is very much . . . Maybe I'll just stay inside after all.

I thought my week was going to be crazy, but with the snow and sleet and bitter cold, writing classes were cancelled, my grandparents didn't come down, my brother and his family didn't come over for supper Wed. and Thur. nights and I didn't go to a concert last night. What did I do instead? I wrote a short story that's about 3,600 words, worked on Travels of Priscilla, knitted, read, worked on other things and enjoyed staying home.

Last Saturday, S and I babysat the kiddos while J & M were at a political dinner. We knew they were going to be late, so I had brought some extra things to do. What do you do with old sheets or curtains and giant "tinker toys"? Well, we built a gold mine. :) They loved it! They had to crawl through the tunnel that even turned, climb up on the couch, go down the other side, up on the other couch and then out the other end of the tunnel, hunting for gold along the way. (The gold was yellow pieces of duplo.) They all enjoyed it. Even Little Guy crawled in and looked around him with interest. After the gold played out, we sat in a shaft and read "In Grandma's Attic" until the whole thing collapsed around us. :)

I'm still trying to work on writing TCR-3 and Dr. Morgan, but right now they're both slow! I'll keep working and you all can pray.

Since two of you requested I post Dr. Morgan, here it is. Enjoy!

Dr. Morgan - Part 16

    Limping into the front room, Amy sank onto the couch and looked about her. It was such a large, cheery room, yet there was a feeling of coziness about it too that was appealing on such a cold, snowy day.
    “Grandpa’s coming!” Danny’s excited voice at the window caused Amy to turn with a start. She saw Mr. Morgan and Adam coming towards the house carrying snow shovels. Upon noticing the two little faces pressed against the window, for Jenny had crawled over and pulled herself up beside Danny, the men stopped, waved and then Adam tossed a few lightly packed snowballs against the window causing a squeal of delight from Jenny and giggles from Danny.
    Suddenly Amy’s throat contracted and a rush of tears filled her eyes. A momentary picture had flashed through her mind but before she could quite recall it, it had vanished. She was silent as the two men entered the living room moments later.
    “Well, good morning Amy,” Mr. Morgan greeted his new guest with a smile as he approached the couch. “How did you sleep last night?” Then his face grew sympathetic. “Is something wrong?” He had noticed the unshed tears.
    Amy looked up with a small smile. “No,” she said, but her look contradicted her words. “I think I just remembered something but now I don’t know what it was.”
    “My advice to you, young lady,” Mr. Morgan replied with a kind smile, “is not to try to think of anything right now, but I feel that’s like telling Justin not to fret over his patients.” His voice dropped to a confidential whisper as he added, “It doesn’t work, you know. He frets over them anyhow.”
    This time a real smile turned up the corners of Amy’s mouth.
    “Now, how did you sleep?”
    “Better than I have for a long time, I think. I don’t really remember much of anything until this morning.”
    “Good. Maybe that will make Justin stop fretting over you.” Turning to Sara who had just come in the room, he asked, “Has your brother called again?”
    Sara shook her head. “Not since you left.”
    Just then the telephone rang loudly. Stepping through the space which separated dining room from living room, Mr. Morgan picked up the receiver. “Hello . . . Yes, Justin, she’s up and said she’s slept better than she has for a long time. That’s not saying much for your hospital, you know. . . .” He whispered something to his wife and then said aloud, “Yes, she ate a good breakfast. . . . No, I haven’t had a chance. Just got in from clearing the drive. . . . Sure I’ll be in town. . . . Yep. . . . All right. Bye.”
    Replacing the receiver, Mr. Morgan turned. “How many times a day do you think that boy will be calling us?”
    “At least a dozen,” Sara laughed, lightly running her fingers up and down a few scales on the piano. “I sometimes wonder what he’d do with thirty patients. What do you think Justin would be like with that many patients, Adam?” She paused in her playing to listen to his reply as he stirred the fire and added a few more logs.
    “He’d settle down and be just fine,” was the quiet answer.
    “Humph,” Sara snorted, as though not quite sure she agreed. Then her fingers dashed off into a lively version of “Jingle Bells.”
    “Sara!” Adam groaned, “it’s not Christmas time yet!”
    “Who said ‘Jingle Bells’ was a Christmas song?” Sara retorted merrily. “There’s snow on the ground, isn’t there?”
    Amy, settled on the couch, watched and listened to the exchange between Adam and Sara in silence. When Adam, standing up, had remarked to her in low tones, “I hope her songs don’t drive you crazy,” Amy had only smiled. She didn’t think any song would bother her.
    Picking up the book she had been reading the day before, Amy opened it and began reading while Sara, her mood seeming to wear off, settled into steady practice and for some time the only sound heard in the room was the lovely notes of the piano.

    The morning passed by before Amy was quite aware of it, and after lunch Mrs. Morgan suggested she lie down and rest for a while. “The little ones will be taking naps and you look tired. We don’t want Justin saying we didn’t take good care of you.”
    “All right,” Amy agreed readily. “I am tired.” She paused a moment before the dining room windows and looked out over the snow. “That’s what I feel my mind is like,” she said quietly as though to herself. “A large blank nothing. Only the snow sparkles when the sun shines, but my mind doesn’t. It’s just empty.”
    Coming into the dining room just then, Adam caught the girl’s troubled words. “The best thing to do with an empty mind is to fill it with good things.” His words were quiet and he continued his way into the kitchen.
    Amy turned to look after him. “Fill it with good things,” she murmured thoughtfully, limping from the room and down the hall into her lovely little room. “I wonder what he meant?”

    In town Dr. Justin Morgan was sitting in his office fiddling with his pen. “Maybe I should go up and see how she is this afternoon.” He looked across his desk to see his father shaking his head. “You don’t think I should?” he asked.
    “No, I don’t,” Mr. Morgan replied honestly. “And I’ll tell you why. First, Amy’s hardly had time to settle in, and if she feels that you are going to constantly check in on her, she’s not going to be able to relax and be herself. Second, I think that Adam and Sara are good for Amy right now in their own ways. Let them have a chance to see what they can do without you constantly interfering.”

What do you think happens?

What would you do if you suddenly didn't know

anything about your past life?

Will you be back next week for the Graham Quartet?