A Change of Visitors - Part 4

Hello, Friday Fiction Fans,
It's nice to see you are back. I hope you all had a good week. Was it busy? Crazy? Normal? Strange? Relaxed? Long and lazy? (If the last please share how you managed to have a full week like that!)

My week? Well, let me see.
Saturday was crazy busy with celebrating my brother's birthday and my oldest and youngest nephews birthdays with soccer, kick-ball, presents, sunshine, cake and ice cream, and lots of excitement and energy!
Sunday I worked in the nursery during Sunday School. Spent the entire afternoon reading. :) Now that was fun!
Monday and Tuesday were pretty normal–busy, projects to work on, writing to do, blog posts to get ready, etc.
Wednesday afternoon I had a 2 hour long election judge training for the presidential preference that is coming right up. It will be a busy year with four different elections that I'll be working as a Supervisory Judge for. 
Yesterday was fairly normal until supper time. Then all the kiddos came over for supper and for a few hours after.
Today should be normal. At least I hope it is, because tomorrow will not be normal. We'll have all the kiddos again only they'll be coming at 2:00 and won't be leaving until 9ish. 

Let me see, what writing have I been doing? Well, not much this week. I did get one short story/chapter of a longer story written. At least I now have some things to post. Instead of writing I'm reading TCR. Yeah, I thought it would be a good idea to actually reread the entire series before I started writing book 6. And you know what? I discovered St. John's first name! :) I didn't write everything like that down while writing the first book because I had no intention of writing a series. Now I need to know those kind of things.

But you didn't come to listen to me ramble, did you? Nope, I thought not. You want to find out more about Dylan and Fern, and about Autumn and Scott. Well, enjoy!

A Change of Visitors

Part 4

    In silence, Dylan gathered his dishes and carried them to the cheery kitchen. After selecting his cookies he stood uncertainly, wondering where he should eat them. Mrs. Wood solved the problem by setting glasses of milk on the end of the island and nodding to some high stools.
    “You can eat there and I’ll start cleaning up.” Quickly she disappeared from the room.
    This gave Dylan the opportunity he wanted. “Fern,” he whispered, “don’t tell things about Mom. She wouldn’t like it.”
    For answer Fern stuck her tongue out. “She wouldn’t care. Besides, it’s the truth.”
    “I don’t care. Don’t tell those things. You don’t want to make it hard for Mom, do you?”
    “It won’t make it hard. I think it will help. And you are just mean and horrid!” She shoved her brother and her voice grew louder. “I don’t like you. I wish you would have gotten lost and–”
    “Hey, that’s no way to talk.” Scott had entered the kitchen in time to hear the last words.
    Fern turned on him with fire in her dark eyes. “It is so! Dylan is just being mean! He said–”
    Scott rested his elbows on the counter and leaned down so his eyes were looking straight into Fern’s. “I don’t care what Dylan said right now. I want you to finish your cookies and let me talk.” He smiled but his voice had been firm.
    Dylan waited in silence, wondering how his sister would respond. When she didn’t say anything but took a bite of her cookie, he relaxed. At least she wasn’t going to get really mad. He looked at Mr. Wood.
    “There are a few–men–at the cabin, but they haven’t found any sign that your mom has been back. The car was found, and some other men are checking around there and between the house and the car. Do you know of any other place your mom might go? Do you know anyone around here?”
    Dylan shook his head.
    “Can you think of any reason she might not have come back to the house?”
    There were plenty of reasons, Dylan knew, but he didn’t want to say any of them. Not with Fern there. If he said anything, she’d tell more than she should. A long silence filled the kitchen until Autumn came back in.
    “Are we going to have two guests for the night?”
    Pushing himself off the counter, Scott nodded. “Yep, it looks like it.”
    Suddenly Fern burst into tears. “I want my mom!” She slid down from the chair and ran from the room. “I want my mom!”
    Dylan watched her with a sigh. “So much for that.”
    Scott looked at him sharply as his wife followed the weeping girl. “What do you mean, Dylan?”
    “I thought Fern was going to be good about this whole thing, but I guess not. She stuck to me like a leech at the house and only threatened to run off once, but as soon as someone else shows up she’s back to her old self.”
    Instead of answering right away, Scott strode to the doorway and watched his wife trying to quiet the nearly hysterical girl. Things were not going as easily as he had expected them to when he suggested they take the kids home until their mom could be located. Should he go help with Fern or talk to Dylan?
    As if in answer to that thought, Autumn picked up the still crying child and carried her towards the stairs, giving him a nod and a reassuring smile.

*

    Lying in the dark room under the warm blankets, Dylan yawned and stretched. He couldn’t remember ever sleeping in such a soft, comfortable bed. He tried to keep his eyes open; to think about what had happened, but he couldn’t. All he knew was that the responsibility of taking care of his little sister was off his shoulders, and he felt a sense of relief in knowing that so many others were out looking for their mom.

*

    Down in the den, before a crackling fire, Scott sat on the couch with Autumn curled up beside him, his arm about her shoulders.
    “That poor girl,” Autumn sighed. “She’s a mess. I’ve never seen such temper, grief, confusion, fear and delight in such a short space of time. I let her sleep with one of the stuffed animals in the middle room. You would have thought that I had given her the moon she was so pleased. But did you find out anything more from Dylan?”
    “Some. He obviously doesn’t want to talk much about his mom, but he didn’t hesitate to tell me her name and what she looks like. I called the sheriff after he was in bed. He promised the search was going to continue. It seems strange,” he said after a minute of silence.
    Autumn tipped her head back and looked up at him. “What does?”
    “That my brother and his family couldn’t make it this weekend and yet we ended up with guests anyway.”
    “God must have known we needed to be available for these children right now. I just wish their mom would be found.”
    “Let’s pray for her and the children, Autumn.”

*

    The sharp jangle of the phone woke Autumn some hours later. She blinked when Scott snapped on a small light. Quickly he lifted the receiver. “Hello? . . . She was? Where? When?” There was a long silence. “Yes, we can. . . . Okay, thanks, Sheriff. . . . Yep, we’ll be praying. Bye.”
    Hardly giving her husband a chance to replace the receiver, Autumn pushed herself up on one elbow and whispered, “What did he say? Was their mom found?”
    Dropping back onto his pillow, Scott fumbled for the light and then answered into the darkness which filled the room. “Yes, she was found. They took her to the hospital because she wasn’t responding. The sheriff said he’d be over in the morning to give us a report and talk with the kids. He didn’t say anything, but I have a feeling there’s more to this than–” A prolonged yawn interrupted his words.
    “Then let’s get some sleep. I don’t know when the kids will wake up.” Autumn waited for a reply from Scott, but when none came, she lay back down and stared into the darkness, her thoughts a prayer. “Lord, why did you send us to that house yesterday? What is it You want us to do besides giving these kids a few good meals and a roof over their heads? Thank you that their mother has been found and is able to get some help now. Please help her recover soon. And please, Father, show us what we are to do.”

So, what do you think now?

Do you still like the story?

Would you take Dylan and Fern in?