Dylan's Story - Part 7

Happy Day-After-Thanksgiving!
(Or Black Friday if you prefer)
Got any big plans for shopping today? Any sales you just can't pass up? I purchased something on Wednesday that was on a "pre-Black Friday" sale. It was originally over $100.00 and I only paid $34.50 or it. :) I'm happy. :)
Speaking of sales, I managed to get two of my books on sale. The Graham Quartet kindle books are on sale. The first one if FREE, and the second is $.99. And, if you get or already have the first Graham Quartet book on your kindle (or phone or wherever you have the kindle copy), you can get the audio for only $1.99! It's perfect for Holiday traveling.

There is also a sale going on Indie Christian Books that you aren't going to want to miss! I can't recommend all the books because I haven't read them all, but I can recommend authors Sarah Holman, Amanda Tero, and Kate Willis. Check out their books! They have sales on the kindle books and on the paper books.

Well, enough about sales and things like that. I hope all of you American readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Did you have family over or did you go somewhere? My grandparents were here and my brother and his family came over to have Thanksgiving on Wednesday so they could go to her family's house for Thanksgiving Day. We rather like this tradition. That means that we can eat leftovers on Thanksgiving and do other things besides stay in the kitchen all day. Yesterday we got our entire yard raked! We have a large yard and a whole lot of trees! Now we have mountains of leaves down by the street. Anyone want to come play in them?

Okay, I have other things I need to get done before I head over to help my brother pull orders for his Black Friday sale at Light of Faith. Have a wonderful week! And enjoy this next part of:

Dylan's Story

Part 7

    Leaning over towards her, Scott said two words, “Fern, stop!” His voice was low but full of authority.
    To her brother’s astonishment, Fern’s cries stopped. She sniffed a few times and sat looking down at her plate.
    “Fern, you can either eat the eggs and piece of bacon now, or you may be excused from the table and eat them for lunch. But if you wait, they will be cold.”
    “Can I have more cinnamon roll?”
    “After you have eaten your eggs and bacon.”
    For a moment Fern looked at the army reserve man as though trying to see how far she could push. She must have realized that she had reached her limit, for her eyes fell again and she picked up her fork and scooped up a bite of eggs.
    No one said a word until Fern’s plate was empty, and then Autumn said softly, “Thank you.”
    “Can I have another cinnamon roll now?” the girl asked, looking at Mr. Wood.
    “I’ll give you half a one and then, if you are still hungry, you can have the other half.” Cutting the large sticky roll, Scott set half of it on Fern’s plate. “What about you, Dylan, still hungry?”
    Hesitating, Dylan looked at his empty plate, and then at the pan of rolls. They were really good–
    “Half a one?”
    Dylan nodded and held out his plate. “Please. These are the best I’ve ever had, Mrs. Wood.”
    “Why thank you, Dylan. With praise like that, I may have to make them more often.”

    After breakfast, before they went outside, Dylan managed to catch his younger sister in the hallway. “Fern,” he whispered, “did you make your bed and tidy your room?”
    “No. And I don’t have to. We’re not at home, you know.”
    “Of course we aren’t, but that just means we should make sure we keep our rooms neat and tidy. They aren’t really our rooms. You don’t want them to make us go back and live alone in that old cabin, do you?” He was pretty sure Mr. and Mrs. Wood would never send them back alone, but he hoped the thought of it would make Fern a little more responsible.
    Before Fern could reply, a voice called from downstairs. “Dylan, Fern, are you two about ready to go see the horses?”
    Ignoring her brother, Fern ran down the hall and disappeared down the stairs. With a sigh, Dylan followed more slowly. He couldn’t decide if it was worth the trouble to try and make his younger sister behave or not.
    “Something on your mind, Dylan?” Scott asked as the boy came down the stairs, his feet almost dragging. “If you don’t want to go see the horses, you don’t have to.”
    “Oh, I want to go. Mr. Wood–” He paused, hesitated, and frowned.
    “Suppose we change something in that sentence,” Scott said. “Suppose you call me Uncle Scott. Since you and Fern are probably going to be staying for a while, it might make things a bit easier. And I know my wife would enjoy being Aunt Autumn. Now, what did you want to say?”
    Dylan didn’t answer right away. He’d never had an uncle. At least not that he knew of. Would it make things easier? Pulling on his sweatshirt, he stepped outside, still in silence. It wasn’t until they were halfway across the yard that he spoke, trying out the new name. “Uncle Scott, Fern . . . well, she can be really sweet, but other times she’s just plain hard to get along with. Mom didn’t always make her keep her room clean or make her bed . . .” His words died away. How could he explain himself?
    “And you are worried that she might cause problems?” Scott looked down at the boy beside him.
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Well, you can stop worrying. Fern will get used to things around here in time, and we aren’t sick like your mom was. Give us a chance, all right?”
    Dylan nodded. He still wasn’t convinced his new aunt and uncle knew what they were getting into, but he didn’t know what else to say.

    Part way through the morning, the sun, which had persistently poked through the clouds every little while, disappeared altogether and the rain began to fall. Out in the stable, Scott stepped to the doorway and looked out. A biting wind was coming from the north and the sky was dark. Everywhere the brightly colored leaves were falling in showers from the trees, leaving the branches bare.
    “I don’t think this is going to let up any time soon,” Scott called back over his shoulder. He had to almost shout to be heard above the torrents of rain. “And the wind has shifted. We may be getting snow or ice before long.”
    At his words, Autumn placed an arm about Fern’s shoulders. She wasn’t ready for winter yet, and she wasn’t sure if the children even had winter coats, but her concern at the moment was how they were going to get back to the shelter of the house. “Stay here, children,” she told Dylan and Fern, pushing the girl over beside her brother. “I’ll be right back.”
    Quickly she hurried over to the door. “Scott, how are we going to get back to the house? We can’t just stay here until the rain stops, for that might not be for hours. We only have on our sweatshirts or jackets. I didn’t think winter would come so suddenly.”
    Scott gave a sigh. “I know. It might not get cold enough for ice and snow today, but that wind has a feel to it that I don’t quite like.” He was silent a moment. “You stay here with the kids. Make sure the horses have enough water and food for the day.”
    “Where are you going?” Autumn thought she knew, but she asked anyway.
    “I’ll make a run for the house and get the truck. Then I’ll come back and get you guys.”
    “Be careful.”
    “I will. And don’t let either of them go out in this rain! We don’t want them ending up in the hospital with pneumonia!”

Do you ever try to get younger siblings to be tidy?

Does it work?

Are you excited about Christmas coming?