Through an Author's Eyes - Part 7

 Good morning, readers,

Autumn has come. Yes, we are supposed to get some Indian summer days still, but it's been cooler at night and we haven't had the AC on since Tuesday. I love the crunch of leaves, the trees that are just starting to turn colors, the squirrels, bluejays, and crows who are busy and noisy. I need to get all my fall colored clothes out so I can wear them.

This week has been good, hard, busy, and productive.

We got news that not only has my grandma (who we went to visit last week and who is 93) been diagnosed with dementia, but she ended up in the hospital Monday night where they discovered she also has cancer. The doctor doesn't give her long–a few weeks to months. She's being cared for in a place my Grandpa really likes as some of his friends spent their last weeks their and he visited them. We are very glad we got to spend time with them last week.

Work on the house keeps going on. For a while it felt as though nothing was getting done. I couldn't really help with anything, and the thought of it taking months longer was very stressful. But now things are looking better. I helped yesterday and got the siding off so we could put in new windows. A friend of ours who does construction and stuff is supposed to come over this afternoon and help. Dad's hoping that we will be ready to put in the insulation early next week. Then we need the guys to do the drywall. Maybe, maybe I can paint things in a few weeks!

As far as writing goes, I got some done. Reached my goal for the mini camp. It was only 3k, so that isn't much, but at least it's something. I'm still trying to get other things done like formatting and cover design for the pocket books I'm wanting to release.

Oh, and I'm playing in a wedding tomorrow morning. That will be fun.

Here's the next part of this story. If you haven't read any of it, you can read the parts in the tab above, and then read last week's part. (I haven't had time to add last week's part of the tab.) Enjoy!

 Part 7

    “Is she any good?” questioned Vic, looking up from his supper.
    “Nope.”
    “Why not?” Uncle Cleveland looked interested.
    With a sly grin, she replied, “Because her instructor is too busy texting his girl to pay any attention to how she’s doing.”
    “Hey!” Levi protested as a general laugh went around the table. “I haven’t been that distracted except for today maybe. And besides, I was checking on that mountain hike you were wanting to take.”
    “Surely not all the time,” Savanna teased.
    “Well Jaina is going with us, so . . .” The rest was lost in laughter at his expense. Though he tried to scowl, his grin couldn’t be hidden and he joined in the laugh. “Okay, so maybe it was a little more than just about the hike. She said she could come for supper tomorrow, Mom.”
    “Good.”
    Annette exchanged glances with Savanna. Would anything happen involving a ring? Both girls were eager, but neither one said a word about it until they were washing the dishes together. Everyone else had left the room, the guys to finish the evening chores and Ava and Aunt Yvonne to find something in the attic.
    “Do you think he’ll propose tomorrow?” Annette whispered.
    “I don’t know. I would think he’d want the rest of her family here when it happens, but maybe they’re coming too though he didn’t say anything about them.”
    “Would your mom know?”
    Drying a plate, Savanna shook her head. “If they were all coming, I’m sure Levi would have said something because he’s good at giving Mom a heads up when company is expected.”
    Annette couldn’t help sighing a little. “I was hoping for an engagement.”
    “So you could add it to your story?”
    “Yep. Of course Kate really doesn’t know anyone very well yet so I’ll probably keep that until the end. I don’t really want to write a romance. What are we going to do tomorrow?”
    “Well, it’s Saturday. I thought of calling Bethany and seeing if she wanted to come on a trail ride with us. Levi said you could go.”
    “Wait, who’s Bethany?”
    “My cousin. On Mom’s side. She’s a year younger then me. She’s got four brothers and they live on a ranch not too far from here. They’ve been busy or I’m sure they would have been over sooner. The boys often help on our ranch during the busy times. What’s so funny?”
    Rinsing the sink, Annette chuckled. “My story has cousins in it too. Only there were three boys and a girl. And all three girls already knew each other. Now things are going to get more interesting. You have any more cousins up your sleeve?”
    “Nope. Mom only has one sibling, Bethany’s dad.”
    Finishing up the dishes and cleaning the kitchen, Savanna told her cousin about her cousins. “They all have Bible names. The oldest, Judah, just got engaged in the spring. It’s going to be a fall wedding. His fiancee is out of town right now for two more weeks. Judah was with her for a week, I think she’s visiting a grandmother, but he had to return to the ranch. The others aren’t married.”

    Saturday dawned clear and bright. Tossing back her blankets, Annette padded to the window and looked out. She couldn’t watch the sunrise from her room, but she could from the front porch if she hurried and dressed. It took barely two minutes before she slipped from her room, her Bible in hand and tiptoed down the hall, down the stairs, through another hall and into the front room. No one was there, and she opened the front door. The porch was empty and she soon settled herself on the steps. It was too dark to read and she was glad she had tucked her small book light into her pocket. Turning it on, she soon found her place in the New Testament and started reading, looking up now and then to watch the changing colors in the sky. A soft whine sounded before a cold nose was pushed under her arm and John Wayne looked up at her.
    “I’m glad they don’t have little bitty yappy dogs, she murmured, gently petting the dog’s head. “I like big dogs best. And you are sweet even if you won’t keep the rabbits out of Aunt Yvonne’s garden.”
    John Wayne’s tail thumped against the porch and a soft whine came from his throat.
    “Oh, you think so, huh? Well, I agree about the rabbits. I always did like them. I even had one for a pet once. She was a lopped-eared one. She wasn’t always nice, but I did like her. Oh, look at the sky!”
    The dog forgotten, Annette gazed in rapturous awe at the horizon.
    The soft yellow glow had changed to gold and above it was spread a bright pink dotted here and there with purple clouds. Soon the pink changed to orange near the rising sun and above the pink, the sky was blue fading into a darker blue. Mesmerized by the color display, Annette could only think of the words of the Psalms “The Heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork.”
    “I wonder if Mom and Dad were watching the sunrise this morning,” she mused thoughtfully, rubbing her thumb over John Wayne’s ear. “Of course it would have been hours earlier. I wonder what it looked like there.”
    Finishing her quiet time, Annette was startled when the dog suddenly sprang up, his head cocked and then with a sudden leap off the porch accompanied by a deep bark, he dashed away. Puzzled, but figuring that one of her cousins or perhaps her uncle had gone out to start on the chores, she rose, picked up her Bible and, acting on an impulse, decided to follow the dog.
    There was no sign of anyone but she could hear John Wayne’s barking and the excited whinnies of the horses coming from the corral. Stopping at the back porch to leave her Bible on the chair, she hurried toward the commotion forgetting all about Savanna’s advice of wearing boots on the ranch. 

How has your weather been?

Have you ever played for a wedding?

Did you enjoy this part of the story?