Past Forward- A Serial Novel: Episode 11 (23 page)

“
That
’
s ok, we
’
re used to adults who don
’
t know what they
’
re doing,
”
Tavish commented casually.
“
Aunt Aggie didn
’
t know anything either
,
and she
’
s learning
.”

A choking sound from the other side of the room made Willow send a warning glance Chad
’
s way.
“
So I have a few rules
.”
At the look of disappointment on Laird
’
s face, Willow smiled.
“
No worries, there aren
’
t many.
I don
’
t use electricity in the house
,
so for light at night we use candles
and oil lamps
.
Laird can light one if he needs it
,
but I want Ellie and Tavish to ask
.”

Tavish and Ellie nodded solemnly
,
while Laird smiled smugly to himself.
Willow suspected that it
wasn
’
t often that Laird was the first to be given a privilege in his family.
Vannie probably
beat him to that punch.

“
If you go somewhere, take the
kitchen
timer so you can be back when you say you will.
I put it out on the counter in the kitchen
.”
She paused trying to remember the third rule she
’
d made while working that morning.
“
Oh yes.
If you climb up the loft in the barn, do it while someone else is in there.
Don
’
t come down without someone in there either
.”

“
Why?
”
Tavish asked curiously.

“
It
’
s high up there
,
and the floor is concrete.
You could freeze to death before we found you if you fell,
”
she stated practically.

Chad almost choked.
Her matter-of-fact tone
prompted
horrified looks on the children
’
s faces.
He couldn’t resist asking,
“
Were you allowed to climb up by yourself when you were little?
”

“
Not until I was six or seven
.”

“
We
’
re eight!
”
Tavish said excitedly.

“
Yes,
”
Willow said sternly,
“
but you didn
’
t grow up here and know it inside and out.
You
’
ll have to agree to obey the rule
,
or you
can just stay out of the barn completely
.
I don
’
t have a car.
I can
’
t get help quickly for you if you fall
.”

The twins stared at each other as if they
’
d entered another world.
Laird found it all a little ridiculous but wasn
’
t willing to risk loss of privilege by saying so.
“
Can we explore out there?
”

“
Of course.
Oh, and
I brought my sled down from the attic and tied my zip line up to the trees straight back from the chicken coop.
Just remember,
”
she added with a smug glance at Chad,
“
to drop before you slam into the tree
.”

The Stuart children looked at each other in shock and then jumped up.
“
Can we go out now?
”
Laird was obviously interested in the zip line.

Willow watched as they raced outside.
“
Well that went well I guess
.”

“
Yes, but in the future, I wouldn
’
t recommend advertising your weaknesses.
You
’
re likely to give them ideas
.”

“
Surely not!
”

Leaning against the banister, Chad crossed his arms and studied her.
“
You are so in over your head
.”

“
Thanks for the vote of confidence
.”

“
I
’
m hungry
.”

She tossed a disgusted look at him.
“
You say that like you think I should do something about it
.”

“
Well,
”
he began threateningly.
“
I just realized that I
’
ve never discovered if you
’
re ticklish
. Maybe a few tickles would inspire you to ‘do something about it
.
’
”

“
You
don
’
t
scare me,
”
she said with studied nonchalance.

Chad took a step forward.
Willow, who seemed
unwilling to show any concern but
clearly did not wish him to discover
exactly how ticklish she truly was, turned and lazily walked to the kitchen
,
forcing herself not to look back to see if he followed.
Still standing in the living room, Chad chuckled to himself.
He knew she was ticklish
—
very ticklish.
Kari
’
s journal had been very
enlightening
.

After lunch, Chad sauntered outside to join the children and show them around the farm.
Willow watched out the back door for a while before she climbed the stairs to assemble the daybed she
’
d purchased for her spare room.
She sat on the floor surrou
nded by pieces and instructions, carefully separating
everything in order of when she
’
d need it and making
a mental list of the tool
s
she
’
d need.

Systematically, she assembled the frame, base, and then dragged the mattress upstairs and shoved it in place.
At this point, she realized one slight problem.
All of her sheets were queen and full sized and the daybed needed twin according to the box.
Twin
—for a smaller mattress
.
Willow found that amusing.

Ellie found her hemming a shortened sheet on the sewing machine
,
working the treadle awkwardly.
Willow hated
when things that should be second nature
showed her weak muscle at its worst.
“
What are you doing?
”

“
I didn
’
t have any sheets that fit the new bed, so I
’
m making some
.”

“
Why didn
’
t you just buy some new ones?
”

The idea hadn
’
t even occurred to her.
“
I had extra sheets so I just made them work
.”

“
Oh
.”
Ellie watched for a moment and then asked if she could play with the dollhouse upstairs.

“
Sure.
I
’
ll be up in a few minutes to clean up my mess once this sheet is done
.”

Half an hour later
,
while Laird and Tavish explored the barn and greenhouse, Chad climbed the stairs and listened near the door of
“
Ellie
’
s Room
.”
Willow told the tale of the family who lived in the house.
Willow
’
s answers to Ellie
’
s questions about the father caused Chad
’
s throat to swell painfully.
Willow had no role for the father.