Laura Ray (Ray Series) (16 page)

“You know, don’t you,” he responded.

She shook her head affirmatively, “I know.”

Becky had convinced their dad to come over to her house to visit with the family after the funeral. She had brought most of the leftover food home with her from the church and she spread it all out on the cabinets and table for anyone who might want to eat again.

Danny enjoyed getting acquainted with all his cousins that he had never met. They played games in Becky’s yard only coming in to grab a drink and head back out to start another game. Laura was pleased that Danny’s leg didn’t seem to be hurting him.

Danny asked, “Do you girls want to play football with us boys?”

“Sure,” they chimed in, not willing to be outdone.

“Okay,” he called winking at the boys whom he already
had told his plan. “Girls against boys.”

The boys ran to their end of the yard.

“Wait just a minute,” Brenda yelled in protest. “This doesn’t seem fair.”

Danny taunted, feeling sweet revenge, “What’s the matter, Brenda, don’t you think you girls can handle it?”

Brenda turned to question the other girls, and then she yelled back, “Of course, we can handle you boys.”

The boys knew they had victory in the bag.

Danny was surprised at the effort that the girls put forth. In the end the girls didn’t have a chance. The boys were bigger and stronger and pushed the girls out of the way to make one touchdown after another.

Brenda walked up to Danny and glared
at him. She raised her finger and pointed it in his face, “You just wait, Danny Ray, I’m not through with you yet.”

Danny admired her spirit but he replied
as she walked away, “Ooh, I’m already shaking in my boots.”

Angered she whirled around, “I’m serious, Danny Ray.”

“Bring it on, Cousin,” Danny laughed.

Chapter Sixteen

A few days later, Danny followed Little Ed out to the chicken house when it was time to feed and water the chickens, mostly because it was his job when he lived on the farm. He had fond memories of playing with the chickens and gathering the eggs.

The chickens scattered as they walked through the pen then almost trampled their feet when they began to broadcast the cracked corn trying to vie for their share of the corn. Danny picked up the nearest hen and clucked to her and rubbed her white silky feathers. She
squawked in protest wanting to eat her share of the corn. He sat her back down on the ground and went over to the chicken house to see how many eggs there might be in the nests.

Soon Little Ed appeared in the doorway with a bucket to
collect the eggs. Danny placed the eggs carefully in the bucket. For some reason he looked up toward the ceiling of the henhouse. When he did Little Ed yelled, “There’s a snake up there.”

Sure enough Danny saw the big black snake wrapped around a rafter.
The snake apparently had eaten three eggs because three large lumps protruded along the snake’s middle. “Can you get me a rake or a pitchfork, Little Ed?” Danny asked eyeing the snake.

Danny ordinarily would not worry about a black snake because they eat a lot of mice and rats, but if a snake is eating the eggs, the snake needed to be gotten rid of. That’s what his Dad always said.

As soon as Little Ed returned with a pitchfork, Danny placed a barrel under the snake and climbed up on top of it in order to reach the snake. He carefully hooked one of the tines between the snake and the rafter and pried it loose. It took a couple of tries before he got the snake loose enough to fall. Little Ed had been so engrossed in watching Danny pry the snake loose that the snake fell within a foot of him. Little Ed let out a scream and ran. Unfortunately, he fell over the egg bucket which knocked out several eggs. Little Ed fell on them, causing him to break a bunch of them. Fearing that he might be in trouble for breaking egg, he sent out a yell and began crying at the top of his voice. Brenda and Debbie happened to be walking across the yard at the time. They ran for the chicken house to find out why their little brother was crying at the top of his voice.

In the meantime, Danny was trying to corral the snake and carry it out on the top of the tines of the pitchfork. As they ran through the gate of the pen, they forgot to close it in their rush to check on Little Ed. Then they saw Danny come out of the chicken house carrying a big snake on the pitchfork. They started yelling in their fear that their beloved little brother had been bitten by a poisonous snake. Sugar the dog knowing he wasn’t allowed in the chicken pen ventured in
side sure that his help was needed and decided to go against protocol. He saw the snake across the pitchfork and ran over to grab the snake. He shook it viciously to kill it before it hurt any more of his family he had vowed to protect.

Brenda has accessed that her little brother had not been hurt but was only slimed with broken eggs, came out of the chicken house about the time that Sugar let loose of the snake and sent it flying across the chicken yard. The hens were running to and fro
squawking and flapping their wings sending feathers flying about. When the snake flew out of Sugar’s mouth, it hit Brenda on the bare leg. She yelped and screamed and hopped around as much as the chickens were.

Danny couldn’t help it. He doubled over laughing at her and her antics in her fear. Danny knew that she wasn’t in any danger and never was, but Brenda didn’t know it.

Debbie had collected the unbroken eggs and put them back in the bucket. She had the bucket in one hand and Little Ed covered in egg yolk and slime then rolled in the chicken poop and straw from the floor of the chicken house in her other hand.

That sent Danny in another wave of laughter.

By that time Brenda had calmed down and was sending daggers with her eyes at Danny for laughing at her. Until she saw poor Little Ed’s tear streaked face and all the other muck on him, then she began to see the humor in the situation. Soon they all were laughing. Sugar was prancing around with a smile on his face, proud of his contribution of setting things back to rights.

Unfortunately, none of them noticed that the chicken yard gate was still open and the hens one by one sneaked out to freedom. Debbie, still worried about her little brother led him to the gate. That’s when she noticed that the gate stood open and most of the hens were happ
ily pecking around on forbidden grass they had yearned to get for a long time.

“Oh, no,” Debbie called out. “Now we have to put the hens back in the pen.”

“Not unless your Mom insists. At dusk they will go back in on their own. We’ll have to check to make sure they don’t play hooky and roost in the trees is all.”

Brenda still a little vexed at Danny laughing at her expense, said, “What makes you so smart about chickens, Danny Ray. You live in town, don’t you?”

“Yes, but we lived on the farm until my Dad got sick about four years ago. Someday, I will buy it back. It’s been in my family for five generations. It’s mine again as soon as I can buy it back.”

Brenda saw a serious side of Danny she hadn’t seen before.

Danny went back to the chicken pen and collected the snake again on the rake and threw the dead snake out in the woods. He opened the gate wide so the hens could go back in at dusk. He would check on them later to make sure the hens were safely in the pen and the gate secured. He felt that most of the snake business was his fault since he started it by getting the snake down.

Danny wanted to visit with his Grandfather so Laura called him and made arrangements. His grandfather took him to the back pond to fish. Laura decided to give her dad’s kitchen and bathroom a good scrubbing while they went fishing.
It’s amazing. I’ve had a vacation staying in Becky’s house and now I volunteer my services to clean a bathroom and kitchen?
She shook her head, the crazy things we do!

After she had the kitchen and bathroom as clean as she could get them, she proceeded to clean the living room. Next she tackled the bedroom. Phew! These sheets haven’t seen a washing machine in a while. She pulled them off the bed and grabbed the other clothes she saw lying around and tucked them into a clothes basket.

She drove back to Becky’s house and went to the utility room holding her breath to keep from smelling the nasty bedding. Becky saw her and laughed. I see you changed Dad’s bed.

Laura shook her head trying not to breath.

“Becky, this is something I should say to you.” Laura said thoughtfully. “I had no idea how much you have gone through to care for Mom and Dad all these years. I am only getting a hint of how much work you have done to care for them.”

Becky smiled at Laura, “Thank you. It has been a lot of work but it has been my privilege not my burden.”

“Becky Ray Garner, you are a remarkable woman. I am proud you are my sister.” Laura stated looking at her sister with love. “I hope that someday I make you as proud of me as I am of you.”

“Laura,” Becky walked over and put her arms around Laura. “I couldn’t be prouder of a sister as I am of you. All the time we were growing up you were always my role model. It was always my goal to be as kind and as beautiful as you.”

Laura had the bed remade and everything in the house tidy by the time Danny and his Grandpa returned carrying a string of fish. Ol’ Jeb had gone with them but he sure was happy to reclaim his place on the front porch.

When Danny and Laura prepared to go back to Becky’s house, Laura’s dad told her with weepy eyes, “Thank you for bringing my Grandson to go fishing with me. I’ll never forget this day.”

Danny piped up unexpectedly and asked, “Mom, can we take him home with us? He could stay in Laura’s room.”

Laura thought a minute and agreed, “Sure, Dad. You could stay with us. We have an extra bedroom. You would be a lot of company for Danny.”

“Thanky, thanky. I’m right honored that you would ask me, but me an’ Ol’ Jeb here plan to stay right here for the rest of our days.”

After Laura and Danny left
, Sam Gilbert walked through the old house noticing how clean everything was. “You’d think my Jenny was here back when she was younger. I can’t believe how much our Laura looks like my Jenny.” He wiped a tear from his dimming eye. He sat down in his chair for a nap and forgot all about the fish waiting to be cleaned.

Brenda promised Danny when he packed his bag in preparation to go home, “Don’t you forget
, Danny Ray, I still owe you one. Someday when you least expect it, I will pay you back.”

Danny placed a big grin on his face, “I’ll look forward to it, Brenda. Bring it on!”

Young Laura approached Laura, “I’m so glad I had the chance to meet you. I will always make you proud.”

“I know you will, Laura. Come see us at Pryor, if you ever get the chance.”

“I promise I will. Someday I’ll get me a car and I will come,” young Laura responded.

Little Ed with his cherub face topped with red hair gave Laura and Danny both a warm goodbye.

Soon all the goodbyes were said and Laura and Danny left Carthage, Missouri, with warm hearts. Laura said, “You know, Danny, it’s only a couple of hours from home up here. I think we will come back again, maybe Thanksgiving. What do you think?”

“Sure,” Danny agreed enthusiastically.

Chapter Seventeen

They arrived home to an empty house. After all the hustle with children coming and going, the constant activity at Becky and Ward’s house, their house was so quiet you could hear a pen drop.

They sat their suitcases down in the middle of the living room floor and looked around. Danny shrugged his shoulders and turned the TV on. He looked back at Laura and grinned and shrugged again. He picked up his suitcase and headed for his bedroom. Laura followed to her bedroom to put away her clothes.

Laura called Art to let him know that she was home. Danny called Aaron.

When Art had received the call that Laura and Danny were home, he felt jubilant. Then he became anxious, wondering how she felt after confronting her family that she had been estranged from for over twenty years. He thought of the old saying ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ or would it be ‘out of sight, out of mind.’

Laura felt her heart jump in her chest when she saw him drive in. She hadn’t realized that she had missed him so much. 
She watched him enter the door wearing blue jeans and a blue plaid shirt. He looked so strong, trim and neat. He wore his hair short in a no nonsense burr, probably a hangover from the Navy. His green eyes smiled as soon as he saw her.

She ignored Danny sitting on the sofa watching TV and walked directly into his arms. She lifted her face for a kiss.

She surprised him by her bold action. She had never offered to kiss him in front of Danny before. He raised his eyebrows in question as opened his eyes. She smiled and turned to Danny, who stood up and came and greeted Art also.

She took Art to the kitchen to fix him a drink and to tell him all about her family. Danny soon joined in giving his version of events.

“By the way, I have news to tell you also,” Art said happily. “I have five new students since you left.”