Flutter-Field Ranch

Chapter 9

I had finished my tale and Blake had finished brushing my hair, so I immediately began to section it out and put it into a braid that fell over one shoulder. The room was quiet as he processed what I'd reminded him of my past... even though I hadn't gone into nearly this much detail about the matter when we had been in college.

"So where's this brother you have care over? You didn't roll into the field with one, let alone into town or this Ranch." Blake asks me as he glances over at my boxes as if trying to guess which one would hold my brother in it.

"He is currently staying with father's parents, finishing out the school year with his friends. Our father is still in a coma, has been since that night even though his wounds have healed at an expedited pace according to the doctors... we're just waiting for him to wake up." I replied casually even though the choice to let my brother finish out school there had been a hard one for me, "I had delayed college a lot by switching to mostly online courses, taking about two each term until Grandma and Grandpa came to the house without warning. They had been on an extended holiday when everything had happened and both myself as well as the hospital were calling them regularly with updates. It felt so good to have them back and hugging us both, they cooked dinner and cleaned up afterward, put my brother to bed, and then sat down to discuss a short-term plan."

"Discussed a short-term plan?" Blake asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Yes, I wasn't planning on leaving for a faraway college, but I had asked my mother and father if I could live in the dorms on campus to help me focus on my classes better. With that incident taking place, they wanted to see what I wanted the plan to be now that I had been legally handed custody of my brother by a judge. I still took mostly online courses, but they moved into the guest room and would help make sure that my brother gave me the time I needed to get my school work done or let me sleep in after doing homework half of the night." I elaborate, "Plus when I did have to actually show up on campus for a class or study group or group project, they watched him for me so I wouldn't have to worry about him being alone with some random caregiver. My brother is eight now and when my real parents' documents finally made it to me, we all sat down to talk about another short-term plan. I gave him the choice to come with me, start completely over here and wait for father to wake up while we spend summers with our grandparents... or stay with our grandparents, finish up school where he's at, and come here over the summer until we iron out more of a plan."

"Ouch, that must hurt at least a little bit, him choosing to stay there?" Blake commented.

"Not really. He wanted to stay with his friends, wanted to stay close to father in case he woke up while I came out here to see what all of this was about and our grandparents may have bribed him a bit with promises of ice cream before bed practically every night." I feel a small smile grace my lips as I remember that afternoon talk that we all had, "He wanted to come, but he needed to stay... and he needed to be the one to choose that. He's at that age where they want to be involved with the choosing portion of what's going on around them. I can't wait to tell him about most of what's been going on out here, or wait to show him how beautiful it is... I have to remember to call him tomorrow before he goes to school so that I can update him and our grandparents. If I can get everything set up properly I may even be able to have a video call with them by the time lunch is over."

"Well, as much as I would love to give in to your need of me, I can't cuddle tonight and must now fly back home myself." Blake teases as he gets up off of my bed again and struts over to my window.

"Who asked you to cuddle? You must be dreaming Blakey-poo." I used a nickname a girl he avoided back in college had given him, earning a glare from over his shoulder, "Next time you want to come and 'visit' me, please do so the normal way humans visit others."

"Yeah, yeah, go to sleep... hey, I'm glad that you're here." Blake tells me as he sits on the window sill, "I'm glad that you finally get to know who and what you are."

"I am too. Thanks, B." I give him a genuine smile before watching as he flies back in the direction of the meadow where I'd met him in.

Shutting the window and locking it, I remove the few things off my bed before crawling under the blankets I had gotten while I was out shopping and curled up comfortably. I couldn't sleep, however, the memories from what had happened that day made it hard for me as I turned to stare at the ceiling. I finally sat up with a heavy sigh, grabbed my cell phone, and made my way downstairs to the kitchen... making a mug of hot chocolate while I sit down, staring at my phone that sits on the tabletop for a moment. I finally sigh and call their house line, surprised when it's answered after only a couple of rings

"Diane, darling please tell me you got there safe." Grandmother's voice is the first one to come through the line.

"Yes Nana, I made it here safely. A lot has been going on, I'm sorry it took me a couple of days to call you. I hope I didn't worry you too much and if I did, I promise to try and make it up to you soon." I smile softly as I keep my voice soft as well since I didn't want to disturb the others in the house, "How's James doing? He's not being difficult is he?"

"Is that Diane?" I heard James shouting from the other end of the room and getting closer at a fast pace and then he was on the other end of the phone, "Diane? How have things been going? Did you get there? What's it like? The last day of school is at the end of this week, can I come and see the place your parents left for you?"

"James slow down, breathe okay." I chuckle softly feeling a lot more at ease hearing his voice, "Things have been eventful, I haven't seen everything yet but what I have seen is more beautiful than anything else I've ever seen out of all the homes I used to be in, and I'll talk to Nana and Paw about the plans for all of you to come out here to see it for yourselves."

"Talk to them about it soon, okay?" James tells me excitedly.

"I promise. How have you been doing since I left? And remember, I always know when people aren't telling me the truth even over the phone." I remind him jokingly.

"It's fun having so much time with Nana and Paw, I miss you... I miss Dad too." James tells me as his voice turns really soft as well and tears begin to well up in my eyes as I listen to him.

"I know buddy, I miss him too. He won't miss a thing though, we have the cameras recording every sec, I'm making video highlights, I have so many photo albums ready for him to look at and Nana is saving all of your school achievements for me so that we can show him everything." I tell him, making sure that my voice doesn't shake even though my lips are trembling as the horror that stripped this boy's parents away from him keeps replaying in my head, "He's always been so proud of you James, and you know he loved you even more. Everything is going to be alright, okay?"

"If you say everything is going to be alright, I believe you because you've never been wrong before, Diane." James tells me and I know that he has a smile on his face.

"James, it's way past your bedtime and I know because I put you into your bed over an hour ago!" I hear Paw holler from another room, James gasps softly while he is on the phone and I couldn't help the uneasy laugh that escaped my mouth.

"Go get your sleep, James, I'm almost done setting up my stuff here, so I promise to video call you tomorrow so that you can see my face. Alright?" I encouraged him to go back to bed, getting a quick farewell before Nana was back on the phone chuckling a bit.

"He doesn't show it, but he misses you more than he'll ever admit. You not being around worries and scares him." Nana tells me softly and I frown for a second.

"Why would he have to worry or be scared Nana?" I ask her gently, catching the message that she hadn't realized she let slip.

"Nothing gets past you, never did... she called the house today." Nana tells me carefully.