Shadows and darkness fill every corner of the woods. "Hello?" I say, so quiet I can barely hear myself.
Suddenly I am grabbed from behind and dragged into a clearing. "W-whos there?" I say just a bit louder.
The bushes on the other end of the clearing move and out steps a horse that looks as if it was made by the light of the moon. Beside it, a man. My father.
"Cobalt... Dad." I whisper.
"Marie?" Cobalt neighs.
.
.
.
.
I shoot up when I hear a door close. Kyle is asleep beside me on the couch and the kids are passed out on the floor. I stand up and pick up the dishes before I put them in the sink in the kitchen.
"Hey. Were home!" Clara says loudly.
I rush into the other room and shush her before she wakes anyone up. She nods and gets a sheepish look on her face.
"Thanks for watching the kids. By the way, I entered them in a competition tomorrow if you want to come. Can we borrow the horses they ride?"
"Sure. And your welcome." I smile.
"The competition is at 7:00 tomorrow night. See you later." She wraps me in a hug and then her, Tyler, and the super tired kids walk to their truck.
Yawning, I lock the front door and shut off the TV. Kyle stirred in his sleep when I dropped a blanket over him and I made my way up the stairs.
********************************
"Hey! Wake up! Your mom says breakfast is ready! Wake up!" I groan when Kyle yells in my room.
I roll over and stuff my head under my pillow. It would have worked, but Kyle then stood on my bed, and began jumping on it screaming,
"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"
"Okay! I'm up! You can stop now!" I growl through my teeth.
"Sorry. Your mom told me to wake you up and tell you breakfast is ready." He gives me a sheepish look.
Groaning, my feet hit the cold hardwood floor and soon, I'm at the table with three pancakes staring at me. I sleepily shove them in my mouth and rush back upstairs to get dressed. Jeans, my long sleeve blue plaid button up, white tank top, and my boots.
Before long, I'm in the barn with Spartain and Kyle with Phoenix. We decided to Goom the horses and muck out the stalls before the kids competition.
Before I know it, its 6:30 and only a half hour before the competition. I was so excited to see my nieces and nephews compete. They really are just like their mother. It was a team jumping competition so the twins were a team and the boys were a team.
