The sheriff left. Lynn’s dad turned to Lou. “Looks like you’re gonna be here for a while so we better get some things straight. You can call me Mr. Al. I don’t know what you’re up to but you’ve dragged me and my family into it. There’s gonna be no more lyin’ and no more nonsense about Houston an’ you bein’ born in 2015. I don’t want anymore nonsense out of you. As long as you stay here, you’re gonna follow my rules and pull your weight just the same as my kids. When you speak to an adult, you’re gonna say ma’am and sir. You will do as you are told. Do you understand?”

Lou wilted under his glare, “Uh huh.”

“You mean Yes Sir, don’t you?” he corrected her.

“Yes Sir.” she answered.

“That’s better. Now you girls get that kitchen cleaned up. Billy let’s go check on the goats.”

“Yes Sir, “ said Billy, scampering after his daddy. He was clearly looking forward to the adventure.

The girls busied themselves clearing the breakfast table. The dishes from last night’s dinner awaited them in the sink. Lynn ran scalding water over the glasses and silverware. “Ooh! What a gross mess! I hate doing old dirty dishes! These are going to have to soak while we clean up this other mess Yuck!”

Lou agreed. It looked like a hopeless task. This was only her second time to do dishes and already she hated it.
Aunt Kat came through putting a load of diapers in the washer. “After you get the dishes done, these diapers need to go on the line. Then you girls can go play awhile.” She made it sound like all that would only take a minute.

”Huh!” Said Lynn. By then it will be time to do the supper dishes.”

”Now, it’s not that bad. Lou is helping you. That should cut your work in half!” she said cheerfully. “I know you want to go play but I can’t do everything.”

”I know, Mother. You tell me that everyday.” she said.

”Don’t you get smart, young lady. The sooner you get started the sooner you’ll be done.” Aunt Kat said.

”Yes, Ma’am.” Lynn answered.

It took them over an hour to clean up the kitchen. Hanging up the diapers was actually a pleasant task. Lynn showed Lou how to pop them and hang them straight on the line. When the last was pinned up, Lynn said, “Let’s get out of here before Mother thinks of anything else. Let’s go see the goats.”

The friends ran barefoot toward the barn and scampered up the fence. Two nanny goats, each with a kid, bleated up at them. A big billy goat stared up at them, shaking his head threateningly. “Ooh!” he looks mean, said Lynn. Look at his eyes. They look like devil eyes. His pupils go straight up and down, not round like people.”

”Oh, wow! They are weird! Those babies are so cute! Can we pet them?” Asked Lou.

”We’ll have to ask Daddy.” Lynn told her.

”That’s okay.” said Lou. She was in no hurry to talk to Mr. Al

”Do you want to ride a pine tree?” asked Lynn. She ran to a stand of trees across the field. “Watch this!” She skittered up a skinny pine. As she got about three-quarters of the way up, the top started to bend over. She swung back and forth several times till it got close enough to drop to the ground. The tree sprang right back up. “Wow that was great! Do you want to try? You get a tree about this tall and this big around. She pointed out just the right tree. You climb up till it starts to bend, then you start swinging back and forth. When it goes low enough, you drop off. If the tree is too little, it will break off. If it’s too big, it’ll sling you a mile. Try this one.”

“Is it safe?” Lou asked.

“I guess so.” Lynn laughed. “I never got killed yet.”

Lou shinnied up the tree. It was harder than it looked. When she got up pretty high, it started to limber up. “Now, start swinging!” Lou shouted. “When you start getting close to the ground, drop off! I’ll tell you when.”

Lou hung on and flung herself to the left. The tree swayed. When it corrected, she swung to the right. Soon she was swinging broadly from side to side, finally nearing the ground. “Drop off! Drop off!” Shouted Lynn. Lou turned loose and fell a few feet to the ground. It was the most exciting ride she’d ever had, like flying! She couldn’t stopped laughing.

”That was cool! It felt like I was flying. I want to do it again!” She ran to another tree, quickly climbing till it swayed. The girls rode the trees all morning until they heard the car horn honking.

“Uh oh. Mother wants us. We gotta run.” She raced toward the house. Though Lou was exhausted, she tried to keep up.

To be continued: