Chapter 3 – Grams

“I see Gram!” Katie cried as the train pulled into the station, “And there’s Trisha!”

William laughed, “Yeah, settle down Katie! Everyone on the train is looking at you!” He poked her ribs.

“I don’t care!” Katie said, still sounding excited, “They don’t know how important this trip is to me!”

“I’m sure they can all guess.” William rolled his eyes.

People on the train around them smiled at each other, although there were a few who glanced towards them with an annoyed face.

Katie grabbed the lunch basket, which was now empty, and raced off the train, “Careful little lady!” The conductor said, holding her hand and helping her down.

“Gram!” She cried, running towards her grandmother, who stood with open arms, which Katie ran right into.

Gram kissed her and said, “I think you’ve grown!”

“Trisha!” Katie turned from Gram and threw her arms around her cousin, who squealed, “Katie! I can hardly believe it’s summer again!” Trisha said jumping up and down with Katie.

“Me neither!” Katie squealed back.

William stepped off the train carrying the two suitcases, “Hey Gram!” He said, kissing her cheek.

“William! My! You’ve grown too!” Gram exclaimed.

“Sure have!” William grinned at her. “Hey Trish!” He said addressing his cousin.

“Hey Will! Mark would have come, but Larissa said she wouldn’t be left alone with just Stanley, then housekeeper, and Bill!” Trisha said, making a face.

Both Katie and William rolled their eyes.

“Be nice, kids.” Gram warned, “Now! Lets hope in that car! Dinner is waiting for us all!”

Soon they were pulling up in front of Gram’s sheep ranch.

Katie jumped out of the car and ran as fast as she could across the grass that stretched for miles. Gram’s ranch was at the bottom of some huge mountains, it had miles of open land, in the spring the grass was green, but when it got to the hottest part of the summer, the grass would all turn to brown. The mountains reached high into the sky, surrounding them.

The small town Gram lived near was about seven minutes away on 4-wheelers. It was built in the middle of the great openness, and had only a few stores, such as a general store, a post office, a gas station, a grocery, a clothes store, and a feed store, as well as a few other necessary things, like a bank. A few people lived in town, but most lived on ranches around it. The town Sheriff was called “George” by all, and almost always had a large smile on his face. Everyone in the town knew each other, and was always calling and hollering, “Howdy!” When you walked through town.

Trisha ran after Katie, her arms stretched out.

“There they go already!” Gram laughed.

Will grinned, and pulled the suitcases out of the trunk.

“Will! Finally!” A boy’s warm voice came.

“Mark!” Will dropped the suitcases to shake hands with a boy who had just come out of the house.

Mark shook his hand, and then hugged him saying, “It’s been way to long to just meet with a hand shake! Besides, we’re growing up! Hugs don’t have to be sissy anymore!”

Will hugged him back, laughing, “True! Boy am I glad to be here, and see you!”

Mark laughed, grabbing one of the suitcases, “Did Katie talk the entire way here?” He asked, as they walked towards the house.

“Naw, first she slept, and then I had brought her favorite book along, so…” Will stepped onto the steps that led up onto the porch, and always shook as you walked up them.

“Lucky and smart you!” Mark said, steadying himself with hand as he walked up the steps, “Trish talked the entire way.”

“The entire trip?” Will asked, his eyebrows raised.

“The entire trip.” Mark said grimly, then they both burst out laughing, Mark adding, “You’ll have to give me some ideas for trip home, and for next year!”

“Sure thing!” Will said, walking into the house.

Larissa sat stiffly at the table, her lips were perched together.

William and Mark exchanged glances, “Hey Rissie!” Will greeted her, trying hard to sound cheerful.

She turned and looked him up and down, “Hello William, so, you’ve finally gotten to this mud hole have you?”

Will glanced at Mark, “Uh, yeah.”

“Come on Will, I’ll help you bring the stuff to our room!” Mark said, leading the way down the hall, where there were five bedrooms, one was Bill and Sally’s, Gram’s helper, and his wife, who was Gram’s housekeeper and helped cook, one was Gram’s room, where Will noticed a cot was set up for Larissa in the corner, and one was the boys room, which had one king size bed.

A tall thin boy with dark hair sat at a small desk in the corner, writing something.

“Hey Stan!” Mark greeted, “Will’s here! We’ll be a bit more cramped from now on I’m afraid!”

Stanley turned around, and stood up, “Hello William, how do you do?” He said politely.

 “Good thanks, how are you Stanley?” Will smiled and shook Stanley’s hand.

“I’ll just drop Katie’s suitcase off in the girls room.” Mark said, stepping across the hall.

“So, Stan, how are you enjoying your summer so far?” William asked, setting his suitcase on the bed, and opening it, preceded to unpack his things into the dresser drawer Gram set aside for him.

“It’s alright.” He said, sitting back down at the desk, “I kind of wish I didn’t have to write to mother every day though!”

Will stopped for a moment and stared at him, “Your mother wants you to write to her every day?” He said.

Stan shrugged, “Yeah, I don’t think it will happen though! I just wish she hadn’t told me too, so when I can’t I don’t have to feel guilty!” He stood up, “Need help unpacking?” He asked.

“Umm… Thanks for the offer, but I think I’m all set!” Will said, throwing the last shirt into the drawer and shutting it, and putting the suitcase under the bed.

“It certainly is an experience!” Stanley said, “First of all, I’ve never gone any where for the whole summer, and second of all, I’ve never done anything with my cousins!”

“Well, I hope you find it fun!” Will said, “Wanna get Mark and go outside?” He asked.

                      A Katie Clark Mystery

                                     By Amy Irene

Chapter 1 – 2:30Am

Katie Clark rolled over, she peaked at the clock, it read “2:30 AM.”.

She groaned, and rolled back over, she could hear the rain beating against her window, she shivered under her warm covers.

“Hey, get up!” A voice came through the dark room, someone shook her gently, “You sleepy head!” the voice teased, “You can’t have forgotten that we’re going to Grams, right?”

Katie sat up, rubbed her eyes, and swung her legs over the side of the bed, “Of course not! But no one told me we had to leave at 2:30 AM!”

“Of course we didn’t!” Her brother laughed, flipping on the light, and pulling her shades down, “Because if we did, you would never have agreed, so we decided to spring it on you!”

“Bother!” Katie put her hand up to her forehead, and fell backwards sideways on her bed.

“Get up silly!” He put his hand under her head and pushed/lifted her up back into a sitting position, “Get dressed, or we’ll leave without you!”

“Yeah right!” Katie said, but she jumped up quickly and grabbed her jeans.

Her brother William grabbed her last suitcase, laughing, “That’s better! Hurry!” He left the room shutting the door behind him.

Katie quickly pulled on her jeans and t-shirt, along with a zip up sweater, she quickly brushed through her brown hair, and “threw” it up in a ponytail. Then she slipped on her white sneakers, and turned to look over the room, “Well, bye room!” She said, “I won’t see you again until fall! I’ll miss you!” She flipped off the light, and ran down the stairs two at a time, at a break-necking pace which made her mother call from the kitchen, “Oh Katie! Go slow!”

Katie ran into the kitchen, and threw her arms around her mothers neck, “Bye Mummy! I’ll see you at the end of the summer!”

Her mother hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek, “Oh darling! What will I do without you for the whole summer? Every year I tell your father we aren’t going to send you to Gram’s next year, because I just can’t bear it, and then next year comes, and you’re off to Gram’s again!”

Katie tried to sound sad, “I’ll miss you Mummy! But we can write! And it’s only a few months! And you’ll just do what you always do for the summer! Travel with Daddy, write letters, sew, clean…”

“Oh you darling!” Mrs. Clark hugged and kissed her daughter again, “Good bye dear! Have a good summer!”

“Bye Mummy! You too!” Katie kissed her mother, and then ran to the front door.

William walked into the kitchen and hugged his mother, “Bye Mum, have a good summer! I’ll call when we get there to let you know we are safely there!” He kissed her cheek.

“Good bye William!” She hugged her tall son, “Be careful, and watch out for Katie!”

“Yes Mum.” He said.

She kissed him, and said, “Have a good summer!”

“You too Mum!” He smiled at her, holding her shoulders, before letting her go, taking the lunch she had packed for Katie and him, and went to the front door where Katie and her father were standing.

Mrs. Clark followed William, “Now children, don’t forget to read your Bibles, and pray every morning and night! And wash your hands frequently! And don’t give Gram any trouble! And go to bed at a reasonable hour! And…”

“Alright Mum!” Katie and William ran out into the rain to get to the car, followed by their father, who kissed Mrs. Clark and said, “Now Lillian, don’t worry about a thing! Gram will take good care of them! Bye dear! I’ll see you later!”

Mr. Clark ran and jumped in the car.

Katie looked out the window through the rain at her mother standing on the front porch waving.

Katie waved back energetically.

William waved too, kissing his hand to her.

Mr. Clark steered the car slowly through the rain, “Now William and Katie, I want you to mind what your Mum said, and be good kids for Gram!”

“Yes sir!” They said together.

“And remember, you are 17-years-old William, old enough to act mature. Katie, I want you to listen to your older brother!”

“Aw, Dad! I’m 15! Can’t I decide things for myself sometimes?” Katie whined from the back seat, while William teased her by sitting up taller next to his dad.

“Katie, you don’t use your head as much as you should. As soon as you learn to, then you can decide things more for yourself, do you understand me?” Mr. Clark said a little sternly.

“Yes sir.” She said, disappointed, but not surprised by the talk.

They finally got to the train station. Mr. Clark helped unload their stuff from the car, and then turned to hug them, “Good bye William!” He said, giving his son a big hug. He turned to Katie, kissed her cheek, and hugged her, “Bye Katie! Be good!”

“By Daddy!” She hugged and kissed him back, “I will be! Bye!”

She and William picked up their suitcases, and went and got on the train.

Katie slid into the seat, and peered out the window, she waved to her father, as did William as he slid in next to her.

After Mr. Clark was out of sight, Katie leaned back with a sigh, “Finally we’re really off!” She said, putting her hands behind her head.

“I love summer!” William said boyishly.

“Me too!” Katie said, stretching her arms up as far as she could.

“Now try and get some sleep, we’ve got a long way to go!” William said, drawing her head onto his shoulder.

“Ok, wake me up for breakfast!” Katie giggled, knowing that she could sleep almost any where, “I saw Mummy put donuts in the lunch basket for it!”

”Snoop!” William laughed, “I’ll eat them before you wake up!” He teased.

“Right…” She said dragging it out sarcastically.

“Go to sleep!” He said, sounding good natured, “I got a book, in case you were worried about me!” He laughed, teasing her.

She giggled too, and snuggled against him, she was sure this would be a good summer!

Chapter 2 – The Phone Call

Katie woke up several hours later from William shaking her, “It’s morning Katie!”

Katie groaned, she could feel her neck was stiff from sleeping sitting up.

“I’ve almost finished the donuts!” William said.

Katie sat up quickly, “You haven’t!” She gasped.

“No, I guess not!” William laughed, and began to open the lunch basket, and get out the donuts, I haven’t even started on them!”

“Oh you!” Katie said, leaning back in her seat, and taking the donut he offered her, “Thanks!”

“Yup.” He took a big bite out of his, “At our first stop I’m gonna call Mum, and tell her we got to the first stop safe.” He took another bite, “I’ll see if she knows if Mark and Trisha have gotten to Gram’s yet!”

“Probably they have! The cousin’s always seem to get there before us!” Katie said, licking some of the chocolate of the top of her donut.

“Yeah…” William reached for another one.

Finally the train pulled to a stop, “10 minute break!” The conductor called.

“Come on Katie, we got to make this fast! While I make the phone call, you walk up and down the station to stretch your legs, but don’t go to far, ok?” William, led the way off the train.

“Yeah, yeah!” Katie waved him off, and began walking up and down as told, finally she got tired of that, and went and leaned against the wall where William was talking to their mother, “Hey Mum! It’s Will. Yup, we got here safe! No, no troubles along the way…”

Katie rolled her eyes, “This is boring!” She whispered to William who was trying hard to hear his mother.

“Hey, have you heard from Gram? Oh nice, are the cousin’s there? Great! Wait, who? Oh… Nuts… Yeah, we will, sure. Yup, don’t worry Mum! Ok, we’ll call you when we get to Grams! Bye!” William hung up the phone.

“Are they there?” Katie asked eagerly.

“Yeah, Mark and Trisha got there last night, and so did Larissa and Stanley!” William didn’t sound to excited.

Katie drooped down the wall until she was sitting on the floor, “Larissa and Stanley? What are they doing there?”

“I guess our Aunt either decided to go on a trip, or decided her little darlings would be better off ‘breathing the clear fresh country air’ instead of the city air.” William sighed.

The train whistle blew.

“Come on!” William pulled Katie up, and they ran and jumped on the train. When they were settled again Katie said, “Man, this isn’t going to be a great summer with them there! I don’t want Stanley tagging after me and Trisha!”

William turned to her and said, “Now Katie, you have to be nice to him! And include him!”

“Aw, Will!” Katie groaned.

“Yeah, I know, but be fair, you don’t even know what he’s like. You’ve only ever seen him on holiday’s, and then he’s with his crabby mother who keeps him by her side!”

“Baby!” Katie muttered.

“Hey, just be glad you didn’t have to go to camp with Larissa! She’s one scary girl!” William said, looking out the window.

“Who wants those city slickers anyways!” Katie said rudely.

“Now Katie, you aren’t exactly from the boon-doxes yourself!” William said, “People from the city can be perfectly nice, so you’d better try hard to be nice to him, or I’ll call Mum, and have you sent home!” William warned.

“Fine.” Katie grumbled, “I’ll try. But it might not work!”

William rolled his eyes, “Yeah, sure! If you make it work, it will! Now give Stan a chance!”

“Fine. You have to give Larissa another chance too!” Katie said, grinning at her older brother, “Yeah, yeah! Shut up kid!” William growled good naturedly.

“Practice what you preach!” Katie giggled.

“I’ll try you goose!” William tousled his sisters hair with a grin.

“Hey!” She giggled, ducking.

He leaned back, “Only a few more hours!” He said.

“Yeah, and I wish it was over already!” Katie laughed.

He pulled out a book and handed it to her, “Here, read!” He said, pulling his book out and opening it.

“Hey,” Katie said, looking at the cover, “how’d you know I love this book? I don’t think I ever told you!”

William laughed, “Oh, when you see someone read the same book at least a million times, you get an idea that it might be their favorite book!”

Katie laughed, “That would make sense!” She said, and settled down to read.

Copy-righted Amy Irene 2008

(Copyrighted  Amy P. 2008).

Katie Clark rolled over, she peaked at the clock, it read “2:30 AM.”.

She groaned, and rolled back over, she could hear the rain beating against her window, she shivered under her warm covers.

“Hey, get up!” A voice came through the dark room, someone shook her gently, “You sleepy head!” the voice teased, “You can’t have forgotten that we’re going to Grams, right?”

Katie sat up, rubbed her eyes, and swung her legs over the side of the bed, “Of course not! But no one told me we had to leave at 2:30 AM!”

“Of course we didn’t!” Her brother laughed, flipping on the light, and pulling her shades down, “Because if we did, you would never have agreed, so we decided to spring it on you!”

“Bother!” Katie put her hand up to her forehead, and fell backwards sideways on her bed.

“Get up silly!” He put his hand under her head and pushed/lifted her up back into a sitting position, “Get dressed, or we’ll leave without you!”

“Yeah right!” Katie said, but she jumped up quickly and grabbed her jeans.

Her brother William grabbed her last suitcase, laughing, “That’s better! Hurry!” He left the room shutting the door behind him.

Katie quickly pulled on her jeans and t-shirt, along with a zip up sweater, she quickly brushed through her brown hair, and “threw” it up in a ponytail. Then she slipped on her white sneakers, and turned to look over the room, “Well, bye room!” She said, “I won’t see you again until fall! I’ll miss you!” She flipped off the light, and ran down the stairs two at a time, at a break-necking pace which made her mother call from the kitchen, “Oh Katie! Go slow!”

Katie ran into the kitchen, and threw her arms around her mothers neck, “Bye Mummy! I’ll see you at the end of the summer!”