Past Forward- A Serial Novel: Episode 11 by Chautona Havig Page B

bed. Remembering her dollhouse people, she hurried to find them and bring them “ home. ”
    While in the attic, Willow dug through her “ outside toys ” and found her old sled. She ’ d wondered what she might h ave that Tavish might enjoy; s urely, boys liked sleds. The sight of the pulley from her old zip line was all she needed to feel more confident. N o child could resist a zip line; she was sure of it.
    When Chad pulled into her driveway just after twelve o ’ clock, Willow seemed to have disappeared. Chad looked everywhere but didn ’ t find her. The water was still on to the “ rink ,” and since it looked sufficiently flooded to him, he shut it off. Footprints led away from the chicken coop, through the pasture, and finally , as he reached the stream, he saw Willow flying through the air.
    “ Move! ”
    Chad jumped out of the way just in time for Willow to whiz past and drop into the snow several feet from the tree. “ What are you doing? ”
    “ Zipping! I found it when I was looking for my sled. I thought Tavish might enjoy it —”
    The words were hardly out of her mouth before Chad grabbed the zip pull ey, raced across the stream, up hill to the tall pine, and climbed up the rungs she ’ d nailed into the trunk of the tree. “ Geronimo! ”
    “ Squanto! ” Willow hollered back as he whizzed past , almost forgetting to let go before he slammed into the tree. “ I ’ ll have to remind the children not to forget to let go .”
    “ That was fun! ” Chad started to grab the pulley again , but the sound of a horn stopped him. “ I think Aunt Libby ’ s here! ”
    They gathered Willow ’ s tools and , hand in hand, tro mped through the snow to meet Chad ’ s aunt and the children. They rounded the corner of the house as the kids climbed from Aggie’s van. “ Libby! I ’ m glad you made it in time for lunch! ”
    “ We ate already, but thanks. Ian is getting grumpy , so I won ’ t get to stay as long as I ’ d like .”
    Chad helped Laird, Elspeth, and Tavish to unload their suitcases and schoolbooks and carried them inside. Vannie tried to interest the baby in the snow , but Ian just wailed louder. “ Let ’ s go inside, ” Willow urged. He is probably cold .”
    Ellie dashed down the stairs excitedly. “ Uncle Chad bought me a new bed for while I ’ m here! ”
    Chad ’ s voice called after her, “ No, I just picked it up. Willow bought it .”
    “ Oh thank you Wi — w hat do I call you? ”
    “ Willow .”
    Wide-eyed, Ellie looked to Libby for guidance. “ I can ’ t just call her Willow. Mommy —”
    “ Why don ’ t you just call her Aunt Willow honey, ” Libby suggested. “ She ’ ll be your cousin soon enough , but she’s more like an Aunt in age.”
    “ Oh that ’ s right! ” the child exclaimed excitedly. “ I forgot about that. This is so exciting .” To Chad, she turned and begged to go see the bed in the back of his pickup.
    Willow ’ s mind spun wildly with all of the information Libby fired at her. She had a list of phone numbers longer than her cell phone address book, a list of school assignments, and suggestions for if Tavish “ disappeared .”
    “ Of course, Aggie understands if it ’ s too much trouble to keep them on target with their schoolwork , but she thought it also might help keep them occupied .”
    “ How do I know if they ’ re doing it right? ”
    “ It ’ s all in the folder. It ’ s pretty self-explanatory, ” Libby assured her. A fresh wail went up from Ian , sending Libby digging for her keys. “ I ’ ve got to get him home. We ’ ll stop by sometime this weekend , if that ’ s ok. I thought Vannie would enjoy visiting someone every few days .”
    “ Sure. Anytime .” Willow suddenly felt a little panicked at the idea of being alone with the children , but the sound of Chad ’ s voice coming up the steps with Ellie relieved her. The children would be in bed before he left for work. It ’ d be ok. They were just