Diane Greenwood Muir - Bellingwood 06 - A Season of Change Read Online Free Page B

someone.”
    “You’ve already told me. Now you need to tell Jason and you should also tell your mom.”
    “But that’s three other people and I wasn’t supposed to tell anybody!”
    “If Rebecca and her mom need help, that means people should get involved.”
    “But she says they can handle it.”
    “Do you think they’re handling it?”
    “I dunno. It’s not my business.” He sulked a little.
    “If she told you, it’s your business.”
    “Since I told you, is it your business now, too?”
    “A little bit,” Polly said.
    “Can I wait to talk to Rebecca before I tell anybody else?”
    “Absolutely. But tell her that people want to help, okay?”
    “Okay.”
    Polly turned the water on in the tub and made adjustments until it was warm. Before she knew it, Obiwan had jumped in and stuck his head under the faucet, spraying water out into the room.
    Andrew laughed and Polly pulled out the dog shampoo. She squeezed some into Andrew’s hands and when Jason came into the bathroom, she squeezed some in his. Soon the three of them were soaping the dog and laughing as he tried to play with them. By the time they were finished, everyone was soaking wet.
    There wasn’t much time before Sylvie would arrive, so Polly made a quick call.
    “Hi Polly, what’s up?” Sylvie asked.
    “I soaked your boys.”
    Sylvie laughed and asked, “You did what?”
    “We just gave Obiwan a bath and they are soaked to the skin. What do you want me to do? It’s too cold for them to be running around in wet clothes. I can give them a couple of t-shirts and toss their things in the dryer, but that might take too long if you’re in a hurry.”
    “Go ahead. We can wait for things to dry. You’re hilarious.”
    “I’ll see you in a bit,” Polly turned to the boys. “You two are going to be stuck in my clothes until your things dry.” She shuffled in her drawers and pulled out a couple of t-shirts and sweat pants. She found a pair that she’d cut the legs off of years ago and handed those to Andrew. “Now go back into the bathroom and change while I dry Obiwan. Your mom will be here soon.”
    The boys went back into the bathroom and Polly sat down on the bedroom floor with a pile of old towels and her very happy dog. “You love baths as much as you love playing in the mud, don’t you?” He rubbed his face on one of the towels and then dove into the pile and rolled in them as they exploded on the floor. She picked one up and rubbed his tummy while he rolled, laughing until the boys came out with their clothes.
    “Here, you two keep rubbing him dry while I put these in the dryer. I’ll be right back.”
    She went downstairs to the sound of the boys ‘ laughter and thought that was one of the best sounds in the world.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER THREE

     
    An early wakeup call for Polly gave her time with the big animals in the barn. They were tired of the cold winter and while Polly was thankful for a safe place for them to live, she knew they had to have cabin fever as much as she did. Short days and long nights with below zero temperatures had kept everyone inside too much this winter. The thermostat was supposed to move into the upper thirties today and Eliseo was sending everyone out to play.
    Eliseo Aquila was smiling when she walked into the barn. He smiled a lot these days and even though his cheeks had difficulty pulling up, his eyes glittered and danced with joy. The burns he’d experienced more than twenty years ago in the Middle East were part of who he was and he loved spending time with animals that didn’t care what he looked like. Everyone at Sycamore House had grown comfortable with him and he was finally comfortable enough with the community to become a regular for lunch at Joe’s Diner downtown.
    “I think we’re finally past that horrible cold weather,” he said to Polly when she walked in the door. “We aren’t springlike yet, but it’s coming.”
    “I’m so tired of this stinking cold