“See now there’s a funny story there, Cora,” he began, blandly. “Tono was just saying how Ellie spent the entire afternoon helping him with Blaze’s foal… after she called him from the phone in the office. He says he clearly heard Ellie tell you it was an emergency. But that’s not quite the same story as the one you came to me with, is it?”
Cora blanched but recovered herself quickly. “Oh, well, I um… I must have misunderstood,” she said, excusing herself with a haughty shake of her blonde hair.
“Don’t quite know how you can misunderstand the word emergency when it’s told to you,” Tono remarked with obvious skepticism. Cody caught the older man’s eye and gave him a surreptitious shake of the head.
Tono backed off and Cody looked back at Cora. “Anyhow, since she’s not available to make breakfast, perhaps you could whip up a batch of those delicious pancakes?” he asked, innocently.
“Really, you already had them once this week. Don’t want to spoil you,” she replied, side-stepping his request.
Ezra was quick to catch on. “Or Sheri could make a batch of those breakfast muffins. Either would be great. We’ve got time, since we’ve taken the morning off.”
“Oh, um, I’m not sure if we have enough ingredients,” Sheri hedged, throwing a desperate look at her sister.
“Well, start on oneorthe other. I’m not eating burnt oatmeal again,” Cody said firmly, his tone brooking no argument.
Syrus looked down at the overalls he’d fetched from the utility room and gave Cody a wink.
“Oh, and Carly, do you think you could fetch your sewing kit and just do a quick patch job on these, please?” He held up the garment to show her. “I need them this afternoon.”
“I… I…” She was clearly struggling to find an excuse, but Syrus just continued to look at her expectantly.
“I don’t really have time,” she finally muttered, weakly.
“Really?” Syrus feigned surprise. “It won’t take long, compared with that huge pile you gave us the other day, and besides, what on earth else do you have to do?”
“But my show starts…” The words started out as a whine, but Cora jabbed an elbow into Carly’s ribs to shut her up. Like they hadn’t already heard the incriminating evidence.
“You may as well sit here and do it while Cora and Sheri start breakfast,” he suggested smoothly, gesturing to a chair.
“Yes,” Cody agreed, with a nod to Cora. “And please make enough for Tono, as well.”
To their shock, Carly stomped her foot like a child having a tantrum.
“But I’m going to miss my first show and it’s just getting to the best bit!” she grumbled with an exaggerated pout.
Syrus switched on the charm he was famous for. “Come on Carly,” he cajoled. “You had that huge pile done in just half a day. I’m sure this will only take minutes, and then you can get on with the rest of your day,” he said with a wink. It was clearly lost on Carly, who was fuming.
“Oh, stop going on at me, like I know anything about mending shit! Ask Ellie to do it, she was the one who did the last lot. Can I go now?”
There was silence for a couple of beats and all eyes were onCarly after heradmission.
“I see.” Cody responded coolly. “And just what else did Ellie do that one of you took the credit for?”
Carly jumped up from her chair, almost knocking it over in her hurry.
“Look, I don’t have time for twenty questions. My show already started, and I can’t record it since everything out here so damn backwards. It’s bad enough that I have to watch it through all that static.” She made for the door, but Ezra got there before her and blocked the doorway.
“Perhaps you’d better come up with those answers a little bit quicker then,” he said with a dangerous edge to his voice, refusing to budge, even when she tried to squeeze around him.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake,what? She did everything, alright? Are you happy now? Can I leave?”
“Not quite,” Cody replied with quiet menace in his voice. “Perhaps you’d like to elaborate a bit more.” It wasn’t a question.
“Seriously?”
“Carly…” Cora’s voice held a warning, but her sister was far too annoyed to realize just what she was saying. Or maybe she honestly didn’t care.
“What Cora?” she asked, holding her arms across her chest and jutting out a hip belligerently. “I never even wanted to come out to this godforsaken place, but you persuaded me. You said this would be an easy ride. That we’d all bag a wealthy husband and be sitting pretty and all because your last ‘get rich quick’ scheme didn’t work! Well, what’s the damn point if we can’t enjoy it in any way?”