Girls, Guns and Grit - Part 2

Bo had to go a lot further away from the main house than usual to locate Cody. All the way to the boathouse. The exchange between her and Mabel, although short, had clearly made her angrier than usual.

Huffing just a little, he settled down by a fallen log and watched. He stared at the tree trunk closest to him and noted with interest that the girl was really getting much better. He was quite proud.

His chest burst with even more pride as he witnessed an object go tumbling by, thumping solidly into the tree trunk where it stayed lodged. Four other knives were lodged directly below it, all stuck in a clear line downwards, all at the same angle.

He squinted at girl in a far off distance and waved. She slowly made her way over, finally standing near him.

He nodded his approval. She shrugged. Cody didn't really need talk much. In one smooth movement, she lashed out a bullwhip and sent it snaking towards the trunk. Her free hand grabbed the knife which returned with a flick of her bullwhip. Bo clapped his approval and couldn't resist, "That's new." She smiled then.

He grinned. "Buddy, my brother, could have gotten all five of them out at one go."

"Mustn't run in the family."

"With a hand tied behind his back!"

"Liar! No way he could have caught those."

"With his teeth!" Bo grinned again, chomping his teeth in demonstration. He nudged her. "We've got to get moving. Since we're here, we had better prepare the raft too. We'll all be paying Mamé a visit."

Cody shook her head and moved a step back. "I'll go, because she'll make them all go, but I'm old enough to be told why."

Bo sighed, although he quietly agreed with the black-haired girl. "It's not really my place to tell. You know your mama Mabel ain't so good at explaining things."

"She's no good at asking for explanations either. That don't mean she shouldn't try. Maybe if she had explained how we were getting along to Father, maybe if she had squeezed out the real reason Father keeps going away, maybe she won't have let him always leave so easily." Quietly she added "And she ain't my mama."

"She's your mama, Cody. Any one who sticks by you and takes care of the family the way she does is your mama."

Cody shrugged. They had been over this same old argument enough times to know that neither would be budging. Slapping his knee, Bo rose up from the log and threw an arm over her shoulders. "Aw, come on now, at least set up the raft and get on back? For me? I can't tell you much, but I can tell you we better hurry somewhat."

"Uncle Bo, you're giving me a sick feeling in my gut. At least tell me what's going on."

Giving her a gentle shove on the back, he motioned towards the boathouse. "Get the raft set up first. Get back to the main house and pack, then I'll tell ya." Without waiting for a response, he started making his way back. And because he couldn't bear to lie, he muttered to himself, just under his breath "Maybe, just a little. When you're on the raft, all angry at the world, I'll tell ya. Just a little."
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Leigh-Ann was glad to get out of this morning's clothes.