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Author's Chapter Notes:
I know...I know...it's about time. LOL. Be prepared, though...we're starting to see a real person, coming out of Kevin! *gasp*
The rest, of the road trip, was long, but fairly peaceful. It was obvious, that everyone was doing their best, to be civil, and not fight. Mason, and I, did our part, too, by behaving ourselves, and not annoying the adults. I spent, most of, the time listening, to music, and reading, while Mason played his handheld games.

By the time we arrived, we were, all, exhausted. I was surprised that there was no family, to greet us, when we got here. I had expected a family reunion, of sorts, but the place was deserted. The only things there, to welcome us, clucked, oinked, or neighed. Yeah…you got it…our welcoming committee consisted of farm animals. Now, that I should have expected! Oh…did I mention the corn fields? The fields that seemed to go on, for miles? It was insane!

We were quick, to unpack the van, and relax. Everyone was stretched out, in the living room, with everything so quiet that we could hear the trees rustling, in the breeze. I looked around the room, seeing everyone sprawled out, with their eyes closed. Howie and Nick were snoring, softly, but everyone else was quiet. I leaned my head back, on the recliner, and closed my eyes, as well. It was nice to stretch out, after that long, cramped, ride. I shifted my body, in the recliner, letting out a soft sigh.

“We should do something.” A soft whisper snapped me, from my thoughts. Opening my eyes, I saw Kevin staring at me. “You know…maybe we should hike down to the swimming hole. We used to spend hours, down there…most of the day, sometimes, when we were kids. I bet you and Mason would enjoy the swing rope…it’s been there for generations.” Swing rope? Generations? Was he serious? What, exactly, is a swimming hole, anyways?

“Swimming hole?” I sat up, raising a brow. I don’t remember my dad mentioning a swimming hole, in the journal. Kevin makes it sound like it used to be a pretty big deal…I wonder why my dad never wrote about it. Then again, he didn’t write, in it, all the time…the dates are pretty spaced out, so I guess he couldn’t, possibly, write down everything.

“Come on, let’s go down there. Anyone else going?” He stood up, looking around, at the other relaxing bodies. Only one sat up. I guess Mason was the only, other, one that was awake.

“Sounds like it could be fun.” Mason got up, stretching his arms, over his head. Letting out a long moan, his arms dropped and he walked over, to his dad. Kevin headed to the door, and Mason was right behind him.

“Sure. Why not?” I shrugged, standing up and looking around, at everyone else, before following Kevin, and Mason. Before I knew it, we were walking, to one of the large barns. I couldn’t believe the amount, of land that the family owned, as Kevin pointed out the distant property lines. Seeing as the corn, in the fields, was, only, slightly popping out, of the ground, it was fairly easy, to see the property lines. The scenery was actually, really, awesome.

“Back there is where we’ll find the path. The swimming hole is out, past the back forty.” Kevin’s smile was sincere, as he looked like he was remembering the days, of his childhood. It made me start wondering what it would have been like, to see them all together and happy.

“Did you spend a lot of time here, dad?” Mason looked up, curiosity, in his eyes. Kevin swung open the large barn doors, and my eyes lit up. Right there, in the middle of the barn, were several ATVs. Walking up, to them, I spotted a bright blue one that had dark blue streaks, down the sides. Swinging my leg over, I sat on it, looking it over.

“That one was your dad’s.” Kevin came up, beside me, setting a hand on my shoulder. These things didn’t look old enough, for one to have been my dad’s. Someone must have been keeping up with them, really well. “We actually got these the summer before…you know. He wanted to buy one, for you, too, but your mom thought you were still too young. So…I guess…this one is yours, now.” He gave me a half smile and proceeded to tell me about its proper operation.

“Do I get, to drive one, too, dad?” Mason interrupted, from his spot on a similar green ATV. “These are so cool!”

“For now, I’d feel more comfortable, if you ride with me or Baylee…just because neither, of you, has driven one, before. I promise you’ll be able to drive one, while we’re here, though.” I watched, as Kevin’s eyes met his son’s. I know what would happen, if Nick had told me that…it would have led to a huge fight. Now, Nick and I haven’t been fighting much, lately, but we tend to go through stages. We’ve been in one of our good stages, and I’ve been making an effort, to keep it that way.

“Can I ride, with Baylee, then?” Just as I thought…Mason wasn’t the type, to object or argue. He had his moments, where he would stand up and voice himself, but not unless it was for a very good reason, or he was really upset. He was, usually, much quieter than me, and hated causing fights. When Kevin nodded, his agreement, Mason hopped on, behind me.

“Alright…take it slow, until you get the feel of it, Baylee. Don’t try any tricks, alright? Just follow me, and be careful.” Okay, so he had a valid request, but I still couldn’t help, but roll my eyes. What did he think I was going to do…try and pop a wheelie?

“We’ll be careful.” I forced a smile, but it probably looked sarcastic. Either he didn’t see it, or he ignored it, though, because he turned and mounted an all black ATV. We started the engines and Kevin led us out, of the barn. It took some getting used to, but I quickly got the hang, of driving it, and we were following the outside edge, of the corn field.

I guess Kevin knew that I was okay, with driving, because he sped up, after a few minutes. The wind blew through my curls, as we rounded the edge, of the next field. Mason’s arms were secure, around my waist, and we were nearing the edge, of the woods. As soon as we got to the trees, Kevin came to a stop, and we all dismounted the ATVs.

“Here’s the trail. It’s not too far, of a hike.” He waved us along, and we started into the woods. Alright…I’m a city boy…I am definitely not used to all this nature stuff. My hand flew, to my nose, after a branch flew back and hit me, in the face. This was so not my idea, of fun. All I wanted was to head back, to the ATV’s, and have some fun, on those.

I couldn’t stop my groaning, as the leg, of my 150 dollar jeans, tore on the branch, of a fallen log. These were my favorite jeans! If I had known that we were going to be out in this stuff, I would have changed my clothes. Nick better not put up a fuss, about my clothes being ruined. Ducking under another branch, I tried to push thorn bushes out, of my way. We’re talking some serious woodsy type crap, here, people…this was ridiculous!

“Dad? Are we almost there? This sucks!” Mason’s whine matched the one that was going on, in my head. I’m older, though, and I couldn’t whine out loud. I mean, I’m fifteen…teenage guys don’t whine!

“Another ten minutes, or so, boys…it’s not too far. Come on, keep up.” Ten min…not too…was he serious? Heck…ten seconds out here was too long and too far! We’ve already been in here for a good five minutes. I rolled my eyes, climbing over a dead tree, trying to keep up. Kevin was obviously experienced, at this. He was hopping over logs and weaving around bushes, like it was a well thought out maze…nothing seemed to slow him down.

“Okay…this seriously sucks.” I grunted, after face planting, in the dirt. Turning over, I looked at my feet…I just tripped over a root…A ROOT! How…in the heezy…does someone trip…over a…ROOT?!? Letting my head fall, back, I looked up, at the sky. It was an interesting view, looking up through the leaves, only seeing patches of blue and white. Slowly sitting up, I looked over my shoulder, seeing that Kevin and Mason had not even bothered, to stop. Go figure. Before getting to my feet, I let out a long sigh, wondering what the heck I was doing here, on the ground, in the middle of the woods. Yeah…this trip was turning out to be just a peachy idea!

“Are you okay, back there, Bay?” Mason paused, looking back, at me. Chuckling, sarcastically, I got to my feet. I could not believe my luck, as I started towards them and was stopped, because my hair was all tangled up, in some kind of, tall, weird looking plant…bush thing.

“I think…I need to be…cut…loose!” I started cracking up…yes, I finally lost my mind. My fingers were trying to free my hair, but I was laughing, so hard that it was making the task difficult. One hand went to my stomach, as I halfway doubled over. “I’m like…a…a…trapped…ani…mal!”

“Baylee?” Kevin whips around, catching sight, of me. He rushes over and tries to help me, but I am still cracking up and he can’t get a handle, on my hair. “How…in the heck, Baylee? What did you do? It’s like wrapped around the twigs.”

“I…I don’t know…” I tried, to control my laughter, but seeing Mason fighting back his own chuckles, sent me into another wave of laughing. My eyes watered, as I tried to catch my breath. Wait until I tell Morgan and Sean, about this!

“Will you hold still?” Kevin gave me a stern look, and I stood up straight. Pursing my lips, I tried to hold in my snickers, but my shoulders still shook, slightly. A few minutes later, Kevin freed me, and we were back to walking. My eyes scanned the ground, and surroundings, as I was on red alert, for any other dangerous obstacles.

“This is it?” My eyes widened, as we came over a hill, and could see a small lake, ahead. It was completely different than what I had expected. Looking around, I slowly made my way down the side of the hill, behind Kevin and Mason. The lake was a cool light blue, with slight green tint, and there was a huge oak tree, on the bank, that had a thick rope hanging, from a massive branch. It looked like a picture, out of an outdoorsy type magazine, or something. The sun was reflecting, off the water, and the breeze made small ripples across the top.

“This is it.” Kevin grinned, widely. To my utter shocking surprise, he ran towards the rope, grabbing it and then flinging himself, into the water. No way! That’s what he was talking about, when he mentioned a swing rope. All this time, I thought they only did that stuff in old movies!

“COOL!” Mason’s eye lit up, as he walked over to the rope. Grabbing it, with both hands, he wrapped his legs around it and climbed up, halfway. “Watch me!” He started swinging back, and forth, before jumping off, into the water.

“Oh man…I haven’t done that in years!” Running his fingers, through his hair, Kevin made his way out, of the water. “Go on, Baylee. This is the whole reason I brought you boys, down here.” I watched him plop, down, onto the ground, leaning his back against a red maple tree. I had to admit…this looked like loads, of fun!

“What is it that Nick always says?” I tilted my head, tapping a finger, against my chin. Pretending to think, I watched Mason trudge out of the lake. “Oh yeah…..AAAAH AAH AAAAAH AH AH AAH AAAAAAAAH!!!” I screamed, barreling full force, toward the rope. As I reached the thickly braided rope, my hands wrapped around it and my feet lifted off the ground. I flew through the air, and it felt like nothing I have ever experienced. As the rope swung out, my hands loosened, sending my soaring through the air. I kicked my legs and held my arms above my head, as I came crashing down, into the cool water.

“Awesome!” Mason shouted, clapping his hands, as I came to the surface. I coughed a little bit, as I swam to the lake’s shore. “My turn!” He squealed, getting a running start, toward the rope. Ok…so maybe this was TOTALLY WORTH THE SUCKY HIKE!!!!

“That was wicked cool!” My clothes clung, to me, as I walked up, beside Kevin. My smile was so big that it almost hurt my cheeks. I watched Mason make his dismount, landing in the water, on his back. Cringing, I knew that had to hurt, but decided I didn’t care enough, to stop, and started running, to take my next turn. As I flew through the air, I spun around, sending me backwards, into the lake.

An hour later, I plopped onto the bank, watching Mason. Kevin was a few feet away; he had been watching us, the whole time. He had only jumped in that one time, then just sat and watched us having fun. I glanced over, at him, noticing a troubled look, on his face. I found myself wondering what he was thinking about.

“I wonder why my dad never mentioned the swimming hole. He wrote about the farm, and talked about the hay loft, but I haven’t read anything about the swimming hole.” I tried to make general conversation, as Mason swum around, in the lake.

“You read your dad’s journal, a lot, don’t you?” He let out a sigh, like the thought bothered him. Why would he care, if I read it all the time, or not? Shifting his weight, he leaned his elbows forward, on his knees.

“Yeah. I like reading it because it helps me feel close, to him. It’s nice to read how he felt about things, and stuff.” I shrugged my shoulders, not sure if that made sense, but it was true…reading it really did make me feel close, to my dad. Sometimes, I wish my mom had kept one, too.

“How he felt, huh? I bet he had a few choice words, about me.” Kevin licked his lips, looking over at me. Oh great, what was I supposed to say, to that? Talk about putting me in an awkward position! “I wasn’t very nice, to your father, those last few years. That’s one of my biggest regrets because I never meant for it to be like that.” I couldn’t think of anything, to say, so I just sat there, listening as he talked. It sounded like he had wanted to talk, to me, about this, for a while. His voice had an odd tremble, to it. I just nodded my head, as he continued.

“I don’t, even, know where, or how, it all started and by the time I realized what I had done…it…it was too late.” Letting out a heavy sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair, tugging at it. I could, actually, hear the regret, in his voice. I was beginning to wonder if there was more, to this story, than what I knew. “I’d hate to know, what your father thought of me.”

“He didn’t, really, think badly, of you. He just…he didn’t understand what he had done wrong.” I turned my eyes, to the water, where Mason was swimming toward the shore. Never had I expected, to get into this conversation and, honestly, I found it slightly intimidating.

“It wasn’t his fault…it was mine. After all the years, of being the group’s leader, I just felt like…” Pausing, he took in a deep breath. Mason walked up, to us, and sat down on the other side, of his dad. “I felt like I still needed to be in control…I thought I knew what was best. All I wanted to do was help, but instead of helping, I just turned into an ass. Then, when your father…after the…I, just, lost it.” Pursing his lips, he hung his head, closing his eyes.

“It’s okay, dad. We, all, still love you.” Mason rested a hand, on Kevin’s shoulder. “I mean…we all make bad choices right?” I watched Kevin wrap an arm, around his son, pulling him into a hug. Kevin’s hand brushed over Mason’s hair, as he held him.

“I’m so sorry…I never thought it would get this bad. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.” Kevin’s eyes were slightly watering, as he turned to me. “Just remember that…none of this…none of the fights, none of the problems, none of it is your fault, boys…not even slightly. Okay? I don’t want either of you boys, to think you caused any of this.”

“Hey, you’re trying to change, and that’s what matters the most, now, Uncle Kev.” I gave him a half smile. That was the first time, in a long time, that I had referred to him, as my uncle. I tried to set aside any bad feelings, and thoughts, so I could offer some kind, of comfort. You can’t expect someone, to change, unless you’re willing to support them…at least, that’s what the counselor said, on some show I watched, with Morgan, a while back.

“Right…well…it’s getting late. We should head back, before everyone starts to worry.” Kevin stood up, changing the subject, and holding his hands out, for us. Mason took his left hand, as I took his right, and he helped pull us up. “We’ll find something, to eat, when we get back, too.”

“This was a really cool place, dad. I had fuuuuu…” Mason trailed off, as his feet slipped out, from under him. His feet flew forward and he landed on his butt, in the middle, of a huge mud puddle. The mud splashed up, over me and Kevin. We, all, looked at each other, and burst into fits of laughter. I smirked, happy that I wasn’t the only one, with bad luck today. Reaching down, I went to pull him up, but he just yanked my arm, sending me face first into the mud. I rolled onto my side, looking at him laughing, next to me.

“You think that’s funny, Mason? I’ll show you funny!” I grinned, splashing mud onto his shirt. Next thing I knew, we were covered in mud, and still slinging it, at each other. We finally stopped, when we were laughing too hard, to keep throwing the mud.

“Alright boys...” Kevin rolled his eyes, but had an amused grin, on his face. Mason, and I, got to our feet and Kevin led the way, as we started our way, back to the ATVs. I had much better luck, this time, and made it out without any further disasters. Once we reached the ATVs, we got on, and headed back, to the house.

As we parked the ATVs, back, in the barn, I looked at Mason’s wet, muddy clothes. Glancing down, I cringed, at my own torn, wet, muddy clothes. I tried to run my fingers through my hair, but it was useless, because it was a muddy ratted nest. Letting Kevin, and Mason, lead the way, I dreaded Nick’s reaction, to the way I looked. I didn’t know if he would crack up, or yell at me, for destroying my clothes. My hopes were that he would fall, to the floor, pointing at me and laughing, until he had tears. I held my breath, as we walked into the house. Howie, AJ, and Nick looked up and their faces were priceless. Everything was silent for several moments.

“What…the hell…” AJ, started cracking up, unable to finish his question.

“I don’t think we, even, want to know!” Howie snickered, looking back, and forth, between us and then his snickers turned into full blown laughter. They kept laughing, as I glanced over, to Nick, who was still not showing any signs of amusement. He had one brow raised, as he looked over my torn clothing, then up to my mess, of hair.

“Kevin took you to the swimming hole?” Nick stood up, walking toward us, a stern look, on his face. He shook his head, pursing his lips. My eyes looked, to my feet, and back up, at him, as I nodded. “Mhm…I see. I’m not very happy, about this! Just look at you!” Crossing his arms, he stared at me, and then looked up at Kevin. “Damnit, I am so mad…that I missed that!” His face relaxed, as he burst into a fit, of hysterical laughter.

After kicking off our shoes, we headed up stairs. The guys were still laughing, as I went into the room. Grabbing clean clothes, I headed for the shower. I had to peel my clothes off, and I thought about, just, throwing them away, but decided to keep them. I could wear them to school, when I got back…it would make for a good story that Morgan and Sean would surely get a kick out of.

I walked, back, downstairs, looking normal again. I met up with everyone else, who immediately started snickering, again. Once Mason joined us, we all sat down, for a nice dinner that Kevin had put together. At least, everyone was in good spirits, as Mason and I gave a description of everything that happened. Dinner went smooth, as we all talked and laughed, then we headed to the living room, and relaxed. The first day, on the farm, wasn’t quite over, but I’d say it went pretty darn well!