Five

Winding down and just sitting in the grass with Jason Katie enjoyed the moment to just relax and wind down now. Kaylee had her running all over the place not that she minded. It wasn't long ago BJ had that energy too, she could almost remember it like yesterday and now...now he was grown too.

Looking over to Jason and giving a nod Katie figured he was tired last night she couldn't get mad at him for that, that was for sure. 

   "I went out to a surprise dinner. I happened to bump into Hunter while I was shopping and we both made a mess of the chip isle. We both figured we should leave before we got kicked out. So...we went to dinner and just talked as friends."

Katie watches Sandy and Kaylee again as she continues to talk. A small smile spread across her lips.

   "We talk about you, we talked about me, we talked about him. He was a lot different than from the night I arrested him. I think he just...lost in life. I kind of felt bad."

"Thank you Dylan, it means a lot you remembered."

Ashlee couldn't help the smile that grew bigger as she clapped with excitement. She was happy Dylan said he would come along. All the people she wanted there would be and it wouldn't be over crowded or awkward at the table because there was an even number.

   "I think we are going to be heading into town about five. I'm not sure if we are taking one or two cars yet but we can meet at the dinning hall if you want. We should have it all planned out by than."

Okay

Dylan looks to the side quickly as he's joined by Ashlee, pausing only a moment in his walk to the stall he was supposed to clean next. "Hey..." 

Getting to the stall, he stops and lifts his eyebrows a little. She wanted him to go with them to dinner? Seriously? And her mom said it was okay? 

Leaning on the pitchfork, he studies Ashlee's face for a moment. She seemed really happy today. He didn't feel much like going out anywhere tonight. It was supposed to be a fun time, and he wasn't too good with the whole having fun thing. Let alone while being watched like a hawk by Stacy and Eric both. But... Ashlee looked so hopeful. She really was a good little friend - at least she hadn't ditched him after all the stupid things he'd done. And... he did like her company. Couldn't he suck it up for one evening, for her? 

"You didn't give me time to even wish you a happy birthday first." He wouldn't tell her he'd forgotten. A faint smile almost surfaces. "Yeah, okay, I'll come along. What time do I need to be ready?" 

Kaylee's fingers curl around the bag of bread and she smiles big. "Duck food," she states flatly. 

Sandy laughs. "I think she'd got it figured out alright." 

"Yeah, she's a smart one," Jason agrees. "Just like her brother." A whack to the arm is the response and he grins at Sandy before slinging his arm around Katie's shoulders. "Okay. To the pond." 

Soon they were by the little pond, Kaylee's enthusiasm bubbling over - a little too much for the ducks, but she managed to throw a few wads of bread to them and watch them eat - which in turn made her babble and giggle all the more. She would have fallen right into the water once, had Jason not caught her with his leg. All she did was laugh though, having no clue she'd almost taken a bath.

Sitting on the grass a short while later, Kaylee is finally settled down enough to pick dandelions and cease running around in circles, giving the adults a short break. 

Jason plucks a blade of grass to fiddle with, lounging back on one arm, while Sandy helped Kaylee pick "flers." 

"I was gonna call you last night," Jason admits to Katie, keeping his eyes on Kaylee and Sandy. "I was just exhausted. How'd you spend your evening?"

Special Place

Stacy can't help but laugh a little bit at Luke's comment. Sitting down Stacy starts to blow up some of the balloons too. It was so nice of everyone to pitch in and help her do something special for Ashlee. Her daughters personality was contiguous and everyone seemed to snag on fast. It made Stacy happy and feel good that had a special place here.

Ashlee gives a little clap as Eric says he would go with them tonight. It made her happy to know he was coming. So far this was one of the best birthdays yet and it had only started. She couldn't wait for more. 

Looking out the window and see Dylan walk by Ashlee looks back to Eric and gives another big smile. While she could she better ask Dylan now. She had no idea if he would say yes or not but she hopped he would too.

   "Ok, I'll see you around lunch time. Thanks so much Eric."

Setting the rest of her items down and heading twords the door slips out of the room and catches up with Dylan.

   "Hey Dyl!"

Ashlee gives a smile as she walks along side him. She was happy to see him a little more stable, and up and moving around more. Though she could see the look in his eye was still a saddened one at least he wasnt sick anymore and that was a start.

   "I was wondering if you wanted to come to dinner tonight with Eric, my mom and Me. She said it was ok for me to invite you and I thought it was be nice to spend time with my friend on my birthday."

Giving a small smile at Sandy as she stood Katie was a little surprised to hear Jason had talked so much about her. In a way it was kind of strange to not just know he was. But at the same time it was nice to know he was talking about her. That was a good thing.

Looking back to Kaylee as she laughing Katie's eyes twinkled. Following the little girl's finger as she pointed and hearing her ask about the ducks Katie just shakes her head a smile still spread across her lips.

   "The ducks it is. I just happened to bring along some bread too..."

Katie reaches into her bag and pulls out a baggie with a few slices of bread and hands them to Kaylee.

   "Don't eat them though they don't tast very good. But...I think the Ducks will like them if you break it off and throw some to them."

Giving her another kiss and turning back to Jason and Sandy Katie gives another soft smile. She loved spending time with Kaylee along with Jason. Maybe last night had been the start to opening her eyes and feeling, had Hunter really maybe ignited those feelings. If he had she owed him much more than a thanks. Friendship was funny like that...taking place in the strangest of ways. 

   "You guys coming too? I think this little peanut has made up our minds for us!"

Duck!

Setting aside the book he'd been reading, Luke looks up at Stacy and smiles. He'd be glad to be put to work, even if it was just blowing up balloons - that he could do.

"I'd love to help out," he agrees. Situating himself in his chair, he reaches for some balloons, starting with a red one. "Angel always tells me I'm full of hot air," he muses. "Guess I can finally put it to good use." 

Eric was... special... to Ashlee? His facial expression softens even more. His heart floods with something new... something warm... something... very special. He'd never thought he'd have a little friend like her, let alone planned to be so fond of her. He'd settled for the fact that it was too late for him to ever have a family. But if he'd had a daughter... he wondered if this is what it would have been like.

A new smile spreads across his face. "You're pretty special to me too. I'll come tonight." 

He wasn't surprised she was going to ask Dylan too. He'd seen the way she watched the young man, and he had a pretty good idea that there was a crush there. He'd never lead on to her though, not wanting to embarrass her. It was rather cute in his eyes. 

"And I think asking Dylan is a really good idea." Eric knew that Dylan could probably use a little bit of time away from the ranch - whether or not he'd say yes was another story. He hoped he would agree though, if for nothing else than to make this night special for Ashlee. 

"Speaking of which..." He leans over a little, looking out the tackroom door as Dylan passes with a pitchfork. "You might be able to catch him in between stalls right now." 

Kaylee squeals with delight as Katie picks her up, clinging to her tightly and returning a sloppy sort of kiss to the cheek. 

Jason grins, glad that Kaylee was so loveable. He knew she'd been miserable there for a while with Daddy gone, but she seemed to be doing well now. "Hey, Hero." 

Slipping his arm around her, he returns her kiss. "You're not that late. I was early." Looking down into her eyes, something seems a little off. He can't put his finger on it though. Did coming her to meet Sandy bother her? He wondered. 

Sandy stands up and smiles, nodding. "That's me. I've heard an awful lot about you too. This guy is pretty fond of you." 

Jason's cheeks get a little red and he throws Sandy a smirk. "How about we take a walk?" 

Sandy laughs. "Embarrassing you is way to easy." 

Kaylee's eyes bounce from one person to the other, then finally drift to the nearby pond. "Duck!" She points enthusiastically with one hand while her other hand held onto Katie tightly. "Duck!" 

Jason shakes his head. "Or we could go see the ducks." 

Kaylee giggles and fingers Katie's hair. "Go duck?"

So much

Pulling into the park parking lot Katie scans the area thought it wasn't hard to spot Jason, Kaylee and who she would guess was Sandy. Getting out of the car Katie lets out a small sigh before smiling. Even if she felt nervous for some reason she'd put a smile on and be as cheery as she could be. 

Giving a wave when she gets closer Katie bends down and holds her arms out to Kaylee leting her run to her and scooping her up planting a big old kiss on her cheek.

   "Hey there Kiddo. You have gotten big since the last time I saw you my goodness. I think you might end up being taller than Jason."

Still holding Kaylee Katie looks over at Jason and smile before leaning in and giving him a kiss and a half hug as she was holding Kaylee. It almost felt like forever since she had felt affection from Jason. She new it wasn't true but with out the intentsate thats how it kind of felt.

   "Sorry I'm a little late."

Looking over at Sandy Katie gives a small wave. She was a pretty young woman who looked about Jason's age witch made sense since they went to school together but Katie was just trying to take her all in. She didn't want to feel intrust worthy of this woman, or of Jason. She wanted to feel ok with him hanging out with her, and spending time with his friends but it seemed so hard when she saw them laughing more than she she made Jason laugh anymore.

   "Hi, you must the Sandy I have been hearing so much about."

Turning to see Eric a little more Ashlee gives a smile and nods her head. If Eric came she thought it would be fun, her mom would enjoy it and she would just at much. Her birthday dinner was meant to be fun and shared with people she cared about. So...thats why Eric and Dylan had to come along.

   "Yes I am sure. I want you to come and join in. This is a special day for me and should be shared with people who are special to me...and you are Eric."

Setting down the bottle of oil and the rag Ashlee looks around the tak room for a moment. She new maybe this was uncomfortable for Eric her asking this but it was important to her. She'd never....had a male figure to share in these special days with her.

  "I am going to see if Dylan wants to come too."

   "Alright I can do that. As for the cake I can try to help but I am not sure what to have written on the top. Maybe...Happy Birthday we love you. I'll have to think on it."

Giving a smile and turning Stacy heads off into the main room and over to the closet grabbing the balloons and returning sitting down where Luke was. She new sometimes he had a hard time doing things so she would help as much as he could.

   "Heya Luke! Want to help me with the balloons?"

 

Are you sure?

Eric chuckles softly, not surprised that Ashlee would find the thought of racing fun. Checking over the saddle, he nods with satisfaction. "Good job. You're getting to be a pretty good tack cleaner there, missy." He flicks her leg teasingly with his rag. 

Going to finish up what he was doing, then give Ashlee something else to do, he stops when he hears her invitation. She wanted... him... to go to her birthday dinner? Wasn't going into town something really special to her? He'd figured she'd just go with her mom and have some girl time. But... she'd invited him? Because... it would make Stacy happy?

He tries to control the heat in his face, but he isn't sure if it works or not. Was she really right? Would Stacy really want him there, or would he just be intruding? Was that little something he felt down deep, a hope that Ashlee really was correct? Even so, was it that Ashlee herself really wanted him along, or was it that she just thought Stacy would want him there? He couldn't tell.

Clearing his throat, he shifts a little on the bench and tips back his hat on his head. Giving Ashlee a smile, he nods. How could he say no to her anyway? He wondered if she asked for the moon, if he'd say yes. "I'd like joining you for your birthday dinner very much." He cocks his head. "You sure you want me along though? I know you ain't had your mom to yourself very much lately and I wouldn't feel left out."

"Hi, Stacy." Becky smiles as she wipes her hands on her apron. "Actually, yeah, if you want to go get the balloons from the hall closet, we could get started on some of those." Most of the guests had already started filtering out of the dining hall, so it was good timing. 

"I think I saw Luke out there at one of the tables - he could probably help." In reality, she knew he was having a tough time doing much this morning - it had been an accomplishment for him to be at breakfast today. Becky also knew if he could be given a task he could do while sitting down, it would help him feel useful. 

"The cake is just about done, then you could help me frost it if you like. I wasn't sure what you wanted to put on it."

"...So how's the whole recovery thing going?"

"Not too bad. Slow. I guess." 

Sandy smiles and bounces Kaylee on her knee as she sits with Jason at the picnic table, waiting for Katie to meet them at the park. "Sounds like that's normal though, right?"

Jason grins a little. "What part of any of this is normal?" 

Sandy thinks for a moment then laughs. "Okay, so the whole emotions, telepathy, super-power thing isn't exactly something I hear about every day. But your doctor said it would be slow, right?" 

"Yeah." Jason hadn't thought he would tell Sandy about him and Katie... but it had just sorta happened while they'd been sitting here this morning. Sandy noticed he hadn't been quite with it, so he'd started to give them a brief explanation, which had wound up being a full story about his and Katie's connection. Sandy seemed to accept it in stride. Which was strange, really. Most people would think he was nuts. Then again, Sandy seemed quite open to most anything being possible since God is ultimately in control, and she'd heard of strange connections before - nothing like Jason and Katie but enough that Sandy didn't think he was crazy or lying. And... it did make Jason... feel good. 

Kaylee squeals and giggles, being bounced around on Sandy's knee, bringing Jason's concentration back around again for a new grin. "You silly goose. You'll laugh at anything." 

Kaylee giggles again, scrunching up her nose at her big brother. "Jaysh!" 

"Uh-huh. You're a ham."

"Ham ham!"

Jason rolls his eyes. "You get it all from your father, 'cause I was never like this."

"I bet you were," Sandy teases. 

"Okay maybe Mom has a few stories. But I've sworn her to secrecy." 

Sandy laughs. "I suppose you've outgrown most of your quirks if she trusts you with this bundle of joy for the day." 

Jason grins again. It was the first time he'd been left in charge of Kaylee, and he was having more fun than he'd thought. 

Kaylee settles down a little bit, her eyes roaming the park. Her hair had started to come loose from her pigtails and the wind was making it stand almost straight up in places. Looking to the parking lot and seeing a new car pull up, she points. "Kate? Kate?" 

Jason follows her finger and nods. "It sure does look like Katie." They'd been talking about Katie since they'd arrived, so it wasn't unusual for Kaylee to put two and two together that they were waiting for her. "Do you even remember her?" 

Kaylee slides down off Sandy's lap and drapes her arms over Jason's knee. "Ya, ya." 

"I bet." Jason runs his hand over her hair. "I'm glad she's here before you wear out us two."

Happy

Giving a nod and holding up the card she has signed Mick and her own name to Rosetta smiles. She had wanted to do more for Ashlee but they just didn't have the funds for it right now. So throwing her a little part and the card was what she had to offer and hoped she would like it just the same.

   "Yes around lunch time after the guests clear out we are gonna have a little mini part for her. I'll see you there Sweety!"

Still working on a different section of the saddle Ashlee listens to Eric talk about racing again. She pictured everything he said in her own mind and it seemed like fun. Just to go fast, to be close to the horse, to be...free.

   "I think racing sounds like fun. To be that close to the horse, the smells, the sights...it just sounds like fun."

Looking up at Eric and searching his eyes Ashlee it was easy to see sometimes how he missed something. Like racing, he had really enjoyed it and now...now he couldn't. Ashlee could only imagine how hard that much be for anyone.

Letting the subject go for now Ashlee smiles and holds up the saddle to show Eric. She'd gotten pretty good at this with Eric's help, though it wasn't perfect it only made her try that much harder.

   "I looks almost as good as new. It's amazing what a little oil can do."

Putting the saddle down Ashlee turns to Eric again bringing her leg up onto one of the hay bals. She new her mom has asked Eric to come to dinner tonight but she didn't know if he would say yes or not. She really would like him to join though.

   "Are you going to come to my birthday dinner tonight? I'd like it if you did...it would...it would make mom happy and I like seeing her smile."

Heading to the dinning hall with the package Stacy enters before setting it down on one of the far tables. Going to the kitchen and seeing Becky Stacy smiles. It was amazing how close knit the ranch was and how everyone was like family. It didn't talk long to warm up to them and it was something Stacy liked. In a way it was almost like a small community.

   "Hey Becky, anything I can help with?"