Little black box
For the previous Twirl, go here.
For my new Invisible Friends, Twirl is the story of a feisty, sassy ballerina named Vivi and her handsome cowboy named Wade. After falling in love swaying on the dance floor to the sound of a fiddle and steel guitar, the couple have stumbled onto a old Texas legend that might possibly lead to riches! On top of everything, Vivi is fighting her controlling father and over involved dance teacher, who are trying to trap her into a life she may not want. Add in a mysterious secret with her mother, a scheming evil boy in her dance class and regular teen angst and you’ve got DRAMA!
To catch up in the archives, go here and here. Soon, all posts will be availible under Never Ending Stories. Soon!
And now, for the rest of their story…
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“What is that?” Wade asked, looking at the large black box his grandfather was holding. “I’ve never seen that before.”
“It’s because I didn’t want you to see it until now,” Red informed him. He shoved his plate out of the way and set the box on the table. “Ya’ll went and saw that weird historian lady, right? The one that lives on the outskirts of town?”
Vivi nodded, shuddering as she remembered the woman’s black rotten teeth and her disgusting house.
“What’d she say about the letter?” Red asked.
“She said it was written in a code, a mix of German, Spanish and English,” Wade replied. “Then she read it to us. Bullet Bill was apologizing to Addy and said he’d hidden his fortune, that he intended to do good things with it.”
“And then it said ‘Starlight under the Oak Moon. Blue ribbons. Bluebonnet’,” Vivi added. “We couldn’t figure that part out.”
Red grinned and leaned on the box. “You know, that woman made your grandmother’s life hell. I wonder she knew who were were.”
“What do you mean, she made Grandma’s life hell?” Wade replied.
The box creaked as Red shifted his weight. “Your grandma never told the kids about this–that’s Wade’s daddy and his brothers and sisters, Vivi–but the woman was a history fanatic. She always wanted to go back and teach it, but never did. Not enough time, you know.”
Vivi smiled, but her fingers itched impaitently as she looked at the black box. Just one little flick of the lid and she could see inside…
“Anyway, when the kids got older, all she had to do was chores around here,” Red continued. “She was too smart to spend all her time cleaning and cooking, so she started reading up on local history.” He pointed to the wall where the large arrowhead display hung. “We’d found all those out on the ranch, and she wanted to know where they came from.”
Vivi hoped there wasn’t just arrowheads in the box. She took a bite of cold brisket and smiled, wondering why everyone had a story to tell. On television, they would have opened the box by now to discover a severed head or something equally dramatic.
“Well, as she got deeper into local history, she discovered the story of Bullet Bill and Addy,” Red continued, not noticing Vivi squirming around in her chair. “She latched onto it like a leech and worked on it for years, tracking down stories from old people who had known them, or known of them. I think she drove halfway around Texas, picking up bits and pieces here and there.”
“What’s that got to do with Margaret?” Wade asked. Vivi heard a shuffle behind them and turned to look out the kitchen window. The sky was dark and the wind was still. Frowning, she turned back to the conversation.
“Margaret was researching the same topic for her doctorate, or one of them,” Red replied. “And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Margaret is meaner than a one eyed snake.”
Vivi snorted. “We noticed.” She heard the shuffle again and whirled around, but the yard outside the window was still.
“Margaret was–is–very competitive, and she fought your grandmother every step of the way,” Red continued. “She would bribe people not to give your grandmother information, declare things a university site and tie her up with months of red tape and send her all kinds of threats in the mail. One time, she even broke in the house to try to steal your grandma’s findings.”
“What’d you do?” Wade asked, his eyes wide.
“Well, the woman’s crazy, but not even she was crazy enough to mess with me in my shotgun,” Red said with a grin. “Anyway, the whole point is now that she knows you’re looking again, she’ll probably follow you. Hell, she’ll probably make your life miserable.”
“I don’t care,” Wade said, his jaw set. His cheeks drew close in a stubborn scowl and he glared at his grandfather. “Vivi and I are going to find out what happened, no matter what a crazy old woman thinks.”
Red cackled and clapped him on the back. “That’s my boy. And with all this, you’ll have a great head start on her.”
A crash from outside made Vivi jump. A shriek tore from her throat before she could stop it. Without a word, Red and Wade rushed out of the house in unison. Vivi ran to the window just in time to see three dark figures struggling on the lawn. Through the open door, she heard muffled shouts and cursing. Two of the figures latched onto the third and dragged him closer to the house. Hurrying to the open side door, Vivi gasped.
“Damien?” She peered closer at his sneering face. “You were hiding outside the window?”
To be continued…..
Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! We have a tasty Mexican recipe tomorrow and the continued search for the Rubber Chicken’s fowl love on Friday! Then we have a weekend of whimsy!
Do you like pie? Do you like tiaras? Then e-mail me to be a princess of pie! Whether you want to tell me about your favorite pie memory, the story of your first pie, the pie that made you cry or the pie you left behind, I want to hear about it! And send me whatever recipes and pictures you like! You’ll be featured as a Princess of Pie during pie week, which is coming up soon! Just leave me a comment or use my contact form to e-mail me!
February 18th, 2009 at 3:14 am
Hi! Thanks for stopping by my blog! Oh I write all right…just not in my poor neglected journal! I see you write too! I guess I will have to catch up these stories. Love the new blog look! See you around the blogosphere.
February 18th, 2009 at 5:19 am
Love your stories. My first pie was a Daring Bakers Lemon Meringue Pie which made me as weepy as the pie. Was my first challenge & boy did it misbehave!!
February 18th, 2009 at 6:38 am
Hmmf almost sounds like Damien and the rotten tooth woman might be related…this is so good Miranda.
Re Pie – mint chocolate?
February 18th, 2009 at 6:39 am
Love your new site – great header!
February 18th, 2009 at 6:46 am
What a fun story! I do love a good mystery.
I need to get caught up on all of your stories!!
February 18th, 2009 at 7:11 am
I love your new website! It looks just like you! Sorry I haven’t been around lately…
February 18th, 2009 at 7:37 am
Twirl is my favorite, I think, although it is hard to choose. Great installment!
February 18th, 2009 at 7:41 am
I like that you give a bit of detail on the story at the beginning. You are a great and imaginative writer! Pies, my favorite is the coconut cream pie at Shari’s Restaurant, they are the best in the world, no birthday cake for me, I want a birthday pie!
February 18th, 2009 at 7:46 am
I’m excited to hear the pie stories!
My pie story is a quick one–my grandmother made excellent pie crusts (and all kinds of food) but she was very, very secretive with her recipes. When she passed, we found around ten homemade pie crusts in her freezer. We distributed them throughout the family and ate them on holidays, even when we weren’t together. No one has been able to replicate my grandmother’s pie crust recipe, but we still talk about them to this day
February 18th, 2009 at 7:48 am
I love this latest edition of Twirl, no surprise there eh!! I love all your stuff and can’t get enough of it. As for pie . . . well I have a confession. When I was in Utah my friend Lenis brought two Maria Calender pies to dinner on Friday night, a Lemon Meringue and a Chocolate Cream. THEY WERE TO DIE FOR!!!!! Especially the Lemon meringue. I am no stranger to pie. I wish I had a dollar for everyone I’d baked in my life! I’d be able to retire, and well, eat pie all day for the rest of my life!!
February 18th, 2009 at 7:52 am
That Damien!!
February 18th, 2009 at 8:26 am
Love this story~I can’t wait to see what happens next.
February 18th, 2009 at 9:23 am
I love your stories! This one is so cute!
February 18th, 2009 at 11:02 am
Twirl: And just who in cahoots with whom???
Pie: Can there be a Prince of Pie? My 10 yo son LOVES pie – Key lime pie is the bestest. He also made a shirt that says “I like pie” (which is only l.I.k.e because the long “I” sound rhymes so well and rolls off the tongue as silkily as actual pie does). Anyway, he also loves pi (3.14159265 blah blah blah). I’ll see if I can scare up a pic for your consideration.
February 18th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Very interesting. What is Damien doing there?
February 18th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Ooooo….I love where this might be going…..
February 18th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
He’s a nosy thing, isn’t he!!? I think he’s spying on her for her father…
February 18th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
So nice to see you in your new home Duckie: everything is so beautiful *turns around in a Dorothy-like movement*
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Love to catch up on Vivi and Wade: ugh that sneaky spy!
February 18th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
I will be grantng your wish and sending you what you asked for. I want to be the princess:)
February 18th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Did Damien escape from the omen? And bring Margaret with him? No, I never saw any of those lame movies. Keep going, Duckie!
February 18th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
I love Twirl, love your stories!!
February 18th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
I feel like I’ve missed so much… one of these afternoons I will have to spend a few hours getting acquainted with your stories. Regarding pie, when I was a middle school teacher we celebrated March 14th (3.14) as π day. We had pizza pie, apple pie, chocolate pie, and we of course worked on how to find the area and circumference of circles.
PS – I love your dogs!
February 18th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
You are so good at this. How do you protect yourself from someone stealing your stories though?
February 18th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
I’m not sure how you keep the story going! You are so creative.
February 18th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
I love a good romance mystery Miranda, you keep me guessing with this one!!
February 18th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
taking a break from remodeling and checking in with online friends –
Love the new look!
Great stuff in the story – very creative
February 18th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Your new site looks amazing!!!!
Thanks for the continued support of my site!! xoxoxo
February 18th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Hellllo! Your new site is SOOO CUTE!
February 18th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Intriguing story! So much going on around here, Duckie. I have a pie recipe to submit, so I’m going to check out where and how.
February 18th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Duckie – I’m loving this! Oh, that Damien… Can’t wait to hear more!
Mexican??? I love it – can’t wait to see what you are making over at the Pond. I wish I could stop by for dinner sometime!
XOXOOOXOXOX
Jen
February 18th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Oooo, I just knew that Damien was going to cause trouble. You’ve gotta watch those bad boys. Harumph! Can’t wait for the next installment. Literally. I can’t wait. Can’t wait. Can’t ….
February 19th, 2009 at 1:13 am
I am not sure which of your stories I like best, they are all so good!!
February 19th, 2009 at 9:36 am
It keeps getting better & better. I had thought that perhaps Wade was a descendant of bullet bill & addy.
~ingrid
February 19th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
OMG – next instalment please!
February 27th, 2009 at 4:21 am
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March 3rd, 2009 at 11:06 am
I KNEW it! It was Damien, the little scoundrel. I can’et wait to read what happens next.
I hope I’m not to late to be a princess of pie. The first pie I ever made was a peach pie. It was orginally my great grandmother’s recipe for a 1-2-3 cake, but I wanted to do a pie. The one two three stands for the how much of the ingredients you put in. I can’t remember everything right now. I’ll ask my mom when she gets home.
It’s so easy and delicious, and everytime I make it, I think of my sweet grandmother cooking in her kitchen with what she had. She was a FABULOUS cook, by the way.
March 7th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Hmmmm how did I miss this chapter??? Glad I clicke that button!
Damn Damien…what’s he up to anyhow?♥