Work in Progress Wednesday- October 13, 2021

Photo- Jeff Griffith, Unsplash

---

Well, between a garden that still won't stop, my daughter being home from school for a week with a cold, and Thanksgiving, writing this story hasn't been happening as quickly as I'd like it to. There are days when I use digging potatoes or canning tomatoes (or spending TWO HOURS wrapping them to help them ripen- facepalm!) as procrastination from writing. And then there are days where I use writing as a procrastination from my garden and household tasks (like today, when writing will keep me away from all of my Thanksgiving dinner dishes). That said, I'm grateful for the wonderful weather that has allowed our garden to keep growing, when normally it would have died off weeks ago. It won't be long before it gets cold and I'll have more than enough time to snuggle in the house and work on this book...and the next one, and the one after that! I'm also very grateful for those who have stumbled across the Facebook Page I haven't been brave enough to share with my family and friends, and for those who have had a peek at this website so far- thank you!

Anyway, I do have a few chapters written, and I'll keep sharing a few pages per chapter each week till it's done.

---

The next morning, when the animals were all looked after, Dad said, "Well, chores are finished. Nothing much else to do, and it's Sunday. Let's go to the races!"

I looked at Dad and blinked a few times. I loved spending time with Dad, and if he was going away soon, I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could before he left. You know, just in case. I guess I never got over the anxiety of losing Mom- especially since she died in a car accident.

But 'going to the races' with Dad never meant going to one of the legit tracks in Calgary or Edmonton. No, Dad knew where the 'bush tracks' were- racetracks hidden from the general public's view. They didn't follow the rules and regulations of legitimate racetracks. The main draw was the betting- not great for a reformed gambler. Often the horses involved were stolen, and they weren't always treated well.

"Uh, it's been a while since we've gone to the races," I said.

"This won't be like before," Dad promised. "I just need to see a few people there, and Danny's got a few horses running."

That didn't make me feel any better. Anyone Dad needed to see at one of the bush tracks probably wasn't going to be a model citizen. His buddy, Danny, had horses racing all the time, sometimes at legit tracks, and always at the bush tracks. I wasn't too sure about Danny, who had all of a sudden become Dad's bff not long after Mom died.

"Yeah, okay," I finally said, if only to go to keep Dad out of trouble.

"You don't have to come if you had other plans," Dad said. "I just need to go, and I thought we could make a day of it."

I stuck on a smile. "No, it'll be great to spend the day with you, Dad. Just give me a minute, and I'll get ready."