"Don't blame me, love made me crazy."
Jules Howard has always lived in the shadows of her sisters, being the middle child is never easy, especially when you're only half related. When a tragic accident ends the life of her parents and her eldest sib...
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"What on earth is that?" Jules asked Will, the eldest Walter sibling, as he unclothed what she could only describe as a giant wooden bucket attached to a dirty cart. She was in the stables standing beside Jackie, while Alex led Murphy into one of the holding pens.
"Abigail Walter sold cider to weary prospectors with this very cart during the Colorado Gold Rush." Will explained to the two girls, "And her grandson, Bernard Walter, used it for bootlegging."
"Allegedly." Alex inputted, moving over to Will but his eyes remained on Jules, "Though, I will admit, his nickname was Boozy Bernie."
"These days we only wheel it out on special occasions." Will said, climbing up the cart.
Jackie raised an eyebrow, "And that includes... football games?"
"This isn't any ordinary football game here, okay?" Will got back down, his voice seeming offended by Jackie's questioning, "This is homecoming. Bighorns versus Hawks. A gridiron rivalry over a hundred years old? What, did you not have homecoming back East?"
"Our school didn't have a football team." Jules explained.
"Well, it's good small town fun." Will said. His eyes moved between the three, "You know, working the cart at Homecoming Huddle has kind of become a Walter rite of passage. And it's for charity. We do it every year."
"Still confused as to why Jackie and I need a babysitter to sell apple cider." Alex questioned his brother.
"You'll be glad I'm there when it springs a leak." Will explained, "Or rolls down Main Street or something."
Alex rolled his eyes with a cheeky smile in Jules' direction. She held back the smile wanting to spread on her lips and ignored the warm growing in her chest.
"I'll leave you guys to it." Jules pressed her lips together in a weak thin line before heading out.
Outside of the stables, Cole was crouching down and giving Parker, who was wearing a football jersey, a sweet pep talk. It was something Jules hadn't seen before. All she'd seen was him being an asshole.
But just this morning, right before everyone else woke up, she'd seen Olivia, who was Erin's best friend, sneaking out of Cole's bedroom. So just because he was doing one good deed for his little sister, didn't change Jules' opinion on him. She tore her eyes away from Cole and Parker, walking past them and into the house to get ready for school.
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Jules had let Jackie and her two friends into her bedroom, to use some of Katherine's old paint supplies for a fundraiser they'd come up with during school. The older Howard was currently downstairs in the kitchen. She had The Hobbit resting open on the island, whilst she ate a sandwich.
