Incessant Interruptions

Authors Note: As this is the spot where the old At the Cabin thread stopped, I'll guess some readers are jumping over to Honey Hollow here. I know it's a lot of chapters, but I'd strongly recommend starting HH from the start. There is enough new material and character additions/changes to cause confusion for anyone who picks up this story right here.

Bridget stared intently at the kitchen wall clock. As it had turned into her sole focus, she didn't hear or notice Rachel hanging up the cabin's landline phone. Nor did she particularly zone in on the conversation that followed, even though much of it pertained to her. "Who was that, Mom?" Lacey inquired, joining her mother and Gabriela.

"Shayla," Rachel answered before elaborating. "She still feels terrible for having to cancel on coming up here with us. So she's--"

"But didn't Mr. O'Dell win an award?" the petite redhead interrupted.

"Yes, he did. That's why I told her it wasn't a big deal, but she still feels guilty. That's why she--"

"Is Delilah in trouble for throwing her party?"

"No. Well, I don't think so," Rachel responded to her daughter's second interruption. "That's not why Shayla called me. She wanted--"

"I bet she's feeling jealous for missing all the excitement up here. That's why she called right, Rach?" Gabby cut her best friend off.

"Well, not really. Sure, she wanted to make sure that Whitney and Sean were okay. Apparently, Honey Hollow is awash in rumors but with little facts over the ice incident. Shayla said that--"

"Has the Daily Flyer reported anything?" Ramsey questioned, rushing into the room. Not even waiting for a reply, she carried on with her sudden concern. "I screwed up. I should've called my mom or grandfather with the details. I do have a firsthand account from on the scene. Oh, no! Where's my phone? They've probably been calling it!"

Lacey shook her head as Ramsey slipped back into her journalist mindset and rushed out of the kitchen. I think you had other things on your mind, Ram. Like if Whitney would live.

"So as I was saying," Rachel began again. "I guess a lot of the girls were asking questions last night to Shay--"

"Which girls?" Gabby questioned.

Taking a deep breath, Rachel remembered one part of teaching grade-schoolers that she hadn't missed since her promotion. At least with them, she could've issued a reminder to raise their hands with their questions.

"If everyone would allow me to finish a sentence, then I could explain," Rachel noted that at least her youngest daughter blushed at the admonishment. It didn't even faze her BFF as Gabby merely motioned for her to continue on with the story.

"Okay, let me back it up a second. The girls who weren't in town for Christmas have started to arrive. Lauren flew in yesterday afternoon. Cookie drove over from Arbor Corners, too. Gabs," Rachel growled as she saw her mouth open. "Yes, I know that Cookie wasn't supposed to come until today, but you know Shelly. She convinced her to arrive a day early. And as always, your cheersister just had to arrange a get-together. So Shelly managed to con Maura into convincing Bailey to let the expanded squad use the backroom of The Copper Lantern. Although it's her busiest time of the year, one mention of Cassie caused Bailey to rearrange whatever had already been planned for the room."

"A party?! Why weren't we invited?" Gabby questioned, upset over being left out.

"Why do you think?" Rachel spread her arms in a gesture toward the cabin.

"Oh, right," Gabby shrugged while Lacey held in a giggle. "So, who was all there?"

Rachel ran down all their former classmates that she could remember. That turned out to be precisely everyone that Shayla had listed as well. It was relatively easy for the school principal to remember as most had been former cheerleaders from their era. During Rachel's recounting of the rather impromptu gathering, another person had joined their kitchen group.

"Sounds like a school reunion," Lana remarked, earning a round of shushings for the interruption. "Geez, what's up everyone's butt today?"

"As I was saying." Rachel shot a stern look at her eldest daughter. "Since several bored daughters tagged along, Sean turned into a popular topic."

"Ooh! I can't wait to see them. It's been so long, hasn't it, Lan?" Lacey squealed with joy. She began to rattle off the names of those daughters, earning positive and negative comments from Lana. Gabby watched in amusement. Even more so as Rachel grew increasingly annoyed enough that she eventually cleared her throat. "Wha--oh, sorry, Mom."

"Thank you," Rachel said, in her 'I'm pissed' mom's voice. "As I was saying, I've made it crystal clear that I'm not happy with this new plan for Sean, Bridget. I wish you would stick with the girlfriend route, BUT if that new idea is what you want, then you'll find plenty of candidates. Shayla reported a few girls around his age showed new interest in our little hero."

"Plan? What new plan? Wait, is this about someone riding his dick last night?" Lana questioned.

Rachel ignored Gabby's cackle and Lacey spitting out her milk. Instead, she pointed a shaky finger at her eldest child.

"One more word, and you're grounded."

"Grou--" Lana cut herself off.

"No, No, let her carry on, Rach. I want to hear more about riding dicks," Gabby laughed.

"Bee, I'm sorry for our extra teenager's salacious spec--Bee?" Rachel repeated as she finally noticed Bridget's obsession with the wall clock.

"Uh, Aunt Bridget?" Lacey sounded.

"Paging, Dr. Tarver!" Lana nearly shouted before remembering her mom's warning. That led the busty redhead to slap her hand over her mouth hurriedly.

"Huh?"

"Is everything okay, Bee?"

"Yeah, what's up with the clock-watching?"

"It's been seventeen--no, make that eighteen minutes. Where is that damn girl?" the blonde doctor growled. "I swear if she's not up here in two minutes..."

"You were what?!" Peyton exclaimed.

"That means it...no way!" JoJo's eyes bugged out as she finally realized what Whitney meant.

"Yes, I was there when Sean's late-night lover purchased our black lace clue," the younger blonde stated, walking behind the rec room's bar.

While JoJo swerved to sit down on a barstool, Peyton followed the other teen behind the bar. Then, in disbelief, she issued a comment/question.

"You can't honestly claim to recognize one pair of panties from another. There isn't anything particularly special about them. You're just jumping to conclusions."

"I know underwear, Peyton," Whitney stated.

"You can't possibly--"

"She knows. Trust me, she knows," JoJo said, remembering her lingerie tutorial from Whitney and Mrs. Tarver.

"See? Listen to JoJo. It's a skill I acquired. Honestly, how is it surprising? I bet your mom has the same--"

"Let's leave my mom out of this," Peyton brushed aside, waving her hand. "If what you're saying is true, then that means it's..."

A short silence ensued as Peyton couldn't bring herself to name the narrowed-down list of suspects.

"Ramsey and Lacey," JoJo supplied, finally succumbing to the pressure of the silence.

"And that's an O for JoJo. Bingo!" Whitney cheered, downing the last of her cup of water.

"No, no, no. It can't possibly be one of them. Lacey would never...and Ramsey could never...they were way too busy last night to do THAT to Sean," Peyton stammered through her thought process. "Yeah, you see, it couldn't have been one of them!"

"Why would they be too busy?" Whitney asked, genuinely curious over Peyton's firm belief that it couldn't be one of her BFFs.

"Um, I, uh...I just know!"

"If you say so," the cheerleader captain shrugged. Walking past Peyton, Whitney headed toward the stars. That prompted JoJo to hop off the stool as her next-door neighbor spun around to continue questioning their hostess.

"Well, which one is it? That's if you're so certain."

"Oh, I'm certain," Whitney declared, stopping to turn back to face the other two.

"If it was Lacey, then I bet Lana borrowed them. Yeah, yeah, that's probably what happened," Peyton speculated.

"Doubtful," Whitney replied.

"That means it was Ramsey!" JoJo exclaimed.

"I didn't say that."

"Then who was it?" Peyton and JoJo asked, about a half-second out of synch.

"I'm not telling."

"WHAT?!" This time, the two neighbors were in synch.

"And you two aren't telling Sean anything about this detail. Not one thing," Whitney ordered.

"You can't be serious! He has to--" JoJo started to argue.

"If you think for one second that I'm not going to tell my brother--" Peyton began to dismiss the younger girl's command.

"Enough!" Whitney interrupted both arguers. Then, realizing that she needed to elaborate on her reasoning, she continued. "Look, we all know what's going to happen if I tell Sean the girl's name right now. Don't we?"

"Um, no--OOH!" JoJo exclaimed.

"Right. Sean will rush off and expect to date, propose, and eventually marry his mystery girl. Damn the consequences in his romance-obsessed mind," Whitney pointed out rather needlessly. Sean's sister and best friend knew how his mind worked. "But that's not going to happen right now. I have a plan...check that. Bridget and I have a plan for Sean. It's time for him to play the field rather than pine over a girl."

"If you think that my mom will go along with--"

"Oh, I'm not planning on telling her about what happened. This is my call," Whitney revealed.

"Sean has a right to know!"

"And he will...someday. It will be my decision on when."

"Uh, no offense, but Sean won't just give up on finding out the girl's identity," JoJo responded, knowing him the best out of the three girls.

"Yeah, he's not going to just take your word without more questions," Peyton added.

"Sean will," Whitney stated confidently. Of course, she saw their disbelief. "Look, Sean saved my life. That means I owe him everything. He knows that, or he will if he doesn't already. So when I tell him to trust me, he will."

Peyton scoffed with a snort.

"Alight, I know that won't just kill Sean's curiosity. I just need to do it long enough until he's distracted," Whitney explained.

"And just how will you distract my mystery-loving brother from solving this case?" Peyton questioned.

JoJo added a quick head nod.

"By drowning him in pussy."

"Wha--eww!"

"Eww? Really, Jo? After everything the whole cabin heard come out of your porn-obsessed mouth last night," Peyton pointed out.

"Sean's my best friend! I don't want to hear about him and...that."

"You're adorable, JoJo," Whitney remarked before leaning in to whisper. "And I expect to hear all the juicy details about Jared."

"Whitney, we need to discuss--"

"This isn't a committee, Peyton. It's my call, and I don't have time to sit around and discuss it any longer. I have to go deal with your brother."

"But--"

"Not buts...unless it's about where Sean's going to be--"

"Gawd, you are so like Lana."

"And just where have you been, young lady?"

Barely finished climbing the stairs to the cabin's main floor, Whitney froze at the unexpected question. Turning toward the direction of the kitchen, the teen saw Mrs. Tarver standing in front of the pantry door with her hands on her hips.

"Oh, hey, Bridget, I was taking care of that--"

"Don't 'Hey, Bridget' me, Whitney," the older blonde snapped. Marching over toward the teen, she continued. "We had an agreement, young lady. Fifteen minutes. And how long has it been?"

"Uh, fifteen minutes?"

"Twenty-two minutes!"

"Oh, sorry about that, but my task took longer than--"

"Sorry won't cut it. We agreed on fifteen minutes until naptime," Bridget stated curtly.

"Well, yeah, I know, but I need a little more time. I have to--"

"More time? Did you hear that?" Bridget directed the last question behind herself toward the kitchen group. Then, with a joyless laugh, she added, "She needs more time."

"Yeah, I need like another fifteen minutes so that--"

"Twenty-three minutes!"

"Huh?"

"It has now been twenty-three minutes since we agreed on fifteen minutes," Bridget declared.

"Um, alright..." Whitney didn't know how to respond. This wasn't the fun-loving Bridget that she'd come to like immensely.

"Well, I'm waiting."

"Uh, for what?" the usually confident cheer captain felt thrown for a loop.

"For you to go take your nap."

"Oh! Well, I just said that I need another fifteen minutes," Whitney reminded.

"And I don't think you understand the situation, Whitney," Bridget hissed, now standing directly in front of the teen.

"Look, I get that we agreed on fifteen minutes, but it's really important that I talk to Sean. I'll try to do it in ten minutes, I promise."

"This is not a negotiation, young lady. You've already broken one promise. No, you will march right over to your bedroom and get some needed sleep."

"Bridget, this is vital stuff that I need--" Whitney argued despite the stern face on Mrs. Tarver's face. Then, a lifeline appeared as Clive walked in, followed by her father. "Dad! Look, I know I need to take a nap, and I will, but I need like another ten minutes to--"

"This has nothing to do with your father, Whitney," Bridget declared.

"But he's my dad. Dad, would you--"

"You're not running to your father for help, Whitney. This doesn't concern him."

"Now, Bridget, if Whitney really needs a few more minutes--"

"Stay out of this, Harvey!" Bridget hissed over her shoulder. Something about the older blonde's body language and tone froze Harvey on the spot.

"Uh, what's going on here?" Whitney questioned, surprised at her father's reaction.

"What's going on is that you're not going to have your pushover of a father let you off the hook this time. When it comes to worrying about your health, I'm in charge," Bridget proclaimed. "And I'm sending you straight to bed."

"Bed? No, I told you that I have to--"

"You're in no position to tell me anything, Whitney! Off to bed!" Bridget ordered with a finger point.

"But, Bridget--"

"It's Dr. Tarver."

"Why are you being so mean?!" Whitney whined.

"I'm not being mean; I'm worried about your health," Bridget explained. "We have a busy night ahead and only a few hours until we need to leave. That leaves little time for sleep."

"But it's important that I talk to Sean!"

"And if it's still important when you wake up, then you can talk to him. Now march!"

"Wha--this is bullshit!"

"No, it's life. And someday, when you have a daughter to worry about, you'll understand that I'm doing this for your sake," Bridget said, still pointing her finger toward the hallway.

"I've never treat my kid this way!" Whitney screamed. However, she did turn around to stomp loudly across the great room. Yet, when she reached the hallway, her footsteps grew quiet.

"And don't you dare think about sneaking into the den, young lady!" Bridget warned, earning an undecipherable swear.

Waiting until she could see her young charge enter the master suite, a satisfied Bridget turned around. Heading back toward the kitchen, she started to talk.

"Well, that's taken care of. Now, what were you saying about Shayla? What's the matter?" Bridget questioned, noticing everyone's gawking faces. Then, turning toward Harvey, she asked, "You did put me in charge of her health, didn't you?"

"Uh, yeah, I did."

"Did you get it?" Gabby asked.

"Yeah, I did," Rachel answered.

"Have you ever seen her like that?" Lacey inquired, sliding next to JoJo.

The Tarver's next-door neighbor shook her head.

"Shit, I've seen Peyton act like that, but never her mom," Lana remarked.

"Okay, what's the big deal? Whitney needs her rest. She's been through a life and death experience," Bridget pointed out.

"You sending it to Tinny first?" Gabby queried.

"Tinny? I'm sending it to Brandy," Rachel revealed. "She's going to freak out."

"Did you record me?" Bridget questioned. Annoyed more than mad, she sighed, "What's the big deal? Sometimes, I have to be strict with a patient."

"If you say so," Gabby responded, holding in a laugh.

"We've seen that before, but never from you," Rachel giggled. Nudging her BFF's arm, she gestured for Gabby to look at her phone and the people she sent the video to.

"Uh, it's not that, Bridget," Harvey began. "It's just that you acted a lot like..."

"Not acted like, she was just like..." Gabby pointed out.

"Holy shit, Mom!" Peyton finally snapped out of her awestruck silence. "You turned into Grandma!"