Youngest sibling syndrome

It was hot.
Too hot to be outside but she was out there anyway. Both her sisters were in the hayfield so Sam just sat on the step, her head in her hands.
Hot and boring.
At least at camp last week she'd had lots of other little friends to play games with. Now there was no one to play anything with. Mom was busy working in her workshop. Dad was out with the sisters. Even the dog was boring; he just laid in the shade of the doghouse his pink tongue lolling in the June heat.
Maybe they could fill the pool.
The idea gave Sam hope. She jumped up and ran into the garage where Mom was working. The saw was running, the buzzing blade filling the shop with so much noise that she slowed down and put her hands over her ears to block it out. Mom was deaf to anything else so Sam just stood and watched.
When the saw stopped, Mom smiled at her. "What's up buckwheat?"
Sam took two giants steps closer trying to think of a good argument for mom to go get the pool. Absentmindedly she stood on one leg and scratched a bug bite with her toe, the pose reminiscent of a crane standing in water. Bubbles the cat, scratched herself on Sam's leg while she was standing still. The cat meowed piteously.
It gave Sam an idea.
"Never mind!" She turned and scooped up the cat, grinning brightly. There was always something to do even on a hot Nebraska afternoon. Sam tromped out the door back into the sunshine.
Her captive struggled as they went from the cool shade of the garage into the muggy sunshine. Sam held on.
"We're gonna play hide-and-go-seek Bubbles." She set the cat down on the cement but kept petting her to keep Bubbles content. The dog raised its head watching the pair. "Now, I'll count and you go hide." This was the best idea Sam had had all afternoon.
She covered her eyes with her arm and began to count. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5..." All the way to fifty. "Ready or not, here I come!" With a flourish she opened her eyes. Bubbles the cat, looked up at her from her spot on the cement and meowed.
"No Bubbles!" Sam stamped her foot and growled. "Ugh you're supposed to go hide." She sighed. "Fine, you count and I'll hide." Scooping up the cat she marched over and deposited her on the step. "Count to fifty Bubbles." Then Sam ran away to find a hiding place.
Luckily, Dad's pickup was parked outside of the garage. She jumped in the back and waited. And waited, and waited and waited. Sam began to wonder if Bubbles had forgotten about her.
She poked her head up and looked around. Bubbles wasn't on the step anymore. "Where's--" But before she could finish the question the cat jumped up on the edge of the pickup meowing at Sam. "You found me Bubbles!" Sam crawled down and covered her eyes. "Now you hide."
As she counted, Sam wondered if the goats would be better hide-and-go-seek players. Maybe that was what she would try next. She reached fifty and opened her eyes. Bubbles was strolling lazily toward the cat house not even trying to hide herself. Sam sighed, got her boots and went down to see if the goats would be better at games.
There was a chance she could teach them to play Tag. "Come on Bear!" The dog jumped up from his shady spot to race after the little girl. Even if the cats or goats couldn't play games like her friends at camp, Sam knew one game they were good at: Pretend. And in the end, that was the best game of all.
"Bear, quick! Get in the ship, this ocean is full of snakes!" She jumped in the rickety old wagon and it became a great pirate ship the rolling hills of grass and sand becoming the ocean she had never seen. The dog followed her, Sam's faithful second-in-command. "Let's go find buried treasure." Bear barked once in agreement his pink tongue lolling in the hot June sun.
It was still hot as the sun began to sink in the west but the day was no longer boring.