Second Chances: Partner, Brother and Friends
To protect his grandson, Rick Simon takes credit for finding a package of drugs floating in the creek near their home. Now he is missing, and his family and friends risk everything to save him despite treachery from someone they trust.
(This is a fictional story, and no money is being made from it. The characters from Simon & Simon and Six Million Dollar Man are owned by Universal Studios and are only being borrowed for a little while, I promise to put them back when I'm done.)
"Look at the size of that rainbow!" Rick Simon held up the shining fish, then expertly flipped it into the bucket of ice.
"Grandpa, are we going to eat it?" Andy craned his head to watch it wriggling in the frozen water.
"Sure we are, with some of your Great-Grandma's best tartar sauce." Robbie Simon chuckled, then cast his line into the middle of the stream.
"Hey, fishermen, ahoy!" A familiar voice brought smiles to the three Simons as "Downtown" Brown climbed thru the tall grass, then whistled when he caught sight of the sizeable trout.
"Man, you guys sure pick the best fishing spots, lend me a pole, will ya, Robbie?" he asked, then took a seat next to Rick as the younger Simon passed line and bait over.
"Uncle Towne, I caught two little fish, but I threw them back cause they were… Papa?" Andy looked at Robbie, who ruffled his hair and replied, "Seed fish, they're meant to help populate the stream, son. Unless they're eight inches or bigger, we throw them back. Next time they'll be big enough to eat!"
"Cool!" the little boy's enthusiasm brought smiles to the three grownups.
"So your dad and your Grandpa are teaching you about fishing, huh?" Towne stretched lazily after a long moment.
"Yeah, cause Grandpa used to have a boat, and he had all kinds of fun on it with Uncle A.J."! Andy responded excitedly.
"I know what kind of fun he had on that boat, Andy, as a matter of fact, he used to live on it, I even went fishing on it a time or two." Rick pretended to scowl at his old friend as Robbie grinned.
"I remember, Pop, you had it at Uncle A.J.'s condo, you sold it before you married Mom, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I had some good times on that old bucket, now don't you start, Towne!" Rick stopped the former detective before he could open his mouth.
"Oh, come on, Rick, I wasn't going to tell Robbie about the parties you used to have or the scrapes you got into!" Towne chuckled.
"Well, don't!" Rick huffed, then caught the stifled laughter of his son and bust out laughing himself.
As the cool afternoon breeze kicked up the water and no more fish bit, Robbie lifted up a very tired Andy as Rick packed up their catch and Towne helped lug their chairs as far as the little cabin on the edge of the ranch.
"By the way, did Temple go up to the house?" Rick asked, locking up the shack.
"Yeah, I guess Laurie was going to tell some of her stories, they're better then candy to my sweetie." Towne smiled as Robbie added, "Ramona wants to learn some of them so she can pass them on to the children at bedtime."
As the fishermen approached the rear of the ranch house, they could see their friend Rudy Wells standing in the kitchen, and saw that he was listening intently to someone.
Suddenly the roar of an engine shattered the calm desert air, and instantly Rick rushed inside the house, calling "Everyone down on the floor!"
As the group of family and friends took cover, Laurie Simon reached for her husband, then the two of them huddled together as the noise grew louder. Abruptly the house shook with the vibrations of something going overhead, then a sputtering sound signaled an airplane in trouble.
"Whoa!" Towne got up and looked through the kitchen window, as he spied a single engine plane just miss the top of the barn, then abruptly nose up and disappear over the hills bordering the ranch.
"Is everyone all right?" Rick stood up, then smoke rose in the distance. "I'll call that in to the office." Robbie volunteered, heading for the extension.
"Pop, you have good timing!" Robin got up then hugged her father.
"He always has, honey." Laurie added, then squealed "Rick!" as he pulled her into his lap with a kiss
"Now what story were you telling, sweetheart, when you were interrupted?" Rick teased, trying to take the others minds off the near miss.
"I was telling them one of the stories about Kasey and Rainbird, Grandmother wrote about some of their adventures as teenagers, and it always makes me think of how we were as kids." Laurie explained.
"Buddy, can you finish the story, I want to know what happened?" Temple asked, then contentedly snuggled into Towne's embrace as he made himself comfortable in Rick's easy chair. "Remind me, pal to get me one of these." Towne sighed.
"Well, where did I leave off….." Laurie started as Robbie came back into the room. He caught his father's eye, then nodded. Laurie glanced up and saw the exchange, then pulled Rick's hand to her lips.
"Go ahead, Angel." He murmured in her ear, then moved his hand to pull her against him.
"Kasey and Rain had climbed up a tree." Robin responded, sitting on the other side of her father while starting to feed Petey.
"Oh yes, ….."
"Okay, what do we do now." I asked Rain, as the mother bear growled and pawed at the tree below us.
"We shouldn't have gone near the stream while she was fishing, Kasey. Father says that mother bears are the fiercest protectors of children around, even more then humans." Rain spoke sadly, and I forgot my fear of heights for a moment as I put out a hand and squeezed her arm.
"We've got to do something, Uncle Dan won't miss us for hours." I replied, then she sighed.
"Father is in town. He probably will come to the village at sundown and I was supposed to be home to cook the evening meal." I envied her when she talked about her father, but then, at least I had Uncle Dan.
Suddenly I thought of something. "Wait a minute, where's her baby now?" Rain looked downstream, then spotted the small brown bear, sticking his face in the water. "Look, he's down there."
"Kasey, what are you doing?" I broke off one of the dead branches, one that had a rotted crabapple on it.
"I'm going to throw it towards Baby Bear, hopefully she'll go after it thinking it's a fish and then forget all about us."
Rain looked at me as if I'd struck gold. "Kasey, that might work. I wish I'd thought of that."
I smiled at her, then shook my head. "If I'd listened to you to begin with, I wouldn't have to think of a way to get us out of trouble."
"You're doing it again, Kasey." Rain made a face at me.
"What?"
"Acting like I'm so dumb I'd do anything you thought of. I wanted to see why the little bear was crying too."
I was ashamed. "I'm sorry, Rain. You're not dumb, you're the smartest person I know. And," I lowered my head, " the closest thing to a sister I've got."
"Thank you, but remember, we are sisters." Rain reached over and held up my thumb, where a faint x-mark still showed white against my tan skin.
"Roarrrrr" the huge bear jumped up and a large paw swiped at my leg, just missing me.
"Here goes!" I said shakily, then held on to the tree with one hand and threw the branch as far as I could.
It sailed through the air, then landed with a satisfying splash just a few feet from the small bear, who rose up with a small fish in his mouth.
Thankfully, it caught Mama Bear's attention and she lowered to all four legs, then loped down the creek towards her child.
"Grandma, she made the Mama bear go away?" Andy suddenly raised his head from his mother's shoulder.
"Yes, honey, the mama bear was afraid something happened to her baby, so she went to check on him."
Laurie beamed at her grandson, then reached out and caressed her daughter's hair.
Robin smiled at her mother, then shifted her son to her shoulder as Rick handed her Petey's blanket.
"What happened then, Mama?"
"Let's get down, now!" Rain yelled, then slid toward the bottom branches, only to stop dead at the sound of the mama bear's growl. Quickly I pulled her back up to a sturdier branch.
I spotted the brown bear, it had stopped halfway up the slope and was glaring at us. Suddenly the sound of hoofbeats echoed in the canyon.
Uncle Dan and Chief Redbird were coming and I called, "Uncle Dan, over here! Help!"
The noise must have startled the huge animal, for she took one look at the two men then took off in the opposite direction. Rain went the rest of the way down, landing safely while I crept from branch to branch. Finally I hit the ground then slipped and ended up on my seat. At once Uncle Dan rode up then getting off Thunder, picked me up and set me on my feet.
"Kasey girl, are you all right?" His blue eyes were so concerned, I felt lower then low for my dumb mistake.
"Yes, Uncle Dan. Thank God you and the Chief came when you did." I snuck a look at Rain and saw her nod.
"How did this happen, weren't you two told not to come near the stream when it is fishing time for the bears." Rain's father looked sternly at both of us.
I hung my head, "Yes Chief, we were." I looked up and took a deep breath as my uncle exchanged glances with his friend. "We were riding above the spring when we heard an animal crying in pain. We came down this way and saw a baby bear. I thought it might be hurt, but Rain told me it was probably lost. I wanted to make sure it was all right."
"And I wanted to see if it was the cub we saw playing in the creek near the village last month." Rain spoke up, then I saw Uncle Dan's frown.
"Kasey, you know better then to come near a bear cub, that's a good way to get killed. You two are lucky we saw Warrior and Lightfoot come out of the canyon, otherwise you might have been stuck in that tree for hours."
The chief shook his head, "I am disappointed in you, daughter. However," he paused, and I saw Rain's expression of remorse.
"I think you both have been taught a lesson. I will say no more."
I dared look up at my uncle, then I saw him take a deep breath. "I could say more, my friend, but I think they've had a good scare, specially this one. Since when do you climb trees, honey?"
I sniffed, "since I'm more afraid of bears then of heights. I'm sorry, Uncle Dan. Rain and I won't go near a bear again, even if it's a baby."
A quiver appeared at the edge of Uncle Dan's lip, then he cleared his throat. "Well, okay then, I think we should get home now, Mamacita will be worried."
I turned, then hugged Rain tightly, grateful we were both safe.
"See you tomorrow for breakfast?" I asked, then looked up at her father for permission.
He smiled, then nodded. "Yes, Light, then you come and help Rain do the chores she missed today."
"Yes, Chief, I will. Thank you." I smiled, relieved.
As Rain and Chief Redfern rode away, Uncle Dan looked at me, then I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him. He wrapped me in his embrace, and I felt safe.
"Kasey Girl, don't ever scare me like that." He said, emotionally, and I almost cried. He put me on his horse, then climbed on and we went home.
Rick was so caught up in the story he just sat for a moment, feeling his wife's heart beating against his, then Andy clapped his hands. "That was great, Grandma. So the bear didn't get them?"
"No, honey, the bear didn't bother them again." Laurie assured him, then Robin leaned over and kissed her mother. "Thanks, mom. I love that story, I could really see it."
"Like I said, buddy." Temple stood up with Towne's help and crossed over to give her a hug. "You're better then TV. I have dibs on a story the next time the fish are biting."
"Thanks, Temple." Laurie beamed with pleasure. "You all are my inspiration, besides, the benefits for a storyteller are so worth it!" she added, feeling Rick kiss her neck.
"Benefits, huh!" he snickered, then she reached behind her to stroke his face. "Yes, my provider, you brought us dinner I hear. I want mine grilled with butter, if you please."
"I'll do it, Mom, if you'll burp Petey." Robin made to get up, only to have her father gently push her back down.
"Nope, my turn to cook. I want my ladies to enjoy the "benefits"!" he chuckled, then dropped a kiss on his daughter's cheek.
"Oh, geez, Rick, you'll just burn them, I'll take care of the fish." Towne got up from his comfortable seat.
As he went to the kitchen, Rick turned and winked at the others. "That's how I get out of cleaning dinner!"
