They belong to the nine Network and Posies G

Thanks to my beta "Slidell" Thank you gal.

dollai , Jace Ama Thanks for your reviews and words and to all of you whom have read this story, but specially you two.

As promise here's the second chapter on the story… Hope you like this second chapter and if you do let me know...even if you didn't.


Misunderstood

Chapter 2

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Meg's thoughts are interrupted when Tess stomps into the kitchen, walking to the sink to get a glass of water.

It's been almost two hours since she drove away, almost an hour since Claire left.

"I don't understand her!"

"What?" Meg asks a little confuse; still reminiscing as she shakes the thoughts out of her head.

"I don't get her! I don't know what she wants… Does she really want me gone that badly? I thought we could work things out you know? But she keeps pushing me back to the City." Tess said.

"Why don't you tell her?"

"Tell her what?"

"Tell her you want to stay, that you don't want to go."

"But she must know that already, I moved all my stuff in; I have no intentions of leaving."

"She doesn't know that, all she knows is that you came here for your part of the inheritance and that you have plans of your own; if you want to stay just tell her."

"But after yesterday, after what we've been through; she must know I don't want to go... Meg Why do you think she is acting this way?"

Meg looked at Tess, and could see that even with her studies and degrees, even with her city life experience; she was clueless about her sister's fears and needs, and she saw that Tess was just like Claire, they both were afraid of letting anybody in, afraid of people walking out of their lives, afraid to tell others what they need and seek desperately.

Because every time they asked before, people have let them down.

"After you left; it took Claire, years to realize you weren't coming back. She knew Ruth had taken you, but she couldn't understand why, at first she thought she had done something wrong, something that hurt your mum and thought that's why she left and took you."

"But it wasn't her, she didn't do anything, and what does that has to do with any of this?"

"We know that, but when you are a child Tess, not even the real reasons make sense, after you were gone, she felt left out and even Jack in his pain pushed her out of his life for a little, always busy, always working or drinking to mitigate the pain."

"Dad drank?"

"Just at first; by the time he remembered he had another daughter; Claire and him were too different, Claire chose to hide in her horses and her work and Jack did the same. It took them a while to get closer again and they did, but by that time; Claire was a lonely lass and she remained like that, not allowing anybody to get closer to her as she'd closed herself to others."

"But now is different, we've been getting to know each other, we are grownups and we can decide for ourselves."

"That's true, but ever since you got here, you been talking about that Café you want. About you going back to the city, and how much you miss it; can't you see? She is just protecting her heart before you do leave again. She knows what you want, just like you know what she wants, and she wouldn't stop you from reaching your dreams, it's your life; so all she knows is that you are leaving eventually."

Tess stood there thinking about Meg's words, letting them sink in; realizing the truth of them.

"After you left, she used to go and hide in the shed. She'd stayed there for hours playing by herself, she never told anybody; but sometimes I could hear her whispering, telling someone "I'm not slurping my Tea" or "Stop telling me how to do things" it went on for the first year; after that, she just got involved in what was going on in Drovers, occupying herself ever since in work. That's all she knows she has for sure, her land and her work."

Tess looked at Meg, understanding what she was trying to tell her.

Understanding that Claire was afraid of suffering again when she desired to leave, back to her life in the city; but the truth was; that was the last thing in her mind. Yes that had been her dream, Yes she wanted to go back to the City, but now things had changed, she had fallen in love with Drover's again and the love for her sister had grown in just the few months since her arrival.

She still remembered how sad she felt when her mother had taken her away, she never understood why, until recently.

All Tess knew until a few months before; was that her father never cared to look for her and the same went for her sister, they never wrote or at least that's what she had always believed; until she found the post cards and letters from her dad; addressed to her, only to find out; all this years later, that her mom had sent them back without ever telling her.

But she had been too small to comprehend the why's and the how's, so she just accepted the fact that it was just her mom and her. They had always been close and as she grew up they got closer; especially knowing her mom suffered from depression and emotional problems.

It was easier to blame all of that on her father; since her mom always canalized her problems to him, so life went on and she had forgotten about them, forgotten about her sister; the one she always had hoped to see again until the Lawyer had found her.

Now she found out something new, Claire had grown up alone, yes their father had been there but for the little she knew, Jack thought of his daughter more as a friend and partner than a daughter.

There was no doubt in Tess's mind that he did love Claire with all his heart, just as he love her; he wrote that in his letters to her; but when you are a child, the only way to assure them is by expressing those feelings through acts of love, and for what Meg just told her; Claire had none of that after she was gone.

Sure Tess had her mom; and Ruth always went out of her way to praise her daughter, hugging and kissing her to no end, Tess knew her mom loved her, but Claire had lost her mom and her baby brother when little, then had them back in the form of Ruth and her baby sister; just to be robed of that without an explanation or reason, just to feel rejected by Jack; when he himself, was in pain as well.

Just in a short period of time, Claire had lost two moms and two siblings, one set to death; the other to abandonment and neglect and to top all that, the second time she had lost, if only for a while, her father as well.

No wonder the cold reception she'd gotten from her long lost sister when she stood that midday in front of her and the house she'd grown up in when little at her back, she had been anticipating a warm welcome; just to be greeted by a cold stare and a confused look on Claire's face, and her words that first night at dinner still bothered her till this day.

"You left us, and not a word from you… You left us!"

Those words returned to her and made her shiver, she would have reacted the same way, heck; she would be reacting the same way as Claire was now, not letting her in just to feel the pain of losing her once more.

"I'm such a cow!" Tess said in that particular way of hers.

"What?" Meg turned to look at her hearing her words.

"That I'm such a blind cow; I never saw it that way, I just thought she didn't want me around or that she got upset because of me and Alex. But I never thought of her real reasons, she is afraid to let me in, thinking I'm ready to leave again."

Meg's smile of understanding, told Tess she had hit the nail in the head, and she knew she had to fix things between her sister and her after her little display a few hours ago, she needed to speak to Claire, tell her she didn't want to go... that she wanted to stay.

"I need to find her." She tells Meg before turning to go looking for Claire.

"She left."

"What?"

"About an hour ago, she took Eagle and took off; she won't be back till later, she needs to concentrate on what she is going to show that representative from the horse trainers business."

"I really screwed up this time, didn't I?" She asked.

"No, you and her just need to talk about what you want, need to get to know each other again, and the way I see it; you two are on the right track, just need to open up a little to each others needs."

Tess pressed her lips and nods in understanding, before going out of the kitchen.

A smile appeared on Meg, when twenty minutes later; she sees Tess walking up to the gate of the house, searching for her sister, she sees her stretching her neck while she stood on her tiptoes; searching out the distance awaiting for the person that, this time; is returning home.


Third chapter is in the works.