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Adam opened the door and ran straight into Eddie Gazarra and Frank plum. They seemed to be deep in conversation until they were hit by an excited eight-year-old's body.

"Sorry sirs. I didn't watch where I was going. I do that sometimes when I am very excited, as I am right now." Adam had reached the point of rambling. The last time I didn't we got a new cow.

~Flashback~

It was a warm summer day and Adam and I were trail riding. We had brought a picnic for lunch and were just getting ready to stop when we heard the sound of mooing and a crack of a whip.

For Adam, who loved animals to his core, this was unbearable. So being the sweet 7-year-old he was, rushed to save the animal from whatever cruelty was being handed to it.

"Stop! Please stop you are hurting the cow!" he cried out while jumping off the horse. Not an easy feat let me tell you.

The man who whipped the cow was big, burly and 3 times Adams age. He looked down at Adam like an Aristocrat looks down upon their servants. "What do you want?" he asked roughly, looking at both Adam and me.

For most people Adam's age that would have had them running for the hills, but not this little fighter, he firmly stood his ground. "What I want, sir is for you to release that poor animal into my custody, so I won't have to report you for animal abuse." He said all of this with a firm face and I was most definitely proud of him.

The cow was released into the ranch's custody and from that day forth, Betty Lou (the cow's name) was taken care of very well.

~End Flashback~

Adam had begun to introduce us when the two men saw that he wasn't alone. I hadn't done anything to disguise myself, but I did straighten my hair, which had some effect.

Though my dad, being a good parent saw straight through that and closed the distance in between us and gave me a hug on the strong side, like he did when I had a bad day at school. Eddie recognized me too and came as soon as my dad was done, giving me a big hug too.

"Where have you been? Even Ranger couldn't find you. And it wasn't for the lack of trying. He even called in some military favors and couldn't find you. He hasn't given up either. Poor guy, he really loves you, you know that Steph?" Eddie took a deep breath before continuing. "He and Joe even got along for a time, looking for you. Then Joe, well he, umm…"

"He gave up on the search, found another woman, is now happily married with a kid and another one on the way." My dad supplied when Eddie stopped talking.

I did the thing that surprised them both and smiled, not a sad smile, but a joyous one. Their questioning looks made me explain. "I want them both to be happy. And if Joe has found that then I am truly happy for him." They were both satisfied with that and I was about to ask another question when I felt a pulling on my hand.

"Steph, we need to get the horses out of the trailer, they are getting restless. So am I, so can we go now?" Adam being the gentleman he was, politely telling me to get my ass in gear and get the job done. You just have to love the kid.

I smiled at him and nodded. I looked at the two men in front of me and asked, "Can we continue this conversation over food today? Right now I have work to do." They both nodded and I gave them my new number.

I took a deep breath and walked into the TPD right behind him. The room we walked into was pretty dim and I had to take a couple seconds to let my eyes adjust. When they were I walked to the front desk and looked at the man there. He was a chubby man in his early fifties and had been put in desk duty for some reason.

"Excuse me sir, I am here to deliver the new horses for the mounted police. Here is my identification and my partners too." I told him and put the papers in front of him, waiting for him to give me directions to the stables, we could take it from there.

He looked up at me and laughed. "You handle horses? Nah, you don't have enough meat on your bones, you would fall straight off. And you 'partner'? He is eight. Don't joke with the police, it will get you in trouble, more then you can handle."

At the end of his monologue I was laughing and slapped Adam on the back. My voice went dead serious on my first word. "This kid is eight but has more time with horses then you have had in your entire life. Also with your idiotic remark about how I would fall off a horse. I can ride bareback on a wild mustang and not get thrown, that's more than you can say. Now isn't it?" I looked at him in his shock, which was quickly turned into furry. Before he could say anything else I said, "Read the papers in front of you. It will tell you what you need to know. And if you don't want four horses lose in the parking lot you will tell me where the stables are."

He looked at me and began to read off directions with resistance. "I'm sorry, didn't catch that. Where do I make a right turn?" I asked in a rather polite voice and he wrote down the directions. I gave him a gracious smile and turned to look for Adam, who had wondered off.

I found him standing beside Lester and Bobby, part of the A team and the merry men. I was now officially screwed; I had hoped to prolong this meeting.

"Adam, we have got to put the horses up, they haven't been up since this morning. Come on boy, let's move it!" I added when he just stood still looking at me without moving.

He snapped out of his daze and retorted, "I'm coming, hold your horses, I'm coming." I smiled at Lester and Bobby.

"If you all want to know when you can find out call my dad or Eddie, I'm going to explain it and I would like it if it were only once. Now I have to work, so see ya!" I called the last part over my shoulder while I walked away. I was then promptly swept into hugs from the two men.

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