Twice the Trouble
Chapter 21
Alissa held on tightly to the saddle horn while the two men in front of her moved quickly, pulling Freedom behind them. They wanted to make sure they got as far away from any family this girl may have behind her incase she was telling the truth. Freedom wasn't the least bit happy with this new situation, and from time to time he would pull back on the reins. But it didn't do much to slow them down. Finally, they turned off the main road and headed into a thick stand of trees.
After riding for about ten more minutes, Ned stopped and leaned forward in his saddle as he spoke to his partner. "I think we have put enough distance between anyone now, and since we haven't eaten since last night, let's make camp here and rest the horses and fix something to eat. Then we will be on our way again."
His partner nodded his head as he led his horse over to a small area where they could settle the horses and grab something to eat. After dismounting, he took the rope off of his saddle and started to tie the rope between two bushes. Then he quickly tied his horse to the rope and reached for the saddle bag that the supplies where in.
While his partner was tending to his horse and the supplies, Ned dismounted and started to come towards Freedom to pull Alissa down from her horse. But Freedom was ready for this stranger and suddenly reared up on his hind legs pawing the air. The gesture startled Ned so much that he dropped the reins to the ground as he tried to move out of the way of the sharp hooves.
Alissa saw this as the perfect chance to get away, so she reached forward and pulled the reins into her hands. Then she quickly settled Freedom down and was getting ready to make her escape when she heard the sound of Ned's gun click. Without even looking over her shoulder she knew that Ned had pulled back the hammer on his gun.
"You move a muscle and I will shoot you where you sit! Don't matter to me none if I shoot a female. So I suggest you stop where you are and don't put me to the test."
Alissa felt as if the blood had drained from her face as she suddenly stopped and silently prayed this fool wouldn't carry out his threat. Then she slowly turned Freedom around and watched Ned as he holstered his gun and strode over towards her.
"That was smart of you not to test me cause you would have lost," Ned growled, as he stood by Alissa and reached up and jerked the reins out of her hand, causing her to pull back as the leather burned her skin.
"Take this horse, Casey, while I tend to this damn girl!" Ned said furiously, as he handed the reins to Casey.
Casey slowly edged over to stand beside Freedom, all the while watching this crazy horse incase he decided to rear up again. But Casey was too quick for Freedom this time, and after grabbing the reins from Ned, he held on tightly as he pulled down on the reins keeping Freedom's head still.
While Alissa watched Casey try to handle Freedom, she wasn't ready for the feeling of suddenly being jerked out of the saddle and roughly placed on the ground. As soon as Ned got her to the ground in front of him, he backhanded her across the face. The force of the slap sent Alissa to the ground with her head spinning. As she lay there trying to stop the painful pounding in her head, she felt a few drops of blood on the side of her mouth where his glove had cut her lip.
Freedom had been watching all this out of the corner of his eye and as soon as Ned slapped Alissa, he instantly jerked his head free of Casey's grasp and once again reared up with his sharp hooves pawing the air.
"DAMN THIS HORSE! HE IS GONNA KILL SOMEBODY!" Casey yelled, as he scrambled away from the angry horse.
"No he ain't! Cause if this gal doesn't settle him down soon, I'm gonna put a bullet in that stallion's head," Ned declared, as he reached down and grabbed Alissa's arm and pulled her to her feet.
"But, Ned, this is some good lookin' horse flesh. I bet we could get some good money for him," argued Casey, all the while keeping his distance from Freedom.
"Well if he don't settle down, he ain't gonna be nothing but crow's food. Now get over there and settle that horse down if you want to see him live or I swear I will shoot him! Don't much matter to me," Ned said sharply, as he roughly shook Alissa then pushed her towards her horse.
Alissa didn't waste any time and hurried over and grabbed Freedom's reins and started talking soothing words to her beloved horse. As soon as she had his reins in her hands, Freedom settled right down and stood quietly in front of her. She gently reached out and started rubbing him behind his ear on his favorite spot, and couldn't help but smile as she felt all the muscles in his body start to relax once she was with him.
"It's alright my sweet, brave boy. I know you want to protect me, but you need to settle down now as I am not hurt. Don't worry, I will figure out a way to get us out of here, or hopefully my sweet Adam will come soon and save us. But until then I need you to stay quiet," Alissa whispered against his ear, as he rested his head on her shoulder. Soon he was calm enough to be led over to the rope and as she tied his reins, she still continued to whisper soothing words of comfort to him.
After watching the way the horse and girl acted with each other Ned finally lost his patience. "Alright that's enough, now take his saddle off and put it over by that clump of trees," he ordered, as he walked over to take the saddle off of his own horse.
Alissa did as she was told, telling herself to stay strong and not show these two any weakness. She was smart enough to keep her mouth shut and her temper under control, but that didn't keep her mind from working as she tried to think of how to get away from these two evil men, because she knew this time she was in over her head.
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
"I tell ya Zeke, ya need to slow down or I'm gonna fall off!"
"Ah shut up, Billy. I have to go fast so we can catch up with them or we will never know where they went."
"Yeah, but after we catch up to them, how is we gonna get Miss Alissa away from them anyways?"
"Well, I ain't got that figured out yet. But first we got to find them," Zeke explained, as he urged his horse to go faster.
Fifteen minutes later Zeke was standing on the road looking at the tracks that had been left in the soft sand.
"It looks like they may have left the road and headed into these here trees. So that is where we is gonna go next. I figure we can sneak up on them and maybe surprise them before they knows what is going on."
Zeke hurried back to the horse and soon he and Billy were heading into the trees. But this time they went slower just incase they got close to the men that may have taken Alissa. If they came upon them, they definitely had to have a plan. And at this point, Zeke still had no idea what he was going to do or who he might run into, so he wanted to take it rather slow from here on.
They didn't have far to go when they started to hear faint voices in the distance. Zeke pulled up on his horse and motioned for Billy to get down. Then he got off the horse and they started to walk their horse further into the trees. Turning to Billy, Zeke put his fingers to his lips to shush Billy incase he started to talk too loud, which most of the time he had a tendency to do.
"I think I hears the voices gettin' closer. It just may be them folks that took Miss Alissa. But we needs to get closer to check for sure, and I need you to keep your big mouth shut so we don't let them knows we is here. You got that?" Zeke asked, barely above a whisper.
Billy frowned at Zeke saying he had a big mouth but shook his head in agreement. The further they moved into the trees, the louder the voices became and finally they could hear what they were saying quite clearly.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
"Just what do you plan on doing with me?"
"Well, I am sure that Cartwright fella might pay good money to get you back in one piece. And of course there could be someone we can sell you to if we decide you ain't worth the trouble of being with us," Ned chuckled.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Both Zeke and Billy stopped in their tracks as soon as they heard Alissa's voice and crouched down. Zeke tapped Billy on the shoulder and when Billy looked at him, he put his fingers to his mouth to keep Billy quiet. They could see through the trees and watched the camp closely now as the two men sat down and started to eat.
"Here, you best get something in your stomach cause I don't know when we will stop again," Ned mumbled, as he threw a hard biscuit towards Alissa.
"I'm not hungry," Alissa replied curtly, even though her stomach was turning over from being hungry. But she wouldn't take anything from this scum if she could help it. Even though she was miserable and could feel her lip starting to swell where Ned had hit her, she wasn't about to let them know. Slowly reaching into her pocket Alissa pulled out her handkerchief and dabbed at her mouth. Oh, Adam my love, I hope you come soon because this is one time I just don't know what to do.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Zeke and Billy were close enough now to see that Alissa was hurt. Zeke could feel the tension in Billy's body as he crouched beside him.
"I'm gonna go and wring that Ned fella's neck for hurting Miss Alissa," Billy whispered, as he started to rise.
Zeke put his hand on Billy's shoulder and squeezed hard. "I know you is mad, Billy, I am too. But we can't go in there without a plan. Remember we only have four bullets and one gun a tween us. So jest sit back and let me think."
"Alright, but you better think real hard cause I ain't gonna wait much longer to save her."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Taking a long drink from his canteen, Ned wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve and then looked at Alissa.
"You want a drink?"
"Not after you put your slimy lips on it."
"Oh, aren't we awful uppity. You better watch it gal or I may come over there and teach you some manners," Zeke warned her, as he put the top back on the canteen.
"What is your name, gal? I am Ned and this is Casey," Ned said grinning, as if he was making introductions at a dance as he pointed at Casey.
Alissa just sat there and didn't say a word, but the expression on her face made it obvious what she was thinking. After waiting a minute more for her to answer, Ned finally got angry and jumped up and walked over until he stood in front of her, then reached down and grabbed her arm and pulled her up in front of him. They were so close that Alissa could smell the stench of his breath as he declared, "Now listen here, gal, you better answer me cause I still have no problem shooting that horse over there. It is obvious that you care a great deal for him, so I suggest you start being a lot nicer or I will put a bullet between his eyes!"
Alissa felt her eyes tear up as she answered softly. "My name is Alissa."
"Alissa? Now that is certainly an odd name. Well, just remember what I said, Alissa. Now take a drink of water. We sure don't want you dying on us from thirst."
Ned shoved the canteen into Alissa's hands and then turned and walked away. Alissa wiped the canteen with her sleeve after she removed the lid and took a big drink. He was probably right she thought, I do need to stay hydrated.
After walking over and dropping the canteen at Ned's feet, Alissa went back and sat down by a small boulder and wrapped her arms around her, all the while keeping an eye on the two men.
Finally Ned watched Alissa for a minute longer then frowned before he pushed his hat forward over his eyes and gave instructions to Casey. "You keep an eye on the girl here while I get a little rest."
"Sure thing, Ned," Casey answered, as he grinned smugly at Alissa while chewing on his biscuit.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
"Did you see the way they is treating her? I can't take much more, Zeke."
"I know…jest let me think a minute." Zeke sat down and started looking around the area they were in trying to come up with a plan. As he scanned the ground he saw a rather large branch that had fallen off the tree that was across from them. Then as a large grin flashed across his face, he slapped his thigh as the perfect plan suddenly came to him. Leaning over to let Billy in on his great idea, Zeke pointed at the branch.
"You see that there branch over there, Billy?"
"Yeah, I sees it. What about it?"
"Well, I figure that now that one of the men has a hat over his eyes, we might get the upper hand on them. So I will go into the camp and point my gun at the one that is watchin' Alissa, then you can sneak up and hit the one sleeping over the head with that there branch. Then we will tie them up and take Miss Alissa away. And the first town we come to, we will leave her there or we will let her head on home cuz we will take one of the men's horses. Then we won't need her horse."
Billy shook his head as he grumbled, "Oh no, I ain't gonna be the one without a gun. I think you should be the one who has the branch, and I will get the drop on the man that is awake.
Giving Billy a hard shove Zeke narrowed his eyes as he frowned at Billy. "Now you listen here, Billy. I keep tellin' ya that I is the leader of this here outfit and as the leader, I will have the gun!"
Billy finally lost his temper and reached over and shoved Zeke back so hard that it almost pushed him over onto the ground.
"There you goes hittin' me agin, Zeke! I ain't gonna take it anymore!"
Soon both men were slapping and shoving each other until finally Zeke grabbed Billy's hands and held them tightly.
"Shhh, you idiot. We is gonna make so much noise they is gonna discover that we is watchin' them. Now you listen here, Billy, I am the oldest and fer sure the smartest one of this outfit, so I have made my decision and that is how it is gonna be! You got that?"
Pulling back his hands from Zeke's grasp Billy sighed in resignation. "Alright, but next time we rescue someone, I get the gun!"
Zeke just shook his head in amusement at that comment then reached over and pulled Billy to his feet.
"Now then, you go and git that branch and we will wait for the right time to jump them…got it?"
"Yeah, I got it."
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Adam and the rest of the family had been riding since sun up and hadn't really come across anything that gave them any encouragement on finding Alissa.
"Pa, maybe we should be searching the ranch like the rest of the hands and not on this road to town," Adam said, as he wiped his forehead with the back of his sleeve. They had been concentrating on the road to town all morning, but Adam was getting frustrated and was starting to wonder now if that was such a good idea.
"I know you are worried, son, we all are. But I have several hands searching the ranch and I really think this is the place for us to search. After all, she was going to town to look for Rebecca and Percy, so it stands to reason that she may have had trouble while on this road."
"You're probably right, Pa. I am just so worried because so far we haven't found any kind of a clue to where she might be."
"I know, Adam, but Alissa is a really smart girl and I think she had something happen that made her stop for the night. She knows not to travel at night and took refuge, and I just bet we will run into her any time now. Then she will certainly have some explaining to do."
"That's for damn sure!" Adam agreed, as he urged Sport forward.
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
"You sure is a pretty little thing," Casey grinned, while watching Alissa and then slowly gave her a wink.
"Just be quiet, Clancy, I'm not in the mood to talk to you."
"Well maybe I will just come over there and put you in the mood, missy. And the name is Casey!"
"Whatever. Just keep your dirty thoughts to yourself because I'm not interested in the least."
"Well, maybe before this trip is over you will be," Casey chuckled, then became silent and crossed his arms across his chest and closed his eyes.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Billy and Zeke had been crouching in the brush watching for just the right opportunity to over take these men and free Alissa, when Zeke noticed the other man starting to nod off.
"Billy, did you see that? Zeke whispered, as he poked Billy in the side.
"See what?"
"The other fella is starting to nod off so now is the time to make our move."
"Very well, but I ain't sure jest what to do."
"Well, I will sneak into camp and aim my gun at the one called Casey. By then you will have moved around to the other side of the camp so you kin sneak up on the one sleeping and hit him over the head. Then I will tell the one fella to raise his hands or I'll shoot him."
"Well then what?"
"We will tie them up and take Alissa."
"Alright, I is ready. Let's go show these here bad guys that we is badder than they is!" Billy bragged, as he stood up and started to sneak around the camp to the other side.
Alissa was sitting there watching Casey start to nod off, all the while thinking of maybe sneaking away. Of course by the time she got Freedom they would hear her and then there would be hell to pay. And she for sure didn't want any harm to come to him. So for now she would just sit tight she decided as she felt her stomach grumble. Letting out a deep sigh Alissa started to nod off herself when she heard a movement over by the trees and started watching the bushes. The last person she expected to see come walking out of the bushes was Zeke. But sure enough, he was walking towards her with a gun pointed in front of him. When hearing a noise behind her, Ali quickly turned her head to see Billy sneaking up on Ned with a large stick poised over his head. When she finally realized what was going on, all hell suddenly broke loose in the quiet camp.
"Alright mister, you raise those hands up real high before I put a hole right through ya!" Shouted Zeke, as he pointed his gun at Casey while moving closer.
All this noise suddenly woke up Ned and just as he opened his eyes and saw what was happening, Billy brought the branch down on his head with a thud. Seeing his partner slumping forward onto the ground, Casey raised his hands very slowly and sat there waiting to see what these strangers wanted.
"Who are you and what do you mean hitting my partner over the head?" Casey growled, as he narrowed his eyes while watching Zeke come and stand in front of him.
"We have come to take Miss Alissa with us. So don't you cause us any trouble or I will have to shoot you!"
Turning to Billy Zeke shouted, "Git over here and take his gun, Billy."
Dropping the branch at his feet Billy hurried over and stood beside Zeke. By now Alissa had realized what was going on and also came to stand by these two would be rescuers.
"Boy, am I glad you to see you two!" Ali declared, as she patted Billy on the back. "How did you find me?"
"Well it was my great trackin' skills that done found ya, Miss Alissa," Billy grinned, and scuffed his boot in the dirt.
"No it twasn't, Billy…it was me who done found her."
"Now you just wait a minute there, Zeke. You know good and well it was my trackin' that done it."
Soon they both were standing in front of each other almost ready to come to blows when Alissa got between them. "Guys, guys, it doesn't matter who found me. The point is you found me! Now keep it together and pay attention to what you are doing. And for heaven's sake, keep your gun on Casey!"
Alissa noticed Casey starting to move his hand towards his gun. "Oh no you don't!" She shouted, before she elbowed Billy. "Go and get his gun, Billy."
"Oh yeah. Don't you move mister or my partner here will put a hole 'tween your eyes," Billy bragged, as he leaned in and pulled Casey's gun from its holster. Then he stood back beside Zeke with both of them pointing their guns at Casey.
"So what do we do now, Zeke?" Billy asked, as he scratched his head with the handle of the gun.
"Well uh…"
"We tie them up and let the Sheriff find them, that is what we do!" Ali chimed in, as she ran over to her saddle to fetch the rope.
"The Sheriff!" Billy exclaimed, as he turned rather pale. "We can't have the Sheriff find us."
"Oh yeah, well we will tie them up and then I will tell Sheriff Coffee where to find them. How does that sound? You two can leave so he doesn't see you."
Alissa had the rope by now and came to stand beside Zeke. "By the way, how did you two get out of prison?"
"Well…it is kinda a long story and we don't have time to tell it now. Let's git these two tied up 'fore that one over there wakes up," Zeke said, as a low groan came from Ned.
"You're right! Let's get this show on the road so I can go home!" Alissa agreed, as she loosened the coil in her rope.
"Alright, mister, stand up and walk over to that there tree," Ordered Zeke, as he pointed his gun in the direction of a small tree to their left.
Billy looked rather puzzled as he wondered what show Miss Alissa was takin' about, but he moved his gun around at Casey as he added, "Yeah, git movin!"
Casey slowly got to his feet and started towards the tree with Billy and Zeke following behind him. Ali had already got to the tree first and was waiting for the rest to follow when suddenly Billy let out a yelp.
While walking by Ned both Billy and Zeke hadn't noticed that he had come to. So when Billy walked by, Ned took advantage of the situation and reached out and grabbed onto Billy's foot.
"HE'S GOT ME, ZEKE! HELP, HE"S GOT ME!" Billy yelled, while trying to pull his foot out of Ned's grasp. But Ned's hold was strong and soon he was tugging on Billy's leg so hard that it made him fall to the ground, which sent his gun flying out of his hands.
At the sound of Billy yelling, Alissa turned around and saw what had happened and immediately ran for the gun that was lying on the ground. She grabbed it and quickly turned and pointed it at Ned, and with more bravado than she actually was feeling said nervously, "Let go of his foot and stand up very slowly or I will shoot you!"
Not sure if she would or not Casey let go of Billy's foot and stood up facing Alissa.
"Smart move, Clancy. Now walk over to that tree and stand in front of it."
"It's Casey," he grumbled, as he walked over to the tree and stood in front of it.
"Well whatever your name is doesn't matter until the Sheriff arrests you. So just stand there and keep your mouth shut!" Alissa walked over and handed the rope to Billy who by now was on his feet.
"Here Billy, you and Zeke tie these two to the tree and I will keep them covered."
"Sure nough, Miss Alissa," Billy grinned, as he took the rope from Alissa and walked over to where Ned and Casey were standing by the tree.
Zeke still had his gun and pointed at the tree as he gave instructions to the two men. "Put your backs against the tree and don't move. Now Billy, you take the rope and start walkin' round the tree with it."
"Why do I want to tie the rope around the tree, Zeke?"
Rolling his eyes Zeke frowned, "Because you idiot, they are going to be up against the tree. So when ya wrap the rope round the tree, they is gonna be tied to it."
"Ohh."
Billy shrugged his shoulders and started to wrap the rope around the tree. But he didn't have one of them hold on to one end of the rope, so when he came back around the tree, the rope was lying on the ground.
"Billy, this ain't workin'."
Alissa let out a sigh as she shook her head. "Listen, Billy, have Ned hold the rope in his hand and then start wrapping it around the tree. And don't get any ideas either, Ned, as you have two guns pointed at you."
Billy picked up the rope and handed it to Ned. "Here, you hold this."
"When I get loose from here, little gal, I will take pleasure in making you pay for this," Ned warned, as he took the rope from Billy and watched him wrap the rope around the two of them.
Soon Billy had them tied tightly and stood back and looked at his work. "Looks like a mighty fine job to me. Now what does we do?"
"Let's get the horses saddled and get out of here. I think we will borrow one of their horses for you, Billy. Then you two can go on your way and I will be on my way home."
"Hey, that's horse thieving! You can't do that!" Ned yelled, as he struggled to get free.
"That is true," Ali pondered. "I don't think I can do that, Zeke."
"Well I can. I already is a outlaw so one more horse don't much matter to me."
A few minutes later all three were saddled and ready to go. Alissa led the way away from Ned and Casey and soon they were heading out onto the road.
"I sure is glad that is all over. You alright, Miss Alissa?" Billy asked, as he rode along side of her.
"Yes, I am fine. You two got there just in time as I don't know where I would have ended up, so thanks for being a hero, Billy." Then she turned in her saddle and added, "And you too Zeke."
Blushing slightly Billy grinned, "Well we is glad to do it. Sorry all this happened. We jest wanted another horse and we sure didn't want anythin' bad to happen to you, Miss Alissa."
"Yeah, we is sorry you had to go through all of this," Zeke added, as he pulled his hat down on his face so Alissa couldn't see his embarrassment at being called a hero.
"I know you are," Ali laughed. "But as outlaws you guys are terrible! I really think you need to find another line of work, and for heaven's sake, stop trying to kidnap me! Well enough chit-chat fellas as now is the time we part company. I imagine I have a very anxious and worried fiancé looking for me," Ali smiled, thinking about how wonderful it would be to see Adam again. Of course she had some mighty fine explaining to do for sure. Hopefully he would be so glad to see her that he wouldn't be too terribly mad at her for taking off in the first place. But when she did tell him that she ran into Billy and Zeke again and all that entailed, she knew his temper would definitely appear.
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
"Pa, that looks like Alissa ahead on the road! But who is with her?" Adam put his hand up to shade the sun so he could get a better look at who was with Alissa. As soon as he realized who it was, he urged Sport into a gallop.
"I'm going to kill them this time!"
"I'll be damn, it's Alissa and them two fellas that tried to kidnap her before, Pa." Hoss said, as he, Joe and Ben hurried to catch up with Adam before he did something he would regret.
As soon as Alissa saw Sport running towards her she urged Freedom forward to meet him. But as she was going, she turned around and shouted back at Billy and Zeke.
"You two need to get moving, because I got a feeling if Adam catches you this time, you won't be able to save that handsome face for the ladies, Billy!"
"Don't need to tell us twice, Miss Alissa. So bye and take care," Zeke hollered back, as he and Billy turned their horses and took off in the opposite direction.
"Oh Zeke, what if he catches us? I think this time he is gonna kill us fer sure!" Billy whined, as he tried to keep up with Zeke.
"Well then stop your jawin' and git to movin,' fool!"
Both horses took off at a run and by the time Adam caught up to Ali, all that could be seen of them was dust.
"Adam, my love, I am so glad to see you!" Ali exclaimed, as Adam pulled Sport up along side of her. He was so relieved to see her that he didn't even hesitate to reach over and pull her out of her saddle and onto his lap and settle her in front of him so she was sitting sideways on Sport with his strong arms holding her tight.
"Oh Alissa, thank God we found you. Where have you been? Are you all right? I have been going crazy looking for you! And who the hell was with you just now? Was that those two idiots that tried to kidnap you before?"
Taking her chin in his hands he turned her face to kiss her when he saw the swollen lip and dried blood. "What happened to your lip? Did they do that to you?"
Putting up her hand to stop all the questions Ali smiled and then caressed Adam's cheek lovingly.
"Hold on with all the questions, sweetheart... one at a time please."
Just as Alissa was getting ready to explain things to Adam, the rest of the family rode up along side of them.
"Ali, gal, we sure is glad to see you," Hoss declared, as he reached over and squeezed her leg.
"Yes, Ali, we have been so worried about you. But I should have known you could take care of yourself," Joe grinned, before he added, "You are all right aren't you?"
"Yes, I am fine, Joe."
It seemed the only two not smiling were Ben and Adam. Then it was Ben's turn to ask the questions. "Just where have you been, young lady?"
"It is a long story and…"
"And you will tell it to me on the way home, Alissa. Because I am not letting you down now that I have you in my arms again."
Adam leaned in and finally kissed Alissa soundly, then hugged her tightly as he whispered in her ear how much he loved her.
The sound of someone shouting could be heard very faintly as Joe turned in his saddle trying to figure out where it was coming from. "Did anyone else hear that?"
"Oh, that would be the two kidnappers we tied up to a tree."
"WHAT?" Ben said, as his eyes widened in disbelief.
"Well, you see it really is a long story, but the short version is that we tied the two men who kidnap me and Freedom to a tree over there. I was going to tell Sheriff Coffee all about it so he could come and arrest them."
"Just who are the "we" you are referring to, young lady?" Adam asked, as his dark eyebrow rose.
"Yes, I would like to know that too. Were those idiots that tried to kidnap you before the ones riding off just now? And did they have something to do with all this?"
Alissa nodded her head.
"Very well, Joe and Hoss go and check out those men over in the trees. And be careful as we don't know if they are still tied up. I'll be there shortly."
"Sure, Pa. If they hurt our Ali gal, it will be a real pleasure to meet them," Hoss chuckled, as he and Joe took off into the trees.
"Alright, I have heard enough. It is time we got to the bottom of this whole mess," Adam said, as he got down off of his horse and reached up and pulled Alissa down with him. Then he grabbed her hand and they walked over to a nearby log as Adam sat down pulling Alissa down beside him.
"Now start talking because I am totally confused at this point. Of course where you are involved I usually am."
Ali tried to hide her giggle at that comment as she knew Adam was not in the mood right now.
"I am going to go see to Hoss and Joe. I'll leave this to you to sort this all out, Adam. But don't think I am going to let you off easy either, Alissa," Ben said, pinning her with a firm glare before he rode off into the trees.
"Well, I am waiting, Adam said, raising his voice a notch."
"Okay, okay, I will start at the beginning, but I am afraid you are not going to like it."
"Probably not."
"You see it all started when Percy and Rebecca left the ranch…oh, are they all right? Did you find them?"
"Yes we found them. They are both nursing sore backsides for taking off when they were told not to, but other than that, they are fine." Adam frowned slightly as his dark eyes met Alissa's green eyes before she looked down at her lap and took a deep breath before continuing. She knew full well why Adam had told her the part of the sore backsides for not staying at the ranch.
"Oh dear, well I am glad they are safe. Now you see when I found out that Percy and Rebecca had left the ranch, I thought I had better go after them so they wouldn't get hurt or lost. They were out there all alone and I just knew they would get into trouble before they got to town. And I wasn't even sure if Percy could get them to town. So I made the decision to go and find them. I know I told you I would stay put, but this was a good reason to disobey you."
Ali eyed him warily as she looked up to see if the expression on his face had changed, and the look he gave her made her realize she was going to have to do some smooth talking to get out of this one.
"NO, it wasn't a good reason, Alissa!" Adam stood up and started pacing in front of Alissa.
"You could have had one of the hands go or better yet, you could have just waited for us to come home. Once again you didn't think before you acted!"
Alissa jumped up and planted her hands on her hips as her own temper started to flare.
"Now just a minute, Adam. I did what I thought was the best thing at the time. I realize now it probably wasn't after all that has happened to me but…"
Adam stopped pacing and stood in front of Alissa as he crossed his arms in front of him looking very frustrated and more than a little irate.
"Alright, let's start with how you got your lip hurt and why were you with those two idiots I saw riding away from you."
"Mmmm, you're not going to like what I have to say, sweetheart, so promise you won't get mad."
"Nope…now start talking!"
TBC
Well my lovely readers, I gave you a really long chapter. So I hope this makes up for the wait. Life has just been so busy lately it is just hard to write as often as I would like. I hope you will enjoy this new chapter.
I am having a bit of a difficult decision as to what Adam will do with Alissa not staying put and getting herself into such a mess after she was told to stay at the ranch. So once again, I am having you tell me what you think should happen… So let me know. And PLEASE, don't forget to tell me what you think of the chapter too! ~ Sierra