Once we were inside, Hannah closed the door, and locked it. I'd collared Warrior, and brought him inside with us, and he was

running between the windows, jumping up to look out, and barking, barking, barking. We were all watching out thru the curtains, too, to

see what the two men were doing.

"Quiet!" I told Warrior.

"Let's get away from the windows," Hannah said. The men were standing just where they had been, staring at the house, and

talking to each other. We couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was obvious they were having a conversation.

We all stepped away, letting the curtains fall back into place, and stood there, sort of in a circle.

"Let's make sure all the doors are locked," Clare said, and we all scurried to do that. Well, all except for Jill, who stood by the front door,

still lifting the curtain and peering out.

Once all the doors had been checked, and locked, we all gathered in the living room again. Hannah took a quick glance out, and

then said, "I can't hear myself think-Harlie, put the dog in the kitchen for a minute."

I collared Warrior, and took him off to the kitchen, and hurriedly gave him a piece of ham-bone from the refrigerator to keep him

quieter. Then I closed the door to the kitchen, and raced back to the living room.

I was just in time to hear Hannah saying, in an urgent tone, "Jill-do we need to be really concerned here?"

She went on in a rush, "I mean-are they going to leave without a problem, or not?" Hannah was trying to sound calm, but I could

tell she was really nervous.

"I'm not sure," Jill said. "It could go either way with those two-"

"Who are they?" Nancy demanded. I was glad she was demanding that. I thought there was a whole lot that should be demanded

of Jill at this point.

When Jill eyed Nancy, and took what I thought was too long to respond, I jumped in. "Yeah! Who are they, and what are they doing here?!"

Jill let her gaze slide over me, then. "They've probably been trying to find me for a couple of weeks."

Umm, who cared about that part of it? I guess Jill got it, too, because Hannah was giving her quite a 'look'. As in that she wanted an

answer, and right quick.

"They're from home-" Jill said, vaguely. "I owe them some money."

"What's home?" Hannah asked. "You mean Nashville?"

"No. Georgia."

I swear, I thought that Jill needed a score card for us to keep up with all the 'homes' that she had had, states that she

had lived in-

"Well-" Hannah seemed nonplussed. "Well-how much do you owe them?"

After a momentary hesitation, Jill said, "A lot, actually."

"What for?" I demanded.

"It doesn't matter for what," Jill said, sort of snarky-like, and she went back over to the window to look out again.

"What are they doing now?" Nancy asked, and went to look for herself.

"Just standing there. Waiting," Jill said, sounding as calm as if she were making a grocery list.

Clare had gone over to lift the phone receiver, and hold it to her ear. "Phone's still out," she said, and we all knew what she meant.

We couldn't call for help, even if we needed to.

"Jill!" Hannah said, and she said it loud. Jill snapped to attention, turning to look at Hannah.

"Are these violent men?" Hannah asked, sounding like an army sergeant. "I want to know!"

Jill had the grace to look a bit subdued at Hannah's tone. "They can be," she admitted.

"What do you owe them money for?"

I waited for Jill to try snapping at Hannah like she had at me for the same question. I didn't think she would dare to. And, she didn't.

"Some gambling debts," Jill said.

There was some serious silence, then. I don't think that even Nancy knew what to say to that.

"And they came from Georgia to California just to find you?" Hannah asked, sounding truly alarmed.

Jill lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "Looks like," she said.

At Jill's cavalier response, Hannah seemed to lose it. She stepped over and got within just a few inches of Jill's face, and

started nearly yelling. "How dare you! How dare you!" Hannah said.

Jill took in Hannah's fury, and her snapping blue eyes, and seemed to shrink a bit.

"I never thought they'd come all this way-" she began.

"Not that!" Hannah snapped. "How dare you behave as if this is nothing! I don't know what you're used to, Jill, but I feel

those men are threatening my family and my home-and I do not appreciate you being quite so casual!"

Wow! I was stunned at Hannah's outburst, and so were Nancy and Clare, I could tell. Still, I thought Hannah was justified in

what she was saying-and I was inwardly cheering her on.

"Alright-" Jill said. "I'm sorry-I don't mean that it's nothing, I know that it's not." She even looked as though she might cry!

Hannah seemed to get a grip at that point. She took another look outside, and we all crowded in, to all take a look.

The second man was leaning against their truck, and the one that Jill had called Chess was pacing, smoking a cigarette. Gus was laying on the top porch step,

watching.

"I'd better go out and talk to them again," Jill said.

"I don't think you should," Clare spoke up. "Do you, Hannah?"

"No. I don't think so," Hannah said, gazing steadily at the two men. "The guys will be along any time."

"What if they're not, though?" Nancy asked. "I think one of us should go out the back, and go try to find them."

"Walk?" Hannah asked, turning and shaking her head. "That's a long walk-and we don't even know which direction to start in."

"Maybe if somebody got their attention for a few minutes, then one of us could sneak out the back and to the barn, and saddle

one of the horses," I suggested.

"No, Harlie," Hannah said, looking as though she was considering. Then to me, she added, "Go upstairs to my dresser, and get the key

to the gun safe."

I went to do as she said, wondering how Isaac was still sleeping thru all the noise and barking.

I took the key and went back downstairs on a run. I could feel my heart pumping, and all this adrenaline going thru me. I was scared, I

won't deny it. I wished that the guys, either some or all of them, would appear. Coming to our rescue.

Hannah took the keys from me, letting them dangle from her fingers, and kept watching the men, and looking as though she was

thinking.

"Isaac still sleeping?" she asked me.

I told her yes, and she nodded and said, "Good."

"We could let Warrior out," I suggested.

Hannah seemed to consider that, and she and Clare exchanged a look. We all knew what that meant. And what could

happen. It was a definite possibility that Warrior would go after the men, lunging at them, and possibly biting.

"They might shoot the dog," Nancy said, bluntly. "Right, Jill?" she added, almost as a challenge.

"They might," Jill said.

"Right," Nancy said, snappish. "Right, Jill!"

"I don't need you going all full-out bitch on me, Nancy," Jill said.

The two of them were facing off, glaring at one another, and I felt like I was watching a movie on television, or something.

"Well, maybe you should have considered that-before you brought this kind of crap onto this family!" Nancy hurled.

Wow. Holy moley.

"Right-because I'm not really a part of this family, that's what you mean, isn't it, Nancy?!" Jill accused.

"Stop," Clare said, with a hand on Nancy's wrist.

Nancy took a breath, and sighed a little, nodding.

"Or-I'm not perfect like you," Jill said, pointing at Nancy, and then waved at hand at all of us. "Not perfect-like any of you!"

"I never said that I was perfect," Nancy said, reentering the argument.

"They're getting in their truck," Hannah announced, from where she was peeking around the curtains.

The other four of us crowded around behind her to take our own look.

"Good. They're leaving," Clare said, sounding relieved.

Only they didn't.

Seven

Thanks to everybody for hanging in on this story, I promise to do much better at updating now!