Letting Go
Chapter Six
DISCLAIMER: Haha... yeah right... (checks) Oooh, I haven't updated this since MARCH? I'm evil... Dick, remind me to remind you to spank me once I've updated.
Dick: I'll be more than happy to do it now...
Me: When I say later, I mean LATER. That way I have time to worm my way out of it... XP
"They're gone!"
The cry was enough to put Adam's stomach in knots and he pushed aside the breakfast he had hardly even started.
"Gone?" repeated Hoss, who had yet to lose his appetite. Joe had just come running down the stairs as fast as his legs would carry him to tell his brothers the news. "Who's gone?" he added.
"The pups! They're gone!" Joe yelped. "All I found were their collars lying on the floor."
Joe held up a handful of paper strips.
Hoss took them from his brother and examined them closely.
"It looks as if they was torn off," Hoss observed. "By a PERSON."
Joe instantly gave Adam a suspicious glance. Adam gulped. He could never remember being this nervous, even just after he had gotten into big trouble with Pa.
"Uh… I think I'd better have a talk with you, Joe—alone," he said. Hoss took the hint and quickly left the room. Even if Adam hadn't told him in so many words to get lost, he probably would have left anyway. Hoss didn't like seeing fur fly between anyone, especially when it was his brothers' fur that was doing the flying.
"Okay, whaddya do?" Joe demanded as soon as Hoss was gone.
"Well, Joe, it's kind of a long story…" began Adam.
Joe began to feel more than a little fearful of the fate of his beloved wolf pups. "Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this?" he muttered.
"I get the feeling you're going to hate it," Adam said. Joe sat down at the table and looked at Adam expectantly.
"It's like this," Adam said. For the next twenty minutes, he explained all about how he had gotten the idea to putthe powderin Joe's hot chocolate and give the pups their last supper while he was still under the effects of the powder. Adam finished up by telling his now very angry, very hurt younger brother about how he had released the pups into the wild.
There was an awkward silence. Adam spoke up, "I had to do it, Joe. I'm sorry."
"You said that last night," Joe observed shakily.
"Joe, I—"
"How could you, Adam? How could you lie to me?" Joe asked in a choked voice. He was having difficulty not to cry in front of his brother. "After I told you over and over again that I didn't want you to let them go without my say-so, you went ahead and did it anyway. And you lied! How could you do this to me? I'll never forgive you for this, Adam! Never!"
Joe bolted out of the house and to the stable, blinded by tears.
"Joe!" Adam shouted, but Joe didn't listen. He just mounted Starlight and rode out of the yard as quickly as he could, leaving Adam to stare after him sadly.
To Be Continued…
Dick: I was talking to Little Joe just now.
Me: Yeah? So?
Dick: He wants to make sure I spank you extra-hard for torturing him like that.
Me: Oh, boy...
Reviewer Replies
cybernaut-That's okay, we all make mistakes. :) Say, you post on the TVLand Message Boards, don't you?
Sparrow-78-On Panamint's behalf, I would like to say 'Thank you very much! I love compliments like that! XD'.
Me: And yes, the second part will be coming up shortly. Much quicker than this update, I guarantee it.
Dick: Ready to be spanked yet, TAP?
Me: Er... not really...
Dick: GOOD!
(Dick chases Panamint around the room for at least twenty minutes...)