Chapter 2

A gunshot rang out through the woods, shattering the late-morning silence as Kaylee Hackett took aim at her first target and fired. She winced as the recoil from the shotgun jarred her shoulder, her shot barely grazing the tin can she'd been aiming at. She lowered the gun with a disheartened sigh. The clearing they had chosen for their new shooting range was in a secluded part of the forest about a mile from Hackett House and despite her glum mood, Kaylee couldn't help feeling a sense of relief knowing that they were far enough from camp that she didn't have to worry about accidentally injuring any kids with her lousy shooting skills.

She turned towards her uncle Travis standing beside her and looked up at him hesitantly. He was shaking his head with what she suspected was either disappointment or concern. Or perhaps a combination of both…

Kaylee was expecting him to scold her for her inattentiveness with handling a dangerous firearm. It was his job as sheriff and self-appointed 'protector' of the family to keep them all safe. But much to her surprise, Travis' tone sounded almost reassuring as he took the shotgun from her gently.

"What's wrong, deputy? It's not like you to call it quits after missing one target. You're either not concentrating or your heart is not in it anymore…"

"You know what, uncle Travis? It's both. I think I've had enough target practice for today." Kaylee said in a small voice. She lowered her eyes from his worried gaze and stared at the ground distractedly.

Travis frowned with suspicion. Something was not right. He knew his patient, easy-going niece well enough to recognize this sudden change of mood was so out of character for her. He wished he knew how to comfort her, but he just wasn't very good at expressing empathy. It's not that he didn't care, especially when it came to members of his family. He was prepared to literally risk his life to protect them without a second thought about his own safety.

Maybe he was just overthinking the situation. Perhaps Kaylee had just gotten bored of being around him. He couldn't blame her if that was the case. He loved her dearly but he wasn't exactly the most fun uncle to hang around with. Maybe she wanted to go and spend some time with her grandmother instead. Travis knew the two of them were really close. Maybe that was for the best. He needed to get back to the police station and keep an eye on those two counselors he had locked up. He shouldn't leave them unattended for too long…

Travis cleared his throat softly to get Kaylee's attention. He offered her a reassuring smile as she looked up at him slowly. "Alright then. Do you want to head home and help your grandma with her chores? I need to go back to the station anyway."

Kaylee shook her head hesitantly. "Actually, I was hoping we could sit and talk for a while. There's something I wanted to ask you about…"

Travis grimaced uncomfortably. "I really should be getting back to work, Kaylee. Can't it wait till later?"

Kaylee looked away from him, the disappointment and hurt apparent in her expression. "I'm sorry. I know you're really busy and I've already wasted too much of your time this morning..."

Travis cursed himself silently, guilt gripping his heart like a vice. He placed his hand on her arm and squeezed it apologetically. "You're never a waste of my time, Kaylee. If it means that much to you, I'll stay for a little while longer. There's nothing I wouldn't do for my favorite niece."

Kaylee elbowed him in the ribs playfully. "Favorite niece? I'm your only niece you goof!"

Travis chuckled lightly and the two of them sat down on a large fallen tree trunk at the edge of the clearing. "So, what did you want to talk about?" He asked with an air of trepidation.

Kaylee took a deep breath, her eyes fixed at the ground anxiously. "Well, I was hoping you could tell me about my mother. I hardly know anything about her…"

Travis visibly tensed up as though he had been shocked with a taser. "Shit, Kaylee. Why ask me about that? Isn't that something you should be asking your father?"

Kaylee felt tears forming at the corners of her eyes as she looked up at him pleadingly. "Oh, uncle Travis. I've tried to talk to him about mom so many times. But he just gets really sad every time and won't tell me much. It's as though he feels guilty about something, but I don't know why…"

She paused and took a shuddering breath. "I hate seeing him so upset, so I don't ask him anymore."

Travis was nodding with silent understanding, a distant look in his eyes. Poor Chris. He didn't blame his brother for avoiding the subject for so long. It was not an easy conversation for any father to have with his daughter. Kaylee is such a smart and sensitive soul and Travis knew that as much as thinking about Amelia's death hurt Chris, he couldn't bare the thought of putting his daughter through that same emotional trauma he had to endure ever since that fateful day…

"Uncle Travis? Are you okay?" The sound of Kaylee's concerned voice jolted him back to the present. He tried to push the painful memory out of his mind and put on a brave smile for his niece's sake.

"Yeah. I'm alright. You were saying, Kaylee?"

Kaylee continued in a hushed tone. "Right. So like I was saying, I can't really talk to dad about it anymore and Caleb was too little to remember our mother very well. I even tried asking Gammy about her a couple of times." She took a deep breath and tried to imitate Constance's old, harsh voice as best as she could. "Oh, my little Kaylee. Your mother was really pretty. But she spent too much time walking around with her head in the clouds. She was always daydreaming and not much for doing housework."

Kaylee smiled sadly, her voice cracking a little as she struggled to maintain her impersonation of Constance's grouchy tone. "Your mother loved to dance. She wanted to be a ballerina someday. Anyway, I'm busy, hun. Go ask your father."

"Sounds about right." Travis commented tartly. He was impressed that Kaylee had managed to get that much info out of his mother. She wasn't exactly the the most compassionate person to talk to about anything.

Kaylee shrugged and continued speaking quietly. "I tried talking to grandpa Jed about it one time. But he said that he only knows about men's work, not much about family matters. Just like Gammy had told me, he also mentioned that my mom was good-looking and apparently she wanted to be a belly-dancer or something…"

Travis gave a snort of amusement. "A belly-dancer you say? Don't know where pa got that from."

"You know what grandpa is like." Kaylee said with a sigh. "A belly-dancer or a ballerina is probably all the same thing to him…"

"True." Travis agreed dismissively.

"Do you even want to know what uncle Bobby said?" Kaylee couldn't help smiling when she noticed Travis' jaw drop in astonishment.

"Seriously?! You asked Bobby to tell you about your mother? You're better off asking Ian the sheep instead! I'm sure even he could have given you more insight than Bobby!" Travis chuckled at the thought, but gave his niece's hand a gentle squeeze of encouragement. "But anyway, do tell. I'm dying to know what Bobby had to say."

"Well just like everyone else had already told me, uncle Bobby said that my mom was pretty. But according to him, she was not quite as pretty as this Xena the Warrior Princess that he keeps going on about." Kaylee stifled a little laugh as she remembered something else her uncle Bobby had once told her.

"Do you remember how uncle Bobby used to be obsessed with Shania Twain a few years ago?"

"Sadly, I do." Travis confirmed dryly.

"So, I asked uncle Bobby if he thought whether my mom was at least as pretty as Shania Twain, since she apparently was not as beautiful as Xena."

"Oh boy. Here comes the punch line…" Travis muttered sarcastically.

"To my surprise, he said that my mom was way prettier than Shania Twain. In fact, Bobby doesn't think much of Shania anymore because according to him, she doesn't even live in the USA anymore. Apparently, she lives in Swaziland now."

Travis and Kaylee looked at each other and both burst out laughing.

"Shit!" Travis wiped away tears of laughter with the back of his hand. "Well obviously Bobby has never heard of Switzerland before. But where the fuck did he hear of Swaziland?!"

Kaylee shrugged in bemusement. "What can I say? Uncle Bobby is full of surprises."

She sighed, her tone turning serious once more as she looked to Travis hopefully. "So you see, uncle Travis? I've tried asking everyone else in the family but none of them could give me much information. You're my last hope."

Travis got a sinking feeling in his stomach. How could he even begin to have this conversation with her when everyone else in the family; including Kaylee's own father, refused to discuss it with her? He was way out of his comfort zone, but he couldn't just push her away when she was turning to him for help. Kaylee is the sweetest soul he'd ever met and the thought of rejecting her in her time of need absolutely broke his heart.

"I never knew my mom and I've always wondered whether she loved me." A pained expression befell Kaylee's face. "After all, it's my fault she's dead. I killed her when she gave birth to me."

A feeling of utter despair swept over Travis like a tidal wave. Kaylee flinched as he gripped her hand with an unexpected forcefulness, causing her to gasp in pain. His tone sounded harsh, but also tainted with grief as he spoke without looking her in the eyes. "Hey! Don't you ever say or think that your mother didn't love you. She loved you more than all of us put together!"

Kaylee was speechless. She had never seen him like this before. He had never lost his temper with her and she couldn't help feeling a little scared of his uncharacteristic outburst. But the fear she felt was quickly replaced with guilt. She knew in her heart that her uncle Travis would never do anything to hurt her and she chided herself for being afraid of him even if the feeling lasted only a moment. Suddenly, she felt his grip loosening and she pulled her hand away slowly, not trusting herself to make eye contact with him. Travis couldn't bare to look her in the eyes either as he got up from the log and turned his back to her. Kaylee watched him in shocked silence as his shoulders began to shake and he dropped his head, fighting back heart wrenching sobs like she'd never heard coming from him before.