Chapter 9

'Alright.' She sighed, looking down at her hands. 'My name is Jessica Hawkins, just Jessie for short. When I was little, my mother was in a really bad relationship. The man was violent and abusive, not only to her but to me too. We moved around a lot, we never did really settle anywhere. We were constantly on the move. I think that my mom was on the run from him.'

Lisa rubbed the girl's shoulder as she stopped. 'Your doing okay honey. Keep going.'

'I was only little when it happened.' She shuddered as the memories came back. 'My mom and him had been fighting again. I was in the room, crying and yelling for them to stop but they wouldn't. Then he grabbed out a gun and shot her with it. She hit the floor, blood was everywhere. I tried to get her to get up, but she wasn't moving and I saw him coming for me. It came to me later that he had killed her. I took off.' She paused for a moment, another tear slipping down her cheeks. 'I ran out of the motel room we had been staying in and locked him in it then I took off down the road. I don't really remember much of what happened next, but I know it was night. I was running, running anywhere to get away. I think I jumped into the back of a pick up that was parked in the full station a bit down the road. I remember riding in it for quite some time, then when it came to a stop in the forest I jumped out.'

'What happened then Jessie?' Jack prompted, handing Lisa another tissue for the girl.

'I remember wandering around in the forest. I didn't know what to do.' She snfiffled again as she forced herself to stop crying. 'I was cold, hungry, scared. I was five for Pete's sake. It was the middle of winter, there was snow everywhere. I remember walking, trying to find a house or something to try and get warm in, then I don't know what happened. I remember waking up in a cabin, really really sick. There was this Indian man and woman there. He said he had found me in the forest and he brought me back to his home. He kept me there till I was better, and by then I had started to trust them both. I had told them I didn't have any family, so they decided to keep me there. I was happy. I grew up, got older. His wife Lillian looked after me, she taught me to read and cook and everything she knew. She died of a heart attack when I was nine.' She paused again, blinking back tears. 'Robert was heartbroken when she died, but he still had me to look after. He was getting on in years, so I would go and hunt, get food and take care of the little homestead they had in the mountains. He taught me how to train mustangs, and it was him that helped me with Warrior. A couple of years before I got him, he had been in the herd that was stolen and being sold to the meat truck.'

'Yes, we heard about that. Scott, our vet saw the scar on his neck from where he was creased.' Lisa added in. 'We had heard about what had taken place near Pike River.'

'Well, he was the one who put a stop to it. I was only eight at the time, but I tried to help. It was me who found the men trapping the mustangs and got him to stop them.'

'What happened to him?' Jack asked, wondering where the man was now. Surely if he had been looking after her since she was five he would be looking for her. 'Did you runaway from him?'

'No.' Jessie sighed again. 'I had been out hunting that day with Warrior. When I got back to the cabin, I felt something was odd. The horses that were his were gone and the front door was open. It was the middle of winter. He never left it open in winter.'

'What happened next?'

'I went inside. I found him on the floor.' Her eyes glistened with tears. 'He had been shot. Killed, in his own home. There was a note too, written with his blood. I am coming for you. I knew who it was. It was the man who had killed my mother all those years ago. He had killed him. He had found out where I was after all those years and he was after me. I buried him next to his wife, then I took off. That was a little less then a year ago now. I've been running ever since.'

Lisa looked at Jack, then back at the girl. 'He was the one who shot you.'

'Yes.' Jessie admitted. 'He did. I had been staying in a cave not far from your ranch. I knew he had been there and so I was looking for somewhere else to hide. That's when he found me. He was on a motorbike. I tried to get away, but Warrior wasn't fast enough to outrun his gun and here I am. He's still out there, he knows I'm not dead and he'll be coming for me. He won't stop till I'm dead, and all because I saw him kill my mother.'

'Well, you needn't worry about him now. Your safe here. The police will find him and it will all be over.'

Jessie rolled her eyes. 'He's never been caught before. He's not about to be caught now. It won't end till I'm dead.'

Jack looked at the girl, he could see she wasn't making this up. It was true, every word of it. 'Jessie, what is his name?'

'Matt Durelle. He's wanted for petty thievery, drug dealer, murderer, gang leader. You name it, he's done it.' She sighed. 'He spent time in jail, that's what I heard while I was with Robert, and when he escaped he came looking for me. He's not a person you want to mess with. He murdered quite a few people south of the border, he and his gang. They're bad news. Really bad news. That's just the kind of people that my mother used to hang around. It wasn't good company. I'd have turned out like her too if I wasn't looked after by the Macentiers. I know that now.'

'What was her name?'

'Judith Hawkins.'

'You don't have any other family?'

'No. Thank God. Her parents died when she was nearly thirty and she had no siblings. I wouldn't want to know if I've got family if they're all like her. Even though she might have been my mother, I know how I would have turned out if things hadn't ended like they did. I lost count how many boyfriends she had, she didn't even know who my father was or is. Personally, I don't want to know. It would be just my luck that they guy who killed her and is after me is my father.'

Lisa nodded, her heart going out to the girl. She didn't know what to say. The girl had one heck of a time, and yet she seemed so calm cool and collected about it. Looking at her watch, she saw that it was nearly time to leave since visiting hours were coming to a close. 'Well Jessie, it's getting late and it's nearly time for us to be on our way.'

Jessie nodded, her gaze averted down at her hands. 'Alright.' She looked up at her for a moment, then glanced at Jack. 'I'm really sorry that I stole from you place. I was only stealing so Warrior and I had food to eat over winter.'

'That's alright Jessie, we won't hold it against you.'

'So your not going to tell the police about it?'

'I don't think there is really a need to press charges. We'll just forget this ever happened okay as long as it doesn't happen again, alright?'

'Alright.' She looked up at him, a million emotions showing her thoughts in her eyes. 'Thank you.'

'Your welcome. You stay well now you hear and focus on getting better. You don't need to worry about that man anymore, your safe here.'

I wish that were true. Jessie thought, but just nodded then looked at Lisa. 'Warrior might look tough, but underneath it all he is a big softy. Treat him gently and you won't have any problems with him.'

'I'll keep that in mind.' Lisa stood up, then placed her hand on the girls shoulder. 'We will come back and see you tomorrow. I can ring Amy again and she can let you talk to Warrior again if you like.'

'I'd appreciate that.' Her face showed her genuine gratitude. 'Thank you.'

Lisa smiled as she nodded. 'Anytime Jessie. I'll see you later.'

Jessie watched as the couple walked out of the room, then sank back against her pillow. She was mad, mad at herself for talking to them but it felt good to have it off her chest. She had held onto the anger and hate she kept bottled up inside her for way too long, it felt good to be able to voice some of what she was feeling. In a way she didn't know exactly how she was feeling or what she was feeling. She felt scared, alone. Lost.

Glancing at the door they had left through, she was reminded of the old couple who had taken care of her. Lisa reminded her so much of Lillian, kind, gentle, caring. The type of person she wanted in her life. She wanted to be loved, protected. Even though the couple had given her that and a life that she was grateful for now she no longer had that. A picture flashed through her mind. The image of the people around the dinner table at the ranch. A family. That's what she wanted, wanted to be a part of. That's what her heart yearned for. Family. A place where she belonged, a place she could call home.