Hi guys,

I will make this short and sweet since people are complaining about my authors notes at the beginning of my chapters. If you don't like it, just skip it! Simple! Sorry if that's blunt but I have more than enough to worry about without complaining people! I don't care if you read them or not, but I do reveal things about the storyline so if you don't care for spoilers or explanations, scroll on by!

I don't know how often I will be able to upload. I live in Australia, rural New South Wales and as most of you would be aware, most of Australia is held in the grip of the worst bushfires in the history of Australia. My family and I are safe for the moment, but fires could start around us at any moment. We've already had fires take out some of the national parks not far from us.

One of my best friends is in the middle of the fires down on the south coast. She lives in a town called Nowra. On Wednesday, while everyone was celebrating new years, she was being evacuated with her husband. They were able to return home for a short time, but tomorrow it has been predicted that their town will be gone. I haven't heard from her since Wednesday, there is no power, no internet, no phone, no communication at all. The towns along the coast are running out of food, water, fuel. People are stuck in towns, they can't leave even if they want to. I just hope and pray they're going to be alright.

Australia needs prayer. This drought we have been in for four long years has brought people to their knees and these fires are just another twist of the knife. Fire-fighters from the USA, Canada and New Zealand have landed in Australia today to help with the fires, but the only thing that is going to stop these fires is rain. We need rain and desperately.

I will let you get on with the chapter. Sorry for this rant, but I have more things to worry about then my authors notes being long. If you don't like it, scroll on and move along. Get over it. If you don't like it, I don't care. I don't need people PM'ing me about it so go to your nearest hardware store, buy some wood, build a bridge and GET OVER IT!

Chapter 23

Jessie yawned sleepily as she sat on the blanket in the warm sun. She looked around her, the farm yard quiet since everyone was going about their lives. It was peaceful, and serene. She glanced over at the horses quietly grazing in the paddocks, then at Warrior in the corral. The stallion had his head in his feed bucket, raising it every so often to look at her and make sure she was still there. She smiled as she watched him. They were lucky, very lucky. Things could have ended a whole lot worse then they did. It was over now though, and over for good. Her father was dead. The man that had been chasing her wouldn't be following her any more. She was finally safe. She could breathe.

'Here we go.' Lisa walked over with a basket and sat it down beside Jessie. 'Are you comfortable? Do you want a couple of pillows?'

'No, I'm fine Lisa.' She looked up, her thoughts were interrupted then she glanced at Warrior. 'But you could go and let Warri out. He can come over here and do some grazing while we're outside. He's probably as sick of that pen as I am of indoors. '

'Are you sure? He won't run away?'

'He'll be fine. Just stay clear of him when you open the gate, you don't want to get knocked over in his excitement.'

'Okay, if you're sure.'

Jessie rested on her elbow as she laid down on her side, watching as Lisa walked over to the corral. Warrior looked at her as she walked to the gate, then at her as he snorted. Lisa opened the gate and he quickly cantered out, then trotted over to her and nudged her with his nose. She laughed as Lisa walked back over to join them. 'Hey boy. Did you miss me?'

'Scott will be coming by this afternoon to check him over.' She Lisa remarked as she sat down on the blanket beside Jessie, Warrior still nudging her with his muzzle. 'You two are really close. I've never seen anything like it. '

'Yeh, I we're like an old married couple.' Jessie laughed as the stallion nudged her again, then patted the ground behind her. 'Down boy, lie down.' Warri snorted, then laid down behind her. She leaned back against his neck as he nudged her again. 'Good boy.'

Lisa smiled as she watched the two of them, Warrior with his neck wrapped around the girl and Jessie rubbing his face. They had such a bond she had never seen before. It was truly amazing, and she smiled as the girl laughed gleefully, Warrior nibbling on her hair. Jack's reminder echoed through her mind though. She needed to tell her. 'Jessie, there's something I need to talk to you about.'

'Yes?' She looked at her, the question written on her face. 'About what.'

'Where you're going to be living.' She hated telling her, but forced herself to continue. 'Jessie, since you've got no other living relatives, you've become a ward of the state, and that means that you will have to go into foster care.'

'I kinda already guessed that.' Rubbing Warrior's forehead, she continued staring blankly at him. 'What's going to happen?'

'Clint can explain the process better to you then I can, but he's already found you a family to go to.' Jessie's face falling didn't slip past her notice. 'I'm sorry Jess, it's just the thing that happens.'

'I understand.' Jessie bit her lip, fighting back tears. 'I guess I'm just starting to like it here. You and Jack aren't half bad.'

'I am sorry Jessie.' Lisa could see the girl was starting to get upset. 'I really really am.'

'Its okay Lisa, it's fine.' She focused on playing with a whirl on Warrior's forehead. 'I knew that I would have to go into care eventually, I just didn't expect it to be quite so soon.' Her chest heaved as she sighed loudly, her eyes glued to Warrior so Lisa didn't see them watering. 'I know you guys don't want another thing to worry about. I've already caused more then enough trouble already.'

'That's not it at all Jessie.' Placing her hand on the girls shoulder, she felt her flinch as the girl pulled away and winched. The girl was clearly upset with what she had told her, even though she was trying to make it look like she wasn't. 'Jessie, look at me.' She waited, then Jessie slowly turned around and she placed her arm around her as the girl sniffed back a sob. 'I would look after you myself Jessie, it's not that I don't want to but I really just can't with my busy schedule. I'm hardly ever here, I live between here and France, and that's not what you need. You need stability, you need to go to school. You need people who can help you, and I can't. I wish I could Jess, but I can't.'

'I know.' Jessie sniffed as she pulled away from her. 'I know. I just can't help feeling like I'm a burden that people want to get rid of. All my life I have never really been wanted. I've never felt I really belong anywhere.'

'But what about Robert and Lillian?' She was a little shocked at what she said. 'You liked them, didn't you?'

'Yeh, I did. It's kinda hard to explain.' Sighing, she paused as she tried to put it into words. 'They did look after me, and I adored them but they never really showed me love. They treated me well, but only because I had no where else to go. Robert was quite a hard man, even before his wife died. He never really showed any affection for me, not the way Jack does to Lou and Amy. I never saw in him what I see in Jack. When I was young, I never noticed it but as I became older, I began to feel like I was a burden on them. Robert never said those words, but I was never told I wasn't either.'

'I'm sorry Jess.' Lisa looked down at her, seeing another layer of the many emotional scars the girl carried deep inside her. 'That's really awful.'

'I've learned to live with it.' A blush rose on her cheeks as she lied. She had never learned to deal with rejection, the rejection she got in the way of affection she had never received. 'It's made me realise I don't need people. They just walk in and out of my life.'

'I can see that is really not true Jess.'

'I only wish it was.' Jessie muttered, then turned her head as she heard a car coming up the drive. 'That the vet?' She asked, her face blank and her eyes clouded again as she put up the emotional walls she hid behind. Warrior snorted as the car pulled up, eyeing it warily. 'Easy boy, easy.'

'Yes, that's Scott.' Lisa replied, the previous subject of their conversation closed by his arrival. She quickly stood up and moved back as Warrior got to his feet as the girl tried to calm him. 'Are you okay with him? Can you hold him?'

'I'm trying.' Shakeingly, she got to her feet, grabbing his halter as the stallion threw his head up and snorted. 'Easy boy, easy, easy.' Warrior snorted as the man stepped out of the car and began to approach them, pawing the ground as the girl tried to hold onto his halter. 'Stand Warrior!' Her tone was harsh as her legs almost buckled underneath her. 'Lisa-'

'Easy boy, easy.' She ran forward and caught Jess as her legs gave out, the stallion having thrown her off balance when he had yanked away from her. 'You okay?'

'I'm fine.' Jess gasped in pain, then looked up as Warrior bolted forward towards the vet with his teeth bared. 'Warrior! No!' She screamed at him as loud as she could, her voice making Lisa jump with the ferocity of her command. 'Get back here now!'

Scott had been watching the horse since he had got out of the car and stopped as the stallion ran towards him. Dropping his bag on the ground, he held his hands up to make himself look bigger to try and stop the horse's attack. 'Woah boy! Woah!'

'Leave him Warri!' Jessie yelled again, getting back up on her feet. She had to stop him before he seriously injured the man. 'Get back here you beast! Get back here now!'

Warrior slid to a stop right in front of the man, rearing and pawing the air. Scott took a step back, his arms still up as the stallion landed and pawed the ground viciously, snorting loudly. 'Warrior!' He snorted again as he heard her voice, then wheeled around and trotted back to her.

Jessie smacked him on the nose as he stopped beside her, grabbing his halter before he could get away. 'Don't you do that again! You are in big trouble mister. This isn't the wilderness any more. You can't attack whoever you like.'

'We better try and get him back in the pen before he goes for Scott again.' Lisa grabbed the other side of the halter, then looked over at Scott. 'You better get back in your car until we get him in the corral. We had no idea he would react like that.'

Scott nodded as he picked up his bag, his heart racing. He had dealt with a few vicious horses in his time, but Warrior was a totally different bag of oats. It was like he had been showing him that he was boss, and he wasn't about to be challenged. 'He certainly doesn't like men, does he.'

'No, he doesn't.' Jessie dragged him along with Lisa's help back to the corral as Scott moved out of the way back to his vehicle. Warrior rolled his eyes as he tried to get away again, but the two women wouldn't let go. 'Get in there Warrior. All you just did was make a huge idiot out of yourself.' Lisa closed the gate as she slapped him on the rump, the stallion snorting as he wheeled around to find the gate shut in his face, securly locked. 'That almost ended very badly.'

'He's crazy.' Lisa replied, turning from the horse back to Jessie. 'Are you okay Jessie?' The girl's face was pale as she reached for the post and she quickly grabbed her before the girl could fall again. 'We better get you back inside.'

'I'm fine Lisa, really.' She protested as Lisa held her in her arms. 'My legs were just numb from sitting, that's all. Your not taking me in while the vet is here.'

'You can be so stubborn sometimes.'

'Yes, I can be.'

'Well, that was a little more excitement that I hadn't bargained for.' Scott remarked as he walked over to them, the stallion watching his every move. 'Scott Cardinal.'

'Jessica Hawkins.' Jessie shook his hand, then glanced back at Warrior. 'I am sorry about his behaviour. If we had known that you were coming now I would have gotten Lisa to put him away again.'

'No harm done. I was supposed to be coming later, but a client cancelled. I should have rung first.'

'It's fine Scott, not your fault.' Lisa hoisted Jessie up again, the girl starting to get a little heavy. 'Like you said, no harm done.'

'How about we go sit down?' Jessie suggested. 'Lisa and I were just about to eat. Your welcome to join us if it's okay with her.'

'It's fine by me.' She chuckled. 'There's more than enough.'

'Okay.' Scott agreed, putting his bag back in the car and grabbing a file from off the seat instead. 'We'll let Warrior cool off some I think.'

'That won't do anything.' Jessie replied as Lisa carried her back to the blanket, placing her gently back onto the ground. 'You won't be able to get near him. It's nothing he holds personally against you, it's just what he's been through. It took ages for him to trust the man I used to live with, and he's only just starting to tolerate Jack. He's just a very, shall we say, difficult horse.'

'I don't blame him, for what he's been through.' Scott sat down on the blanket across from her and Lisa. 'How did you get him anyway?'

'I saw him once, as a foal with a bay mare but the first time I really saw him was when he was a two year old.' She began to explain as Lisa grabbed the food out of the picnic basket. 'He'd been kicked out of his herd, and he was in pretty bad shape. So was his brother. I, and the indian gentleman Robert, caught him and I began to look after him. He eventually came around, but I let his brother go. He and I have been inseparable since, and even with his faults, he's the best horse I could ask for.'

'He's unique, that's for sure.' Lisa chuckled, handing her a sandwich. 'What did the tests say Scott?'

'Well, there's nothing on his sire's side that's worth anything but his dam's DNA is another matter entirely.' He grabbed a couple of pages out from the file. 'They were able to match it with a pure bred Thoroughbred racehorse.'

'I knew there was thoroughbred in him.' Jessie chuckled. 'That must where his temper comes from. We think his dam was dumped after she became useless at the track. Robert knew of that happening quite a lot.'

'I don't think her owner let her get dumped intentionally.' He handed the page to Lisa with the dam's information on it. 'Because you're sitting right next to her.'

'His dam was my stolen racehorse?' Lisa looked down at the paper in stunned amazement. 'She was one of the best racehorses I have ever had. I was so upset when she was stolen, the police never found any trace of her. How on earth did she manage to get up their I wonder.'

Jessie looked over Lisa's shoulder at the picture of the horse. 'That's the bay alright.' She glanced up at Lisa. 'Technically, does that mean you own Warrior?'

'No honey, don't worry. I wouldn't take him off you.' She saw the relief written on the girls face. 'I would love to know how my mare ended up their though. Do you think she's still running round with the herd she was with?'

'I have no idea, but trying to find her would be like finding a needle in a haystack. She's probably long gone by now.'

'Yeh, your probably right.' She handed the page back to Scott. 'Scott, you wouldn't have happened to know Robert Macentire did you?'

'No, I only heard about him because of that scandal with the mustangs that he broke up.' He looked over at Jessie. 'That's the man you live with, isn't it?'

'Lived is the keyword. He's dead.' She replied, her face void of emotion. She didn't show that side of herself to people she didn't trust. 'But that is something I would rather not talk about if you don't mind. Can we go back to another topic now?' Scott was a little taken aback with her abruptness, but nodded and she helped herself to another sandwich as he and Lisa carried on a conversation while she returned to her thoughts. She was worried. Worried about what was going to happen with her when she went to the foster home. Worried about her future, and what lay ahead. She couldn't get the nagging feeling of worry out of her stomach. Something was going to happen, she could feel it…