Hi Guys!

As promised, here is another chapter! Hope you all are enjoying the story so far! Reviews are greatly appreciated, I love to know your thoughts.

Enjoy!

Chapter 8.0

Cindy smiled as the bright evening sun warmed her back as she brushed Warrior down. The stallion nickered, nudging her gently with his nose and she chuckled as she placed her arms around his neck. He nibbled at her blonde ponytail and she quickly pulled it out of his reach. 'Warri, you naughty boy.'

'How is he doing?' Lisa asked as she walked over to the corral, leaning against the fence as she looked in. 'He having a good nibble on your hair?'

'Yeah.' She laughed as she patted his neck then walked over to her, the stallion following her, nudging her with his nose. 'Warri! Cut it out mate!' The stallion whinnied, almost like he was teasing her and she rolled her eyes as she turned to Lisa. 'As you can see, he's doing just fine.'

'He's eating and drinking okay?'

'Yeah.'

'Good. He went off his food totally the last time he was here.' A cloud of emotion passed over her face but she quickly pushed it away. 'I'm glad he's okay. It was quite some storm that you guys were in last night.' She looked over her shoulder at Jack, Caleb and Ty as they cut up a fallen tree in the paddock. It was the one that had been struck by lightning and they wanted to get rid of it before a horse hurt itself. 'He missed Jessica terribly. It's a good thing that he likes you, else he would be off his food.'

Cindy couldn't help but feel that something was wrong with Lisa. She had seen something in her eyes, something that had Jessica written all over it. 'Lisa, what did Jessie say to you when she called you back?'

'Oh, a couple things.' Lisa glanced down at her hands. 'Nothing important.'

'I may have only just met you, but my grandma taught me how to read people and your hiding something about Jessie.' The girl continued cautiously. 'Whatever she said, I promise you that she didn't mean it.'

'What makes you think that she said something?'

'Like I said, I'm good at reading people.'

Lisa sighed. The girl was right. There was no fooling her. Maybe she could tell her why Jessie had lashed out the way she did. 'She did say some things. She said that if we as in Jack and I really cared about her, we wouldn't have let her go to that foster home. We would have made it work so that she didn't have to go there. She also basically told me that she never wants to see me again.'

'That most certainly is not true.' Cindy replied with certainty. 'Jessie couldn't speak more well of you and Jack. She didn't mean it. She's hurt and angry, she's not herself. She wants something to blame, something to be mad at. The Jessie in her we both know didn't mean it.'

'I don't know. She sounded pretty certain to me that she didn't want to see me again.'

'Lisa, listen to me.' She dropped Warrior's leadrope and climbed over the corral fence so that it was no longer between them. Warrior followed her as she stopped beside Lisa, whinnying softly as he looked at her. She chuckled as she patted the stallion through the fence then looked back at the woman. 'Jessie thinks a lot of you. She just needs time and space to sort herself out.'

'What on earth happened to her to send her crazy that way? It's so unlike her.'

Cindy sighed deeply. 'Jessie took it upon herself to keep us all safe and that meant that she copped the beatings he intended to take out on us. She wouldn't listen to us, she insisted that she could handle it. She didn't want us getting hurt. I think the way she was treated had just caught up with her. She had one hell of a time. We all did. She's not really mad at you, she's just not herself at the moment.'

'Was it really that bad there? Jessie said some things to the police and the social worker before you arrived, but she didn't go into detail.' Lisa asked, wishing to understand the events that had transpired at that foster home and made Jessie act the way she had. 'What really happened?'

'Howard would come to the shed we kids had to stay in at night and we knew that one of us was going to be beaten. When Jessie came, she would take the beatings for us. She insisted that it was to keep us safe. She promised me that she would protect me.' Cindy looked down at the ground. 'He would hit her with a whip or belt or his bare hands. He even used a meter steel ruler on her once. It was whatever he could reach he would use to hit any of us. It was way worse when he was drunk. He would beat you till you were almost blacking out from the pain and then sometimes that wasn't enough for him. He'd throw you in the cellar without food or water and lock it till he felt like letting you out. I would sneak out of the shed when he went back to the house and I'd go help Jessie. Sometimes she couldn't even move from the pain. He left her in the cellar for three days, I tried to get her out but he kept it locked and I couldn't get her out. Even after that though she wouldn't stop trying to protect us. She said that she had nothing to lose, but that we deserved better.'

Lisa nodded, numb from what Cindy had elaborated on with how Jessie was treated. It was so like her to protect those around her. She'd done the same for her and Jack when her father had been holding her hostage. If Jessie was bottling all that emotion and turmoil inside her it was no wonder that she had cracked and snapped the way she had. It was just too much for her to hold back any longer. 'She said that her injuries were from her fighting against him to stop him beating you.'

'Its true.' She nodded grimly. It was her fault that Jessie had been hurt so bad. 'Howard caught me stealing food for me and the other children to eat. He'd been drinking, heavily too and Jessie knew it when he came to the barn. We'd been working late, cleaning out the stalls when he came in. He grabbed me and punched me, that's how I got this black eye. Jessie was furious. I never saw her that angry. She fairly flew at him, kicking and punching him. It was an awful tussle. They wouldn't stop fighting, no matter how hard I tried to stop them. He hurt her bad but she kept fighting. He just couldn't keep her down and she just wouldn't give up. I believe that she would have been killed by him if she didn't knock him out and then we ran away from there as fast as we could. Jessie tried to hide how bad she was hurt from me too. Her only focus was keeping me safe and getting back here to Heartland. This place, you and Jack, it was all she talked about. It was what kept her going, probably what kept her alive even when she was so badly hurt.'

'She talked about us?'

'All the time.' Cindy replied truthfully. 'She talked about you, how kind and gentle and understanding you were. She told of how Jack tried to help her work through her nightmares and memories and how you both took care of her while she was recovering from being shot. From the first day, she always planned on running away and getting back here. She was crushed when there was no word from you. It started her belief that you guys really didn't care about her as much as she thought you did and then she really just didn't care anymore. It was like she had given up hope. Then, when we escaped all she could think of was getting back here. She knew that she would be safe, that we both would be.'

'I did try to contact her, I wanted to know how she was doing but they never told her about it.' She sighed deeply. It was all making sense now why Jessie had been so upset and angry at her. 'It really has affected her then, how he treated her, you and the others and also not hearing from me.'

Cindy nodded. 'Jessie would cry herself to sleep. She doesn't know that I know it but I saw it even though she tried to hide it from me. I have my grandmother, and she's my family but you two and Warrior are all she had and has. She has nothing, she's got no one else and it really played a huge part in why she's not herself now. You see Lisa, it's not you why she reacted like that. It's her anger and hurt and everything else. Once she's thought things through, she'll be alright. I know she will be.'

Lisa patted Warrior's neck thoughtfully as the stallion poked his head through the fence to nudge her with his nose. 'The two of you have a real bond, don't you?'

'Jessie and I are like two peas in a pod. She's the closest to a sister that I've ever had.' She glanced up as she heard a car pulling into the drive. She cautiously drew closer to Lisa, not knowing who it was that had arrived. Her heart skipped a beat as she thought it was Ruth and Howard, but she could have almost cried when in relief when Fiona stepped from the car with the social worker and police officer. 'Fiona!' She shrieked as she ran over to her as the girl ran to meet her, throwing her arms around her. 'Your alright!'

'Yes, we all are, thanks to you, Jessica and Warrior.' Fiona smiled as she held the girl close. 'The police have put Howard and Ruth into custody and the others are safe. You two really saved all of us. How is Jessica? All I know is that she's in the hospital.'

'She's got a few cracked ribs and a couple other injuries. They're keeping her there for a week at least.' She pulled back, then hugged her again. 'I'm just glad that it's over for all of us.'

'Me too sweets, me too.'

Lisa walked over to Maggie and Rebecca as the two girls embraced. 'So, the other children are safe?'

Maggie and Rebecca nodded. 'We've got the children at the station taking statements and they'll be staying in a motel room till we can find somewhere else for them to go but there is no way that they'll ever be in Howard and Ruth's care again.' Rebecca replied. 'I need to talk to Cindy to get her side of the story but with what evidence we have gotten in an inspection of the property, the children's statements and Jessie's phone, we have a very solid case against them already.'

'And with Jessie's injuries-' Maggie continued. 'He's only going to have more charges laid against him.'

'I'm glad the children are safe.' She looked at Cindy and Fiona, then at the house. 'If you want to speak with Cindy, perhaps we should head inside. It's probably more suitable than standing out in the drive.'

Rebecca nodded, then looked over at the girls. 'Cindy, Fiona, we're going to head inside. Can you please come in too? I would like to speak with you Cindy.'

Cindy looked at Warrior, his leadrope still attached to his halter then nodded as she glanced back at her. 'I'll be there in a minute, just need to get Warrior back to his stall.'

'Alright.'

'Don't take too long Cindy.' Lisa added as they started for the house. Opening the door, she held it open for them then headed into the kitchen as they hung up their coats. 'Take a seat.' She offered as she headed to the cupboard where the cups were stored. 'Would you like anything to drink? Tea, coffee?'

'Some water would be nice.' Rebecca replied as she sat down, the girl and the police officer taking a seat at the table as well. She placed a folder on the table as Lisa handed her a glass. 'Thanks.'

'What about you Fiona? Maggie?'

'I'm fine thank you.' Fiona said softly, looking at her hands.

'I'll take a coffee if it isn't too much trouble.' Maggie glanced out the window, watching for the girl to come back out of the barn. 'Two sugars and a little milk.'

'Alright, I'll just put the kettle on.' She glanced over at the entrance as the front door was opened and Cindy came into the kitchen. 'Cindy, do you want something to drink?'

'Just some water please Lisa.' The girl took an empty spot next to Fiona. 'Can we go see Jessie after?'

'We'll see what the time is, okay?' Lisa grabbed a couple of glasses and filled them from the sink, then sat down at the table with them and handed the girl her drink. 'Did you fill Warrior's water bucket?'

Cindy nodded as she took a sip from the cup. 'And his hay-net too.'

Rebecca flicked through her papers, then looked over at the girl. 'So, you were with the Armstrong's for just over a month before Jessie turned up?'

'Yes mam.' She replied, looking at her glass. 'I was.'

'What were they like?' She asked gently, trying not to sound too abrupt since the girl was obviously quite scared. 'What did you think of them?'

'They were horrible.' Cindy didn't look up at her, keeping her eyes down to avoid confrontation. 'They said mean things to us, made us sleep in that shed and Mr. Armstrong and his boys used to beat us.'

Rebecca nodded as she wrote notes down. 'Did they use just their hands, or did they hit you with anything?'

'The boys just used their hands, but Mr. Armstrong used anything within his reach at the time. I got hit with a stirrup iron and horse whip once. He would choose a kid each night to beat up, regardless if we had done anything wrong or not and it was worse if he had been drinking. The boys however, they used to corner me when no one else was around and then lay it into me.'

'So, how often do you think you were beaten while you were there?'

'I don't remember, there was so many times. Some days he would just single out a kid to pick on all day and if it was me, he'd beat me two or three times in the same day. After Jessie showed up though, she wouldn't let him touch me.' She sniffed and Fiona held her hand under the table. 'She protected me from him.'

'I see.' Rebecca nodded, writing more notes down on her notepad. 'So, the night that Jessie got hurt, what happened? Was she trying to stop him from beating you?'

'Yes mam.' Cindy replied. 'He said I had forgotten to lock the gate in the bottom pasture and he also caught me stealing food and he was going to lay it into me in the barn when Jessie showed up. They got into a fight and he knocked her down. She landed a brick on the floor and she didn't move for a little time. I don't know for how long she was out of it for, I was trying to stop Mr. Armstrong from kicking her. She managed to get back up just as he was going to hit me with a crop and she hit him over the head. We tied him up and locked him in a stall and then we took off as quickly as we could. Fiona grabbed us some food from the house and then we got on Jessie's horse and got away.'

'Did you know that Jessie had been really hurt?'

'Not until yesterday evening. We were hiding in the forest till night and that's when I found out she had been hurt. She tried to hide it from me, she didn't want to worry me.'

'And that wasn't the first time Jessie had been really hurt by him, was it?'

'No.' She shook her head, trying to keep it together. 'He got so angry with her once when she had just arrived that he beat her with a whip till she was bleeding and then threw her into the cellar under the barn. He locked her in there for three days, I tried to get her out but I couldn't. She was an absolute wreck when he let her out, but she tried not to show it.'

'Did he lock any other kids in the cellar while you were there?'

'He locked Bobby in there a couple of times, and Rachel too. I wasn't locked in there, but when he put a kid in there he didn't give them any food or water. I would pour water through the cracks in the door so that they could drink when I could, but I had to be careful because if he caught me I would have been in big trouble.'

'Alright, thank you Cindy.' She smiled at her as she wrote down a few more things, then looked at the police officer. 'Maggie is going to ask you a couple of questions now.'

Maggie nodded, looking at Cindy. 'Cindy, did Mr. Armstrong or his boys try and hurt you in any other way?'

'No mam. Mr. Armstrong never did anything other then beat us and Jessie wouldn't let the boys near me.'

'Do you know if they hurt Jessie?'

'I don't think they did. Jessie tried to stay out of their way as much as possible. I think she was scared of them.'

Maggie nodded as Lisa got up to turn the kettle off and make her her coffee. 'I see.'

'Jessie did stay away from them.' Fiona added quietly. 'I told her too. I told her that they had a tendency to be dangerous.'

'It was good that you told her.' Maggie knew that Fiona wasn't saying anything else for Cindy's benefit. Fiona had already told them about the advances that they had made at her and what had happened to the other girl in their care that had taken off. 'Cindy, did you know that Jessie was using a phone to get evidence against them?'

Cindy shook her head. 'Not till she asked me to look after it. I never looked at what was on it, I gave it straight to Lou and then to you.'

Maggie nodded as Lisa handed her her coffee. 'Alright Cindy, I think that is all the questions I have for the moment.'

'May I go and get changed so I can see Jessie now?' Cindy looked at Lisa. 'It's not too late and we don't have to stay long.'

'If Rebecca has finished with her questions you may.'

'Yes, I have for the moment.' She looked at Fiona. 'You may go with her if you like, I want to talk to Mrs. Stillman privately for a few minutes.'

'Come on Fiona.' She fairly jumped out of her chair. 'You can tell me about the look on their faces when the cops showed up.'

Lisa looked back at Rebecca as Cindy and Fiona quickly disappeared into the living room and down the hall. 'I don't think Jessie told you everything when you spoke to her earlier.'

'No, I came to that conclusion myself.' Rebecca placed her papers back into the folder. 'Jessie recorded a lot of conversations and videos of how they were treated there, and on it there was a recording of the boys making advances at her.'

'You don't think-'

'I certainly hope they didn't but we can't rule it out. Fiona told us how they got Cynthia and how Howard murdered her when the girl tried to run away, but there was more to it then even she knows.'

'What will happen to Jessie now? All of them?'

'Well, we'll try and find other foster homes that can take them but they're going to require counselling and support so we're hoping to place them in homes where there are no other children.' She finished the rest of her drink then continued. 'They are pretty messed up, from the physical, mental and emotional abuse they received and they are it pretty bad shape. We can probably find a home easy enough for the four young ones, as they are easier to help but the older ones like Fiona and her sister and Jessica is going to be much harder. Most foster parents refuse to take on older children.'

'What about Cindy? Is she going to be able to go back to her grandmother?'

'That's the plan, she's only got a couple more weeks of rehab and then they're going to release her. We'll have to find somewhere for her to stay till then though, we've got the other children in a motel room at the moment.'

Lisa shook her head. 'Its an awful mess they've been through, those poor kids. Cindy is lucky to have her grandmother so she doesn't have to go to another foster home. I'm not sure if Clint told you, but Jack offered to look after Jessie in between foster homes and I'm sure that he would be okay with Cindy staying here just until she can go back to her grandmother.'

'Yes, it was written on Jessie's file. I will speak to Jack about it to make sure though. I don't think Cindy would want to come to Calgary and leave Jessie. I think it might be good for both of them if they can stay together.'

'Can we go now?' Cindy asked as she walked back into the kitchen, Fiona following her. 'Please?'

Lisa chuckled as she stood up, knowing that they'd finish their conversation about the girls later. 'Alright Cindy, yes.' She looked at Fiona. 'I can take you to see her too if you want, as long as it's okay with Rebecca and Maggie.'

'Its fine by me Fiona.' Rebecca gave her consent as she stood up. 'We'll be heading to Calgary tomorrow so-'

'I'll see her.' Fiona quickly interrupted. 'Thank you, Mrs. Stillman.'

'You can just call me Lisa, Fiona, and no problem.' She grabbed her phone and handbag off the bench, grabbing her car keys too. 'Let's go.'