Hi all,

Hope you enjoy the cliffhanger this chapter ends on... *Chuckles*

Enjoy!

Chapter 42.1

'Jessie.'

'Ugh, Cindy. It's not morning.'

'Oh, it is.' She giggled, grabbing a lock of the girl's hair to tickle her nose with. 'Wakey wakey.'

'Ciiiiinnnnnndddddddyyyyyyyy.' Jessie groaned, pushing her away and she pulled her pillow over her head. 'How on earth do you have so much energy?'

'I had a good sleep.'

'Glad someone did.' She'd been up three times to feed the kittens during the night. 'Just five more minutes.'

'But you promised yesterday that you would take me on your morning ride with Warrior.' She pretend pouted. 'Jessssiiiiieeeeee. Pwease.' She used her cutest tone, begging her to hurry up and get out of bed. 'You promised.'

'Alright, alright.' Jessie groaned again as she kicked the covers off. 'Go get dressed.'

'I already am.'

As she wiped the sleep from her eyes she could see that Cindy was indeed dressed and ready to go riding. 'Okay, okay. Just give me a moment.' She yawned, pushing the covers and a grumpy mountain lion off her. 'I'll be down in a minute, can you go feed Cougar for me? You'll need to put the milk on for the kittens too.'

'Sure.' The girl gently picked up the kittens in their box, Cougar following hot on her heels as she headed towards the door. 'Come on girl.'

Jessie flopped back down on her pillow after they left, staring up at the ceiling in the dim dawn light. Part of her felt better having come to a decision about if she should ask Scott about the photo, the other part just made her feel sick to her stomach. She couldn't really even put into thoughts how she was feeling. Confused, nervous, anxious? A mix of all those and more? It was probably the best way to describe her emotions in that moment.

She sighed, still staring up at the ceiling. Lying here ain't going to change nothin, and you did promise Cindy to take her with you on your morning ride with Warrior. With a groan she got up, this time actually making it off her bed and to her wardrobe. Her hands were still sore, reminding her they were still healing as she struggled to get her shirt buttons done up but she managed to get herself dressed without much more trouble and quickly headed out to join Cindy downstairs.

'Milk's on.' Cindy whispered as Jessie walked into the kitchen. 'And Cougar's eaten her breakfast.'

'Thanks.' She took a seat at the table, gently pulling the kittens out of their box and placing them on her lap. Miracle meowed sleepily, blinking her blue eyes and she couldn't help a tiny squeal of excitement. 'Their eyes are starting to open.'

'Oh really?'

'Yep. Come see.'

Cindy left the stove and came over, the older girl holding Miracle up for her to take. 'Oh, you are opening your eyes.' Gently she took the kitten, holding her close against her chest. 'Your so so so cute! Look at you!'

Jessie chuckled at Cindy's fawning over the kitten, it was really cute to see. 'I'll grab their milk. You think you'll be okay to feed her by yourself?'

'I think so, I mean, I think I'll be okay with them.'

'Alright, well you can try feeding her by yourself today, I'll take care of Hope.'

'Okay.'

'You finished breaky girl?' She glanced over at her mountain lion, getting up to grab the milk off the stove to feed the kittens. Cougar purred loudly, rubbing against her legs as she took a seat beside Cindy to feed Hope. 'Here.'

'Thanks.' She took the syringe and Miracle eagerly looked for the milk, wrapping her paws around it as she began to drink. 'When will you start them on a bottle?'

'Today probably actually, thinking about it.' Cougar sat down beside her, watching as she fed Hope. 'They're big enough to handle a proper bottle now.'

'You two sound like a pair of baby sparrows chattering.' Jack exclaimed as he joined them in the kitchen, heading straight for the coffee machine. 'Did you guys sleep well?'

'I slept like a baby kitten.' Cindy replied, refilling the syringe up with more milk after Miracle had emptied it. 'But I couldn't stay in bed a moment longer when I remembered that Jessie promised to take me out with her and Warrior this morning.'

He chuckled, filling up the coffee machine and turning it on. 'What about you Jessie?'

'I'm glad someone can sleep around here, these guys were quite demanding last night.' She let the kitten choose how much more milk it wanted to drink then placed her on the floor so Cougar could clean her. 'I swear you could sleep through a hurricane Cindy, these guys were creating quite the racket last night.'

'You guys wouldn't create a racket, would you?' She asked the little kitten as she held her up then put her down on the floor with her sister. 'Their eyes are opening now Jack.'

'Oh Lord help us, they'll be into everything soon.' He couldn't help the smile on his face as he watched the two kittens trying to walk on wobbly legs, Cougar watching over them protectively. 'Won't be long and they can live outside.'

'Awe.' Jessie looked over at him, using those puppy eyes. 'But they'll be cold outside and they'll be lonely. Besides, Cougar stays in the house. They'll get jealous.'

'I can tell this is a battle that I won't win.' Jack sighed, pouring himself a hot cup of coffee now that the machine had finished. 'Alright, alright, they can stay in at night time but you can't keep them cooped up in here all the time.'

'Okay, no problem.' She placed the things she'd used for the kittens' meal in the sink to be cleaned, placing the kittens back in their box after Cougar had cleaned them. 'Do you mind washing up that stuff for me Jack?'

'It's no problem, you girls go on and I'll tidy up. I know Cindy is just dying to go ride.' The two girls headed towards the mud room to get their coats, wide smiles on their faces. 'Just take is easy Jessie, remember-'

'My hands.' She interrupted him, putting on her jacket after she'd put her thick gloves on to protect her bandages and her burns. 'I won't forget and Cindy will make sure that I take it easy, won't you Cindy?'

'Yep.'

Jessie glanced back over at Jack. 'See?'

'Alright.' He chuckled. 'You girls have fun.'

'We will.' Cindy remarked back as they headed out the door, a thin line of sunlight coming over the horizon. 'It's so pretty here. It's nothing like the city.'

'Do you like living in the city?'

She shrugged, keeping pace with her as they headed across the yard to the barn. 'I didn't know any other life before, I always lived in the city as long as I can remember but coming out here, all this-' She motioned around at the scenery behind the ranch. 'I love it out here. It's just so different from the city. So peaceful and quiet.'

'Oh, it's not always this quiet, especially not when Tim and Jack get going.'

'I can imagine.' She chuckled, opening the door to the barn. 'What's it like living here?'

'Jack and Lisa are the best.' Jessie walked over to Warrior, patting the stallion as he poked his head over the stall door. She rubbed his forehead thoughtfully. 'They've given me so much and not just in material things. I'm happy here Cindy, for the first time in my life I can genuinely say that I'm happy, even with everything that has happened the last week or so.'

'Good. I'm glad.' She placed her hand on Jessie's arm, giggling as Warrior blew softly on her face. 'Warri!'

'How is it being back with your grandma?'

'It's been great, but-' Her voice trailed off as she became unusually sober. 'I'm just really worried about her. She says that she'll be okay, that this operation she has to have isn't anything major but it's on her heart Jessie, that has to mean it's something, right?'

'I don't know to be honest Cinds.' Warrior nudged her again, asking for more pats. 'But I'm sure that she'll be fine, whatever is going on.'

'She doesn't like to talk about it, she says I'm too young.'

'And that makes you more worried.'

She nodded. 'Yes. I don't want to lose her Jessie, she's all the family I have.'

'She'll be okay Cinds.' Jessie placed her arm around her, hugging her warmly. 'I know it's hard, but you'll make it through this. You just have to think positive thoughts.'

'Like you need to about you talking to the vet?'

'Yeah, exactly.' She smiled despite of the nervous flutter in her stomach. Warrior snorted, bringing her back to reality and she let go of Cindy, opening his stall door. 'Alright, I think this boy wants to get back at it.'

'You want me to grab his tack?'

'Do you think you can carry it?'

'Yep.'

'Alright then, bring it over.' She turned back to the stallion as Cindy headed over to get her saddle, clipping on his lead rope that had been hung on the hook outside his door. She led him out, tying him up and grabbed a brush. Cindy struggled slightly with the heavy saddle, placing it down on a hay bale next to them. 'Thanks.'

'What happened to your old saddle?' She frowned, seeing that even though it had Warrior's bridle on it, the saddle wasn't hers. 'I got the wrong saddle.'

'No, that's the right saddle. Warrior's one got slightly ruined in the fire. Lisa took it to get fixed for me since I obviously can't do it myself at the moment.'

'Oh, yeah.' Cindy fell quiet again, running her hand over Warrior's neck. 'Who got the horses out?'

Jessie felt a shiver run up her spine, focusing her attention on brushing Warrior's back. 'Ah, me.'

'You?!'

'Yeah.' She replied after a slight pause. 'That's how I burnt my hands, didn't I tell you that before?'

'I don't remember.' Cindy looked at her. 'I should have guessed, you were always so brave. Of course you'd have had no problem saving the horses.'

'I didn't feel brave Cindy.' Warrior nudged her again as she swapped sides to finish his quick grooming session. 'I've never been so scared in my life.'

'But-'

'I'm not always brave Cindy, I'm only human like you.' She smiled, placing her hand on the girl's shoulder. 'I'd rather not talk about the fire, if that's okay.'

'Alright. Sorry I brought it up.'

'It's okay Cindy, you didn't mean any harm.' Jessie grabbed the saddle cloth and placed it on Warrior's back then went to put his saddle on. Lifting it up to place it on his back she winched, almost dropping the saddle as she felt the pull in her shoulder. 'Ouch.'

'Jessie.' Cindy rushed forward, grabbing the saddle as the older girl almost dropped it. 'You okay?'

'Yeah, it's just my shoulder.' She winched, rolling her shoulder as Cindy held the saddle. 'It still is a bit sore.'

'Maybe we shouldn't go ride.'

'No, I'm fine. I'll just need you to get the saddle on him.'

'Me? I'm too short.'

Jessie chuckled, unclipping the stallions lead and asking him to bow. 'How about now?'

'That's better.' With a slight struggle the girl got the saddle on his back and stepped back to let the stallion stand again. 'You want me to do it up?'

'You remember how to do it?'

'Yep.'

'Okay then, you cinch him up and I'll put his bridle on.' She grabbed the bridle, glancing over at the girl as she put it on her horse to make sure that she did the saddle up properly. 'Yep. That's it.'

'See?' Cindy placed her hands on her hips, a hint of mischievousness coming to her eyes. 'I told you I knew how to do it.'

'Yes, you did.' She picked up the reins, double checking to make sure that the cinch was tight enough and the breastplate was placed correctly. 'Alright, let's head out.' She handed her the reins. 'Lead on.'

'Your letting me take him?'

'Yep. I'll ride behind you.'

A huge smile came across her face. 'Thanks Jessie!'

'Your welcome, now come on, before I change my mind.'

'Haha.' Cindy led him out of the barn, climbing up into the saddle with a little help. Jessie climbed on behind her, her arm around her waist. 'You ready?'

'Yep. Let's go Cinds.'

'It's so beautiful.' Cindy exclaimed in amazement as she watched the sunrise from the Overlook a little while later with Jessie. 'I've never seen anything so pretty.'

Jessie chuckled, relaxing her hold on the girl and gave her stallion a pat for a job well done. 'I come up here every morning to watch the sunrise, I think this has to be probably my most favorite spot on the whole ranch.'

'I can see why.' She dropped the stallion's reins, allowing him to graze while they admired the scenery. 'I wish I had thought ahead to bring my camera, Grandma would love to see this.'

'We can grab a photo for her tomorrow Cindy, it's no problem.'

'Really?'

'Yep.'

'Better make sure you set that alarm clock then, wouldn't want you to sleep in.' Cindy glanced back at her, grinning cheekily.

'Cinds.' She punched her arm playfully then ran her hand over Warrior's warm hide again. The sunlight cast a warm glow on her face as it started its ascent into the sky, bathing the hill they were on in its morning light. 'It's so gorgeous and peaceful here, this is where I come to think, to figure things out. Somehow things just seem different from up here, they make sense. I can just be alone to enjoy something by myself for a few minutes before the day starts, allow myself to get myself prepared for the day.'

'I can see it's a special place.' The girl agreed. Jessie was right, there was something about this place that made it easy to think and figure things out. 'Thank you for sharing this-' She motioned around them. 'With me.'

'Your welcome Cindy.' Jessie smiled, looking down at the ranch house below them in the distance. 'I don't think anyone else comes up here this early, they all like to sleep in.'

She laughed, picking up Warrior's reins again. 'They aren't ones for early mornings?'

'Only Jack, the girls like their beauty sleep.'

'Have you brought Lisa up here to watch the sunrise?'

'Nope, only you.'

'Well, that makes me feel special then.' Cindy chuckled again. 'Alright, where do we head now?'

'Wherever you want to go, I don't mind.'

'Maybe we could head back then? I'd love to go around the barrels with you if that would be okay.'

'Sure, we can do that if you want.'

'Brilliant.' Gently she lifted Warrior's head and turned him back towards the trail to the ranch, nudging him into a canter as they found the track. 'Did I tell you that my grandma was in the rodeo?'

'No. She was?'

'Yep. She told me when I mentioned about you going in the rodeo. Apparently she did quite a bit of barrel racing, and was good at it too.'

'Really? I wonder if she's got any tips for me.'

'I could ask her.'

'Great.'

'She'd love to come watch but I don't think she's going to be able to.' She sighed, slowing Warrior to a trot as they went through a gateway then urged him on into a canter again. 'I don't know if I'll be there either.'

'Well, I'm sure Lisa can work something out and if not, I'll get her to video my run for you.'

'Still won't be the same as being there.'

'No, I know but at least you'll be able to watch me and Warrior kick some butt. We're going to kick butt, aren't we boy?'

Cindy chuckled as Warrior snorted. 'I don't know what kind of answer that was.'

'The 'Whatever you say' answer I'm thinking.' She gave him a pat then placed her arm around the girls waist again so she didn't fall off. 'We'll swap places when we do the barrels, okay?'

'Yep. I was guessing we were going to do that anyway.'

They traveled on in silence again, Jessie letting the girl take in the scenery as her thoughts started to distract her from her surroundings. What was Scott going to say when she asked him about the photo? How did he know her mother anyway? What did he know of her? Could he tell her about her family history? She couldn't remember anything about her mother's family, she didn't even know if she had grandparents or not. Then, the little reminder of doubt came to mind. Did she really want to know? What if she did have family that was alive? Could they make her go and live with them, taking her away from all this?

Cindy glanced back at Jessie, knowing well that look on her face. She'd seen it countless times back at the foster home. 'What's on your mind Jess?'

'Oh, just some things-' The girl's voice brought her back to reality. 'How much did you hear of what I said to Jack and Lisa last night?'

'Not much, I didn't mean to be there. Don't be mad at me.'

'I'm not mad at you Cinds.' She was quick to assure her. 'So don't worry about that, okay?'

'Okay.'

'Good.' She fell silent for a moment, wondering how to explain to her what was going on without her asking a whole bunch of questions. 'I think Scott may have known one of my family members, I've known for a couple weeks about it but with everything that's happened I'd forgotten about it until recently. Lisa's going to ring him this morning and ask if he's free to come over so I can talk to him.'

Cindy nodded, wondering which family member she was talking about but she could still hear Jack's explanation in her mind about Jessie's past. 'I thought we were going to go shopping though, for your rodeo outfit.'

'We're going to do that tomorrow, I think Lisa already has something figured out.'

'Oh, alright then.'

'Something wrong with that?'

'Not really, I was just looking forward to going shopping. Grandma hasn't been able to take me out to do much lately, I've got some pocket money I want to spend.'

'I'm sure we'll find something for you to spend it on tomorrow.'

'Okay.' She slowed Warrior to a trot as they came into the ranch yard, the sun high enough now that the ranch was bathed in its morning light. 'Woah boy.' She stopped him at the arena gate, looking at Jessie. 'Swap?'

'Yep.' Jessie gave her a hand to get off, climbing into the saddle as Cindy opened the gate and let them in, closing it behind them. Warrior snorted excitedly, his ears pricked as he looked at the barrels. 'You ready Cindy?'

'You bet.' She climbed up behind her, wrapping her arms securely around her waist. 'I've never done this before.'

She chuckled, letting Warrior trot over to the 'box' and she glanced back at her as he stopped, getting excited for his run. 'You ready?'

'Yep.'

'Hold on tight.'

'I am.' Cindy giggled with anticipation. She'd seen videos of barrel racing and was dying to have a go of it for herself. 'Come on already.'

'Okay, okay.' Jessie laughed, Warrior tossing her head as she gathered him to spring forward. 'Easy boy, easy-' She waited for a moment then dropped the reins and let him go. 'Go!'

Warrior leapt forward, galloping towards the first barrel. She slowed him slightly as they came into the turn, ignoring Cindy's laughter as she concentrated on her horse. The stallion came out of the turn, speeding up again towards the second barrel. Quickly she got him to change leads in preparation for the turn, slowing him slightly to make it around. They came out of the second turn, Warrior changing leads back to the right in between the second and third barrels.

'Go go go!' Cindy encouraged as they came out of the third turn, laughing as the wind blew her hair back, Warrior racing towards where they'd started. Suddenly, the stallion pulled up and Jessie looked back at her, a huge grin on her face. 'That was awesome!'

The older girl chuckled, seeing the light in her eyes. Cindy had enjoyed that, no doubt about it. 'Want to go again?'

'You bet!'

'Hello?'

'Lisa!' Cindy exclaimed, looking over as the woman walked into the barn, dropping her brush she'd been using on Warrior to go and give her a hug. 'Hi.'

'Hey.' She replied, a little surprised but she returned the girl's hug and then glanced up at Jessie. 'Hi honey.'

'Lisa.' Jessie slipped the headstall off Pegasus and left his stall, joining them next to Warrior. 'I see someone has already made her claim on you.'

Cindy chuckled, making a face at her. 'Beat ya.'

'It would seem so.'

'Cindy, why don't you go see if you can find Mallory. I was hoping to talk to Jessie for a moment.'

'Okay.' She shrugged. 'But don't you disappear without me getting to say goodbye.'

'I won't.' Lisa promised as Cindy skipped out of the barn, turning back to Jessie. 'Someone is in good spirits.'

'Yeah.' She agreed quietly, watching as Cindy joined Ty and Mallory at the corral fence to watch Amy working with one of the client horses. 'She's really worried about her grandma but she tries to hide it.'

'Like someone else I know.' She touched the girls cheek gently. 'How are you going?'

'I'm okay, I think.' Jessie replied, the two of them walking back to Warrior so she could finish grooming him down and turn him into his stall. 'Did you speak to Scott?'

'I did. He's going to be here at ten.'

She glanced down at her watch, it was a quarter too. 'What did you say to him?'

'I just told him you wanted to speak to him about something, he was okay with that.' She gave Warrior a pat as Jessie finished grooming him down. 'You think you'll be okay to go ahead with this?'

'Yes.' She answered after a slight pause. 'I want to know. You'll be there with me, won't you?'

'Of course.'

'Good, I think Jack is out with Caleb, he said something about a fence being down when he came to get Paint this morning.' Jessie untied her horse, leading him into his stall and let him go. Warrior instantly went for his food bucket as she walked out and closed the door behind him, looking at her watch again. 'I need to feed the kittens, can you give me a hand?'

'Sure.' Lisa agreed, the two of them heading to the house. She could hear the kittens faint meows as they walked in, stopping to take their coats off. 'Need a hand Jessie?'

'No, I've got it.' She took her gloves off then undid her buttons and placed her coat up on the rack. 'Won't be much longer and I won't need to wear these much longer. If I don't manage to hurt myself again in the near future, I might be injury free.'

She laughed, heading into the kitchen to get the kittens formula started. 'You've certainly been in your share of the wars lately, haven't you?'

'Yeah, not by choice I might add.' Cougar walked in to greet her, rubbing her head against her. 'Alright, alright. I'm here now to go take care of your babies.'

'She's really taken them on as her own, hasn't she.' Lisa remarked as Jessie and the mountain lion headed into the living room to grab the kittens.

'Definitely. She doesn't let them out of her sight.' The kittens meowed hungrily as she carried them in their box to the kitchen and placed them on the table. 'Their eyes are opening.'

'Awe, cute.'

'Here, you keep this one occupied while I get this one ready.' She handed Hope to her, the kitten meowing hungrily as it nuzzled into Lisa's hand. 'I can't believe how big they're getting.'

She saw the small bottles on the bench, smiling a little as Hope tried to suck on her fingers. 'You using bottles with them now?'

'It'll be their first time so that's why I asked for some help. Hopefully these guys will take easily to the switch.'

'I think they will, they'll do anything to get their meal.'

'Yeah.' Jessie chuckled, placing Miracle back in her box so she could fill their bottles. 'When are you going back to France?"

'Trying to get rid of me already Jessie?'

'No.' She protested with a teasing laugh. 'I'm just wondering.'

'Well, it won't be till after the rodeo at least.'

'Okay, so I've got you for a few weeks then.'

'Yep, you and Jack are stuck with me I'm afraid.' Lisa sat down to feed Hope, taking the bottle that Jessie handed to her. Hope meowed, looking for the milk as she gave her the bottle, the little kitten latching onto the teat hungrily. 'Well, she doesn't have any problem with a bottle.'

'I can see that.' Miracle was waiting for her, trying to walk on her shaky little legs and she picked her up gently, sitting down to feed her. 'So, are you and Jack going to do anything while you're here?'

'I haven't even thought of that, things have been rather hectic, I haven't had much time to think.'

'You and Jack should do something, I know a lot of your time has been taken up with me lately. I feel a little bad about that.'

'Don't honey, there's nothing for you to feel bad about.'

'Yeah but still, I don't want to be in the way of you two spending time together. It wouldn't be fair to you guys.' Miracle drank her fill, completely emptying the bottle by the time she was finished. 'Man, you were a hungry lil girl.' She placed her down on the floor so Cougar could look after her, smiling as she watched the kitten try and take a few steps. Miracle managed two shaky steps forward before her legs gave out under her and she meowed a loud complaint. 'Oh Miracle.'

Lisa laughed, placing Hope down with her sister. 'I'd forgotten how much fun kittens are, it's been a very long time since I've been around kittens.'

'They certainly know how to put a smile on one's face, that's for certain.' She glanced up as she heard a knock on the door, heading to go get it.

'No, I'll get it Jessie, you watch these two.'

'Okay.' Jessie agreed, keeping an eye on the kittens as Lisa went to the door. She could hear Lisa talking to Scott, looking up as they came into the kitchen. 'Morning Scott.'

'Hi Jessie.' He replied, looking at the kittens on the floor. 'These two still keeping you busy?"

'Yeah, now that their eyes are opening they're going to be getting into everything.' She laughed hollowly as she picked the kittens up and placed them back in their box to sleep. 'They just had their first feed from a bottle.'

'Would you like some coffee Scott?' Lisa offered as she went to grab herself a cup.

'Sure, that would be nice.' He was still wondering what was going on, Lisa hadn't said much on the phone other than that Jessie wanted to speak to him. The girl seemed a little distant, distracted as she tidied up the kitchen. 'So Jessie, you wanted to speak to me?'

'Yes.' She replied, her heart pounding as she took a place at the table across from him, her hand absentmindedly looking for Cougar. The cat came over closer to her, placing her head under the girl's hand. 'Scott, there's been something on my mind for a couple weeks now, since you checked Warrior over for me that time. You remember how you asked me to get your wallet for you when you left it in the house?' He nodded and she took a deep breath before she continued. 'Well, a photo fell out of your wallet when I picked it up. A photo of my mother.'

Scott sat in stunned silence for a moment, looking at the girl. Why didn't I see the coloration before? He grabbed his wallet from his pocket, pulling out the photo he knew she was talking about. 'This photo?'

Jessie nodded, gulping. Lisa came over, handing Scott his mug then took a seat beside her, placing her hand reassuring on her knee. 'I was wondering how you knew her. I don't know much about her, she died when I was little. How do you know her?'

He took a deep breath, wishing he'd been a bit better prepared for this unprecedented turn of events. 'Jessie, she's my mother too.'