Glitter Trail
By Solo Rider
Chapter Six
Katiy took a deep breath and glanced at her brother nervously. Alan was staring at the wall straight ahead of him, ignoring everyone around him. Jake was sitting beside him, looking at his hands, not offering Katiy any support. Sam got the feeling that Jake thought that Katiy was the cause they had been chased by the truck, and he was mad at her.
"I don't know who they are, or why they want us, but they won't stop until they have Alan and I. They followed us here from Alberta, and they'll follow us wherever we go. They hurt anyone who tries to help us, and if we don't leave tonight, they're going to hurt you guys." Katiy said, staring Dad right in the eye. How, Sam didn't know, she was never able to. But she got the feeling Katiy was trying to get Dad to understand the urgency of the situation.
"I need more information." Dad said. Both Katiy and Alan stared at him in surprise. Glancing at Alan, Katiy answered.
"That's all we know, that's all the information you're getting." Katiy said. Sam didn't realize it right away, but her hand flew up to her mouth in shock. Jake even looked up quickly at Katiy, and then over to Dad, watching to see what would happen. Neither one of them could believe that Katiy had spoken to Dad like that. By the look on Dad's face, he couldn't believe it either.
They sat in silence, no one knowing what to say. Outside, the wind had picked up, and its howling was the only noise beside the steady rhythm of Blaze's breathing as the dog dozed near the door.
"You have to know more than that." Dad insisted. Katiy shook her head. Sam noticed that Alan rolled his eyes, as if they got told that often.
"Well we don't. Believe me, if we did, we'd let you know!" Katiy said, her voice filled with anger and frustration. Dad stared at her for a second before glancing at Brynna. Brynna just shook her head, and Sam knew she was telling Dad to drop the topic.
They all sat in the kitchen in silence. Sam didn't want to admit it, but she was terrified. They could've easily died back there, and their horses had been running so fast that a single misstep could've caused them to go down.
Sam looked up when the door opened, and jumped when Si came running, Pepper right behind her.
"Si!" Alan cried, jumping to his feet and covering the distance to the dog in two great steps. He immediately knelt down and hugged the black dog. Si barked happily and licked his face, causing Alan to laugh. Everyone was watching them with a smile when there was a knock on the door.
"Hello folks." Sheriff Ballad said, taking off his hat. Everyone but Alan and Katiy responded in a chorus of hellos. As Sheriff Ballad took a step towards the table, Si jumped up and started growling, her golden eyes locked on the Sheriff.
"Si, quit!" Alan said sharply. Immediately the dog's ears dropped and she licked Alan's hand.
"Hello, I'm Sheriff Ballad." The Sheriff said, holding out his hand to Alan. Alan just stared at it until Sheriff Ballad let it fall to his side.
"I'm Alan and that's my sister Katiy." He said, nodding towards Katiy, who was staring intently at the ceiling above Gram's head.
"I'd like to ask these two some questions." Sheriff Ballad said, glancing at Dad. Dad nodded and gave Jake and Sam a look that clearly said, get out of here. Both Sam and Jake rose immediately and left the house, with Pepper right behind them.
"Man are those two weird or what?" Pepper asked when they were getting close to the ten-acre pasture. Sam couldn't help it, she smiled. It felt good that at least one person wasn't all tense and worried after what had happened.
"Yeah, but they're good with horses." Jake said. Both Sam and Pepper stared at him in amazement. Jake rarely said a compliment about anyone, especially not two strangers he'd just met!
"What, they are!" He said when he saw their looks. Sam and Pepper didn't say anything; they just looked away from him to the horses in the pasture.
"I had a hard time getting that bay mare in that pasture." Pepper said, nodding towards Socks. The mare was watching them with her ears pricked forward and almost a glare.
"Yeah, Alan mentioned that she had an attitude problem." Sam said. Pepper laughed loudly, and Sam and Jake stared at him.
"An attitude problem? She has way more than that! She has some trust issues. She kept backing away with her eyes rolling like she'd been abused everyday of her life!" Pepper said. Sam stared at Socks intently, confused.
"Well it can't be Katiy or Alan who's abusing her. It's obvious that Socks loves Katiy, and she doesn't act like that around Alan." She said. Jake nodded, and all three of them stared at the mare.
Finally, after what felt like hours, Sheriff Ballad came out of the house with Dad. From the sounds of it, they were making plans for something. Sam didn't want to eavesdrop, so she stayed by the pasture.
Finally, Sheriff Ballad left, and Sam could go ask Dad what was going on. Jake and Pepper stayed near the pasture, and Sam almost wished they would come with her. But she knew they wouldn't, it was none of their business.
"So, what happened?" Sam asked softly as she approached Dad. Dad sighed and leaned back so he could stare up at the starry sky.
"Well, Sheriff Ballad and I decided that right now, this ranch is the safest place for these kids. Up in Montana once, the police up there kept the kids in a cell to keep them safe, and whoever was after them got into the cell and nearly killed them. Their dog is the only reason they're still alive. At least here on the ranch, if the people after them show up, they won't be cornered." He said, sounding unsure of the decision. Sam couldn't believe it. She was fine with Alan and Katiy staying with them, but Dad's decision could put them all in danger. Sam started to say so, but Dad interrupted her.
"Now don't start on me about everything that could happen, I already know. But there's no where else for those kid to go, and I can't just let them go back out on the range. Why, Katiy's only your age, and Alan is about Jake's age. If someone was after you two, I'd want a family to take you guys in." He said. Sam stared at the ground, feeling ashamed of herself. She hadn't thought of it like that.
"Now come on, we better go make them feel comfortable around here." Dad said, putting his arm around Sam's shoulders and leading her into the house.
Author's Note: Okay this chapter is really short, but hey, at least it's an update! I don't like this chapter, but I think the next one will be better. And sorry again for taking so long to update, I've had so many problems with my horses. Right now my mare has a deep cut on hoof that could've used stitches, but we didn't discover it in time, so yeah. That's why I wish I could keep them at our place. Oh well…