"What do you mean, Sugarfoot collapsed?" Stephen stood up

Jonathan caught his breath and explained, "We were walking him and Trinity back to the stables. We had just taken a quick ride down to the lake since it's almost dinner and he just collapsed on us. Russell has already called the vet."

Jennifer, still holding Riley, ushered her over to the sofa, "Baby, it's okay. I'm sure he'll be fine." But the look she gave Jonathan and Stephen, the one that Riley couldn't see as Jennifer held her to her chest, said she didn't believe that, horses don't just collapse when they're fine

"Darling, you and Riley stay here and Stephen and I will go back down to see what the vet has to say." Jonathan said

"No, I want to see Sugarfoot." Riley protested through her tears

"Sweetie, the vet will be looking at him. We should stay here. If we're all there we'll just be in the way."

"Jonathan, why don't you both stay with Riley and I'll go down there." Stephen suggested and Jonathan agreed

Jennifer pulled back and looked at Riley, wiping her tears, "Now, why don't we go upstairs and rest? Pa, can you have Walter hold dinner for a while?"

"Of course." He replied, "I'll go tell him then head down to the stables."

"Come on, Riley, let's go on up." Jennifer said

"But Sugarfoot." Riley said

"The vet will take care of him." Jennifer insisted, "This has been very upsetting for all of us and I, for one, am exhausted."

Riley reluctantly stood up, "Okay."

"Darling, I'll wait here for Stephen to come back." Jonathan told her

"Alright." She said kissing him on the cheek

He watched the two of them leave the room with a heavy heart. Sugarfoot was Jennifer's favorite horse and if she weren't pregnant she probably would have been the one riding it instead of Riley and would have been the one with her when it happened. Riley had been allowed to ride Sugarfoot the first time they came to visit Stephen for Christmas the previous year. No one had ridden him but Jennifer, not even Stephen. But when Riley saw him she instantly fell in love with him. Even though it was 'just a horse' this would be another loss for Riley if Sugarfoot wasn't okay. He was also suspicious of the whole thing. The last time this had happened was at their ranch a couple of years earlier with a new horse Tom Raintree had given Jennifer, Cocheese. It was poison, not enough to kill, but this made Jonathan nervous. He poured himself a drink and waited. Now more than ever he wanted to keep his family safe.

/

A short while later Stephen returned and Jonathan was still in the study waiting. As soon as Jonathan saw him he knew. Stephen just shook his head.

"What happened?" Jonathan asked

Stephen sighed heavily, "Dr. Walsh thinks Sugarfoot was poisoned."

"Oh God." Jonathan muttered

"He took blood samples and they took him to do an autopsy." Stephen explained

Jonathan ran his hand through his hair, "I guess I better go tell Riley and Jennifer."

Stephen nodded as Jonathan left the room. As he reached the upstairs he found them in their bedroom, Jennifer's old room. Both fast asleep. Jennifer had Riley in her arms and she rested her head on Jennifer's chest and one small hand rested on Jennifer's belly. He could see that belly rise and fall with her breathing. He had always loved watching his wife sleep. She was always gorgeous but there was something about the sunlight on her early in the morning as she slept that had always made him smile. But watching her now, full of their child and holding this young girl in her arms so naturally, he had never loved her more. As she most often did when he watched her sleep, Jennifer sensed someone's eyes on her, and stirred awake. When she saw it was him she smiled, gently pushed Riley back onto the bed and quietly got up going to where Jonathan stood in the doorway.

In barely as whisper she asked, "What did the vet say?"

He looked at her with those eyes, "Darling, I'm sorry but he's gone."

"Oh no." She said quietly

"The vet thinks he poisoned." Jonathan explained, "They took blood and are doing an autopsy."

"What?" Jennifer asked incredulously still maintaining a whisper

"What's going on?" Riley sat up rubbing her eyes; once she saw them concern clouded those eyes, "Is Sugarfoot okay?"

They both moved over to the bed and Jennifer sat down on the other side and put her arms around Riley and Jonathan sat on the end.

"No Riley, he's not." Jonathan explained softly, "He's gone."

"No!" She cried, "You're lying!"

Jennifer held Riley closer, "Sweetie, I'm sorry. I know how much you loved him. I loved him, too." She rocked her back and forth

Riley looked at Jonathan again, "You said he'd be okay, you both did. Now he's gone and I didn't even get to say goodbye. You wouldn't let me see him."

"Riley, the vet was with him. We had no idea this would happen." Jonathan tried to explain

"You promised he'd be okay but he isn't." Riley pulled away from Jennifer, "You lied!" She cried and ran out of the room

"Riley." Jennifer got up and started to follow her

"Darling, let her go." Jonathan gently grabbed her arm, "She's upset. Let her calm down."

Jennifer signed heavily and sat down on the bed, "She's so angry."

"Well, look at all the losses in her life. Her mother, father, Monty, Constance." He explained, "To her, this is just one more in a long line and she may be precocious but she's just twelve years old."

"I know." Jennifer agreed, "But how are we going to make any more headway with her? We had come pretty far in the past few months. She was a wreck, and understandable so, when we got her. She was so defensive, as if she didn't want to let anyone else in for fear of losing them."

"I know and it took a lot to break down that wall. You were so patient with her." He acknowledged, "We'll just have to keep working on it."

She nodded in agreement, "Let's go downstairs and check on her."

He nodded and they left the room heading downstairs. They found Stephen shutting the front door.

"Where's Riley?" Jennifer asked

"My darling, she tore out of here a few minutes ago before I could even stop her. She may have gone to the stables or the dock. I don't know."

"The dock?" Jennifer asked alarmed, "It's almost dark. I better go find her."

"Darling, you don't need to walk down there." Jonathan hated to seem overprotective but he worried over her

"Jonathan, I'll drive the truck." She glanced at the hooks by the door and saw the keys. Grabbing them she turned back to Jonathan, "I'll be fine, Darling. I'm sure I'll find her and be back soon." She kissed his cheek and left the room

/

After checking the stables and not finding her Jennifer drove down to the dock. She found the girl sitting and she could tell by her posture she was still angry. How many times she herself had sat there like that because she got mad at one of her parents for some reason or another. Usually over something she wasn't allowed to do. The girl turned to look at the sound of the truck approaching and as Jennifer got out she turned back to the lake.

Jennifer approached her and eased herself down to sit beside her, "It's nice and quiet here isn't it?"

She just nodded

Jennifer had to smile to herself, the girl reminded her of herself at that age, "I used to come here a lot growing up when I was angry. I always thought my parent didn't know where I had gone because they never came after me but I think they knew."

Riley turned to look at her, "Why did you say Sugarfoot would be okay?"

Jennifer sighed, "Because, sweetie, I thought he would be. I probably should have said I hoped he would be. We didn't know what had happened. That's why Dr. Walsh was here."

Riley looked as if she was considering what Jennifer had said, "Why did he die?"

"We don't know why just yet." She explained, "Dr. Walsh will find out for us. But it might be a while."

"I'm sorry I yelled at you and Mr. H." Riley said, "I didn't mean it."

Jennifer put her arm around Riley, "I know." She kissed the top of her head, "It hurts when we lose someone or something we love, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does." Riley replied

"You know, I wasn't much older than you are now when I lost my mother." Jennifer explained, "I was angry for a long time over it."

Riley pulled back to look her in the eye, "You were?"

"Yes, I was." She confirmed, "And I lost someone else I loved very much."

"Who?"

Jennifer exhaled sharply, she had to consider sharing this with her, she was just a child, "Riley, if I tell you, you have to promise to keep it between us, okay?"

She nodded, "I promise."

"Well, you don't know this but this isn't my first baby." Jennifer explained

A look of confusion clouded Riley's face, "It's not?…but…"

"A few years ago I was pregnant but I lost the baby." Jennifer explained, praying she wouldn't lose it."

"You did?" She asked clearly shocked, "What happened?"

"Well, we had just found out about it and we we're so happy. But one day I felt really bad and had cramps and so I called Jonathan and then an ambulance. We got to the hospital and when the doctor examined me he said I had what's called a miscarriage. Do you know what that is?"

"I think so but I'm not sure."

"It means something went wrong and the baby didn't live." She again wondered about explaining something like this to a child but how many women have older children, have miscarriages, and the children know, "Usually it happens very early because that's when the baby is most at risk."

"Could something happen? I mean, again?" Riley asked cautiously

"Well, it probably could but the chances are much less now that I'm farther along. The baby is growing and stronger." She explained, "But I was very angry and sad about losing the baby. It took me a long time to really talk about it, even with Mr. H. It also took me a long time to think about wanting to have another one."

"But you are." She said

Jennifer smiled, "Yes, once I talked about it I was able to see things better. I was scared to try again for fear it would happen. But I couldn't keep letting be afraid keep me from trying or loving another baby."

Riley was silent, processing what Jennifer had said, "So I shouldn't let losing all the people I've lost keep me from loving other people." She asked after a few minutes

"That's right." Jennifer said, "Loving is always worth the risk."

Riley looked up at her, "I love you." She paused a moment, "Mom."

Jennifer wasn't expecting that and tears formed in her eyes, "Are you sure you want to call me that?"

"Yeah, my real mom died when I was two, you know, so I don't really remember her." She explained, "I never had anyone else to call that and well, that is what you are now, ain't it?"

Jennifer laughed, despite being deeply touched, "Isn't, my little firecracker." She corrected and Riley laughed as well

She paused for a moment to collect herself looking into eyes that had harbored more pain that anyone so young should have to endure

"I love you, too, baby."

After a moment they got back in the truck and headed back to the house to find and anxious Jonathan and Stephen waiting. Riley ran to Jonathan's open arms.

"I'm sorry." She said barely a whisper, "Daddy."

He pulled back in astonishment, "Daddy?" He then looked to Jennifer and she just smiled

"It's okay to call you that, a-I mean, isn't it?" She asked, "Mrs. H, I mean Mom and I talked about a lot of stuff and I decided I wanted to...I mean, you are my daddy now, right?"

Jonathan nodded, unable to speak then hugged her again, "Always."

Stephen smiled at his daughter, proud of her for how well she obviously handled the situation, "Well, is anyone else hungry? Walter is going to be sorely offended if we do not dine on the meal he worked so hard to make and we won't hear anything from Dr. Walsh tonight."

"Then let's eat." Jonathan stood up and wiped his eyes

Riley and Stephen went ahead and Jennifer followed but he gently grabbed her arm, "Hey."

"What?" She asked

"You are amazing." He said with a twinkle in his eye

She bit back a grin, "Ain't I just?"

/

The next morning Jennifer and Riley both slept in and were getting ready when the phone call came in regarding Sugarfoot. Stephen hung up and looked at Jonathan.

"It was poison." He said, "The blood test confirms it."

"Confirms what?" Jennifer appeared with Riley in the doorway of the dining room, already suspecting what he meant

"Darling." He looked at her and Riley, it was still new in a way, having to consider a child when discussing these things, "Sugarfoot was poisoned. It was Arsenic."

"But why would someone want to hurt him?" Riley asked, near tears, "You'll find out, won't you, Daddy?"

Jonathan went to her and hugged her close, "I'll try, baby. I'll try."

TBC