Guess what? Update time! You can all thank Neon-Night-Light (author of "The Thorns Of Love") for making me feel so guilty about not updating for the past eight months by updating her own fabulous fanfic, that I immediately pulled up MATFP and got back to work. I know it's been forever since I updated, and it probably seems like I just gave up, but I promise I didn't! I'm kind of stuck on how to unravel the mystery, because there are two options: (1) I can take the Lois Gladys Leppard path and introduce some completely random character at the end who will effectively tie up all the loose ends and explain the mystery (I love her, but that always drove me crazy!), or (2) I can go with the somewhat less 'yeah, riiight' option and bring back a familiar Mandie character (I just won't tell you who. It will be a major surprise!)—tell me what you think of the two options, and if you all prefer the LGL option, then I'll stick with it.

I am going to respond to all your reviews for Chapter 7, even though it's been a while, since they all mean so much

Neon-Night-Light: thank you! I lovelovelove your Mandie fanfic, so it means a lot for you two have such a good opinion of mine! I'm glad you noticed my character depth—I've always felt that LGL created such enjoyable characters, but never brought all of them to their fullest potential. I mean, Jonathan can be hilarious, but we don't always get to see him at his comical best, as he's often shunted aside for another of Mandie's friends. The same goes for Sallie—she's often outshadowed by Celia, which is too bad, because I've always really liked her. And don't worry, if this story does feature a Joe/Mandie kiss (still not too sure about that), it will be at the end; I think we can safely assume, though, that that will be for a later story.

Rebecca34(guest): thank you! I will continue writing it (even thought it might not have seemed like it for awhile!) And as always, the best compliment I could ever receive is that it sounds like one of the books—glad you like it!

BostonBruinsRule(guest): thank you for each of your reviews! I'm so glad you laughed out loud for Chapter 4—the original books always made me laugh, and that was something I especially wanted to bring to my fanfic. Thank you so much!

I ate All. the Pie: thank you! Really glad you liked it! Enjoy the update!

Guest: really sorry for the long wait, but here it is! Enjoy!

Mandie and Joe continued to track the lurker, Mandie more determined than ever to figure out who it was.

"Do you think they know who we are?" Mandie asked Joe as they checked for disturbed undergrowth and bruised leaves.

"No, I don't," Joe said, after thinking it over. "Whoever it is hasn't gotten close enough to see our faces."

"But then why were they following us?" Mandie argued.

Joe shrugged. "I don't know. That's why I want to find out who it is. Maybe they were just curious. They obviously don't want to be discovered, though."

Mandie bit her lip, trying to decide whether or not to voice her suspicions. There seems to be something familiar about him, she thought. "Joe, you don't think…" she paused. "The deerskin jacket…"

Joe looked at her, surprised. "You think he's an Indian?"

Mandie shrugged, feeling almost guilty for suggesting it. "I just thought… well, he seems almost familiar to me."

Joe frowned thoughtfully, raking his fingers through his hair. "Lots of people wear deerskin jackets, Mandie," he reminded her.

"I know," Mandie said. "It was just an assumption. I'm probably just being silly."

"I don't know about that," Joe replied. "If you felt like you recognized him… but what would one of your Cherokee kinspeople be doing up here in the mountains, so far from the reservation?"

Mandie shook her head. "You're right, it doesn't make sense. Besides, they wouldn't have run from us if they knew us."

"But, we can't be sure they recognized us," Joe reminded her.

"Well, anyway, this isn't even the way we travel to the reservation," Mandie observed. "No one would have come this way."

"Good thinking," Joe agreed. He paused, "And if it had been one of your relatives, why would they hide from you? That doesn't make sense."

"You're right," Mandie acknowledged. "I don't know why I didn't think of that."

Joe smirked. "Unless it was T'sani," he pointed out. "This is the kind of trouble he usually likes to stir up."

"Now, really, Joe," Mandie reprimanded him, frowning. "I wish you would at least try to get along with T'sani, especially if we're going to be with him for a few weeks."

"I'll try and get along with him as long as he doesn't make things difficult for us, like he always does."

Mandie decided to drop the subject. She couldn't force Joe and T'sani to become friends, just like she couldn't force Joe and Jonathan to become friends. They would have to work it out by themselves.

"This is hopeless!" Mandie declared, after they had gone on a little farther. "I can't find any more tracks. I wish Uncle Ned were here."

"We can't give up yet," Joe said. "I want to know who keeps following us." He backtracked a few steps to look for anything they might have missed. "Nothing," he said resignedly, after a few moments. "I guess we really did lose whoever it was."

Mandie sighed. "We probably got distracted when we were talking," she said in disappointment. "Oh, this is so frustrating!"

Joe shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "We might as well head back to the others," he said. "They'll be wanting to go home soon."

"Alright," Mandie agreed, "but tomorrow, we're coming back up here with Uncle Ned. Let's see if he can make any sense of this."

"We'll do that," Joe promised. He turned and began pushing back towards the way they had come. "I hope the others didn't miss us," he said.

"They're probably still busy climbing the rocks," Mandie answered, shrugging, as she followed close behind him. "I doubt they even noticed that we left."

"Maybe," Joe said. "How's your ankle?" He held back a branch so she could pass in front of him.

"It's fine," Mandie said, ignoring the slight pain it was still giving her. "I'll soak it and wrap it when we get home. It's just a twist, I'm sure."

Joe frowned. "I hope so, because if it's a sprain, walking all the way back to the house will only make it worse."

She glanced over her shoulder at him and gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I think I can tell a twist from a sprain."

He fell in step beside her and gave her a doubtful look. "Maybe, but it might be better if I carried you."

Mandie felt her face heat, and turned so he wouldn't see. "That won't be necessary, really, Joe," she protested. "I'm fine."

"Alright, if you say so," Joe replied uncertainly.

"You worry too much," Mandie said, shaking her head.

"Someone has to worry about you," he pointed out, "since you're too busy to do it."

"You sound like my mother," she said, a little annoyed. "I can take care of myself."

"Oh, really?" Joe said skeptically.

"Yes!" Mandie insisted emphatically. "I don't know why I have to keep telling everyone."

He grinned. "You don't have to get angry."

"I'm not angry!" she denied hotly.

"Yes, you are, your face is getting all red," he insisted, still smiling. "And you're glaring at me."

"Joe Woodard, you are impossible," Mandie snapped. "You're just trying to make me mad."

"It's working," he pointed out.

"No, because I'm not mad," Mandie countered, quickening her pace. His long legs matched her stride easily, and he continued to grin down at her.

"Stubborn, too," he teased.

She clenched her jaw and refused to reply.

"Alright, fine, I'm sorry," Joe said, though he looked like he was struggling not to smile. "You're not angry or stubborn and you can take care of yourself."

She snorted and ignored his slight smirk, brushing past him ceremoniously as he held another branch out of her way.

They continued on silently, and Mandie struggled to ignore the increasing ache in her ankle. She wished she had taken Sallie's advice and rested on the rock, instead of going on this wild goose chase. She noticed Joe giving her a cautious side-glance and immediately straightened up, not wanting him to make a big deal out of her ankle again. She'd crawl the rest of the way before she let him carry her, she resolved.

"We're almost back," Joe said, offering her a hand as she climbed unsteadily over a fallen tree. She grasped it thankfully, using it for support as she dropped to the other side.

"They should be just beyond that old tree," Joe continued, pointing ahead. He continued to hold her hand, but she was too tired to argue, and it helped her keep more weight off of her ankle.

"I don't hear anyone," she said, frowning, as they neared the tree Joe had pointed to.

He shrugged. "Maybe they fell asleep."

"That's ridiculous," Mandie said. "Why would they do that?"

"Okay, well, maybe they're listening for us to come back," he suggested. She let go of his hand and quickened her pace again, resolutely ignoring the protest her ankle made. "Come on," she said, "this doesn't feel right."

"Mandie, slow down," Joe said, jogging after her. "I'm sure they're fine."

She ignored him and skirted around the tree, before bursting into the clearing. It was empty. The rock she had been sitting on was still abandoned, and Celia, Sallie, and Jonathan were nowhere to be seen against the face of the jutting rocks.

She heard Joe skidding to a halt behind her. "Don't put so much stress on your—" he stopped. "Where are they?"

Mandie shook her head. "I don't know. I can't even hear them."

"Well, there's no need to panic," Joe said firmly. "They probably just continued exploring the rocks. You know Jonathan—he has no sense of time."

"But how far could they have gone?" Mandie asked, frowning. "It's not like Celia to be overly adventurous, and Sallie would have known it was getting too late to keep going."

Joe shrugged. "Jonathan probably coaxed them. He's good at that."

"This is no time to joke, Joe Woodard!" Mandie said, folding her arms. "Who knows where they went!"

"It's okay, Mandie, take it easy," he said reassuringly, grasping her arm. "They either decided to head home without us when they noticed we weren't here, or they kept along the cliff edge."

"What if they thought we went home?" Mandie asked.

"Then they would go home to, and there would be nothing to worry about," he reasoned. "What do you think?

She frowned, thinking it through. "Let's follow the cliff face," she decided. "I just don't think they would have gone home without us."

"Alright," he agreed. He took the lead and Mandie followed, attempting to force back the feelings of unease. Don't get worked up, she told herself. They were probably fine, and heading back this way even as she and Joe looked for them. Joe was right. There was no need to panic. Still, as she followed Joe over and around the towering rocks, she couldn't help feeling that something wasn't right—first the mysterious stranger who kept following them, and now her friends' disappearance. Something was going on, she was sure of it—but what?