Untitled Adam 12 Story Chapter Four
Andrew Mitchell, who had entered his home through a side door, made his way into the living room, was elated to see his old high school friend who was sitting on the couch visiting with Camilla Mitchell who was sat in a nearby chair. A grin spread from one side of his face to the other as he held out his hand while exclaiming, "Pete! It's so good to see you! You haven't changed much through the years!"
Pete was too polite to admit that, if his mother hadn't shown him a picture of the Mitchells-one that was in the local newspaper-he'd never had recognized the man's face. Instead, he simply stood up and took a hold of Andrew's hand, shook it heartily and said, "It's good to see you too, Andrew. Been a long time...since when did you become interested in horses?"
"Folks around here call me Andy, feel free to do the same if you want. If not, Andrew is still my name." He then gestured towards his wife, who was wearing an amused smile on her face. "You can thank Camilla when it comes to the horses. Only way I could get her to go out with me was to go on a horse ride with her. Word to the wise," he chuckled, "If you've never ridden a horse before, don't make the first time a five hour ride."
Pete couldn't help but start laughing at the picture that came into his mind. "I'll remember that."
"I see you've met my wife, Camilla." Andrew sat down on the arm of the chair his wife was using while Pete sat back down on the couch.
"Yes," Pete looked towards a door that stood in the corner of the living room, "Along with your youngest two children. I can hardly believe you have six children." He said as he remember Mrs. Mitchell listing the children's ages and gender.
"Yeah, a far cry from what I once thought I wanted." Andrew chuckled. Have you met our 'daughter', Mandi? Well, Amanda unless she says different. She should be around here somewhere."
"Yes, we met when I first arrived. Though, the way you said daughter. I'm guessing she's not yours biologically." Pete answered, feeling sure he was right. Andrew wasn't old enough to have a child in their twenties.
"No, but she started working for us a number of years ago." Andrew admitted. "We became close so, when her parents were killed when the helicopter they were flying in went down when she was seventeen, we let her move in and continue working for us." Just as he finished speaking Amanda walked into the living room.
Pete couldn't hide his surprise; the woman who had been dressed in a plaid shirt, jeans and boots now stood in the living room in none other than a police uniform.
Amanda and the Mitchells couldn't help but chuckle. "Guess no one told you I only work part time on the ranch due to my part-time work as a police dispatcher for our sheriff's office. Though," Amanda shook her head slightly. "I don't know why they ask me to wear a uniform. It's not like we're in a large city or anything." She then looked at Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell. "Don't expect me home until eight. Samantha had a wedding to go to. I told her I'd cover part of her shift. That way she wouldn't have to rush back. Nice to meet you Mr. Malloy."
"Name's Pete, Mr. Malloy is my father." Pete smiled.
"All right the, nice to meet you, Pete." Amanda then excused herself, saying she didn't want to be late to work.
"She's a good one." Camilla sighed. "Just wish she'd find someone."
"Don't fret about her. Mandi knows her mind and knows what she wants. She's not going to settle for just anyone." Andrew stood up. "I have horses to feed, want to come with me?" He looked at Pete.
"It's a bit out of my field, but why not?" Pete stood up and followed his friend out to the stable that stood not a hundred yards from the back of the house.
"That ride you talked about must have been some ride." Pete said as he stepped inside the stable and looked around. There was a number of stalls, bales of hay stacked up against the wall, and some crates stacked throughout the building.
"The scenery helped." Andrew winked. Naturally, his comment had Pete and himself laughing. Once their laughter subsided, Andrew made sure Pete knew he hadn't switched his lifestyle just for his wife. "I don't know when it exactly happened only, over time, I fell in love with horses and this land long before I knew how much I loved Camilla and asked her to be my wife. How about you? Anyone serious yet?" Andrew asked as he started feeding the horses.
Pete thought about Judy and how close he'd come to asking her to marry him. That is, until he realized he really didn't love her. "No, not dating anyone either."
"Well, if you'll believe me when I say I'm not asking you this just in hopes to match you up with someone-which I'm not-I have an invitation to give you." Andrew stepped away from the horse he'd been feeding.
"That would be?" Pete asked cautiously.
"There's a town social tomorrow night. There will be good music, good people and good refreshments. I promise, no match making." He jokingly held up his hand as he made the promise.
"If it's the town social my mother mentioned before I drove over here, my
parents and I were already planning on going." Pete told him, and then went ahead and joined him in feeding the horses. He almost asked if Amanda was going to be there or working, and then decided against it. The last thing he wanted was to give Andrew any wrong ideas. He was sure if he did that, the gentleman would never let go of it...and Camilla might just get some ideas into her head. The was the last thing Pete wanted to happen. After all, she looked a bit young for him.
"Good, it will be fun." Andrew grinned as he continued working.