The Tax Collector

by,
Julia S.


Part 1

It was an early Saturday morning, and the Circle C was just waking up. Outside, that early morning calm we all know and love was blessing earth with a taste of heaven. 
Inside the Carter home, it was an entirely different story. 
 The Carter family was gathered around the dining room table, waiting to begin breakfast. Well, let me rephrase that. MOST of the Carter family was gathered in the dining room. Upstairs, a series of fast, light footsteps and loud thumps could be heard from Andi’s room, along with the occasional, “I’ll be down in a minute!, “Where’d I put them...” and sometimes an, “Ow! Why are my (books, boots, etc.) on the floor?”
Finally, an impatient Chad poked his head into Andi’s bedroom. “Andi, are you coming? Justin has to get to town, and what with the whole two days of straight rain and all, Mitch and I’ve got a lot to get done.”
The exasperated thirteen-year-old, still in her nightgown, wriggled out from under her bed. “I can’t find my overalls!” She cried despairingly.
Chad shrugged. “So wear a dress.”
“On a Saturday? Are you loco? How am I going to ride Taffy in a DRESS?”
“There’s this thing called a sidesaddle...”
Andi glared at him.
“Andi, just wear it till breakfast is over. I have more important things to do than wait for you to find something in this bottomless pit.”
Andi sighed, but did as she was told. That, she thought grumpily as Chad left, is a perfect example of how NOT to start your Saturdays. 
It turned out that Andi didn’t end up needing her overalls, Justin couldn’t get to town, and Chad and Mitch weren’t able to go outside at all that morning. Why not?
It was raining. Not just your typical rainstorm, where it poured buckets for about five minutes, then stopped abruptly, but sheets and sheets of pounding rain, so thick that you couldn’t even see from the window to the stable. It kept on for, what felt like to Andi at least, hours and hours and hours.
Andi was sitting alone by the window, her head in her hand, watching the rain. Justin had disappeared into his bedroom to prepare for a case that was going to court next week, Melinda was sitting on her bed reading a book, and Mother had gone upstairs to write a letter to Aunt Rebecca, telling her once again that Andi was perfectly fine here on the ranch and didn’t need any polishing at a fancy school. Mitch and Chad were playing checkers a little ways away, but Andi wasn’t in the mood to watch.
“Of all the days for rain,” She muttered, “Why did it have to be Saturday? Couldn’t it’ve been Monday? I wish...” She never finished voicing what she wished. 
But she didn’t finish what she wished. Right then and there, someone started banging urgently against the front door. Mitch stood and went to answer it.
“If it’s one of the hands, Mitch,” Chad said, “Tell ‘em they’re crazy to be out here.”
Mitch grinned at his brother, then opened the door. He stood there staring out into the rain for so long that Andi considered going over there herself to invite whoever it was in.
Finally Mitch cleared his throat.  ”What in... Who are...? Never mind, come on in. No, come on, it’s alright.”
Chad looked over suspiciously. “Mitch, who’s out there?”
Mitch beckoned to whoever it was, then finally stuck out an arm and pulled it in gently by the shirtsleeve.
Andi couldn’t help staring. Standing in front of her was the most bedraggled boy she had ever seen.
He wasn’t wearing shoes, just socks, and they were covered in so much mud that Andi wasn’t sure what color they were. His pants were too short, though apparently they were too big, because there was a rope wrapped around his waist which seemed to serve as a belt. His shirt was so wet that it stuck to him like a static blanket. His face was mud plastered with little rivers of raindrops running down to his chin, past his rimmed eyes, bright red nose, and chattering teeth.
But what made Andi have to bite her tongue was his hat. His hat!! It was huge on him, but the strings were right up against his chin, like a sunbonnet. For a few minutes, they all just stood there staring at each other.
Finally, Chad cleared his throat and turned to the kid. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
“I want a job.” The boy’s voice was deeper than Andi would have suspected since he looked even younger than she was.
Chad folded his arms across his chest. “You didn’t answer my question.”
The kid smirked. “Yeah I did- answered your question. I just avoided the one I didn’t feel like answering.”
Chad’s expression grew darker. “Look kid, if you’re looking for a job, then tell me your name. If not, town’s that way,” He jerked his thumb towards the door, “So go save me the trouble of taking you there myself.”
The boy’s shoulders slumped ever so slightly, but he kept his sullen, defiant (yet cold) expression. “Name’s Anthony, Tony for short. I’m from a stink hole in New York, more commonly known as Brooklyn. I’m thirteen years old, fourteen sometime in June. I’m five feet and five and a half inches but I’m stronger, smarter, and faster than any hand you got on this ranch. That enough for you mister?”
Watching Chad’s face and eyeing the boy, Andi doubted that last part. Chad eyed him with something akin to disgust, then suddenly seemed to change his mind. “We’ll give you a trial run.”
The boy grinned victoriously. “Pleasure doin’ business with ya, Boss.”
 Chad wasn’t finished. “And since you walked all the way out here in the rain, it won’t hurt you to walk out to the bunkhouse.”
Tony’s smirk didn’t disappear. “Sure thing, Boss,” He shot back. He seemed to know that Chad was challenging his impertinence. And just like that, he went swaggering out into the thundering rain.
As soon as the door slammed shut, Mitch grinned. “He’s going to end up being a challenge.”
“Don’t I know it,” Chad muttered, the disgust on his face now evident in his voice.
Andi looked at her brother, confused. “Then why’d you let him stay?”
Chad laughed ruefully. “I’m doing the kid a favor. He hasn’t got a lick of sense about how to treat authority and I want to give him a chance to learn.”
“Good luck with that,” Mitch’s comment earned him a questioning glance from Chad and he shrugged. “You’re gonna need it.”
Chad opened his mouth to retort, when Joselito suddenly burst through the door, sopping wet and panting. “SeƱor Chad? There is a strange boy, outside by the stable. He is just lying there and I--”
Mitch darted out the door, followed by Chad who threw an “Andi, stay here!” Over his shoulder.
Being the obedient young lady that she is, Andi followed him outside into the pouring rain. Outside it was like trying to look through a dozen sheer curtains. Andi could just make out Chad and Mitch bending over a limp form and she ran over to them. Lucky for her, they were too busy to notice her.
Struggling through the rain and the crowd of hands that had surrounded them at the first shout from Joselito, Chad scooped the boy up easily and ran with him into the stable, everyone else close behind him. 
The warmth of the stable was welcome after the quick, cold shower, and Chad laid the kid down gently on a pile of hay. He felt his forehead, checked his pulse, then looked up grimly. “As soon as the rain stops, I’m moving him into the house,” He said quietly to Mitch, “His breathing’s irregular, he’s burning up, and I keep thinking he’s going to hack up his own lungs. I think he might have influenza.”
“That explains his voice,” Andi muttered, looking at the pale, shivering form below her, now conscious enough to cough right in Chad’s face. 
One by one the rest of the hands disappeared back into the rain. About a half an hour later, it stopped, and Chad picked up Tony and carried him into the house. “Andi, go and get Mother,” Chad said as he hurried up the stairs.
Andi ran to Mother’s room and burst through the doorway to find her seated at a desk, still writing.
Elizabeth Carter looked up calmly as her daughter waited to catch her breath. “What is it, Andrea?”
“One of the hands passed out, and Chad’s putting him in the spare room.”
 Her mother looked at her in alarm. “In the house? Why not the bunkhouse?”
“He’s new,” Andi explained hastily.
Elizabeth Carter looked puzzled. “Still, why in the house?”
Andi shrugged. “Chad’s been acting loco since the kid showed up at the door.”
Her mother stood and headed down the hall, Andi following close behind. “Kid? He’s a younger man then? About twenty?”
Andi choked back a laugh. “You’ll see.”
Andi sat with her head in her hand, watching Tony sleep. She had volunteered to keep an eye on him so that Chad would sleep for a few hours. It had been four days since Tony had showed up at their door, and while Mother had decided he didn’t have influenza, but he wasn’t exactly healthy.
When he tossed and turned, Andi could see his ribs through his shirt and every time he coughed, it sounded like his lungs were filled with pea soup or molasses.
Apparently he was bluffing about how strong he was, she thought ruefully. It was strange enough that this boy, with his coarse, black mane plastered to his forehead, was in their house. Stranger still was Chad’s sudden change of heart. His notion of teaching Tony to mind authority seemed to have fled and instead, he was taking care of him like he was his own brother. Chad, Andi thought, had almost worn himself out over the past two days, what with running the ranch and spending every waking moment taking care of Tony.
Andi stared blankly out the window, turning things over. It wasn’t like Chad to act so compassionate to a total stranger. Not like Chad at all. Most likely, he would’ve let one of the hands take Tony to the bunkhouse and take care of him there.
Like a normal person would, Andi thought with a laugh.
Movement in the bed made her glance in that direction. The limp figure opened his eyes for the first time in four days, blinked, and slowly sat up. Tony stared at Andi through squinted eyes. “I feel terrible,” he said bluntly, before falling back onto the pillow with a dull thud. 

Tony’s POV
I have to admit, up until this point, I’ve found that my acting is pretty decent. For example, that whole thing with sticking a lit match inches from my forehead to make it seem like I had a fever, then passing out in the rain- beautiful. I made sure to shiver at the right times and I even skipped breakfast, dinner, and supper for a whole week to add to that whole malnourished back-street orphan look I’ve already got going for me.
But to be honest, I was dying. All I’d eaten in the past four days was a cup of soup, and most of that had ended up spilling out of my mouth! I figured four days was enough, especially since that old fella had brought me into their house. This would be easy as pie, I’d thought with my eyes closed, I’ll just get up now and carry out plan A. 
That’s when I sat up, opened my eyes, and realized that that slip of a girl was watching me. What’s a poor, sick fella to do but fall backwards in “exhaustion”? Immediately, she dashed down the hall to get that old fella, what’s his name? Chris? Anyways, Chris showed up and asked me how I was feeling in a real worried tone, and I rasped out that I felt fine in a tone that clearly said I wasn’t and wanted to get to work as soon as possible ( that cold I had had earlier in the week was working wonders for me, not to mention the fact that my voice was cracking too).
Chris looked at me like I was crazy. “You want to what?” He asked in shock.
“I wanna start workin’,” I repeated wearily, closing my eyes.
Chris snorted. “You can’t even keep your eyes open. Hold it together, kid. You can get to work as soon as you don’t pass out because of a few raindrops.”
“Hey!” I glared at him, and he rumpled my hair. Darn hair never lays flat, even when people don’t mess with it. Chris turned to the girl. “Andi, I’m sending Mitch to town for a few things. Want to go along? I bet you Cory’d appreciate a visit, and Taffy needs some exercise.”
The girl named Andy bounced on her toes in delight. “Really? Thanks, Chad!” (Ohhhh. Chad.) She bolted towards the door, then turned quickly and waved to me. “Hope you feel better, Tony!”
I gave a feeble wave and closed my eyes.
Chad felt my head then grinned. “Good news, kid. I think your fever’s dissipating. Another day or two, and you’ll be good to go.”
Dissipated?
He  noticed my look of confusion and chuckled. “Your fever’s gone.”
I gave a small nod in recognition, then close my eyes again. I needed more matches. “Thanks,” I mumbled as he headed out the doorway.
“Now that you’re awake, Luisa and Nila are in the kitchen if you need anything, but the rest of us aren’t going to be in the house. You alright?”
I nodded and turned. “Just....gonna.....sleep,” I muttered quietly. I waited till Chad’s footsteps finished patting down the stairs then smirked.
What a dunce.
What kind of fella tells a strange kid he has free run of the house? My luck seemed too good to be true.

Part 2
Tony’s POV
Once I heard Chad slam the front door behind him, I swung my legs shakily out of the bed darted out of the bedroom and up to the first closed door I found. I knocked and when no one answered, I let myself in. 
It looked frilly, to sum it all up in one word, and I grinned. A girl’s room meant jewelry, and unless people in California were crazy, it would be worth a lot if I could get my hands on it. Sure enough, I found a silver locket, which I shoved in my pocket.
There were a few other little things too, but I decided that one necklace would be enough if I was going to get out of here alive. Besides, there were five other rooms, and I knew from experience that it wasn’t good to take more than you could run with if you’re planning on not paying for it. 
The other four rooms were obviously grownups’ rooms, but I found five whole dollars and another locket in one of them.     
The last room I went into was a wreck.
Everything was everywhere. It took me forever to find something that even resembled a jewelry box, but I finally found a small wooden box and opened it. Inside, I found a gold locket, but that wasn’t all. It was filled with all kinds of neat trinkets and things I would’ve been willing to take just because they were amazing. I fingered the different treasures for a long time before picking up the locket and shoving it into my pocket. 
I guess I fingered them a little too long. 
I heard a gasp from the doorway. Staring at me in open-mouthed shock was the girl named Andy, with a boy I didn’t recognize. The three of us just stood frozen there for about five seconds before I decided something. I wasn’t gonna get arrested because of some slip of a girl and her beau.
I charged out the door with so much force that Andy fell over. The boy grabbed at me, and he almost had me for a minute, but what I lack in height I’ve always made up for in speed. Quick as a flash, I jumped on the banister and slid down. Lucky for me, I have experience with fire escapes, and I landed with a soft thud on both feet.
By now the boy and the girl named Andy were shouting at me to stop. Andy was yelling for Luisa at the top of her lungs as I bolted right out the front door, leaving them far behind. It was then that I realized I had made a mistake. I hadn’t eaten in four days, and I already felt myself shaking.
I looked around frantically, then slipped into the stable to catch my breath. I think the horses sensed my nerves, especially this one palomino mare. Let me tell you, she was perfect. I’d seen horses in Brooklyn, sure, but they were skinny and sickish and bad-tempered.
But this horse? I wanted her. I wanted her real bad, and not just because she was perfect. I also wanted her out of necessity. I was ready to collapse right there on the stable floor, and a horse would make my life way easier. I walked slowly towards her, unsure of what to do, so I held out my hand, hoping it’d calm her down a little. 
It didn’t. 
She sidestepped nervously, eyeing me with distrust. Well, horses aren’t the only ones I’ve seen do that. I tried talking to her. “C’mon, girl, I ain’t gonna hurt ya. C’mon, please? I need a lift.” I said it real soft and gentle, but she didn’t move.
I would’ve tried again, but the click-clacking of feet made me scramble frantically up to the haymow. I lay there, breathing heavily, and when I heard their voices, I think my heart stopped. It was Chad and a grumpy old fella, and they were talking about me.
“You know I trust your judgment, Boss, but that kid--- you don’t just hire a boy like him out of the blue.”
Chad didn’t say anything.
“I’m not one to question you, but it’s too much. Why that kid of all people? If he’s even telling the truth, the city’s no good, and boys like him who show up at your door got ‘thief’ written all over them. Just give ‘em the opportunity and they go farther than you thought possible.”
There was a long pause before Chad replied, but when he did.... Gee, did he sound mad. Ya would’ve thought I was his brother or something. “Look, Sid, I have to admit, he seems rough. But that’s why I hired him. That’s why I brought him into my own house. The Bible says that ‘the healthy have no need of a doctor’, and you can tell just by looking at him that the kid’s not healthy-- physically or spiritually- and so he needs a doctor. I don’t trust him as much as I’d like to, but I think I’ll trust him more as he heals.”
The grumpy fella started to say something, but Chad interrupted. “Jesus didn’t spend his time around the righteous, Sid. He spent it with the tax collectors.”
I felt my pulse pick up and suddenly felt the slightest finger of regret wriggle through my mind. Chad trusted me. He wanted to help me. No one, ever, had ever wanted to do that. I didn’t know what he meant with that last part. My only experience with Jesus was with hearing His name used as a swear word in the streets, mumbled under the breath of the person next to me.
For a minute, I almost wanted to come out, admit what I’d done. I’d make things right, and stay here and work like Chad thought I had planned all along.
No! my brain shouted firmly, It’s too late. Besides, you don’t need pity, and help is pity. You’re on your own and that’s how you like it. Independent, remember? Which was true.
After they left, I bolted down the ladder and out the other door that they had come in. I was leaving. That was that. 
But I had changed my mind.  I wasn’t taking that horse. 
I ran as fast as I could without killing myself, which worked pretty well for me, until I hit a wall—a breathing, grumpy wall that looked at me with surprise, disgust, and satisfaction all at once.
“Well,” the grumpy fella said, collaring me, “and what are we doing out and about? I was under the impression that you had a case of influenza.”
“I don’t. Boss says it’s just a cold,” I explained, throwing on my defiant smirk, “I’m meeting that girl named Andy—”
“MISS Andi to you, boy.”
I rolled my eyes. “MISS Andi then. MISS Andi wanted to show me something and I figured fresh air’d be nice, so I accepted.” I swear those lockets were getting heavier by the second.
“Did she now? Funny, I thought she was with her brother in town.”
I shook my head. “Just got back,” I said innocently.
 Grumpy looked at me suspiciously, then let me go, glaring at me over his shoulder. As soon as he was twenty yards away, I saw Andy and the boy come dashing out of the house, shouting and pointing at me. 
This wasn’t good. 
Throwing caution to the wind, I dashed off, feeling the ground slowly disappear from beneath my feet as I flew. I could hear hooves pounding s distance away, but I didn’t turn to look behind me.
I knew I couldn’t outrun horses, so I tried swerving and cutting through the rougher parts of land where horses couldn’t go. My head began to pound after only five minutes, but I kept going.
After about an hour, I looked behind me and couldn’t see them or the ranch anymore. I knew that should’ve worried me more than anything, since it meant that they were probably going to trap me, or get a sheriff, but I was too out of it to care. My legs couldn’t hold me up anymore. I collapsed to my knees by the bank of a creek, breathing heavily.
Then it happened. I had told myself over and over while running not to lose what little food that was still inside me, but as soon as I stopped moving, it all came up. Everything. Then I dry heaved a few times before crawling over to the creek and gulping down water by the mouthful. I gasped for breath when I had drunk my fill, then returned to clutching my stomach.
That finger of regret turned into a hand that wrapped itself around my brain. Look what happened because of you, it said. You had a chance to turn back, but you denied it. I took a deep shuddering breath as it hit me. Avoiding help didn’t give you independence, and stealing so that you could live definitely didn’t either.
Instead, I was trapped, and I couldn’t disappear into a crowd of people like I could back in New York.
“So.”
One word. One cold, small word that made me whip around so fast that I landed sitting down in the dust.
Andy was standing there, arms folded, eyes flashing. The boy with her looked confused and furious. 

Andi’s POV 

Andi walked slowly towards Tony, wanting nothing more than to pommel him into the ground. “Like it here?”
The boy didn’t answer.  
She continued, “This is my favorite spot. I come here pretty often. You know,” she said, after a pause, “Chad and Sid aren’t too far away. I could just yell for them, and they’d come running. They’re looking for you about a half mile from here. In fact, they’d all come running. You’ve led our whole ranch on a wild goose chase.”
She suddenly lost all self-control. “Why? Why’d you do it? Mitch was so welcoming when you first showed up. My mother let you stay in our house when you collapsed. And Chad? Chad’s been kinder to you than anyone else. He carried you into the house, he sat with you all night when you were sick, and now he’s beating himself up, all because of you. Before we all left to catch you, he looked like he’d seen a ghost. I had to slap him to bring him back!”
Andi paused, took a deep breath, and looked closely at Tony.
He was breathing hard, eyes on the ground, and still hunched over, both arms wrapped tightly around his stomach. Andi had expected him to smart mouth her, but he didn’t. It seemed as though all that cock he’d showed up with at the door four days ago had ran off and left him in the dust.
When Tony did look up, Andi stared at him in something akin to amazement. He looked hunted, beaten---he looked terrified. And then he said two words Andi had never expected him to say, two words that made her absolutely furious.
“I know,” he whispered huskily.
“You know? Well, do you know that the locket you stole from me was a present on my twelfth birthday? I want it back.”
Tony didn’t answer, just looked from one to the other.
Andi was furious and Cory looked more than ready to whale the hide off of him. Suddenly, Cory took a deep breath. “Look, we need answers, alright? Can we just talk with you?” 

Tony’s POV
I groped for my confidence and gave the fella a small smirk. “How do I know I can trust you?”
“Well, was my family able to trust you?” Andy shot back at me.
Bad move, I told myself, bad move.
The other fella shook his head. “No, you can’t trust us. But you don’t really have a choice right now, so you?”
“What’re you talkin’ about?” I asked coldly.
The fella looked at me. Seriously? he seemed to say. You’ve barely moved since we got here.
I rolled my eyes. “Fine,” I mumbled, sliding over so that my back was against a tree.
The boy sat next to me. Andy sat next to the boy. It was all quiet for about five minutes before the boy cleared his throat.
I felt trapped and I hated it.
“My name’s Cory. I guess you deserve that much.”
I smirked- for real this time. “Oh, much obliged, your honor,” I retorted.
He rolled his eyes.
“Well?” That came from Andy.
I sighed. “Where do you want me to start?”
“Who you really are,” Andy said coldly.
I shrugged. “I told ya my real name.”
“Your last name.” I rolled my eyes. “Anthony Regalio.”
“Are you really sick?”
“No.”
“Do you have family?”
I paused. A long pause. “No.”
“Are you really from Brooklyn?”
“Yeah.”
“How’d you get out here?”
“Stole a rich fella’s wallet and took the train. First-class too.”
Andy stared at me in shock. “Why’d you steal from my family?”
I shrugged. “It’s what I do.”
“What?”
“It’s what I do.”
Andy started to say something else, when Cory turned to me. “Why don’t you start at the beginning?”
I snorted. “Why should I?”
He held my gaze evenly. “Because maybe something in it will work to your advantage.”
Good point. So, I began at the beginning, just like they wanted...
”My ma and pa were both from Italy. I had one older brother. Everything was good until Pa caught tuberculosis. He didn’t make it and Ma caught it right after he did, two weeks after, to be exact. After that, Angelo and I had to leave our apartment and strike out on our own. For a while there, we were good. We’d sell papers together (I always outsold him) and we’d get ourselves in and out of the craziest situations.
“When Angelo was seventeen, he stopped selling papers and went to work at a factory. Two weeks later, the fool got himself killed. He had backtalked the fella in charge and had gotten moved to a different area of the factory. One night, he didn’t come home and I knew he was gone. I knew I was on my own now.
“Selling papers was all well and good, but I hated not knowing when I’d get a square meal, so I took to stealing. At first it was little things--- a loaf of bread, an apple from a street peddler. Things like that. But then I tried pickpocketing. I realized that if I ran into someone with a stack of newspapers, they’d fly all over the place and distract whoever it was I ran into. I did pretty well, only getting caught in the act five times and only getting arrested twice.
“Those were probably the worst months of my life. I think they make jail cells reek on purpose. Well, I finally got it into my head that I was leaving, so I stole my fare and jumped on the first train to California. I wandered around the cities a little, but I knew I didn’t want to stay there, so I headed out this way.
“By now that fella’s wallet was obviously empty, but I couldn’t get a job because everyone thought I looked too weak. So, I decidedt o do what I did best. This was my first robbery though,” I finished, staring at the water.
Cory and Andy were both quiet. I could tell that they hadn’t been expecting that. It hadn’t even crossed my mind that I could’ve lied to them, but what good would it have done me anyway? My story finished, I attempted to stand, supporting myself with the tree.
That’s when Andy spoke up. “Just because you’ve lived in a life of crime doesn’t mean you can’t stop it now,” She said firmly, “And before you take off--”
I looked at her in disbelief. “You’re letting me go?”
“You’re letting him go?” Cory’s eyes were larger than doughnuts.
Andy nodded.
“But... Why?” The words stuck in my throat.  
”Because. But before you take off, give me back my locket.”
I shrugged, reached in my pocket, and pulled out the locket. Darn. Wrong locket.
Andy’s eyes opened in disbelief, then her gaze turned hard. “I want the other lockets too,” She said.
 So I handed her the lockets. Lucky for me, she hadn’t said anything about the five dollars. I would’ve given it to her--- I really would’ve. But how was I supposed to get out of here without money?
After I had handed them over, I still stood there, partly because I didn’t have the strength to run yet, and partly because I couldn’t believe that they were letting me off so easily.
“Why aren’t you calling your brother?” I asked, trying to tame the shaking in my legs, “I don’t need pity. I’m fine.” As soon as I said that, I collapsed. Just my luck.
Andy bent down and offered a hand to pull me up, which I accepted. “It’s not pity,” she said firmly.
I smirked. “What is it then?”
She looked me square in the face and handed me an apple. “I don’t know. I just think I’m doing what’s right.”
I looked down at the fruit, then back at her.
Andy cleared her throat. “I know Chad already pointed you in the right direction,” she said, “ But town’s that way.” With that, she climbed back into her horse and ride away, followed by an astonished Cory.
I watched them get smaller and smaller and smaller, until they disappeared. Why, I wondered, did she do that? I started toward the town. 

Andi’s  POV
“I still don’t get why you did that,” Cory told Andi as they headed back to the house.
Andi shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess it WAS pity after all. Cory, think about it. What if you were all alone in the world too? Wouldn’t you want someone to let you go?”
Cory shrugged. “Are you going to tell your brother?”
Andi bit her lip. “I have to. I took the lockets back, remember?”
“He’s not going to be too happy about that.”
Andi grimaced. “I know.”
They rode the rest of the way back in silence. Andi couldn’t help but wonder what Chad would say. She’d let a criminal go! Did that make her a criminal? Could she be arrested? What if Tony went to a different ranch and did the exact same thing? I should’ve brought him back, Andi thought, it wasn’t right to just let him go. 
The sun was just beginning to set as the house came into view. Andi led Taffy into the barn an Cory followed. “Shouldn’t you head home?” Andi asked her friend.
Cory shook his head. “I’m staying till you tell Chad. I was there too. I could’ve stopped him, but I didn’t.”
Andi gave him a small smile. “Thanks, Cory.” She finished with Taffy, then turned to Cory. “Let’s go.” Andi’s stomach was swirling as they headed toward the house.
Mitch answered the door and gave them a sad smile. “Sorry, Andi. We couldn’t find him. The lockets are gone for good, and Mother’s missing five dollars.”
Andi groaned inwardly. I should’ve asked Tony to give back everything, she thought, following her brother into the house. They went into the parlor where the Carters had gathered. Melinda and Mother were sitting next to each other. Elizabeth Carter seemed to be talking to her daughter, but Melinda wasn’t replying. Justin and Chad were standing by the window.
“It wasn’t your fault, Chad,” Andi heard her older brother say, “You didn’t know.”
Chad shook his head. “I can’t believe I was that stupid,” he muttered.
Andi bit her lip. I’m in trouble, she thought. “Chad,” she said quietly.
Her brother looked up at her. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I shouldn’t have trusted him.”
Andi looked at him in surprise. Chad was apologizing? The last time her brother had apologized was when Andi hadn’t known she had a sister! Andi cleared her throat. “Chad, I---”
“I should’ve known, Andi. It’s not your fault. I wasn’t---”
“Chad.”
Chad stopped and looked at her. “What?”
Andi reached into her pocket and dropped the three necklaces into his hand. Chad stared at it in disbelief. “I-I found him, Chad. He was by the creek and-and I let him go.”
“You WHAT?” Andi looked at Cory. He was studying his shoes very intently. “I let him go.”
 Her mother stood and came over to the window. “Andrea, what were you thinking?”
Cory cleared his throat. “I better be going,” he said quickly, before showing himself to the door.
Trust Cory to stay until right after I tell Chad, Andi thought.
“Andrea?”
Andi swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, Mother. I just...”
“You just what?” Chad asked bitterly.
Andi snapped back around to face Chad. “You’re the one who brought him in! You just said it’s not my fault! Don’t go blaming me.”
“Andrea.”
An urgent banging at the door saved Andi from a scolding. Elizabeth Carter went to the door and Andi followed, wondering what Cory needed now. Mother opened the door, and Andi gasped. It wasn’t Cory. 
It was Sid, and he was holding onto the well-worn sleeve of none other than Anthony Regalio. “Found this young fella wandering around the stable. You can be sure, Boss,” He continued, self-satisfied, “that I caught him and dragged him over here right quick.”
Sid shoved Tony roughly over to Chad. Tony, Andi noticed, still held Chad’s gaze, but he looked different. Sure, the cock was still there, but Andi could tell that he was trying with all his might to keep it in check.
 Chad stood with his arms folded across his chest, his expression hard.
Tony wet his lips. “First of all, he’s wrong, Mr. Carter. I wasn’t snooping. I was coming back.”
“Oh? And why is that?” Chad’s words sounded mocking and bitter, although he seemed kind of surprised that Tony had called him ‘Mr. Carter’.
“I wanted to make things right.”
Andi watched as the boy walked over to her mother, reached into his pocket, and held out his closed hand. “I’m sorry,” he said, dropping the five dollar bill into her hand.
Elizabeth Carter gave a slight nod.
Chad cleared his throat. “So, you came back to make things right. Well, that’s wonderful. In fact, everything is back to normal now.” His words were laced with sarcasm, and Tony swallowed hard.
“It didn’t feel right to leave, Mr. Carter. It’s different, y’know, when I just bump into someone and slide a couple coins outta their pocket, but I just.....” Suddenly, he seemed to find the words. “You wanted to help me, but you did more than that. You trusted me, and I broke that trust.”
“Darned right you did.”
Tony stopped and just stared at his shoeless feet. Andi could tell he wasn’t really in the habit of apologizing.
Sid cleared his throat. “Want me to take him down to the sheriff, Boss?”
Andi watched as Tony’s face grew pale and frightened, but he remained silent. The boy’s earlier words rang in her head. ‘Those were probably the worst months of my life....’
Right then and there, Andi forgave Tony completely. He’d broken their trust and taken some of their most prized possessions, but Andi didn’t hate him anymore. She could tell that Chad did though, and Sid? Sid wanted nothing more than to see the kid behind bars. If Sid was having his way, Tony’d be on his way to court right now with Justin as his prosecutor!
Sid looked at Chad expectantly. “Well Boss?”

Chad’s POV
Well? That’s what I was asking myself. I looked at the source of all this trouble, standing right in front of me. I could easily do away with him and never see him again, but know that he had gotten what he deserved.  I could just as easily have him stay on but give him a painful reminder of how much pain he had caused my family.
That last thought surprised me a little. I’d never even let the thought of physically hurting my workers cross my mind, and I can’t say I was too pleased with myself. I looked at my foreman. Sid looked all too happy to have this kid locked up, and it wasn’t unappealing to me either. He deserves that, I thought bitterly. Then, I noticed Anthony’s face. 
The kid with all that cock who’d showed up at my front door was gone and in his place was a pale, exhausted, frightened boy, trying, and completely failing, to act like he didn’t care, that jail cells were nothing new to him.
 ‘Jesus didn’t spend his time with the righteous. He spent it with the tax collectors.’ That’s what I had told Sid earlier. The tax collectors, scorned by society, selfish and thieving, immoral, the very bottom of the barrel. The traitors in the eyes of their friends and family, who had betrayed their country.
This kid was a modern tax collector. He wasn’t used to people trusting him---that much was evident. He wasn’t used to someone helping him. He was the last person you wanted to be, the person everyone looked down on. He was a thief.
But just like Matthew, he deserved a second chance.
I held the kid under a hard gaze. “I’m giving you another chance,” I said sternly. I repressed a smile as Sid looked at me like I was crazy.
Anthony’s face went from confused, to amazed, to disbelief. I held out my hand and when he took it, I shook it firmly.
The kid looked at me with shining eyes. “Thanks, Boss,” He said. His eyes found Andi standing behind me. “Thanks.”

Tony’s POV
I stood outside, leaning against the stable and watching the sunrise. It had been two weeks since I’d been forgiven, and everything was getting on fine. I had a roof, a bed, food, Gee, I even had shoes, pants that didn’t need a makeshift belt, and a hat that stayed on my head.
It’d taken the hands a while to warm up to me, but I felt like they had begun to accept me since Chad had been the first to forgive me. Sid? That was another story. He picked on me more than any of the other hands, but what would my story be without a grumpy foreman?
I only put up with his criticism because it gave me a reason to pull more pranks than the boy who cried wolf, and he only put up with my teasing because he knew he always had the upper hand, so we got along fine, in our own way. 
I’d been learning a lot too, and not just how to take care of a horse. Andi (I had learned how to spell her name) always went over her homework with me, and Chad had been teaching me too. After he had shaken my hand, he’d grabbed a huge book and taken me outside and read me a story about a baby who came to save the world, who grew up and had twelve close friends. One was named Matthew, and he has been a tax collector.
Tax collectors, Chad had explained, were hated by pretty much  everyone, but Jesus had loved them and cared about them and given them a second chance. I didn’t truly understand anything I was being taught yet, but they were all patient, even Sid when he was in a good mood.
“Tony!”
I turned to see Sid about forty feet away, yelling my name, and I choked back a laugh. It didn’t look like Sid was in a good mood today. Either that, or he’d found the horse dung I had out on his shoes. Now he was storming angrily toward me, and I grinned. I’d end up with more than I’d bargained for this time. Try and make me care. Everything, I’m my opinion, was perfect just as it was right now. 
Though I’m not sure Sid would agree. 

14 comments:

  1. That was such a good story, Olivia! LOVED it!!! The POV's were such a good idea!
    I'm so sorry the story was too long for the contest, it could've won.
    F.W.

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    1. Do you mean... Julia?

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    2. Oops, I meant Julia, I think it might've spell checked. Sorry about that!
      F.W

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  2. I love this story. Wonderfully written, loved how you created the POVs (they fitted perfectly), loved how you solved the problem.
    WOW!
    This is a wonderful story, Julia. Can't wait to hear more from you!!!

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  3. What a fun story! Great point of views, it was really fun to read from the different character's perspective. Thanks for writing this story, it was so much fun to read! Amazing job!

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  4. Great job really good job.

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  5. Thanks everyone!��
    -Julia S.

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  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  7. So well written!!! I loved it! :)

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  8. I loved this story so much, Julia! So well written! LOVED IT! I'm so glad there's a sequel! I'm heading over there to read it right now!
    ~Grace Hammond

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  9. I LOVE it!! amazing title too!!! Going to read the sequel now..

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  10. WOW!! AMAZING!!!!! I don't know what to say! I think it is one of the BEST fan fiction stories ever!!!!!!!

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Encourage these young authors!