Father or Foe? Part One

 by Abigail Hadley

Part One of Three

Memory Creek ranch, June 

Chapter One: Tragedy

"You ready for bed, Princess?" Riley Prescott asked his wife after putting their four-and-a-half-year-old son, Jared, to bed.

Andi looked up from reading her newest Jules Vern novel, "Yes, I just finished laying the twins down."

Riley crawled in beside her and gently pulled her book out of her hands. Andi reached for it, but he kept it out of her grasp. "You're tired.  You need rest. Which means that reading while burning the midnight oil, will not help you get your needed rest."

Andi glared at him. "I need my rest, yes, but can I at least finish the chapter I was on?"

Riley watched his wife change her expression from upset to a pleading look. Riley's heart melted. "Oh, okay," he agreed. "Just this chapter."

Andi quickly snatched the novel from his out-stretched hands. She gave him an award-winning smile. "Thanks!"

“No problem," Riley sighed. "Now I am going to get some sleep. Those cows need someone to prod them along.”

The bed rocked as he moved onto his side and blew out his lamp on the bedstand. Before long Andi heard his breathing slow, and every once in a while, a snore.

Upon finishing the chapter, she reluctantly, as promised, put the book down. She turned the lamp down and snuggled deeper into the covers.

******

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Andi jerked out of her sleep. Riley was beside her putting on his boots. He turned to her.

“That's the fire bell!”

Hiking his suspenders up onto his shoulders, he rushed from the house.

"Stay with the children!" He shot over his shoulder.

 Andi, not being able to stand just waiting, dressed quickly, and followed her husband's path.

When she walked outside a horrifying sight graced her vision.

The barn and bunkhouse were all aflame. The hands- the few that they had- were forming a bucket bigrade. One by one the buckets passed from one to the next and then tossed onto the flames with a sizzle.

Andi leaped of the porch, hurried toward the line, and placed herself right at the start. Water splashed onto her bare feet. It was cold. Her muscles ached from the weight and constant motion of picking up the bucket out of the creek and running it to the next person.

The commotion was great, and nobody saw the figure ease off his horse and disappear inside the small house. Upon entering the house, he turned toward a door. Not sure where things were, he opened it. The sight if flour and sugar bags lay in front of him. It was the pantry.

 After he opened a few doors, he finally came to the door that he wanted. Opening it softly- being grateful that Riley doesn't like squeaky doors- he crept in. Moving quietly but swiftly, he approached the bed that lay in the center. The man picked up a child that lay sweetly next to her sister. Wrapping her in a blanket, he shushed her. Leaving out the back door the man whistled for his steed.

 A beautiful white horse with black mane and tail came around the corner. 

“Good boy, Sultan," the man spoke to his horse. "Now get us out of here quietly.”

He mounted the horse and disappeared into the night.

******

Andi sank to the ground outside of the house, she was spent. She glanced up as Riley came and sat next to her.

"The hands are making sure it doesn't spread to the other buildings," he sighed a sigh that told Andi there was nothing more he could do. A defeated, worried Riley.

These next few days are going to be hard, Andi thought.

“Are all the horses out?”

“Yes, they are all fine. Shasta is nowhere to be seen, so he probably went to the Circle C," he chuckled. "And if I know your brothers we should be hearing a couple of worried cowboys riding up the drive!”

Coughing, Andi agreed. 

With Riley's help, she stood and walked toward the house. The sound of horses turned their gaze to the driveway. A cry from inside told Andi that one of the girls woke up due to the commotion. 

At least they waited until I was done helping.

“I'll talk to them," Riley broke into her musing. "You're needed anyhow.”

Stumbling into the house, Andi caught the first words of her loud, beloved brother, Chad.

“If I ever get my hands on the person who did this...”

This wasn't the first time someone had burned the Memory Creek Ranch's barn. Chad was probably just saying that, because he wanted to protect his little sister and her small family.

Soon to be a little bigger. Andi smiled as she rubbed her slightly swollen belly.

She opened the door to Lilly and Lottie's bedroom and saw Lottie in the bed crying her heart out. Lilly was nowhere to be seen.

Scooping the child up, Andi began to search for Lilly. 

Under the bed? Nope.

Behind the dresser? No.

In Jared's room? No, again.

In her room? No.

Where could she be? Andi thought. Anxious thoughts began to swirl in her mind. Did she follow Andi outside and fall in the creek? No, Andi would have seen her.

A memory struck Andi of the last time she couldn't find one of her baby-girls.

Ellen. Lottie. Kidnapped.

The realization sunk deep into her soul. Lilly had been kidnapped.

 

Chapter Two: Trying

"Riley!" Andi screamed in anguish. She sank to the floor, and Lottie began to wail her protest.

A loud stomping brought Riley to Andi's side.

"What is it? Are you okay?" he began rubbing Andi's back in comfort.

Andi stumbled over her words. Riley was patient and listened to broken sentences. When he heard the phrase, "It's just like with Ellen." he put all the words he had heard together.

"Andi, sweetheart, are you trying to tell me that Lottie was kidnapped?" Riley gently inquired.

A loud wail that sounded like a yes, but very high-pitched, told Riley all he needed to know. Andi was usually calm in a situation like this.

“Just breath deep. Everything's going to be okay. Are you sure that you can't find Lottie?”

Andi sucked deep breath after deep breath for a moment. Her heart rate slowed as she calmed down.

“It's not Lottie that I can't find, it's Lilly," she held up the little girl's arm whom she held in her lap. " See, it's blue and it says Lottie.”

The bracelets that dear Luisa made were clever and helped the parents and others to decipher which twin was which. Lilly had a pink bracelet, and Lottie had a blue one.

The next hour was spent searching high and low for the missing child. But hide nor hair of her was found.

Riley sat with his arms around Andi on the big bed they shared. They had calmed one-and-a-half year Lottie down enough to lay her back to bed, but time did not calm Andi's mother's nerves

“Don't worry, Chad and I'll mount up and search the depot and anywhere else someone could have taken her.”

"Do-do you t-think Ellen did this?" Andi turned her tear-filled eyes to Riley.

Riley looked a taken back. "No! Ellen learned her lesson, and don't you remember the letter we got yesterday?"

"I forgot." Andi reached over and grabbed the letter off the bedstand.

"Chad and I need to leave if we're going to get progress done." Riley untangled himself from Andi and rose from the bed. 

Andi reached out and caught his hand. She stared deep into his eyes.

“Riley please find our baby.”

Riley leaned down and kissed his wife on the head. "Don't worry we'll find her."

"You're acting as if you don't even care! This is our baby that's missing and you're just as calm as ever!" Andi broke down and started sobbing.

"Princess, it's not that I don't care-" he started, placing his hand on her back.

"Just go Riley! And don't come back without Lilly!" Andi screamed and turned away from his touch, like it burned her.

"Andi-" Riley began, but something made him stop.

"It's not worth saying anything in her grievous state. Let's go and find a saddle for Dakota," Andi heard Chad whisper.

As the men's voices slowly became fainter, Andi sat up and turned her gaze to the wrinkled letter grasped in her hand.

My dearest cousins,

I am writing to you with such joy in me I feel like I could explode like a cold jar in a hot water bath.

Andi cringed. She could never forget the time when she didn't ask a simple question and then a whole batch of peaches was ruined.

I'm going to have a baby! My dearest husband and I finally are blessed to have this new experience! I just hope that it is a girl like your darling Lilly or--

Andi jammed the letter into the top drawer of the bedstand. 

I don't need you to tell me how darling MY baby is! Andi thought, a nagging feeling told her to apologize to Riley as soon as he came home, but stubborn Andi refused. Maybe if he brought Lilly home. Maybe.

******

Riding with a squirming baby in his arms was almost as tricky as stunt riding- which he did a lot of. But at least he was making quick time of it.

The girl opened her large blue eyes and stared at the stranger holding her. 

"Dada," she babbled.

The man looked down, "I'm sorry sweet pea, but I'm your daddy now. And your name is now Calandra, not whatever that blasted Andrea picked." 

The man paused. He saw a pink bracelet on the girl's arm. Cleared his throat and began again.

“I see your name was Lilly."

 He grabbed the beaded circlet and pulled it off. He threw it on the ground.

"You don't need that anymore. My name is Toledo. Toledo Mcquire.”

PART TWO COMING SOON