by Kristianna, age 13
Andi Carter skipped down the staircase and out the door with her lasso hung around her arm, whistling. She had big plans today.
Just as quick as Andi could blink, Louisa
appeared from the kitchen and scolded her soundly in Spanish for running down
the stairs.
“Lo siento, Louisa.” Andi quickly
replied and slowed her pace. She did not want to be caught in hot water with
the Mexican housekeeper.
As Andi went outside into the bright sunlight,
she heard Chad speaking to Sid about the rustlers that had moved into the area.
Chad wanted them caught, and fast. “You get every man on the job. I will not
let rustlers get away with stealing any of our cows.”
Andi shook her head and headed towards the barn.
She did not look forward to the next few weeks. Undoubtedly, they would bring
much fist-banging and yelling at the table. No quiet words from Mother or
rolling eyes from Melinda could calm her brother’s mood in a crisis.
Andi knew it wouldn’t be ending soon.
—---------------------------------------------------
“Andi!!”
Chad’s call yanked Andi from her
daydreaming. She scowled. Why does Chad have to always be so grumpy? Andi
mused. Then she remembered the rustlers. It had been two weeks since they
started stealing cattle. Chad had not gotten much sleep since then.
“Andi, get down here right now!!”
Andi leaped up from where she was perched on her
bed, reading. It wasn’t any dime novel. Mother had suggested Andi study more. Not
suggesting. Andi thought, telling. Her grades had dropped to a poor
level.
A third call showed that Chad’s patience was
running out. Andi flew down the stairs and burst into the dining room. A very
grumpy Chad stood in the room, scowling. “Andi, how many times do I have to
tell you to do your chores? I have many other things on my mind right now, and
your chores are just one more worry.”
Andi swallowed. “I’m sorry. I forgot.”
Chad blew out a tired breath. “Just get them
done. Those horses are mighty thirsty. I have to get back to the herd.”
—-------------------------
When Andi pulled her horse to a stop
at the barn, dusk had settled over the ranch. Andi led her filly to the stall
and gave her some hay.
As she was walking out of the stall, a gunshot
erupted from afar. Andi whirled. Two more followed the first. She raced toward
the door just as a horse galloped into the yard. The rider lay sprawled on its
back, limp. As the sweaty horse halted to a stop, the rider slipped from the
saddle and fell to the dirty ground. Andi’s heart leaped to her throat.
She recognized the rider- and that was what
frightened her most.
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andi Carter raced towards the man and fell
to the ground beside him. “Chad, wake up!”
Andi burst into tears.
A pool of blood had formed on the ground
under Chad. He moaned. “Chad, you have to wake up.”
By now a small crowd of cowhands had formed
around Andi and Chad. A Mexican man surged through the crowd and threw a string
of orders at the cowhands. They took off to do his bidding.
“Senorita, I will take care of this. You
need to go back to the house.” Cook shouted an order at one of the men, and
they took off towards the corral. In a flash, he was on the horse and headed
towards town.
Andi jumped back and took off towards the house.
“Mother!” Andi called up the staircase,
out of breath. Her heart thumped.
Mother appeared at the top of the staircase.
“What’s wrong, Andrea?” She hurried down the stairs.
Andi flew into her arms. She burst into tears
again. “C-Chad got s-shot. I heard it and he fell and he looked so still -”
Andi trailed off.
Mother’s eyes widened. She drew Andi to the
sofa. “I’m sure it can’t be that bad. What did you see?”
Tearfully, Andi spelled word over word of what
she saw and heard. By the time she had finished, she was sobbing.
What seemed like hours later, Mitch came in. He
looked from Andi to Mother. “The doctor’s here.”
A couple of men came through the door and
carried Chad carefully onto the sofa. Dr Weaver followed quickly. He
shooed all the others out of the room to let him examine him.
Andi followed the others out of the door.
“Does anyone know for sure who shot Chad?”
Mother said, her eyebrows wrinkled in worry.
“No. None of the men saw anything. But I don’t
doubt he was shot out on the range by the rustlers. It is a mystery how he
stayed on his horse until now. We’ll set a posse out right away.”
Mother turned to Andi. “You should go to bed. It
has been a long day for us all.”
Andi shook her head. “I want to find out about
Chad.” Even if she went to bed, she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep.
Mother sighed and headed to the kitchen for a
cup of tea.
Andi turned to Mitch. “How bad off is he,
really?”
Mitch opened his mouth to speak, but just then
the doctor walked in and delivered the verdict. “He doesn’t look good, but I
removed the bullets, bandaged him up, and the flow of blood has stopped
significantly. I will come back in the morning to see his progress.” He looked
at the two, now three as Mother walked in, worried faces. “He is going to be
fine.”
Andi’s throat tightened in gratitude. Thank
you, God.
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A few days later it was all over. Chad woke up
long enough to protest about being trussed up tighter than a calf for branding,
but in the end between laudanum and broth, he fell asleep before causing any
trouble.
The rustlers were caught and sentenced to jail
for stealing and causing injury, and the whole family breathed a lot
easier.
Surely, It was a miracle that Chad healed. And Andi never forgot it.
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