by Mabel Jo F.
Word
prompt: #18 Andi and Riley (plus
their children) go to the Circle C for Sunday evening supper to find everyone
gone without a trace!
“Andi! Hurry up! We’re going to be
late!” Riley called to the house. He grinned as he watched Andi quickly walk
over to the buggy. He helped her set Jared on the buggy seat and was rewarded
by a beaming smile from his beloved bride. He returned her smile, with a
cheerful grin, as he got into the right side of the buggy. Riley flicked the
reins and Dakota trotted down the road toward the Circle C ranch house.
***
“Riley! Do you see that beautiful flower?” Andi
asked, pointing to a gorgeous red poppy. “Mother would love it!”
“Whoa, Dakota.” Riley said, pulling lightly back on
the reins. Andi flashed Riley a grateful smile before jumping out and running
over to the pretty flower. She bent and plucked it, smiling at how attractive
the poppy was, while running back to the buggy.
“Look at how pretty it is, Riley! Thank you for
stopping.” Andi expressed her thanks as she climbed back up.
“You’re welcome.” Riley replied as he told Dakota to
walk on.
*** As they drove into the ranch yard, Andi suddenly spoke, “It’s so quiet.
Where is everyone?”
The yard was completely empty, no horses in the
corral, no hands at the bunkhouse, nothing.
“Let’s go in, Riley, maybe there’s someone
inside.” “Good
idea.” Riley replied. He drove the horse over to the hitching rail and tied
Dakota. He helped Andi down and grabbed Jared. Andi walked lightly to the front
door, looking all around and wondering where everyone was. Andi knocked, then opened
the door and walked in. The house was completely deserted.
“Luisa? Nila?
Hello? Is anyone home?” Andi asked as she turned toward Riley.
“I don’t
know, but something smells amazing.” Riley answered as he followed his nose to
the dining room.
“Riley!” Andi protested as she hurried after Riley,
“How can you think of food at a time like this?”
Riley opened the dining room door and they both
gasped! The table fairly groaned from all the food on it. Not a soul did they
see. Riley strode over to the table, sat down and began eating.
“Riley!” Andi’s exasperated voice cut into his
eating. “What on earth do you think you’re doing?”
“Eating, why?” Riley answered, his mouth full.
“How can you eat when everyone is gone and we don’t
know why?” Andi’s worried tone made Riley look up.
“I know you’re worried, Andi, but everything will be
all right. Right now, though, I’m starving and I’m sure you are too, so sit
down and let’s eat.”
“Oh!” Andi sat down, defeated. “Will you say grace,
please Riley?”
“Of course, Dear LORD, we ask that you will help us
find our family without harm coming to any of us, and we ask that you would
bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies, Amen.”
As Riley finished, Jared began to fuss.
“Will you please hand Jared to me, Riley?” Andi
asked, she could see Jared was hungry. Riley got up and passed Jared to Andi,
as well as a comforting smile.
“Will you please pass the chicken?” Andi asked.
Riley nodded, choosing the perfect piece before passing it.
“Mmmmm. I love fried chicken!” Riley sighed as he
grabbed another piece.
“Nummy!” Jared crowed, happily eating away on a
piece Andi had deboned.
***
“I’m so full.” Riley yawned, “I need a nap.” He got
up and meandered to the couch in the living room, where he sprawled full-length
on it.
“Here, since you’re so tired, will you hold Jared
while you both nap?” Andi asked, Jared poised over Riley.
“Sure, come here, little man.” Riley reached for
Jared. Andi smiled and gently lowered Jared into Riley’s outstretched hands.
Immediately they were both fast asleep. Andi grinned
and tiptoed out. Once outside Andi headed for her favorite place, the barn. She
expected to find some horses, maybe some ranch hands? But not one living thing
did she see or hear. There were no welcoming nickers when she opened the big
double doors to the barn. She took one look around and not an animal did she
see, except one of Bella’s kittens.
“Oh no!” Andi screeched as she turned tail and ran.
As she burst through the barn doors, she ran full-tilt into Rosa Garduno.
“Rosa! I’m
sorry I ran into you.” Andi apologized breathlessly, as they both picked
themselves off the ground. “Have you seen Nila or Luisa?”
“No, I haven’t, I was just going to ask you that. As
I rode over and got closer, I realized there was no whinnying or lowing. I’m
worried about Mama and Papa. I hope they are treated well…” Rosa broke off, as
a fearful look came over her face.
“Are you okay?” Andi asked slowly and concernedly.
“I-I’m fine.” Rosa stammered.
“Do you know what happened to everyone?” Andi asked,
as the truth dawned on her.
“I-I can’t say.” Rosa’s stammering reply made Andi
ask one more thing.
“Which way did they go?” Andi quickly asked, poised
to run for the house and Riley when she heard the answer. “They went that way.”
Rosa said fearfully, pointing toward the Sierras. Andi thanked her as she ran
for the house and Riley.
“Riley!” Andi yelled as she slammed the front door.
“Riley! I found Rosa! I think she knows what happened!” Andi breathlessly
reported as she stood in the doorway looking at a yawning Riley.
“I’m glad you found someone around here, I-” Riley
broke off as the full force of what Andi had said hit him. “Hold on, you mean
to tell me you think Rosa knows what happened?”
“Yes, Riley, Rosa said ‘I do hope they are treated
well…’ Then she stopped talking and a scared look came over her face.”
“Did she tell you which way they went?” Riley asked,
fully awake now.
“She pointed to the Sierras. Please come and see if
there are any tracks you can follow?” Andi begged.
***
Once outside, Riley quickly confirmed that indeed
the tracks headed towards the Sierras, and that there were a lot of mounted men
and Circle C horses.
“Andi, will you look in the tack room and see if
there are any spare saddles and bridles?” Riley asked, planning the pursuit.
Andi nodded and ran for the barn to see.
“Yes! I found three spare sets!” Andi proudly showed
Riley what she had found.
***
A bright sorrel quietly made his way up the long
driveway. As he got closer, he gave a loud whinny.
The whinny cut through the silence, startling Andi
and Riley. Andi turned and nearly shrieked with joy.
“Look Riley! It’s Mitch’s horse, Chase!”
Riley saw Chase and proceeded to pursue him.
“Andi, will you please unhitch Dakota and saddle
him?” Riley asked, intent on catching Chase.
Andi nodded and began doing what Riley had asked. When
she finished, Riley handed her Chase’s reins.
“You and I are going to follow those tracks and
rescue our family.” Riley told her, as he prepared to mount.
“But what about Jared?” Andi worriedly asked.
“Ask Rosa to watch him.” Riley replied from Dakota’s
back.
“Rosa!” Andi called her friend over from where she
had been holding Jared. “Will you watch
Jared while we are rescuing our family?” Andi asked, quickly.
“Of course, you needn’t worry about him, we’ll be
fine.” Rosa replied.
“Thank you! We’ll bring Nila back, I promise!” Andi
exclaimed, hugging her friend, then running and mounting Chase.
“Andi! Hurry up!” Riley called.
“I’m coming!” Andi sang as she nudged Chase into a
canter to catch up with Riley.
Chapter 2
After about an hour, Riley lifted a hand.
Andi nodded and slipped from the saddle. Riley
dismounted and gathered Chase and Dakota’s reins, then sat down near Andi. Andi
had just dozed off when a fear-filled whinny split the air around them. Andi
sat bolt upright.
“What was that!?!”
“A horse.” came Riley’s cool reply. He handed her
Chase’s reins, then he mounted Dakota. Andi got up, mounted, and then followed
Riley as he cantered Dakota toward a suspicious grove of trees where the whinny
had come from. Andi was wondering if the trees could be Riley’s destination,
when another whinny came from the grove. When she and Riley entered the grove,
an interesting scene met their eyes. All the Circle C ranch hands tied to
trees, gagged so they couldn’t yell, with each man’s horse’s reins tied to
them.
“OH MY!” Andi’s shocked words brought action to
Riley. He climbed down and began untying knots. Andi dismounted and helped,
inwardly rejoicing that they had found them.
Once everyone was released, both from the tree and
the horse, Riley began questioning. All the ranch hands knew was that Justin,
Lucy and Sammy were not with the captured group. Finally, one of the ranch
hands said they had stopped a little ways further on, he heard them as he was
on that side of the grove. No sooner had he said this, Riley ordered everyone
to mount. Riley led them out the far side of the grove, all the while looking
for tracks. He saw where they must have had a bite to eat, then left. He soon
saw where Elizabeth, Melinda, Ellie, Nila, and Luisa had sat.
One of the hands, Wyatt, found where they had left,
and called Riley over. “Riley? I found where they left.” Wyatt called.
Riley came over, took one look, and called, “Let’s
ride!”
Riley mounted, and waited for Andi, then galloped
down the trail the bandits had made.
***
“Riley!” Andi hollered, coming up beside him on
Chase, “It’s getting dark, and the hoses are tired.”
“All right. I’ll look for a good place to stop.”
Riley replied, beginning to look around.
“Andi, do you see that ravine? It looks like that would be a good
place.”
“Perfect.” Andi wearily replied, guiding Chase over
to the ravine. She slid off, so tired she could barely stand, yet awake enough
to secure Chase so he couldn’t run off. Andi glanced around, then decided to
sleep at the foot of the ridge. She was asleep before Riley and the ranch hands
got there.
Chapter 3
It was midnight. Andi scrambled to get away, tripping over
downed logs and bushes. “I must get away! Riley! Where are you?” Her
scream woke her up. As she looked around, she saw she was on a ridge, whose
sides fell steeply away. On one side she could see Riley and the rest asleep,
but on the other side, lay her family and their captors fast asleep. “I’ve
got to tell Riley!” She thought and turned to go back down, when a pair of
large smelly hands grabbed her and covered her mouth.
“Don’t scream.” A dark
voice threatened, “Or you’ll never see your family again.”
Andi gulped as the voice
sent shivers up her spine. “Y-yes s-sir.” she faltered.
“Good.” The dark, cold voice approved. “Come with me” The
ominously dark voice commanded, as he jerked Andi around and down the opposite
side from Riley.
***
A neighing horse woke Riley. He yawned, then looked around to make
sure everything was okay. After he had looked around several times, he realized
that Andi was gone. “Andi? Andi!” Riley hollered. He ran over to where she had
slept, and saw where she had scrambled up the hillside in her nightmare. He
followed quickly. When he crested the top, he was shocked to find the bandits
on the other side of the ridge from his camp! He quickly turned and hurried
down the hill to the bottom. “Men! Wake up!” Riley’s loud command woke
everyone.
“What is it?” Wyatt asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“Andi’s gone, but I found the ones we’re looking for.” Riley’s
response got everyone’s attention. “Let’s mount and ride!” Riley put action to
the words and saddled Dakota. The ranch hands followed quickly and fell in
behind Riley as he cantered out of the ravine.
***
“All right. Saddle ‘em up.” The same dark voice spoke. Andi looked
up from where she sat tied next to her mother. The dark, cold voice belonged to
a man with greasy, long black hair, a scruffy beard that looked more gray than
black, and mean-looking eyes. “Ladies, if you wouldn’t mind, we need to move,
so….” He stood above them with his arm outstretched toward the saddled horses.
Elizabeth nodded, then asked, “Will you please untie us? We can’t
stand and we definitely won’t be able to ride like this.” Elizabeth finished,
looking at her bound feet.
“Of course! Jud! Get over here and untie these ladies!” Grey Beard
yelled. He turned and walked away to check on the Carter men.
***
Chad, Mitch, and Peter were already on the horses, when Grey Beard
came walking over. Chad nudged his horse to walk by the side of Grey Beard.
“Do you need something?” Grey Beard asked, dubiously
“Just wondering where we’re going.” Chad answered, focused on
something else.
“Where we’re going is none of your business.”
“That is what I thought you’d say, but this is MY
BUSINESS!” Chad yelled as he leapt off his horse onto Grey Beard.
“GET... OFF... ME…” Grey Beard growled.
“No.” Chad replied, trying his best to break Grey Beard’s nose
with his bound hands.
Mitch figured Chad needed
some help, so he dropped beside Chad and asked nonchalantly, “Do you need any
help?”
“Sure!” Chad’s face lit up in a big grin. Just as Mitch and Chad
swung their fists back, they were stopped by pistols in the backs. However, Chad’s
swing had already started, and it crashed into Grey Beard’s nose, finally
breaking it. Mitch and Chad were pulled off Grey Beard and stood against trees
and tied, along with Peter.
“We’re leaving you here, because you assaulted our chief.” Jud
told them as the bandits looked at them from horseback.
“What about mountain lions?” Peter asked fearfully.
“That’s your problem.” Jud sneered as he turned and galloped off,
the rest of the gang following.
“Great. Now what?” Mitch asked Chad.
“We go fishing.” Chad said, sarcastically.
***
Riley loped into ravine on the other side of the ridge, followed
by the ranch hands. “Chad! What happened?” Riley yelled, dismounting quickly
and running over to them. Chad told the story of their fight with Grey Beard,
while Riley untied them all.
“Now. Where did they take the ladies?” Riley asked as the Carter
brothers and Peter found horses. They went with Riley and the rest to follow
the trail of the captives.
“I have a hunch they’ll head for the mountains and hide in one of
the many canyons in the Sierras.” Chad guessed. “In fact, I’m sure of it!”
“Do you want to lead the way?” Riley asked, willing to let Chad
take over. Chad nodded and taking the lead, led off at a canter.
“Is Andi all right?” Riley asked Mitch.
“What little I saw, she looked fine.” Mitch answered.
“I hope they are all well, especially Melinda.” Peter piped up.
***
“Whoa!” Chad commanded, halting before a large opening in a canyon
wall. “I see tracks.” Chad said, pointing into the break in the canyon wall.
“Come on! Let’s rescue our family!” Mitch shouted, joyfully.
“We need a scout. Who will volunteer?” Chad asked his men.
“I will.” Riley spoke up. Chad gave his permission and Riley rode
off up the canyon, soon disappearing around a bend.
***
Soon he came back and said it would be best to wait till dark,
which wasn’t far off. Chad agreed and everyone got down and rested.
As soon as twilight fell, Chad gave the order to mount and they
trotted down the canyon. As they got closer, they dismounted and crept nearer
to the camp.
“Quiet men. Circle around the camp, men and make sure no one sees
you.” Chad ordered in a whisper. The ranch hands got up and started circling.
Riley made sure he stopped at a spot near Andi, he longed to tell
her that she was being rescued soon, but he dared not alert the bandits. Chad
gave the word to attack and the men rushed out from behind trees and bushes to
assault the men they had picked. Riley went for Grey Beard with an iron hard
fist, and soon Grey Beard was on the ground at Riley’s feet, out cold. Before they
knew it, the fight was over and they were the victors. Chad ordered the bandits
tied up and they all started back.
On the way home, Mitch overheard Grey Beard and one of Grey
Beard’s gang, Nate, who asked, “So, why exactly did we capture the
Carters?” “If you must know, I did it
out of spite, Chad Carter walked by me without acknowledging me, and no man
walks past Ivo McBane without acknowledging him.”
Chapter 4
Once home Luisa and Nila hurried to warm the food that Rosa had
put away while Andi and Riley were chasing after Ivo McBane and his gang.
They had all sat down to dinner when Mother asked, “Chad, you
didn’t tell me how you got that black eye?”
“Well... I-uh may have got in a fight with Grey Beard.” Chad
confessed, his face and cheeks growing red.
“Chad…. I’m proud of you!” Mother smiled at her son, who with all
his headstrongness was a funny and soft-hearted young man who loved GOD and his
family.
‘Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your
God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
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