PROLOGUE A.K.A. SNIPPETS OF LIFE

9 years ago

I can't wait to tell Mom. Captain of the cricket team. I hope Dad can make Saturday's match like he said. Those and a myriad other thoughts ran through Tracey's head as she raced home from her after school cricket practice.

She turned into her street, immediately noticing the South African Police (SAP) car parked outside her house.

Hmm, I wonder why they're here. I've stayed out of trouble this time, so's Owen and I don't think David is capable of doing anything wrong. Don't tell me we've been robbed again!

"Mom?! Mom?!" Tracey called as she closed the front door behind her and dropped her school bag heedlessly on the floor. She walked forward, looking into the first open door, the living room. "Why's there a police??"

Her mom was sitting on the couch, with David comforting her. Two policemen were standing awkwardly nearby.

"What's wrong? What's happened?" she demanded.

"Oh, Tracey." Her mom broke down again.

Something was very wrong. Her mom never cried. No matter what went wrong. Even when they thought Owen had broken his back after a fall off his horse, she hadn't cried.

David looked up.

"Tracey. There was an attempted robbery at Dad's bank. One of the robbers shot the security guard. Dad tried to help him and he was shot too."

"He's alright, right? I mean, he's just in hospital?"

"No, Tracey. He was shot in the head. He died instantly." David reached out to comfort her.

She backed away from him, towards the doorway. "No, no, no. He's not dead. He's coming to watch me play on Saturday. He promised that he would come with us to the farm this year. He's not dead." She looked at the policemen. "Right?!" she insisted, the unshed tears evident in the way her voice cracked.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but it's true," the nearest policeman said as gently as he could. The look of anguish in Tracey's eyes drove a stake through his heart and razor blades tore down his throat. He hated bringing these messages to families and he hated even more the thought of someone having to deliver a similar message to his wife and daughter.

"No! It can't be true!"

Tracey ran out the door, nearly overrunning Owen, who was coming in at the time.

"Tracey? What's wrong?" he asked.

But she never heard him. She frantically tore down the street, hoping to outrun the words she had heard.



23 months later

"Tracey Ann Lawrence. On the charge of manslaughter, this court finds you not guilty. Despite your own lack of cooperation, beyond reasonable doubt could not be proven. However, we do find you guilty on the charge of drug trafficking."

The judge leaned over his bench, towards the young woman standing stock still in the accused's box.

"Young lady, for over a year I have watched you waltz in and out of this court and I am glad to have finally seen something proven."

The judge paused a moment, glancing at the two other judges that sat with him, before continuing.

"The Cape Town High Court hereby sentences you to ten years. Two years you will spend in a Juvenile Detention Centre and then at 18 years of age you will be released to serve the remainder of the ten years on parole. While on parole, you may not leave the country, consume alcohol or any illegal substances, you must remain employed and more importantly, you may not commit acts of violence.

"Remember that last rule well; any indication of violence will land you in prison until your full ten years are completed.

"Case closed."



18 months later

Blue eyes tracked the people filing into the room, watching, as many looked her way only to turn away when they met her eyes. Most people, in fact, except for three. Two had black hair, one was peppered with grey, and the third was sandy blonde. They all shared the same piecing blue eyes, the same eyes as the ones looking at them.

I look around and all I see are the faces of people I've hurt, or faces of people accusing me. Accusing me of what I'm not too sure, but obviously the South African government agrees with them, or I wouldn't be sitting here in Juvenile Detention's finest clothing issue, with a man in blue attached to me like a limpet to a rock.

Her eyes tracked to the tall man, with black hair and blue eyes and facial features so like her own.

David, dear David. The eldest and never wrong. He was always so worried about me attacking his place as the brain of the family. And I put him through hell for that. At least now he is a good role model for Owen, ? 'cause God knows, I never was.

And Owen. He's looking better and it looks like he's regained full use of his arm. That's good. I hope he's getting back into sport and is not ignoring his schoolwork. That sandy blonde hair, so unlike David and I. He always looks like he doesn't belong in this family, especially after Dad died.

Wow.

Has it already been more than 3 years since he died, ? and I still can't think about it. And now Uncle Brian too.

Poor mom. I always tried hard, but I know I was never an easy child. I hope she's okay now. Well she's got David and Owen to look after her now and not me to worry about.



As everyone was leaving David approached.

"Can I talk to her?" he asked of the prison guard.

"Humph," the guard grunted. "Fat lot of good it'll do you, but I can't stop you from trying."

David knelt down so that he could meet Tracey's downcast eyes.

"T. I know you're pretending that you're not there, but I know you are. And I know you heard what that attorney said. We got the farm. So I need for you to do your best to get out in six months, 'cause those horses don't like me and I don't pretend to understand what's best for them. That was always your forte.

"I need you to come home, because I think if you don't, Storm Chaser is going to bite me ? again and I've still got the scar from the last time he did that. You are the only one who could stop him, remember?

"And only you can get them ready for the racing season. Uncle Brian taught you all he knew. Even he said that you could probably do a better job than him."

He stood up and placed his hand on her shoulder. Her head remained bowed, but her eyes followed his motion upward.

"Mom misses you. Owen does as well. And so do I. Everyone wants you to come home. Remember that. You have a home to come to."

He nodded to the guard. "Thanks," he said, before squeezing Tracey's shoulder and walking away.



Six months. That's all I have left. I just need to survive six months.

What they say is true: There is nothing like an African sunrise. And I will live to see the sun rise over the mountains.

There is nothing that can take that away and no matter what they do, I will see my African sunrise.



---JJJ---

CHAPTER ONE

Present day - 5 years 7 months later

"Here."

Tracey's black haired head snapped up and she glanced around the dark kitchen. Sitting at the kitchen table was an almost ghostly shadow of her mother. A lump sat on the table. It was pushed closer to her.

"I know you probably won't stop long enough to eat breakfast, but I'd feel happier if you took this anyway," the shadow said.

Tracey reached out and took the bag. A gentle touch on her mother's hand was all the thanks she gave.

"And you're coming back for lunch with Owen. With David tagging calves at Higher camp, we've not had a family meal in a while and with training starting soon I know we're not going to be able to have one again for a while, so I'm putting my foot down. David said that he's going to try and get back by lunch, the least you can do is the same.

"And glaring at me in the dark won't get you anywhere."

A reluctant nod of her head and Tracey was out the door, followed by her mother's sigh.

"Have a good day, young one."



An hour later, just after the sun had crossed the horizon, a fully, if rumpily, dressed young man, stumbled into the kitchen to find his mother cooking bacon and eggs.

"Morning," he yawned. "Where're the others?"

"Good morning. Here, sit down. You can have a better breakfast than your sister did when she left an hour ago. And David didn't make it back last night. He's going to try for lunchtime, so bring your sister back, we're going to sit down as a family, before you two get involved in your training.

"Oh and David radioed in about ten minutes ago. He said to keep an eye on the weather. It looks like a storm is going to hit later and he was sure that you would have horses out," she said, as she dished food onto his plate.

"I'll let them know down at the stables," Owen replied, before looking at the food piled on his plate.

"Mom, you know I can't eat this, you'll all rag on me if I put on weight again. How am I supposed to jockey if I weigh in at over the weight?" he moaned. "Even if ?" Sniff, "It does smell good."

"Eat," she commanded him, "Knowing you you're gonna run to the horse camp anyway."

With a grateful grin, he tucked in with the enthusiasm of any young man faced with a plate of food.

The grandfather clock, in the hallway, rang out the hour. "Uh, I gotta run," he mumbled, with his mouth still full of food.

He scraped off the last of the egg with a piece of toast, before dumping his plate on the sink. "Bye mom." He gave her a kiss on the cheek, picked up the satchel at the door, slung it over his shoulder and tucked a riding boot under each arm. With a grin he jogged out the back door.

"And don't forget to bring you sister back with you at lunchtime!" she called after him.

A wave of both boots, over his head, was all the answer she got. She watched him jog down the driveway and under the arch that read 'Lucky Lady Ranch', before he turned left and was out of sight behind some trees.



"Hey sis!" Owen called, as he clumped through one of the stables, to the office at the end.

A loud thud and a hiss of pain followed him down the passage. He dumped the satchel and boots in the office, before back tracking to find the horse stall his sister was in.

Once he found her, it didn't take Einstein to figure out what had caused the pain.

"Morning Joe," he greeted the stable hand, who was bent over a rear hoof of the horse in the stall.

He turned to his sister, who was angrily picking a hammer up off the stable floor. "Let me guess, Wrath threw another shoe and you hit yourself with the hammer again." He grinned. "Y'know, you'd really think you have more practice at that," he said teasingly.

The look she gave him told it all.

"So, who am I riding today?" he asked, moving onto, what he decided, were safer topics.

A thumb was pointed in the general direction of the office as Tracey bent over the hoof Joe was holding up.

"Ah, I see, I can read for myself. Okay."

The sounds of hammering followed him back to the office. He stood in front of a large black board attached to one wall. A series of lines covered the board, creating a table. Human names, headed by Owens', filled the leftmost column. Each name had three horses names listed next to them.

He found the names, of the horses he was due to ride, on the black board, on the next wall, which listed their training to date. As his eye wandered over the board, he remembered something from the previous day.

"Hey sis!?" he called, when there was a break in the hammering.

After a few whispered mumblings to Wrath, Tracey left the stall and came into the office.

"We're only bringing CJ in on Friday?" he queried.

She nodded in response before raising an eyebrow, inquiring as to his need to question their regular training schedule.

"Well, thing is, I noticed he was acting funny yesterday, when I took Little Lad out for that long distance work."

Tracey turned a look on him that clearly said, 'Then why didn't you say something!'

"I assumed you'd see it on your rounds," Owen defended himself.

Tracey growled at him in frustration, before taking off, out the door, at a steady clip.

Owen stared after her in shock.

Joe came into the office. "What's wrong?" he asked, seeing Owens' face.

"Something's up with CJ," he replied.

"And? There has to be something more."

"She growled at me. She's never done that before," Owen said in dismay.

"She musta been pretty pissed then."

"I think so."



Sometime later, shortly before lunch, the weather bells rang out.

The weather bells weren't really bells anymore, though they had been once upon a time, hence the name. Now they were sirens that were sounded when there was warning of bad weather ahead. Different sequences indicated the severity of the storm and also gave different time frames until the storm was expected to break, rather like Morse code. This allowed all those in hearing to either return to the main stables, if close enough or to seek shelter elsewhere, if they were not.

Owen and Joe immediately went out and began to organise getting the more valuable horses inside. Most of the racehorses in training hadn't been taken out yet as it was still early in the day, but there were a few racers and mares with young foals still out in the fields that they knew Tracey would want brought in.

As they finished a few stable hands reported a broken fence and three missing horses from one of the fields. Owen added it to the list of maintenance to be done.

Even as they stood at the door to the stable, contemplating the storm and who should go after the missing horses, Tracey rode up, bareback, on one of the missing horses, leading the other two.

She handed the one she had been riding and one of the others over to the stable hands before leading the last over to the hospital barn. With a sigh Owen and Joe followed.

Moments after they got under the cover of the barn the storm broke loose. The phrase "hell hath no fury" sprang into Owen's mind.

The release of rain darkened the land to the point that the lights around the compound automatically came on all over the compound. Light sensors and motion sensors had been added, to the outside lights, after a thief had tried to make off with a valuable horse.



The hospital barn sported several large stalls, a main area that covered about half the length of the barn, an office and an upstairs apartment that was the vet's quarters. The vet had gone to visit a nearby farm for the day.

Luckily most of the stable hands had some form of medical training, human and equine, with Joe being one of the best and the most sought after as a vet's assistant. He made a quick examination.

"Colic?" Owen asked.

Joe straightened. "Yeah, it's colic all right."

"I'll call Harry," Owen said making a dash for the vet's office.

"We've got to get him moving." He reached for the lead rein only to have it all but snatched from his grasp.

With a quick tug Tracey set the colt in motion, as Joe looked on dumbfounded. At all the stables he had worked at, though not many were as large as this one, he had never seen the owner take as much interest in the horses' welfare. That was until he had joined the staff at Lucky Lady Ranch. Even though he had worked here for a number of years, he was still amazed by Tracey's attitude when it came to the horses.

Owen came out of the office. "Bob is driving Harry over in his 4x4. Apparently the rain has already started to turn the roads to mud and Harry's car isn't going to make the trip back," he said.

"I'd better go and check on the rest of the stables," Joe said to Owen. "Why don't you stay here and keep your sister company."

"I had best radio home first," Owen said.

"Right." Joe donned a waterproof poncho, hung at the doors for this very reason, and ducked out into the pouring rain.

Owen disappeared into the office for a moment, before reappearing and taking up residence on one of the bales of hay, stacked in a corner.

"Mom said to stay here until the rain let up," he told Tracey. "She said that David was with her and he would keep her company, but that this did not let you off the family lunch," he added with a grin.

Tracey gave little indication that she was listening, but Owen knew from experience that she had.



Time seemed to slow, with the hypnotic drumming of the rain on the roof and Tracey's never-ending circles.

A flash of light, followed by a loud crash of thunder broke the monotony, causing Owen to almost fall off his bale in surprise and shock.

"Sheesh, that sounded awfully close," he said looking out the window.

It was darker outside; even the brightest lights had trouble penetrating the gloom. He saw a motion outside and swung open the door in time to let Joe back through.

Joe shuck off the poncho and shook himself like a dog. "Everyone is set. There's at least two stable hands in each stable and all the emergency equipment has been checked, in case we loose power or telephones," he said.

"Good."

Owen snuck a glance over his shoulder at his sister. "Do you think it's okay for her to be like this?"

Joe considered Tracey. She was walking CJ around with a single-minded intensity that could be scary in most people. In her, it was downright frightening.

"Whatever gets her and us through the next 24 hours," he replied.

Owen resumed his place on the hay bale and Joe joined him.

The world seemed to stop spinning, until, that is, the sound of Owen's stomach rumbling pierced the silence.

Even as his face coloured in embarrassment, the phone in the office rang. Owen sprang up. "I'll get it!"

While he disappeared into the office, Joe regarded Tracey curiously. She was leading the moaning horse around the stable seemingly talking to herself, because her lips moved constantly yet no sound was heard. But, as Joe watched, CJ's ears flickered towards her and his tension seemed to ease.

Owen returned from the office, with a vaguely troubled expression on his face.

"The rain has washed the roads out and the river has already risen. Harry is stuck on Ben's side until the level goes down. They're gonna try again at first light."

Tracey's ear twitched and her stride falters slightly, but she continued on.

"Why don't you go home Joe," Owen suggested. "I'll stay here with Tracey and CJ."

Tracey looked up at him and vehemently shook her head. Her hand lifted and her finger pointed at the door.

"Tracey!" Owen rebuked, "You know I don't like leaving you here on your own all night," he protested.

Her finger shook under his chin before indicating the door again. Her eyes easily conveyed her thoughts: It's not as if anyone else is going to be out in this weather! And whose the oldest anyway?!

"I think that's as close to a 'Get Out' as we're going to get from her," Joe commented from his place at the door. "Come and doss on my couch, Owen. You're not going to be able to get home in this weather," he offered.

"Thanks." Owen turned to Tracey, who had gone back to leading CJ around the barn. "We'll see you first thing tomorrow, sis."

She never acknowledged his comment, or their exit.

They ran across the stable yard to where a building housed several apartments for the grooms and stable hands. Once just inside the doorway, and out of the pouring rain, Owen turned back. The light from the interior of the hospital barn was blurrily visible through the rain. Tracey's shadow could be seen leading CJ around.

"I wonder what goes on in her head in times like this," Owen said to Joe as they watched for a moment, before making their way upstairs to Joe's third floor apartment.



***************



I've done it again. Thanks to my negligence and stupidity, someone's been hurt. I'm sorry CJ, I really didn't mean to.

As if he sensed her distress, over his own, CJ nudged her arm with his nose, trying to offer what comfort he could.

It's too much. Even after all these years, no matter what I do I always hurt someone. I have to leave; I need to escape.

Tracey looked around the barn wildly.

Between the light inside and the dark outside, the windows might as well have been walls and Owen had closed the door, against the driving rain outside.

There's no way out. It's just like ? like ? !!

Even as panic set in CJ nudged her again to remind her that he was there.

But I can't leave you. Her mental voice softened and then strengthened. I'll stay. Until someone who can take better care of you gets here. Just until someone else gets here.

Repeating that phrase like a mantra, she continued to walk in a circle.



***************



Sometime during the night the thunder stopped and the rain lessoned to a light drizzle.

Just before dawn, a much be-muddied and battered Landrover rumbled to a stop outside the barn and a very cold, very muddied vet stepped out, followed by the driver, a large, vaguely grizzly man.

They both stumbled through the door, slipping on the mud that was liberally scattered around.

"Good morning Tracey," the vet, Harry, said as he saw who was leading CJ in circles. "Give me ten minutes to clean up and I'll be down to help you."

He indicated the hay bale that Owen and Joe had been using earlier. "Ben, why don't you grab a seat." Then in a stage whisper he added, "She probably won't give up that horse, no matter how tired she is." And then he went up the stairs, two at a time.

Ben was about to sit down when he noticed Tracey. When they had come through the door, she seemed to freeze into place, but now, seeing him look at her, she swung into action.

She shoved the lead rein into his hands and gave him a push in the direction she had been walking. Then she out the door as if the hounds of hell were after her.

Moments later a grey shadow thundered past the door and she was gone.



As predicted, ten minutes later a clean vet came down the stairs.

"Where's Tracey?" he asked, looking around in surprise.

"I don't know. She gave me CJ and then she disappeared on that grey devil of hers," Ben replied.

Harry frowned, but then dismissed her. Tracey was one person he would never understand.

He began CJ's examination.



****************



"Oh fuck!" Owen cursed as he sat up suddenly.

A glance out the window told him that it was just before dawn, and the rain had stopped.

"What?! What's wrong?!" Joe demanded as he stumbled out of his bedroom, trying to kick off the sheet still tangled around his foot.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck," Owen continued as he fell off the couch in his haste to get up and to the window, overlooking the stable yard.

"You said that already," Joe commented. "What's wrong?" He managed to untangle himself and moved into the living area.

"Tracey's new parole officer is coming around today!" Owen said as if that explained everything. He reached the window and looked out, searching for something.

"So?"

"So?! What does she do every time something goes wrong with the horses?" The stable yard was still empty.

It dawned on Joe. "She takes off."

"Exactly. I've got to get down there before Harry does." He made a sudden break for the door.

Joe made a grab at him to stop him. "Whoa there cowboy. You might want to put some clothes on first. If you go out in your shorts, you're gonna end up with pneumonia."

Owen looked a little sheepish. "Oh yeah."

From outside they could hear a rumble approach, stop, and car doors slam.

They looked at each with a tinge of fear.

A variety of curses turned the air blue.

They both made a dash for their clothes.



A moment later Owen and Joe burst into the barn. They both looked a little worse for wear and Owens' shirt was decidedly on inside out and back to front.

Startled, Harry looked up from his examination of CJ. Owen looked around.

"Wait. Let me guess. She's not here," Owen said, as Harry seemed about to say something.

"You just missed her," Harry replied.

I will not swear. I have already exceeded my daily quota. I will not swear. Owen was not sure who he was convincing, himself or his tongue.

"She handed CJ over to me and then took off on that devil of hers," Ben added.

"Okay. I'm gonna take Squares out and see if I can find her. Though if she's on Devil?." The rest of the comment went unsaid. Tracey's Devil was faster than any of the regular horses on the farm and probably faster than most of the racehorses as well. The only reason that he wasn't racing was that Tracey either didn't have his registration papers, or she wasn't inclined to produce them. "Keep the house posted on CJ's progress." He turned to Joe. "It's back to regular business for the rest of the stable. Try and keep everyone a little too busy to gossip. If the PO (parole officer) comes around here, I don't want him hearing anything about her disappearing."

"Aye sir." Joe grinned. "Go find your sister," he commanded as he shoved Owen out the door.

---JJJ---



To be continued... END OF PART ONE



RIDING AGAINST THE ODDS - PART 2

By: Faranath (far_dragon@yahoo.com)



Disclaimers: See part one.



CHAPTER TWO

Boom, boom, boom.

The sound of a great brass knocker reverberated throughout the house, the sound startling the person standing at the front door.

The reason for such a large knocker was, however, readily apparent. The house had the wider girth of a standard one-storey property in town, however it stood three storeys tall. Obviously the large brass knocker was needed to get to the furthest reaches of the house.

The sound set off a high-pitched yap that scuttled out of the kitchen and galloped to the front door.

"Lady no!" a dark haired woman commanded as she came gracefully down the stairs.

Brown eyes peered out at her from under long fur, but the Yorkshire terrier, more fondly known as "The Mat", quieted.

The woman opened the door.

"May I help you?" she asked.

The woman standing on the other side was smartly dressed with well-groomed red hair.

"Ah yes. I'm Jackie Mason and I'm looking for Tracey Lawrence or Leonora Lawrence," Jackie replied.

"J. Mason?" the woman asked.

"Yes," Jackie replied.

"You must be Tracey's new parole officer. I apologise for making assumptions but we were expecting a man."

"Most people usually are," Jackie said with a grin.

"I'm Leonora. Please come in." Leonora waved Jackie inside and showed her to the small living room, just off the hallway, that the family used when there were no guests staying.

"Would you like tea, coffee, some orange juice perhaps?" Leonora offered.

Jackie was slightly disarmed. From what she had been told she had been expecting hostility or bare civility, not courtesy.

"Uh, tea, thanks," she replied.

"Have a seat. I'll be back in a moment," Leonora said with a smile and made her way to the kitchen.

Jackie barely had time to sit and glance around the room before a tall, dark haired young man, who looked very similar to Leonora, entered the room.

He held out his hand to her as he approached.

"Hi. You must be Ms Mason. I'm David, Tracey's older brother."

Jackie shook his hand. "Please, call me Jackie. Ms Mason always makes me feel old," she said with a grin.

Leonora returned to the room just as David took a seat, on the couch opposite Jackie.

"It'll be just a moment," she said as she sat down on a chair next to David.

"Is Tracey here?" Jackie asked.

"No. The thunderstorm yesterday caught her and Owen at the stables," Leo replied. "They would probably have been back sooner except that Owen radioed in last night and told me that one of the horses is sick. I think he said colic, but the connection was bad. And if a horse is sick, then Tracey probably forgot that you were coming today. I was about to radio them and remind them."

Even as she spoke the front door open to admit a very wet, very cold body.

"Owen?" she called.

"Yes mom," he replied.

"Is Tracey with you?"

"No." His voice sounded a little unsure.

Jackie's ears pricked up at that. She knew that her charge has a tendency to run.

"No." He sounded more confident now. "Once Harry was back to take care of CJ - he had colic - she went out to check the horses and repair a fence that we discovered yesterday when we brought in the horses before the storm." He came to stand at the doorway to the living room, careful to keep his dripping relegated to the floor of the hallway, and off the carpet. He nodded to Jackie. "We forgot that her PO was supposed to come today and when I remembered, she was already gone on Devil, so I came home instead." The term PO was coloured with dislike. He did not see his mom flinch nor David's warning glare as he had already turned to look at Jackie. "Hi, I'm Owen."

"Jackie," she replied. "I'm Tracey's PO."

He had the good grace to blush. "Uh, we thought you were a guy."

"So I gathered from what your mother has told me. Sorry to disappoint," Jackie replied.

If anything Owen's blushed deepened. He turned to his mother.

"I'm going to go and clean up."

"You do that," she replied, glaring at the muddy puddle gathering at his feet. "And then you come down here, I'll have some tea waiting for you, I doubt you've had breakfast." This time she glared at him.

"No ma'am. I'll be down in a moment." He headed straight up the stairs.

Leonora rose. "I'll just radio the stables and ask them to send Tracey this way if they see her," she said. "Excuse me a moment.

She went into the study, just across the hall. Left alone with Jackie David said, "So, Jackie, what's the latest news in town?"



Ten minutes later a cleaner, dryer and far more presentable looking Owen showed up. His mouth started watering at the sight of the sandwiches, which had accompanied the tea.

Leonora just laughed at him. "Here you go, you rapscallion," she said as she handed the plate to him.

"Thanks Mom," he replied, before making inroads into the plate.

Jackie watched him for a moment, amazed, as always, at how teenagers could put food away. She gave her head a slight shake realising she had been staring.

"Is there anyway to get Tracey here?" she asked Leonora.

"When she's out on the farm, alone, there's not real way to get hold of her, unless you go out and track her, which is pretty impossible with the ground as muddy as it is now," Leonora replied.

"Didn't you say that you had a radio system. Doesn't that extend to people out and about? Surely that's unsafe? What if there's an accident?"

"We do have a system, but it doesn't work with T," David replied.

"Why not?"

"You obviously haven't been fully briefed have you?" he asked. Leonora began to visibly tense up.

"What makes you say that?" Jackie asked.

"Because if you had, you would have known that T doesn't speak. She hasn't said a word in years," explained David.

With a choked cry Leonora dashed from the room in the direction of the study. Concerned, Owen followed her out. The door closed behind them.

Jackie followed her with her eyes before turning back to David.

"You have to understand how difficult this is for mom," he said.

"Why don't you tell me Tracey's story as you know it. I think there's more here than what the reports will tell me," Jackie suggested.

David sighed, shaking his head. "Tracey was mom's pride and joy. Her academic results were excellent and she was very helpful and friendly and also gifted in sports. She wanted to study to be a vet so that she could work here, on Lucky Lady Ranch."

He paused again, remembering.

"But then when dad was killed, everything changed and it was not for the better. Tracey was rebellious and Owen was following in her footsteps. Then they disappeared, only to be found by the SAPS (South African Police Service) in the middle of a drug bust.

"I've only heard the descriptions of the scene, as given in court, but even those were enough to make me sick."

He paused again.

"She hasn't said a word since. Not even in her own defence, during the trial.

"Owen wanted to hep her, but he had, unfortunately, taken a severe blow to the head and couldn't remember what had happened, in fact he still doesn't, so he couldn't help at all.

"Trying to force anything out of her, just makes her withdraw, so we just try and leave things be ... we just make sure she knows that we're here for her if she ever does want to say anything."

He looked Jackie straight in the face. "Maybe you'll make a difference. Her last PO was a jerk. A male jerk. She hasn't taken well to strange men since she was in Juvie. That's another tale we can't get out of her. From what her PO said we gathered that something happened, we just don't know what."

His expression was hopeful.

"Ah, ah. Don't expect me to say anything. Not unless she becomes suicidal," Jackie said.

"Rats."

Silence reigned.

Jackie was processing what David had told her. Some things correlated with the report she had been given, but a lot didn't. She could see that she obviously knew a lot more about what had happened to Tracey, in Juvie, than the family did.

Before the silence became uncomfortable, Leonora returned, visibly more composed.

"You're stuck here, I'm afraid. The rain has started up again and nothing is going to get through that river."



Sometime later, as the rain lifted, after lunch with still no sign of Tracey, there was a curious scratching and whining noise at the front door.

Owen was in the study, working on various horse things; Leonora was puttering around in the kitchen, generally getting in the way of the cook; while David was entertaining Jackie with tales of the family's younger years.

Being the closest, David jumped up and opened the door, having a vague idea what or who was on the other side.

On the doorstep stood a very wet, very bedraggled looking German Shepard. A very bloody German Shepard.

"Owen!" David roared. "It's Dog! And he ain't looking good!"

"What?!" Owen came out of the study so quickly that he dragged his chair with him. He shook his foot to release it.

He paled when he saw the blood darkening Dog's coat.

Owen reached out to try and examine him, but Dog danced just out of reach.

"You know he's not going to let you near him," David commented.

"Yes, but I can try," Owen responded. "Get him some water, he looks like he needs it."

"Here." Before David could even turn around, Leonora was handing a bowl of water over his shoulder.

While Dog drank thirstily Owen managed to get close enough to examine him.

"There's a good set of shallow scratches on his ribs and he's covered in nicks. I'd call the culprit a cat," Owen said. "Though the graze here at his shoulder looks like a hoof and I don't think all this blood is his. The scratches aren't deep enough."

"A cat? As in a domestic kitty did this?" Jackie queried incredulously.

"Not a domesticated cat, a mountain lion," David clarified.

"Yeah," Owen added. "We thought we had managed to get 'em all, a few years ago when one turned man eater, but two seasons ago there were reports of an old cat and three cubs. We got the mother and two cubs, but one got away. Looks like he's back."

"What happened to the cats you 'got' the first time round?" Jackie asked, not sure if she wanted the answer.

"Well, the man-eater was destroyed. Luckily the victim had gotten a shot off, so he was easily identifiable. The rest were distributed to nature reserves and zoos around the world," David replied. "The same happened to the mother and her cubs."

"But if this is anything to go by," and Owen indicated Dog, whose drinking had stopped and was now licking some of his wounds, "We're going to have to go out with shot guns for this one, not tranquillisers."

"After you find Tracey," Leonora interjected, handing Owen and David their jackets, she had pulled out from the nearby closet. "You get the horses ready and I'll sort out a first aid kit."

"I'd like to join you," Jackie added. At their raised eyebrows she defended herself. "I grew up in a farming community! I can ride and shoot!" she said.

"David go and saddle three horses," Leonora instructed, pulling another jacket out of the closet.

David did as he was bid. "Not Squares!" Owen called after him. "And don't forget the rain slickers!"

"Did Tracey have her jacket when she went out?" Leonora asked, still standing at the closet.

Owen thought. "Probably not."

"Then here take hers with you. I'll be back in a moment." She thrust Tracey's not oft worn jacket into his hands before disappearing into the kitchen again.



Not too much later, a clattering of hooves signalled David's return, even as Leonora came out of the kitchen with a set of saddle bags in her hands.

"There's hot tea and cold water in the two thermos' and the full first aid kit in the other side," she said as she showed Owen the contents.

"Thanks mom. We'll bring her back safe," Owen said giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Just make sure you come back safe too."

"We will mom," he replied as he allowed Jackie to go out of the door first.

Once they had all mounted, Jackie doing it easily enough to allay the boys' worries, Owen called out, "Dog! Find Tracey!" And Dog took off towards the mountains.



---JJJ---



CHAPTER THREE

Dog led them on a trek across the ranch. They went past the mountain, used by the visitors for walking and climbing, and along the boundary between the cattle half and the horse half of the ranch. (Author's note: For those you don't know 'trek' is an Afrikaans word invented right here in South Africa, though it is admittedly based on a Dutch word. There is no true translation but in general it means 'slow arduous voyage/journey'.)

They stopped when they came to the set of mountains that formed part of the range that was the border of the farm.

By now Jackie had realised that she was going to be decidedly sore and stiff the following day, from maintaining her seat in the slippery saddle (from the rain) and she had great admiration for the restraint shown by her horse, for her out of practice riding skills and she commented as such.

David and Owen sat contemplating the mountain. They knew from aerial surveys that there was a plateau between this mountain and the one just visible behind it, but they had never found a route across ground to get to it. 'Supposedly' never found, for now Dog led them through a hidden tunnel, formed by an overhang, which got them past the main block and into the area behind the mountain.

A steep rocky path, taken very carefully, for the recent rains had left it very slippery, led them to a gate, which Dog opened by standing on his back legs, flicking the locking flap up and nosing the gate open. They followed him through only to have him close it behind them.

"Now I know why Tracey was never bothered with all the gates around here, she had Dog to open and close them for her," Owen joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Secretly he was hoping the Dog would hang around long enough to lead them out, because between the overhang and the gate, the route that Dog had led them had left Owen's directional sense very muddled.

They followed Dog up the last bit of the path and all of a suddenly they were on the hidden plateau. Rocky mountains stretched up around them and a lush green pasture was spread out before them.

His memory of the aerial survey told Owen that at the far end, where the green came to a stop, there was another steep drop similar to the one they had just walked their horses up. It was probably steeper, presumably Tracey had chosen the easiest route up to the pasture.

A whinny drew their attention to their left, where they saw a group of horses huddled under a makeshift stable, trying to get out of the slowing rain.

A distressed reply drew their attention in the other direction. There stood Devil, under one of the few trees, splay legged, with his head bowed. Even as they watched he tried to raise his head, but he couldn't because his reins had broken and the longer half had wrapped itself around his foreleg, effectively hobbling him in place.

"Come on, she must be there," Owen directed, before kneeing his horse in that direction.

As they approached Devil tried to move away from them, without much success. They also found a set of scratches on his hindquarters, that had clogged, but as he tried to move, the blood started to flow again.

"Hey there boy, we're just here to help," David said softly as he dismounted and approached Devil to untie him.

Looking at his scratches he hissed in sympathy. "These are definitely a cat's doing."

Meanwhile Owen and Jackie had dismounted and begun to examine the area around them. Jackie wandered over to the edge of the plateau, turning a little green as she peered of the edge and down the steep edge on the other side, while Owen looked around the tree that Devil had been standing under.

Once David had checked that Devil's bleeding had stopped and that there was nothing they could do for him then and there, he tied Devil's reins to his saddle and followed Jackie to the edge of the plateau.

"Whoa! I hope she didn't fall down there," he commented.

"There's signs of a fight here," Owen called. "But I don't know where it went after this." He started looking around, getting a little fidgety because he didn't know what had happened to the cat and a hurt cat would be dangerous.

The sound of leaves rustling and branches creaking, above him, were enough to make him jump some distance away.

A large body came crashing down, to land where he had stood moments before.

"Oh, it was a cat all right," he said. "But I'm guessing we don't have to worry about it now."

The body was that of a mountain lion. A very large mountain lion. A very large, very dead mountain lion. It had obviously put up a great struggle, but the knife, buried hilt deep in its chest, made sure it was undeniably dead.

Owen picked up a front paw and tried to shift the dead weight with no success. David and Jackie gave him a hand ? or tried to anyway. The muddy ground made for a slippery surface that allowed for no traction and they all found themselves in the mud at least once before the body was moved off to one side, so that they could stand under the tree and look up into its branches.

There above them, on a wide branch, sat Tracey. She was covered in scratches and blood, some obviously not her own, if the looks of the cat was anything to go by.

Her right leg braced her body against the branch below, while her left jean leg was ripped and was bloody from hip to mid calf. Her shirt was ripped and not even worth rags. She cradled her right wrist against her chest and her good hand moved, from where she had obviously held the cat, to get a grasp on the tree trunk. Her glazed eyes looked down at them.

"Tracey, you need to come down," Owen called gently. "David's here. He'll catch you."

David moved into her view, holding his arms out like a cradle. "Come on, T, I won't let you down now."

The relaxation of her grip on the tree was all the warning he had, before she landed in his arms.

"Tracey?"

Her eyes were closed and her breathing shallow.

"Where's her jacket, she's very cold and I think she's passed out," he said.

Jackie brought her jacket, the first aid kit and the waterproof poncho Tracey had had tied to her saddle.

David held onto her while Owen and Jackie had a look at her for obvious wounds that needed tending. Owen lifted her jeans leg and whistled. It looked as if most of the skin, which was meant to be over her knee cap, was in fact embedded in her jeans leg, lifting up with it and revealing a kneecap that was decidedly NOT where it was supposed to be. Owen swallowed convulsively at the sight before him.

"I don't think I'm gonna do anything about that," he commented, before wrapping some gauze loosely around it, to hold it in place.

"Here's why she passed out," David said, indicating a large contusion on the back of her head. "The horse stables are the closest. I suggest that after we radio Mom and Joe, we make our way out of here. Then you and Jackie head at all speed to the horse stables, while I follow at less of a pace, with Devil. He won't be going anywhere fast for a while, but I don't want to leave him here. You guys go straight to the hospital with Mom and I'll follow with some gear for her, by the looks of this she's gonna be spending the night, at least," he suggested.

Owen nodded his agreement, too caught up, in what had almost happened to his sister, to be able to make a verbal response.

Owen and Jackie worked on getting Tracey as ready for travelling as they could, while David radioed home.

"Mom, y'there?"

"I'm here, David."

David carefully considered what to say. He knew that anything was going to cause panic.

"We've found Tracey. She's in need of medical attention. Owen and Jackie are going to bring her into the stables. You can take her in from there."

There was a moment's pause.

"No. Let me bring out the Landrover and fetch her."

"Mom, you know that it's going to take longer for us to get to a Landrover accessible point. Go to the stables."

"But?"

"Mom, go to the stables. It's best for her."

"Okay. What of you?"

"I'm bringing Devil in. He's been hurt as well. I'll see you at the hospital."

"Okay. See you there."

As David finished Owen indicated that Tracey was as ready as they would get her.

Owen mounted up and David and Jackie passed her to him. Then he and Jackie mounted and followed Dog out of the plateau, being careful to make sure the gate was solidly closed behind them.



On the trip back, it began to rain again, and while it washed away the blood and gore they had picked up moving the cat and tending to Tracey, it also made everyone wet and sticky.



***************



The arrival of Owen and Jackie, with a still unconscious Tracey, at the stables was like that of a whirlwind. Their horses were handed off to stable hands and they bumbled into the car, barely pulling the door closed before Joe pulled out of the stable yard, hospital bound.



***************



David arrived at the stables not long after the car had left. He turned the injured horse over to the vet before going back to the house, donning clean dry clothes and collecting clothes for Owen, Tracey and Jackie. Then he too left for the hospital.



***************



At the hospital a doctor and a gurney were awaiting their arrival. Owen relinquished his sister to the gurney and she was taken to a cubicle in the emergency room, to be checked out for wounds other than the obvious, before being sent to have her wrist and knee x-rayed.

A nurse showed the rest of the troupe to the waiting room.

Jackie sank wearily into the nearest chair, trying to remember when last she had had this much drama on a simple visitation. She was coming up with a blank.

Owen sat down next to her, pulling at his increasingly uncomfortable clothes. "I hope David thinks to bring a change of clothes for us too," he commented.

Jackie's head thudded against the wall behind her, but her eyes tracked to Owen.

"So what the hell just happened out there?"

Owen just shrugged.



***************



It was not much later when David showed up. When Owen saw him carrying two bags he nearly jumped for joy, except he was too tired and his clothes had hardened to the point where he didn't think he could. So he settled for, "Thanks Bro," before grabbing the bag offered to him and heading out of the waiting room.

David offered the second bag to Jackie.

"These are some of Tracey's old clothes. They might be a bit big, but they're warm and dry," he offered.

"Thanks," she said with a grateful smile, before following Owen out of the waiting room.



***************



Owen and Jackie had barely returned when the doctor showed up. Being a smallish town and with Tracey's tendency for accidents, the family were well acquainted with all of the emergency room doctors as well as several specialists that floated throughout the hospital. The one approaching them was an old friend from the emergency room.

"Leonora," he said, with a smile.

"Thomas. How's Tracey?"

"She's going to be fine. She's in X-ray now, to make sure that we set her knee correctly, then she'll be moved up to the ward and you guys will be able to see her," the doctor replied.

"What did she manage to do to herself this time?" Owen asked, half joking and half not.

"Well, there is a fair list. She has a bump on her head, numerous cuts and scrapes and her right wrist has been badly broken. The gash on her leg luckily missed anything severely vital though the movement that caused it also pulled her knee out of position. Not a complete dislocation but the ligaments have been stretched. Her knee has been braced so she's going to have to be careful of that leg until the brace comes off and the stitches come out." He paused. "I know she's going to hate this, but no riding for the next ten days," he warned.

Owen rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah. She's gonna love that," he said with a snort.

"Well either she listens or she stays here and I know which one she's going to hate more," Thomas replied with a grin.

"We'll keep and eye on her Doc," David assured him.

Thomas checked his clipboard. "She's going up to Ward 4. I need to check on a few more patients and then I will join you. Joe's at the desk so she can help you if you get lost."

Leonora gave him a "Get real" look. "With my three, I should hope I know my way around here by now."



---JJJ---



To be continued... END OF PART TWO



RIDING AGAINST THE ODDS - PART 3

By: Faranath (far_dragon@yahoo.com)



Disclaimers: See part one.



CHAPTER FOUR



The blonde head perked up as a new patient was wheeled into the ward. From what she could see the new patient was tall with pitch-black hair and unconscious.

"Hey, Nurse George. Whose the newbie?" The blonde spoke to the nurse checking her blood pressure.

"Hmm? Oh, that's Tracey Lawrence," the nurse replied.

"Never heard of her."

"You wouldn't have. She runs part of the Lucky Lady Ranch just outside of town, but she never leaves except during racing season or for her semi regular trips to the emergency room."

"Well, maybe I'll go and talk to her later," Caitlyn suggested.

"Huff, you'll definitely be talking TO her."

"Huh?"

"She doesn't speak. She hasn't for ages. I've been here for years and when she was a little tyke, just learning how to ride and train horses, she was in here every other day with some injury or another. She was an outgoing youngster," the nurse paused with a grin. "Pretty much like you, always running around the hospital, cheering up the other patients, with us chasing after her.

"But then her dad died and she disappeared for a while. About three years later her uncle died and then six months after his funeral she was back and as far as I know not a word has passed her lips since. She has refused to communicate in any shape or form.

"I know that physically she's as healthy as the horses she rides but something happened to that youngster I knew and until someone gets it out of her she's going to stay as uncommunicative as she is now."

Abruptly the nurse switched tracks. "Your temperature and blood pressure are back up, young lady. You need to rest for a bit. No visiting the kids today, okay?"

"Aww, but they're so much more fun than these old moaners," Caitlyn groaned.

"No more visiting," Nurse George reiterated. "We don't want you getting worse again."

Caitlyn sighed dramatically. "Okay, I'll stay in the ward."

"Ah ah. I know your tricks. I want you to stay in bed until supper, okay?" the nurse wagged a finger at Caitlyn in a warning gesture. "Then maybe you can move about the ward."

"All right, I'll stay in bed," Caitlyn huffed as she settled back in her bed.

Nurse George watched as she settled down before moving on to the next patient.

Caitlyn lay facing the new bed and watched the proceedings.

A group of people came to stand at her bedside, including the ward sister and one of the doctors, generally known as Doc Thomas.

Tracey appeared to be unconscious but even as Caitlyn watched she began to react to the voices at her bedside.

************************

During the afternoon Caitlyn either slept or watched the new arrival.

Through deduction and observation (and listening to the nurses talk) she learnt that the older woman was Tracey's mother and the two young men were her brothers, older and younger. The older man was apparently the head honcho in charge of the horses on the farm, but no one seemed to know who the other woman was.

Once Tracey had regained consciousness and had been checked over by the doctor, the family was hustled out of the ward and was warned not to come back until the evening visiting hour.

From what Caitlyn could tell Tracey was grateful for the intervention.



***************



The rattle of the supper trolley and the food smells that accompanied it woke Caitlyn from a sound sleep. Nurse George, who came once again to check her vitals, accompanied it.

"There. See. Everything's back to normal. That rest did you good," the nurse said as she placed a tray of food on Caitlyn's bed table. "You can move about again, but only in the ward and only in your wheelchair. No hopping about, okay?"

Caitlyn looked like she was going to object, except that her mouth was too full for her to say much.

"Doctor's orders."

Caitlyn looked disgruntled but refrained from commenting.

"Now visiting hours will be starting soon, so as soon as you're finished I'll help you into your wheelchair and you can do some visiting of you own. I know that old Mrs Alson's son won't be visiting tonight, so maybe you can cheer her up, seeing as you're the only one she seems to like around here," the nurse said with a grin.

"Hey, all I do is listen to her. She tells great stories about when she was a girl," Caitlyn replied.

"Well, you're the only one with time to listen to her. Buzz me when you're finished there," Nurse George said as she moved off to the next bed.



***************



Evening visiting hours came and along with them and influx of people. As usual there was no one to visit Caitlyn, but that was no matter, almost everyone who came in greeted her in some manner. Using her wheelchair she wheeled around the ward visiting fellow patients, particularly those whose visitors either hadn't arrived, or who lived too far away for regular visits.

Soon after the ward opened to visitors Leonora, Owen and David arrived to visit Tracey.

"Hey, T!" Owen and David greeted.

Tracey gave them a smile in greeting before giving them a hopeful look.

"Sorry, Tracey, but you're still staying here overnight," Leonora replied.

Tracey's face fell into a pout that set everyone off laughing.

"I see Tracey's doing better," a voice from behind said.

"Well, Thomas you'll have to tell us that," Leonora said as she moved to allow the doctor access to his patient.

Thomas checked the wound on Tracey's head as well as all the various scratches.

"Humf. Already healing well. If I could bottle you, I'd be a millionaire within a week," he said as he straightened. "Looks good. You'll definitely be out of here tomorrow." He smiled at Tracey's look of relief. "Hey, it's not that bad here," he said acting insulted. David and Owen laughed and even Tracey cracked a smile.

"Why don't you two keep your sister company, while I have a quick word with you mother," Thomas said to David and Owen.

"Sure," David replied.

"Leo?" Thomas indicated the door.

Leonora followed Thomas, wondering what it was that he couldn't speak in front of her family. He led the way to a small alcove just outside the ward.



"Well, Thomas, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just have a favour to ask. In fact I was going to contact you today, for this reason. We, that is the staff on this ward and I, were hoping that you could help us with something," he began.

"Yesss?" Leonora replied, in the tone of voice that implied that she wasn't sure she was going to like what he was going to ask of her.

"There's a young woman on this ward, Caitlyn. She's bounced in and out of this hospital since she was about eleven. She's now nearly twenty-two."

"And?"

"Well, officially she's here because she fell down the stairs. Unofficially the staff here thinks that story is bullshit. She had two cracked ribs, a dislocated shoulder and a severely wrenched knee. Not to mention the new and old welt marks and cigarette burns. Now neither she nor her father are straying from the stair story, but I think you know what I'm implying."

"Uh huh. Go on."

"Because she's overage we can't get child services involved, again. And none of us understand why she continues to live with her father, but that's the way things are. Now I know that the tourist season is past, so you've probably closed up most of your camping/hotel rooms, but??" He stuttered a little.

"But would I take her in to keep her out of harms way," Leo concluded.

"Yes. She's nearly ready to go home, but if you could take her home tomorrow with Tracey her dad'll not find her and maybe you can get through to her."

"Of course the fact that I have done lots of counselling at the woman's shelter has nothing to do with this."

"Actually it has everything to do with it. If anyone can get inside her head it's you," Doc Thomas said.

"Thomas, I can't even help my own daughter, what makes you think I can help this girl?"

"Professionally I don't think you'll be able to help Tracey until she wants help. Personally I think Caitlyn may be a key to helping unlock that secret."

"Okay. I'll have to run it by David and Owen, because they will have to help Tracey and Caitlyn until they're on their own feet again."

"Not running it by Tracey?" Doc Thomas asked with a sly grin, secretly glad that she had agreed.

"No, she'll veto it right off. I'm not giving her any option in this," Leo replied. "I'll check with the boys but for now assume that we'll pick them both up in the morning."

"I have no idea how to thank you, Leo. You might just be saving Caitlyn's life."



***************

The middle of the night is a quiet time in the ward. The patients were asleep, the lights dimmed and the nurse were enjoying a cup of coffee in the room at the door. Large windows afforded the two nurses a clear view of the large ward.

A movement in one of the beds distracted a nurse from her coffee cup.

"Tracey is becoming restless."

"It's my turn to do the rounds, I'll go and check on her," her companion replied, rising and heading out the room door.

But a shadow beat her to Tracey's bed. So she stayed at the door and simply watched.



Caitlyn hadn't been sleeping, as she knew she should have been. She was watching the night pass, when Tracey's increased movements had attracted her attention. Knowing that the nurses were having their regular coffee break she slid over to the edge of her bed.

She carefully moved her feet closer to the floor, hissing faintly when her bad leg made contact with the ground.

Now is not the time to prove a point, she thought, eyeing the distance between her bed and Tracey's. So she hobbled backwards, to the wheelchair that had been conveniently left beside her bed.

Once seated she quietly rolled her way to Tracey's bedside.



The nurse watched for a while as Caitlyn calmed Tracey and then had a seemingly one-sided conversation with her. Deciding that they had talked long enough, she made her way over.



Caitlyn nearly leapt a foot out of her chair when she felt a hand descend onto her shoulder.

"You should be in bed, young lady," the nurse admonished in a low tone.

"I suppose I should be," Caitlyn replied, seeing no reason to deny the obvious.

"Well, why don't you get yourself back there then," the nurse suggested.



Once back in bed, Caitlyn slept no more than she had before. Instead she went over parts of her conversation, one-sided that it was, she had had with Tracey once Tracey had awakened from whatever nightmare she had been riding.

"You don't talk much do you?" she'd asked.

A blank stare was all the reply she got.

"That's okay, I talk enough for the both of us."

At least that brought out a slight smile.



Morning came as it always did on the ward, however this time it brought some unusual visitors to Caitlyn's bedside.

Owen, David and Leonora arrived early. Owen went to occupy Tracey, while David and Leonora proceeded on to Caitlyn's bedside.

"Good morning, Caitlyn. I understand you met Tracey last night. I'm Leonora, her mother and this is David, her elder brother," Leonora said in greeting.

"Hi," Caitlyn responded a tad uncertainly, not sure why Leonora would be visiting her.

"From what the nurses have told me, you're an avid collector of information, so you probably know that we all live and work a farm outside of town. What you probably don't know," and here Leonora began to stretch the truth a little, "Is that we sometimes help people who are recovering from an injury or an illness, but don't need to remain in hospital."

Caitlyn thought she could see where this was going and fervently hoped that she was right.

"Doc Thomas spoke with me yesterday, about you. As you probably know, you are nearly ready to leave the hospital, as there's not much more they can do for you here, but you still have some way to go before you are fully recovered. He was hoping that, if you are agreeable, you could come stay at the farm for a while."

Leo paused for a moment to allow Caitlyn to consider what was being said.

"We're taking Tracey home after breakfast. If you want to, you're welcome to come with us."

Caitlyn thought about it for a moment, before nodding her head. "I'd like that. Thanks."



---JJJ---



END OF PART THREE

Continued In Part 4