11A/N: I know it has been two years since I have updated this story. I'm sorry and the only excuse I have is that I am in grad school. I appreciate the reviews I've gotten in the last few weeks. This chapter introduces some more characters from Return to Snowy River and I'm curious to see if anyone figures out who the villain is at the end of the chapter. I plan to be more regular with this story over the next few months but there's no guarantee. I couldn't find Seb's last name listed anywhere so I just made one up. If anyone knows please tell me so I can fix it.
Chapter 3
Forty-five minutes later, the five riders were headed out across the plains. The mountain air was cool and clean in the wake of the night's storm. The ground however was a sloppy mess of mud and water. The twins, feeling as feisty as their mounts, suddenly kicked their horses into a gallop as mud flew from the hooves. Jim laughed as his youngest raced after his brothers. Whip smiled before turning to his father.
"Dad?"
Jim glanced over at his son's suddenly somber tone. "What's wrong, Whip?"
The young man shifted in his saddle. "I'm worried about Ellen. She's keeping to herself too much and she's not making friends with any of the girls in her class."
"Do you think it's the teasing she's been getting?"
"I don't know." The fifteen year old replied. "I do know that she feels very ashamed of her limp and that enough of the kids have teased her that she doesn't trust anyone."
"Isn't Rosie helping her adjust?"
Whip snorted. "Rosie's definition of helping is to beat the tar out of anyone bad mouthing her sister, so the girls are careful not to say anything around her."
Jin sighed softly. "I was afraid of that. And Donavan knows how to make Rosie angry so he torments Ellen because he knows he'll get a rise out of her sister."
"Exactly. It wasn't as bad when Adam and Clancy were in school too but now that they've graduated, things have gotten a lot worse. Rosie doesn't help when she starts throwing punches. It upsets Ellen and that makes her even more of a target. Harry tries to protect her as well but he's only ten. There's only so much he can do."
"And he should be worrying about being a youngster rather than trying to protect his twelve year old sister."
Whooping alerted the two to Adam, Clancy and Harry's return. Jim smiled as his other three boys rode back to their dad.
"Hey Dad, there's a bunch of the horses just around the next bend. They're up in that little canyon Whip found last summer."
"Good eye Adam."
Rosemary sighed as she led her horse into the stable. The only redeeming aspect of the day was that Donavan hadn't been in school and since Ellen wasn't there either, she had been left alone. She trudged across the yard to the house letting the door slam shut behind her. Suddenly she stopped short, realizing that not only was the house eerily silent but the living room had been completely destroyed.
"Mum? Ellen?" she called quickly fighting the panic that was building. "Mum? Where are you? Ellen?" She turned and raced back toward the barn. "Mama?"
"The bad man took her." Ellen's frightened eyes appeared over the edge of the hay loft. "I think Mama knew him."
"What are you talking about? Who took Mum? Why on earth would she know him?" Fear made the older girl ramble almost hysterically. "What are you doing out here?" she fairly shouted.
"I don't know. She saw him in the window and she shoved me out the back door and told me to hide in here." Ellen wailed. "Why are you mad at me?"
Rosemary closed her eyes to reign in her emotions. "I'm sorry Ellen. I'm not made at you. I'm just scared for Mum." She smiled sadly up at her sister. "Come on. We've got to get to town and get some help."
"Where are we going to go?" the younger girl asked as she struggled down the ladder. "Dad is out on the muster with the boys."
"I know. We're going to head for Uncle Seb's place. If he's not there then we'll go to Mrs. Darcy."
Ellen nodded wordlessly as she helped her sister harness the horses to the wagon. Then the two girls headed for Eureka Creek.
Seb Jenkins straightened up as the sound of creaking wheels floated through the early evening air. His gaze narrowed as he took in the sight of his best friend's daughters coming down the path without either of their parents. He abandoned the fence rail he was mending and hurried toward the girls.
"Rosie, Ellen what's wrong? Where's your mum and dad?"
"Dad's out on a muster with the boys and some man broke in the house and took Mum." Rosemary jerked the team to a halt. "We came here because we didn't know where else to go."
Seb ran a hand through his white blonde hair. "Alright, first things first. You two are going to Mrs. Darcy's inn while I go find your dad."
"I want to help," Rosemary interjected quickly.
"You can help by getting your sister somewhere safe." Seb fixed his "niece" with a piercing glare. "And don't even think of leaving town until one of us comes for you."
The girl wilted under the direct stare. "Yes sir," she mumbled.
Several miles away from the homestead and in the opposite direction of the muster, Jessica glared at her captors. "You won't get away with this."
The man laughed without humor. "Oh yes we will. You see your husband made a fool out of me and I've never forgotten it. He ruined my chance at my own ranch and stole you."
"That was twenty years ago. And besides, my father wouldn't have let a hired hand court me in the first place."
"He let you court that bandicoot."
Jessica let out a bitter laugh. "No, actually he didn't. He forced me to choose between him and Jim and I chose Jim. It was only later that he came around."
"It doesn't matter. I'm going to make sure he loses everything." The man drew close to her, pulling a strand of hair through his fingers. "And I'm going to enjoy killing him after I make him watch you die."
Jessica jerked away. "Keep your hands off of me you pig."
Malicious laughter was her only answer as the man retreated to the other side of the campfire. "I think I'm going to have fun with this."