Kitten

Bret puts the car in gear again and gives Charlotte a sidelong glance as she hands him the quarter. "Keep it. We'll probably need it again."

It doesn't take long for them to reach a sideroad that takes them a couple miles off the main highway to a small gravel lot. Parking, Bret pops the trunk and retrieves a backpack to put a couple of the apples in, some trailmix and his little digital camera.

Once Charlotte is ready, he locks the car and leads the way toward a wooded path. They were truly out if the middle of nowhere, and the sense of the unknown adventure hung in the air.

"You know..." Bret turns around to walk backward for a moment. "You're pretty brave to come out here in the boonies with a guy you don't even know."


Carson gives Misty's hand an extra little squeeze at her reassuring words. "I don't understand you, Misty...but I sure am glad you are the way you are..." His words trail off, his body unable to resist the temptation of sleep as her hands lull him into a relaxed state.

...Carson's eyes fly open and he gives a little start. Blinking, he tilts his head to look up at Misty, realizing that he'd fallen asleep. "Sorry," he mumbles. "Guess I was more tired than I thought."

Thinking for a moment to bring himself out of his fog, he reaches a hand up, his finger outlining her face. "It's a lucky bloke that wakes up to the face of an angel." Searching Misty's eyes, his own reflect too many thoughts and emotions to even try sorting out. "I could stay here all day, but then I'd be going back on my word about doing something with you." He quirks a grin. "So what's the game plan?"


For but an instant, Con sees a strange look pass through the eyes of the child before him, and he suddenly realizes what BJ is talking about. Compassion hits him hard for this little boy that had been through things no six-year-old should have.

He breaks into another smile at BJ's theory about how he got hurt, and laughs as Jamie starts to tickle him. Intervening, he reaches down and scoops BJ up to hold him sideways under his left arm in such a way that he can't wriggle out. "You think I can't handle somebody on my own?? Huh??" His long fingers reach BJ's ribs to pick up where Jamie left off.

After a few more minutes of teasing BJ, Con finally lets him back down. "So what are you doing anyway? Are you helping set things up?"


Mel takes her instructions from Wes and makes her way to the house. Knocking first, she steps inside to find a slightly panicked atmosphere. Grinning at Rosetta's nervousness, she shakes her head. "Your soon-to-be brother-in-law wanted to make sure you weren't getting the jitters...I guess I'm too late."

She smiles and approaches the others. "Anything I can do to help?"


Clint rolls his eyes and stuff his rag in his back pocket. "Alright, alright. I'll go get dressed, if just to get you off my back." He points a finger at her, then Camryn. "I don't know why, but something tells me that the two of you can be a deadly combination, so don't think I'm not watching you..."

Turning to leave the break room, his foot catches on one of the chairs and he stumbles forward toward the door. Catching himself, he whirls around, aiming his fist at the chair. "And don't you start!"

As he slips out of sight, Camryn can't help her giggle. "Looks like you caught a fine one. I get the feeling Clint can be an awful lot of fun." She turns her head toward the window where she can just see Jason a ways away, walking with someone she didn't know. "If only I was so lucky," she comments ruefully. "But how can you reel in a fish that won't even look a the bait?"

She shakes her head with another laugh. "Okay. I would love to help you with the tables. Just point me in the right direction!"


"...so yeah...I still got bad bouts every once in a while."

Adam remains in quiet thought for several minutes as he and Jason stroll the perimeter of the ranch yard. "Well, I'm sorry you're still having trouble, Jason. From what you're describing now though, I would have to agree that perhaps these episodes are more than just the flashbacks you used to have."

Jason stops and turns to him. "Is there any way I can make them stop?"

Adam sets a hand up on his shoulder. "I wish I had a magic formula for you, but you know it doesn't work that way. I taught you how to walk through your past, and in doing so, it helped rid you of the "typical" flashbacks. But this..." He shakes his head. "The more I see you and study your case, the more I realize that you're indeed unique. Whether it's the kind of trauma, or whether it's the way your brain processes the information, for some reason, when you're caught off guard it's like blowing up a dam and letting everything out all at once."

"What do I do?"

"Let those close to you know what's going on so when it happens they can help you. Don't be scared of it and don't be ashamed of it. It's apparently something you can't control. Let people know what to do to help pull you back out - which is something only you know... and just keep working on those memories. This may very well be something that follows you the rest of your life. Or, it might fade." Adam gives an encouraging nod. "But no matter what, I have a feeling you'll survive...you're too hard-headed not to."

"Jason!!"

He looks up quickly to see Jade at the side of the house. "We need someone tall!"

Jason gives her a wave and calls to her. "Coming!" He turns back to Adam. "Guess that's my cue."

Adam grins. "Guess so. If I don't get a chance to talk to you again...you take care of yourself, alright?"

"Yeah..." Jason nods and turns to jog toward the house.

Adam watches him leave and gives a little sigh. The exchange had been brief, but he could tell there was an awful lot on the young man's mind. Jason hadn't mentioned prison, but Adam knew good and well that something like that would have affected him.


"Mick!" Sparky spots a figure on the ground next to Trebble who was standing quietly, his leadrope dangling loosely. He urges his horse forward quickly, with Eric behind him. "Mick?"

Mick looks up to see two riders and sighs, rising from his crouched position by Trebble. "Nice timing."

Sparky skids his horse to a halt and dismounts quickly. "What are you thinking?!" he raises his voice. "What happened?"

Mick frowns. "Look, Trebble spooked, I got hung up in his rope and he pulled me right out of the saddle."

"Oh that was smart."

"Don't rub it in!"

"Well are you okay?"

Mick grimaces and shows a tear in his shirt where there's blood. "Oh, I caught a rock or something, but I'll live."

Sparky rolls his eyes. "Well for pete's sake don't let Rosetta see you like that. She's in enough of a tizzy the way it is."

Mick raises his eyebrows. "She is?"

Sparky looks his brother in the eye. "Mick...it's...your...wedding...day.... hello!" He waves a hand in front of his face. "Now get your hind end back to that ranch and get yourself cleaned up! You only got a couple hours."

Mick smirks at him. "I do know what time it is, and since I do have a couple hours, I don't get why you're so ancy."

"I give up." Sparky throws his arms in the air.

Mick notices Eric sitting quietly on his horse. "And what are you doing here?"

"Nothing but enjoying the show." Eric grins. "Tell you what, you take my horse so you can lead Trebble and I'll ride double with Sparky back."

Mick gives a disgusted sigh for the whole situation and nods. "Alright." He takes hold of Trebble, satisfied the young horse wasn't injured from their little episode earlier.

It takes at least twenty minutes for the three riders to come back into view, and Mick tries to slip into the barn without letting anybody see his injury.


Scott wanders around the ranch, feeling miserably out of place, though he does find a few people he knows, and winds up chatting with Pete for several minutes. His nervousness of the crowd grows, but he tries to suppress it, winding up heading for the barn.

As he's walking down the aisle though, his eyes suddenly start to water and burn. Looking down, he sees a barn kitten. "Aw, no...no, kitty." He scoots the kitten back with his shoe, but it meows and trots back enthusiastically.

Scott sneezes and starts to back out of the barn, beginning to wheeze. The kitten follows right along like a clueless shadow.