Chapter 17

If the coach turned out to be as lousy as everyone seemed to think, it probably wouldn't matter whether I played or not. I thought about quitting again, but quickly dismissed the idea. Not because I didn't want to, but because I didn't think it would be right to abandon my teammates. Football was fun, but it wasn't an obsession. Last season, I had considered it as a possible way to get a scholarship. Now, I really didn't want to play in college. With the money our birth parents had left us, Denise and I were able to pay for tuition. Heck, we could pay for everyone else's, too.

The thought had even crossed my mind to skip college altogether. We had our hands full learning about magic. The extra time would be nice, but not realistic. The folks would be really let down if we didn't follow through on out plans. The ranch would fail if we didn't know what we were doing. We might be able to struggle through, but there was no way we could improve on what had been done.

I stayed in the barn 'talking' to Diablo until the Piettos arrived. He kind of surprised me with his insight. I guess the term horse sense had to come from somewhere. He had a way of putting things in perspective in a manner that was both logical, and reasonable. In the end, the conclusion I reached was suggested by him. I would not quit, I would be be loyal to the herd (the team and my mates), and I would keep my promises.

He even offered a solution that I hadn't considered. "The way you learn things at this other place is through books, is it not? Do you need to travel so far to read these books? Would it not be more simple to bring the things here to read? I can not see how reading and listening to these 'professor' people would be better than listening to the creatures you are concerned with. Would they not know more than some human?"

Like I said, horse sense!

The Piettos and our folks got along great, and the expression on Cheryl's family's faces when they saw her was priceless. She was wearing a flannel shirt tied just beneath her breasts, a new pair of jeans, and her new boots. She looked delicious. The talk around the table centered on her new wardrobe, but afterwards, it grew more serious.

Our visitors were shocked to learn that they had moved so close to a group of people just like Cheryl. Their fear was real, when we explained the rest of the situation.

"This is one of the reasons we chose this place, above all others", explained Mr. Pietto. "This gift, Cheryl can not hide it. Soon, people treat her different, and it made her sad. We knew we must leave, before the government learned of her. We love this country, but some people, they are not good. She was no longer safe there."

I asked how they had chosen this particular place, and he smiled. "We relied on Cheryl", he stated. "We put a map on the wall, and she threw a dart. It landed not far from Timber Lake. I think it landed here, where we sit now. We moved as soon as we could pack."

After that, we told them of our plans. They were pleased at our efforts to conceal our talents, and asked if we could do the same for Cheryl. That's when things got really interesting.

"Papa, Mama", Cheryl said, "I must live with Paul and the others. I must learn with them, and to do this, I must be near them. Even if this were not so, I would want to be with them. I love them, and plan to never leave them."

Mrs. Pietto gasped "You and Paul..."

"Yes Mama", giggled Cheryl, "me and Paul. We can not marry, though. That honor is reserved for Bernie. Perhaps it is more correct to say that we can not be married under the laws of America. I am told that there are other ceremonies to bind us together. I would like it, if we could do that."

Her parents exchanged a look, and a nod. "Daughter", Mr. Pietto stated, "If this is your wish, and you are happy, that is all we could desire."

Another 'hug fest' erupted. After everyone was satisfied, the Piettos and dad worked out a business deal. They would have the freshest meat and produce any restaurant could desire, at least those things that could be produced locally. Vegetables would still be a problem in the winter, but they had planned for that already. Mrs. Pietto was particularly grateful to have access to fresh herbs and spices. Dad had come up with the idea of a greenhouse to raise them. It would be on our land, but close to the road. The Piettos would use it to grow their own.

We had expected Cheryl to leave with her family, but were pleased when her folks thought it was better if she stayed. Safety was on their minds, I'm sure. That wasn't what was on mine, but I wasn't complaining. We went to bed early, but got to sleep late. My dirty mind had to take a back seat to conversation, however.

Getting dragged into 'girl talk' was only a little painful. Heck, I even got out of some work. My suggestion of having a new bed built with the house went over better than I had dared hope.

After the morning routine, I asked dad about the hands at the line cabin in the west pasture. I didn't want to put Pete and Ollie out of work, and worried about it.

"They're staying on", he assured me. "I don't plan to change things any. Y'all are going to be way too busy to tend to ranch business for a while".

We gave Cheryl her first shooting lesson, and she did OK. Dad had her try several guns, before he let her choose one. I think everybody was surprised when she chose the same one I used. I thought a .45 with a five inch barrel was a little large for her, but she could use it. When she said it just felt the most comfortable to her, that was all dad needed to hear.

"That's the most important thing of all", he explained. "If it don't feel right, you can't use it right."

After she settled on one, she did a lot better. I don't think she'd make sharpshooter for a while, but she was good enough. Too bad it was too late to go to the cave. Tomorrow was a school day. At least the talking was minimal that night.

My spell worked. I got two hours of sleep, and felt like a million bucks in the morning. By the time the girls dragged themselves out of bed, the chores were all done. I held out a while, but finally let them in on the secret. They made me promise to show them the spell after school.

An unexpected benefit surfaced while I was in class. I always had a pretty good memory, but now, I could seemingly remember everything I heard or read. School was going to be even easier, now.

I had been worried about Cheryl's new look, but it wasn't necessary. I figured since she looked so hot, the vultures would start circling.

When I mentioned it, she laughed. "Not a chance!, I'm taller than every guy in the school, except for two. You're one, and Gary is dating a girl who is a foot shorter than me. I'm safe."

As soon as we got home, Cheryl was introduced to the realities of life on a ranch. She took it well, and actually seemed to like the work. After dinner, we didn't see her for a while. She was serious about learning to be a seamstress.

I almost regretted showing the girls how to perform the spell I had found. I felt like a dried up husk by the time I went to sleep, and that was with using a healing spell twice. I was still ready to go at dawn, though. This time, so were the ladies. I think the chores were done in record time, and we had breakfast on the table when everyone else showed up.

Winter dragged on, but we did manage to get to our cave a few times before the snow melted. While we were there, we did some amateur surveying to locate exactly where we wanted the house to be. I thought the contractors might complain some, but it needed to be this way. The back of the house was going to be inside the hill where the cave was. Bernie was sure she could expand our home, once it was built. She planned to connect it to the cave, and add several rooms. Heck, she even said she wanted to add a pool. Ann was all for that idea, and said filling it and maintaining it wouldn't be a problem.

The work started on February twenty-sixth. The first item on the agenda was building a road to the site. Since it was gravel, actual construction began on March fourteenth. It was a day to remember for more reason than that.

We got home from school to find a strange car in front of the house, and dad arguing with a kid. She seemed to be asking for a job, but dad wasn't having any of that.

"I ain't hiring no runaway, and that's that!", He flatly stated. "The law will be down on us by next week, if I was to do that. You need to get your little butt home, where it belongs!"

Her voice sounded dead to me, when she calmly replied "I don't have a home to go back to, mister. I don't have a family, and if you turn me away, I'll probably be dead in a month. This is the end of the line for me. I've had all I can take."

I sensed something about this girl, and interrupted. "Dad? We need to hear her out. Don't ask me how, but I know. There's more to her story than she's letting on."

I was being truthful in more ways than one. I had tied to read her, and couldn't. From Cheryl's baffled expression, she knew too. The girl had shields, and they were strong.

Dad looked at me and nodded. "She'd best be spittin' it out, then", he said. "I ain't doing nothing against the law, no matter what. I'm not so cruel as to not do anything else, though." He looked at her and said "Come in an' set. We'll do some talkin' and maybe we can work this out."

Everyone went in the house, and gathered at the table. I used to think that kitchen table was huge, but it was getting pretty crowded at this point. There were ten chairs, and nine of them were occupied.

To speed things up a bit, I spoke first. I filled her in on some important details. "First, we know you have shields up." That got her attention, and her interest grew as I went on.

"Most of the people here have them, too. I hope you'll let us know how, and why, you learned to do that. Before you share that bit of information with a bunch of total strangers, I think we need to hear your history. None of us will go against the folk's wishes, so this is important. We need it all. Don't leave anything out."

She looked at me, and said "I might as well leave now. You'll all hate me. I'm a freak, and I'm dangerous."

"So are we", supplied Bernie, "Go on."

"My name is Kelli Morgan. I'm thirteen, and I've been an orphan since I was five. I didn't get that way in the usual fashion. I was abandoned. My parents were religious fanatics, and they found out what I was. Demon was the nicest thing they called me."

She used the napkin offered, to dry her eyes, and went on. "They dumped me off at an orphanage, and I stayed there until a couple of months ago. I hid what I was pretty well, so nobody knew my secret. That was when some sleazy couple took me in as a foster child. I didn't want to go, but the home made me. I found out that they were dealing drugs. Then, I discovered they planned to use me to make money."

"Those assholes planned to sell me! Somehow, they made a deal with an Arab. They were going to get fifty grand for me, and a ten thousand dollar bonus, if I was a virgin. Two guys showed up at the house. One was supposed to be a doctor, to check me out. Just before he examined me, I lost it."

She looked at dad, and said "I flamed them all. Then I used the vacuum cleaner to get the little piles of ashes up. That was all there was left of them. I mixed them with used coffee grounds, and threw them in the trash. I almost went crazy. I mean, I had only lit candles and stuff before that, and I go and turn four people into little piles of ash! I think it was because I was so mad. Anyway, I wiped the prints off of car they came in, and parked it in a grocery store lot up the street. They had the money with them, in a briefcase. There was fake I.D. for me, too. I paid cash for the Beetle, and used the name they had made up. It said I was Chloe Wilson, and I was nineteen. That was in San Francisco, and it was the last time I used it."

Mom asked what made her come to South Dakota, of all places, and she shook her head. "I have no idea", she admitted. "I just wanted to get away from there. I didn't pay any attention to where I was headed for a long time. When I started to, I didn't even know where I was. Something was pulling me this way though, so I went. Those feelings stopped, as soon as I pulled in here. I don't know what that means, but here I am."

Dad sighed "What a mess. This is gonna take some figgerin'. She can't use either of them old names, that's for sure. The law would find her if she used the original, and who knows what would happen if she used the fake one. Ain't no way to hide her in a town this size, either. We know a lot of folks, but none what could help with this."