Second Chances

Second Chances
Karla Clinch

Coughing and hacking, he is barely able to stand while he urinates. You can count every bone in his back and ribs. Yet, his gentle nature shines in his eyes. His tail continues to wag, and kisses abound joyously.

His name is Drager, and he just walked into my life, via Jean Burns, DVM, who has an incurable love for all mastiff breeds and is very active in rescue. A wonderful person, with a love that I have seldom seen for animals and their needs.

As near as we can determine, Drager is 18months old and was thrown from a moving vehicle. Weighing a mere 70lbs, he is 30lbs underweight. And he has kennel cough to boot.

In Miami-Dade County alone, you can walk into their animal control facility on any given day, and find well over 400 dogs, 90% of which are purebreds. Most will die within 3-4 days. Some will be adopted, to good home and bad homes.

Why? My mind cries out. I know that the answer is ignorance on the part of the general public, and complacency on the part of some canine professionals.

There is a treatment for this disease: EDUCATION. And education comes in several forms. Here are a few things I am trying to do to educate and solve this problem.

1) Offer free “pre-pet Seminars” I offer these a few times a year, before major holidays when pets would be purchased. I provide a small packet of materials, in inexpensive folders, most of the material having been gleaned from the Internet. The following are some of the topics that I cover:
a) Where to purchase a pet, and more importantly, where not to purchase a pet
b) How to research breeds and breeders
c) Information on the AKC, and how registration papers are not a guarantee of
quality.
d) Where to acquire more information regarding certain breeds
e) A listing of shelters and purebred rescues in the area
f) Why adult dogs are just as good as puppies.
g) And, of course, my business card, along with a 10% discount on training
services
h) Instead of purchasing a pet for someone as a gift, buy a crate, books, and
obedience classes, or gift certificates to the local shelter, where the person
can pick their own pet.
2) Point out that since they wouldn’t buy a car without researching, they shouldn’t buy a pet without researching.
3) Offer obedience training at a discounted price for those that adopt from animal
shelters.
4) Get together with local shelters and teach classes at their facilities. Charge for the classes, but donate the money to the shelter.
5) Rescue, provide health care, and obedience training to at lest two dogs per year. Then place them in good homes. Don’t just give them away, rather charge an adoption fee.
Then donate the money to the same rescue that you acquired the dog from. I do this, charging at lest $400.00 for the dog, requiring a contract and forwarding all money to the rescue.

If every canine professional—whether trainers, groomers, vets, vet techs, breeders or whatever—would rescue two dogs a year, we would make a serious dent in the number of dogs who die in shelters every year.

I am not saying to take the sickest, most timid dogs out there. I am saying take a dog that is on death row, who is nice dog, with kind eyes, and give him a chance.
A chance at life.
A chance to be happy.
A chance to make someone happy.
A chance for deliverance from certain death.

A Tale From The Sea

A Tale From The Sea

Karla Clinch

It was almost noon, when I first saw her. A thing of Beauty and intrigue, she was…. her lines smooth, her colors true. Though she looked a bit green around the gills, she was made of stronger meat, and would do well in the open seas, if she was treated with the kindness and gentleness that she deserved, yes, even desired.
I knew that I had to have her, regardless of the cost. As I set about looking for the Lady Ann’s owner, I wondered how much he would want for her, not really having a dime to my name. But, I knew I would have to her…regardless of the cost.
I stopped by the local tavern, hoping to glean some information as to who was her owner. I meandered up to the bar, as if I had not a care in the world, thought my troubles were many.
I asked the bartender for a beer, and settled onto my stool.
“Tell me, you wouldn’t by any chance know who owns that old sloop in the harbor, would you? The Lady Ann?”
“Nah, but might ask the guy over by the door. He’s been on this island for many many years, and he might know.” He responded with a wry grin, “though, were it me, I would take some fortification with you.”
“What’s he drinking? Give me one and another beer.” I replied.
As I glanced over by the door, I saw a fellow who looked to be a century and a half in age. Lean and lithe, gray hair down to his shoulders, and a grizzled beard, looking like 10 miles of really poorly paved road, I knew I had my hands full.
“Sir,” I started to say…
“Yeah, and what the hell do you want?” Came the surly reply.
I knew instantly, that this would be a hard nut to crack.
“I was wondering if you might know who owned the Lady Ann, the sloop that’s moored in the cove, to the north end of the island.” I asked.
“What’s it to you?”
“Well, sir, I do believe that she might be the most beautiful boat that I have ever seen in my life. And while I am not the best sailor around, I would love the opportunity to purchase her, and make her as beautiful as she must have been 40-50 years ago.”
“Aye,” He sighed, “That she was. But sonny, let me tell you, you don’t have enough money in the world to buy her. Let me tell you the story of the Lady Ann.”
I leaned forward in my seat, not wanting to miss a single thing that he said.
As he looked off into the distance he seemed to mellow considerably. It was with great melancholy that he started his tale.
“She was built in the late 30’s, before the war. She was commissioned to the government as a guardian of the shore. Finished her commission and was returned to her owner in May of 1945. She had some dents and dings, but there was nothing about her that could not be repaired. Her owner, however, was killed in a freak accident, when he was struck in the back of the head by the boom. He never came out of the coma, and died a week later.”
”His widow sold the Lady to a newly we couple. There were about 25 yrs old at the time, and as fate would have it the woman’s name was Ann. They were madly in love and looking forward to many trips and journeys aboard their new toy.”

The Backside

The Backside

I enjoyed getting up every morning before the sun came up to the noise and smell that are so unique to the life of a “trackie”. Only there can you find the sweet mixture of sweat, leather, horses and hay.

Only there can you hear the old Negro spirituals as they are sung to calm nervous horses. The clanking of the blacksmiths’ anvil and the hammer. The “whoa backs” of the shed row.

Only there can you find the thrill and excitement of watching a horse that you have loved and cared for crossing thee finish line to be your first winner. The first of what you hope is many.

Only there will you hear the roar of the Sunday crowd as a long shot makes many of them big winners. And may equally big losers.

In the jockey’s room, you find much laughter and tears as the men and women who ride these great creatures nurse their aches and pain. And celebrate their victories. You’ll smell the pungent scent of the many thousands of great jockeys who have graced the halls. Jockeys like Will Shoemaker, Angel Cordero, Pat Day, Stevie Cauphin and others too numerous to name. You’ll swear that you can see the ghosts of the past as they answer to the call of “rider’s up”.

And when you go to the saddling paddock, tread softly and you’ll see the spectacular horses of the past. Man O’War, Black Gold, Spectacular Bid, Seattle Slew, John Henry and many others.

If you are very fortunate, you will have the knowledge, deep within your heart, that you have been there to experience all this and so much more that cannot even be explained. You know that you too have felt the tears in your eyes and the tugging at your heartstrings as you joined in with the thousands to sing that great anthem “My Old Kentucky Home”. And that, as you have sung those words, there that day, right before the greatest two minutes in horse racing history, you celebrated the thrill.

You will realize that it’s because of you and others like you that this day is even possible. You will know that you are very important part of history in the making.

For, you see, it’s all the little people, the hot walkers, the grooms, the pony riders, the exercise jockeys and the water boys that hold it all together. They are the very life’s blood of any racetrack. They are the ones who love their charges, who mother them, stay up; all night with them before a race, who care and tend them, often before they themselves are fed and cared for. It is because of people like this that days such as Derby Day are possible.

How do I know all this? I have been on of the chosen few, who are blessed with the knowledge that this is a truly wonderful, worthy occupation. I, too, have felt the joy and excitement of the races. I, too, have loved many a horse, some of them destined to be great, some of them not so great, but all holding a special place in my heart.

I, too, have known the friendship, love, respect, loyalty, and camaraderie that can only be found on the “backside”.

The courage and bravery that comes from a lifetime of falls, kicks and bites. And not all of them from horses.

No, you can’t understand it, unless you have lived it. And one can’t explain how or why it “gets into your blood”. At least not so that anyone else can understand or make sense of.

And you, as someone who loves a “trackie”, will just have to overlook the wistful expression that lights upon their face as they hear the call, “Boots and Saddles”. Bear with them if they ramble on about what they hold so dear. And above all, continue to love them, even tho, it seems that they prefer the companionship of four legged critters to that of the two-legged variety. You see, they know that God created them so that when he finally calls them home, he’ll be able to hold that great heavenly derby of Champions
gone on.

Winter's Storm

Winter’s Storm

By: Karla Clinch

Author’s Note: The characters in this story may or may not be based on fictitious persons. The places in this story may or may not resemble real places. References to any person, living or dead, may or may not be intended. You decide.

Chapter 1

When it was all over, she would wonder why the day hadn’t been dark and dreary. But as it turned out, it was a bright and sunny January day.

As she knocked on the door, she pondered the reasons why someone would do that to you. You know, how they allow you to think the worst possible scenario, not giving you some peace of mind. Of course, she had thought that someone had died, or something equally as tragic. That was always the case when someone called you on the phone, sounding upset, but refusing to tell you what was wrong, wasn’t it? Especially when the person calling was your minister. Seemed as if it took a month for someone to answer the knock.

“Come on in, Raye.” Pastor Larry said, as he gently opened the door, as if he were afraid to let the brisk, winter’s air touch him.

“What’s up, Pastor?” Raye asked, not sure of what to expect.

“Come down stairs to my office and I will try to explain it to you.” He replied.

Raye instinctively knew that it was serious, for Pastor never took anyone to his office at home, that being his private sanctuary.

When she stepped into his office it was as if she had stepped into a time warp, not believing her eyes. There in his office sat two of her dearest friends, Perry Thompson, AKA Mr. T, and Bill Young, AKA Will Bill Young.

“Mr. T,” She cried, excitement in her voice, “What are you doing here?”

“And Wild Bill Young,” She laughed, teasing, not giving either man a chance to respond, “I can’t believe that you guys are here!”

She turned to Pastor Larry, “These are two of my dearest friends. I can’t get over the fact that they are here. I mean, why didn’t you say so over the phone? And here I thought that something was wrong.”

The voice that was so gravelly, and that she remembered so well, said “You may not want to call us friends when you know why we are here, Raye.”

“Nonsense, Perry, what could you possible say to ……” Raye cried, turning as Perry motioned her to look behind her.

In her excitement of seeing her former Karate teachers, she hadn’t realized that there was another person in the room behind her, looking out of the picture window, at the lake below. As the realization of who it was dawned on her, it was as if time stood still. There, standing in front of her, was her dead fiance, Victor.

Raye grabbed the desk, as the room was swaying. She had to be dreaming. Maybe it wasn’t really Victor, maybe it was a long lost twin…the thoughts ran rampant through her head.

Suddenly, the shock turned into anger, how could her friends, whom she had loved so much, play such a cruel joke on her. They knew how devastated she had been when she heard of Vic’s death. How she had lost the baby, their baby that she had been carrying. How her life, as she had known it, had ceased to exist.

“Victor?” She said softly, afraid that if she spoke too loudly, he would vanish into thin air, “I don’t understand…. I thought…I mean…. they told me you were dead…. but….”

“Raye, they thought that I was….” Victor said in that deep voice that she had missed for so long.

“So,” she interrupted, angrily, not giving him a chance to finish, “You allowed me to think all of these years that you were dead? And, now, all of a sudden, you think that you are just going to waltz back into my life, as if nothing had happened…. How dare you. Damn You.” The anger, betrayal and hurt in her voice cut like a knife in the men in front of her.

“Raye, give them a chance to explain.” Pastor Larry requested, gently squeezing her shoulder.

“I understand you’re angry, Raye,” Bill interjected, “But, if you will give a chance…I think that you will understand. I know that this is a shock, but please just give us a chance.”

“O.K.,” Raye sighed, as the strength and the anger drained from her face, “Tell me about it.”

Chapter 2

“Raye?” Perry queried.

“Yes.” Raye responded, in a voice so soft, it could barely be heard.

“Does Pastor Larry know about the past?” He asked, referring to her distant past.

“No,” She said, tears gently streaming down her face, “I never thought that it was necessary to tell him about it. I just wanted to make a new start.”

Victor crossed the room to hold her, both of them weeping openly. The salty tears starting to cleanse the wounds that had never really healed. The others, knowing that the tears were needed, said nothing, but rather, patiently waited.

Raye simply could not believe that the man she thought dead was alive. She didn’t fully understand how, or why, but she was grateful, just the same.

“You O.K.?” Vic asked, as she pulled away.

“Dear, I will take it that that was a rhetorical question.” She stated.

As she turned to face the window, and look out over the lake, she began her story softly, “I had just graduated from high school. It was 1982.” Again the tears began to flow. “Perry, you tell it, I don’t think that I can.”

“As she said, it was shortly after she graduated from high school. Raye had gone to a Christian school, and was pretty naïve in the ways of the world. There was man who lived 4 doors down from her, that worked with leather. Raye was showing horses at the time, and needed a plain leather belt to finish out her show outfit. She had no idea that it would be the most expensive belt she had ever owned in her entire life.”

Raye snorted, sardonically through the tears, “You got that right.”

“Anyway, the day she was supposed to pick it up, T.K., the man who made it, held her at gunpoint and raped her. He told her afterwards, that if she ever told anyone, or didn’t do exactly what he said, when he said, he would rape and kill her mother. Raye never had great communication skills with her family, nor did she have a whole lot of respect for the law, so she kept silent, and endured.

“From then on, if T.K. had a party, and had ten men there, Raye was expected to be there and ‘service’ them. IF there were ten men, and five women there, she was expected to ‘do’ all of them. Some of the people that came to this guy, and his wife, who was just as involved, were very sick. I’ll refrain from the details. Just suffice it to say that they were some perverted sons of bitches. Once the bastard picked her up, and took her to a clearing in a woods....told her to 'start digging'...after about 15 minutes, she said 'T.K., it would really help if I knew what I was digging?'....'Your grave' was his response. Can you imagine being 17 or 18 yrs old and being told to dig your own grave? Knowing that your death would be torture and rape before you would be allowed to finally die?

“About three months into all this, Raye would finally find out just how sick that these people were. It was in September that T.K. and his wife took, or should I say forced Raye to go to her first ‘coven’ meeting. There she saw just how far from God some men have traveled. She saw her first animal sacrifice that night, the first of many. And animals weren’t the only thing she would see die. Before it was over with, she would witness the deaths of 5 human beings.”

“You have to understand,” Victor said, to Pastor Larry, who was more than somewhat stunned by what he had just heard, “These weren’t a bunch of kids playing games. These were adults who were deadly serious about the worship of their ‘god’ Satan. They would not hesitate to kill anyone who got in their way.”

“Yes, and if Raye had tried to flee at that time, they would have retaliated on her family.” Bill added.

“But, obviously, she did get away.” Pastor Larry replied.

“Yes,” Perry said, leaning heavily on the desk, “but not without a great cost to herself.”

Chapter 3

“I don’t think I understand.” Pastor stated, still in a state of wild confusion.

“When I did leave,” Raye replied, “I was pregnant with TK’s baby. I knew that I had to get away, or they would do the same horrible things to my child that I had seen them do to other children. So I ran. I had my baby, and gave him up for adoption. It was a private adoption, and there are only four people who know who the adoptive parents are. Myself, the attorney, and the adoptive parents.”

“So you had the baby, gave him up for adoption. Then what?” Pastor asked.

“Then I ran. I ran for 2 years. I didn’t even tell my parents where I was. I would just call them once and awhile, to let them know that I was alive. I made the mistake of trusting someone that I thought could be trusted, where I was at all times, in case of emergency. Little did I know, he was one of TK’s lackeys’.”

“T.K. would find out where Raye was, and send some people, if you can call them that, to find her, and beat the living shit out of her. They would usually end up gang raping her, as well. This would happen about every three months. Raye could have set her calendar by it.” Bill stated.

“Anyway, she eventually came home, and got married. After her and her husband, whom, by the way, was a drunken, abusive jackass. In an effort to get away, she did a stupid thing. Wrote a bunch of bad checks, and was eventually charged with forgery and theft. She didn’t do time, but was given the option of divorce and the military. She took the military. The person who suggested the military, as her first Karate instructor, the lackey who had been telling T.K. all those years where to find her.”

So, she divorced, and went on the run again, so to speak---this time with the military at her side. Her karate instructor knew where her talents lay, so having some connections, he got her hooked up with a special unit within the military police. Little did Raye know, that her new “pimp” was Uncle Sam and she was their newest “hooker”.

Life as she knew it, took a sudden, yet interesting turn. She would be sent in, sexy, yet deadly little thing that she was, to gather evidence, plant bugs, plant evidence and terminate with prejudice, should the need arise.....All of which she was uniquely capable of doing....But, it takes its toll after a time.”

“Eventually”, Raye took over, with a tremor in her voice, but, holding up, “I had to “take a vacation”. The stress of killing, and setting people up to die was getting to me. So, I took some much needed leave. All the time, tho, I had no idea who it was who had been betraying me all those years. And, guess where my first stop was?”

“Your karate instructor”…The stunned Pastor Larry stated…

“Hey, give that man a gold star!”, Raye stated sardonically. “Shortly after that, TK, showed up on the doorstep of my parents…Insisting that I come with him. He alluded to the fact that he knew about my so…which I later found out he didn’t know anything…So I went with him.

“Keep in mind, Pastor, there are many, many things that are being left out of this story. Things that would make you cry, or get you very, very angry.” She asked softly.

“So, why go with him at all?” Pastor asked, gently “Given your training? You knew how to eliminate him. You knew people who would do it for you. So, why put up with it after all this time?”

“Simple. Stockholm Syndrome. All my life, someone had been raping or beating me. Someone in control, someone in authority. My dad started when I was years old, and didn’t stop until…well, until I left for the military. I even think he knew about T.K. and did nothing to stop him. It was all I knew. It was what I expected. That is why I did so well in the military. When most women would have balked at sleeping with men to kill them, or to set them up, I was open to it. I simply did what I was told to do. Perry, I think I need a drink…can you continue this for me?”

“Raye’s next stop was in Minnesota, with the help of a pastor friend of her’s. Evidently he knew of some people up there who were used to dealing with the occult and helping people to get away, so he sent her here to regroup.

“Just to let you know, Pastor, in this group, this satanic coven---known as the ‘Brotherhood’, only three people has walked away and lived to tell about it. Raye is one of them.” Perry said.

“So now she’s in Minnesota, right?” Pastor asked, not sure if he was keeping up the events correctly. “What about her military work?

“Yes, She had about of year of leave coming, and she needed to take it, so she did.” Perry responded, “She started working for Taco Bell as a manager, and was trying to get her life on track. She had been involved in Karate when she was younger, and had even earned her black belt. This seemed like a good time to start back up. She missed it, and needed something to focus her thoughts on. A hobby, if you will. That’s when we, meaning Bill, Victor and myself come into the picture.

“She started working out, and was doing quite well, winning every tournament she competed in, although, at this point, none of us really knew her. She pretty much kept to herself, going to ‘Blondie’s’, a local tavern, after class. Other than she loved animals, she worked at Taco Bell, and she was a hell of a fighter, I knew nothing about her.

“Then one night, about 2 months after she started, she came in to class black and blue. It was obvious that she had been in a fight. When I questioned her about it, she didn’t answer me, so I left it alone for the time being. But it nagged at me. Raye wasn’t the sort to fight, unless it was in the ring. She was so quiet and soft spoken.

“The next time that it happened, a month or so later, I sat her down and made her tell me.” Perry paused, chuckling humorlessly at the memory, “Well, maybe ‘made’ is a poor choice of words here. It’s hard to make Raye do anything. But I pushed her until she told me that three men had attacked her. When I asked if she knew them, she hesitated and said no. I knew that something was wrong. Turned out she knew who had sent them. When I asked why, she clammed up. If you haven’t noticed, Raye can be as talkative as a rock when she wants to be.”

“Did you know Victor then, Raye?” Pastor asked.

Victor chimed in, “Yes, my boss, who knew her from Karate, had asked her if she would consider working for him part time at the service station that he owned. I was a mechanic there, Raye and I met, and we hit it off from the start.” Smiling from the memory, “All of us guys had gone up front to meet the new girl. Jeri, who was training her, introduced everyone. I was the last person inline, and when they got to me, Ray just grinned and asked me when we were going to have ‘Wild and Passionate’ sex. We started dating that weekend.”

“Raye is a special lady. I don’t know how she survived what she did without loosing her mind.” Vic said, affectionately squeezing her hand.

“Didn’t have one to lose.” Raye snickered. “Vic and I fell in love, Pastor, and it wasn’t long before he asked me to marry him.”

“But obviously, that never occurred. What happened next?” Pastor asked, anxiously awaiting the next part of the story.

“Things were starting to go downhill fast. Halloween was coming up, and Raye was wound up tight. She was attacked several times over the next two months. Some of the men who attacked survived, some didn’t. Those who didn’t…anyway, there were a lot of harassment, and quite frankly I wasn’t sure how much more she could take without snapping. Things came to a head, and shortly after the New Year, we called in some support.

“At this point, Raye decided to call in some favors, and go back to Indiana and ‘surgically remove’ the problem.” Perry said.

“Yeah, unfortunately, I didn’t have the balls to finish what I started.” Raye stated.

“No, Raye, balls had nothing to do with it. You were not, nor are you today the kind of person that T.K. is. If you had killed him, then that would have made you no better than he.” Perry said.

“I might not be any better than he, but at least I wouldn’t be going through the shit that I go through.” Raye answered back, rather sharply.

“Maybe, maybe not.” Perry suggested.

Chapter 4

“Now that we have rehashed my past, could one of you please explain to me why, a man that I thought was dead for 5 or so years, is suddenly very much alive.” Raye asked.

“T.K. had me.” Vic stated, softly.

Not sure that she had heard correctly, Raye asked, “What do you mean, T.K. had you?”

“Not long after you left to remove your ‘tumor’, I was slugged over the head, then drugged and brought to T.K. I don’t guess I need to tell you about the thing that happened after that.” Vick shuddered, “He kept me there until about 6 months ago. He used to gloat about how he made the world and you think that I was dead. I am sorry, baby, I know you must have gone through hell. Altho, after being in the coal room for 6 months, I now know why you have a bug fetish. I don’t know of anyone who wouldn’t have a phobia about spiders and darkness after that----At least, tho, you don’t have issues about the dark.”

Raye couldn’t say anything; the shock and the knowledge of what Vic had gone though was almost more than she could bear. She went to him, weeping and the held each other.

“I should be the one who is sorry, Vic,” Raye stated, through the tears, “if it hadn’t been for me, you would have never gone thought all this. It must have been hell.”

“Listen, don’t blame yourself.” Vic said, taking Raye’s face in his hands and gently wiping the tears, forcing her to look at him. “I am just really glad to be alive and able to see you again, and know that you are alive. Maybe this time, we can spend some time together, before some asshole comes along and fakes my death….”

“No doubt.” Raye laughed, tears of joy now streaming down her face.

“Well, would you look at that…” Pastor said, in amazement and awe, as he stared out the window. “A thunderstorm in January. I never thought I would ever see anything like that.”

“Neither did I, Pastor,” Raye replied, as she gazed lovingly in to the face of the man she thought long dead. “Neither did I.”

Raye was so wrapped up in the man in front of her, she didn’t hear the phone ring.

“Raye, phone.” Pastor called, not really wanting to disturb the happy couple, but it sounded important.

“Hello.” Ray said, with a smile on her face, and in her voice.

“So, bitch, enjoying your little reunion, are you?” The familiar voice of T.K. asked, cackling sadistically.

Chapter 5

Everyone in the room saw the color fade from Raye’s face, as if someone had just poured bleach over her face.

“You bastard,” Raye hissed, “You don’t even have the guts to face me like a real man, do you?”

“Don’t worry, bitch” T.K. spoke, cackling, “You’re time will come. Are you ready? You better be…I will be coming for you. And your man.”

Raye didn’t move as T.K. hung up. The men, not knowing what was said, yet having a general idea, reached for her.

“KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF, Damn it.” Raye snarled.

“Raye,” Perry said, gently touching her shoulder. “Was that who I think it was?”

Raye just glared.

“How much time do you think we have to get ready. Before he shows up?”

“I don’t know. Maybe a day. Maybe a month. Who knows with that S.O.B”

“I guess we had best get you back home, and start preparing.”

“What’s this ‘we’ stuff, Perry? The last I checked I did not have a mouse in my pocket.” Raye said, not looking at him, just staring blankly out at the lake.

“And there is not an ice cubes chance in hell that I am letting anyone near me. It is simply too dangerous.”

“Victor, you have to leave. Just go. I don’t want you around.”

“Raye…”

“Don’t Raye Me. The simple fact of the matter is, I can’t risk loosing you, any of you again.” Raye insisted, “this is one battle I will fight on my own, in my own way, in my own time.”

“Raye, you can’t!” Perry exclaimed, all the men nodding in agreement with him. “You need help.”

“NO, you will just get in the way. Worrying about you all will do nothing but get me killed.”

“I love you. All of you. I want you to go back up north. Get out.”

“And do not even consider coming back.”

“Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, you do, but Raye, you know that we can’t do that.” Perry said, as he walked toward the window.

“Perry,” Raye spoke quietly, as she turned to him, “I have a support team that has come into my life in the last few years----let them, and I deal with this.

“We have the ability and the means….”

“Who are these people, Raye?” Bill asked

Chapter 6

“My team will deal with it. They have the ability, the training and the clean up crews to deal with the aftermath. Guys, I am tired. I want to come home. I want to be by myself---I think, that might be up for discussion later, but right now, I need to rest. I am tired---physically and mentally.”

Little did Raye know, that at this time she was slipping deeper and deeper into the grasps of a disease that would eventually get her booted from the military and put her in a wheelchair---she had MS.

“Look, just suffice it to say, that the problem will get taken care of this time.” Raye said, growing weary of the conversation, “You, all of you, need to stay out of it.”

“Raye, you have to let us help you.”

“No, Perry, I don’t have to do anything….” Raye sighed, “Look, haven’t I lost enough, without the risk of loosing you guys?”

Raye walked out of the room….as she left Pastor’s house, she realized that the rain had turned to sleet, and would soon turn to snow. She needed to bring the horses in before it got bad.

Why couldn’t they understand? Why couldn’t they just walk away? Let it go. She was tired and weary to the bone, and had no desire to worry that they might get in the way, and end up getting hurt. Besides, this was something that she needed to do on her own.

Chapter 7

As she walked into the house, she realized that the dog had not greeted her at the door.

There was a fire blazing in the fireplace, and Chad, Pastor Larry’s son, was stoking the fire.

“Chill in the air tonight.” He said, as he pushed the logs down, creating a cracking noise….

“Your point would be.”

“Just that it is nice to have a warm fire to come home to.”

“Raye, let us help you.” Chad implored.

“Chad, I have it under control.” Raye said, “As we speak, a team is being organized and assistance is on the way.

“All of you have to trust that I know what I am doing. I do not want any of you around.”

“Everything O.K.” Came a voice from the back porch.

Raye sighed a sigh of relief. Reinforcements were here; it was going to be all right.

“Yes, Chad and I were just having a discussion about fires on cold nights.”

“Really, and what did you decide?”

“That I am really glad to see you.” Raye said, “Chad, its time for you to go home, and do me a favor.”

“Raye….”

“Chad, it’s under control. I have protection. And if these guys can’t keep me safe, then no one can.” Raye, speaking softly, as if trying to convince herself, “Leave, and take Cooper with you… I really can’t afford to lose him, he is the best damn ckicken catching dog alive.”

Chad sighed, and resigned himself to leaving. Picking up Cooper’s leash, he turned to the door, “Raye…. be safe…. you mean a lot to a lot of people, and we are not ready to loose you.”

“You won’t loose her.” Jack said, appreciating the friends that Raye had acquired through life…. “My men and I will keep her safe.”

“You better, or you will have to answer to me.”

“If I don’t you will have to come to hell to get that answer, as that is were I will be.”

“Good enough.”

“Boys,” Raye started, exasperated. Jack placed his hand on her shoulder, quieting her.

“Remember, there are people who care about you…let them.”

Chapter 8

After Chad was gone, Raye folded into Jack’s arms, exhausted and frustrated.

Jack, allowing her to cry, knew that her day had sucked, and decided that the best thing for her was a shot of whiskey and going to bed.

After Raye was safely tucked into bed, Jack called the other men into the house. As the 5 of them, Jack, Frank, Tim, Patch, and J.C. sipped coffee, they discussed how best to protect Raye, yet at the same time making her vulnerable, so that TK would attack, and they could remove this pimple once and for all.

It was decided that the woods surrounding Raye’s house would serve as a perfect cover and allow them to hide out and keep look outs. There was a tunnel running from the house to the old barn that would allow them to move about under the cover of darkness.

All 5 had a feeling that this attack would come fast and be furious, and that they must be prepared for it.

Chapter 9

As dawn became evident, Raye stirred in the bed. She was still tired, more emotional exhaustion that physical, as the previous days events had almost proven to be more than she could handle.

She lay in bed, pondering the events that had occurred.

She had truly been shocked at the sight of Victor, whom she had long thought dead and gone. She had no clue what she would do with that situation. Yes, she still loved him…but…life was so different now. Her time in Europe, the Middle East, and South America and some of the new friends she had acquired over the years taught her that.

As she reflected, she sensed innocence about him, vulnerability, and she wasn’t sure that she could cope with that kind of neediness.

“Hey, you want some breakfast?” Called a voice from the past.

“I don’t know J.C., are you still a shitty cook?” Raye replied.

“Sure am!” J.C. grinned, “Get you ass out of bed, we got work to do.”

“Raye, we talked last night, the team.” Jack started

“Yes, and did you decide where I was going to college, what I was going to major in, what color lipstick I have to wear…”

“Get a grip, Raye, you know we care about you” The gravelly voice said gruffly.

Raye grinned, knowing full good and well that Frank was all bluff.

“So what did you decide?”

“The team will take shifts, and trip wires are in place…however…”

“However, what?”

“Raye, we think that it’s best that you let us handle this. Away from here. Go on vacation----somewhere visible.”

“Guys…”

“Raye.” Patch said gently, “It’s what we do. All of us. It is what we have been trained to do. Allow us the privilege of taking care of this.”

“We all think of you as a sister, and want nothing more than to protect you.”

“Go on vacation. Come home in two weeks” Tim said, as he slid an envelope across the table.

As Raye opened the envelope, she realized that the guys were right. Her life, as she knew it, would be over if she stayed. On the other hand, they had booked her a warm sunny vacation in the Med...Seems the MOSAD had a safe house there, on the beach, that they were willing to let her borrow for a while. After all, she had pulled a few of their men out the fire more than once. The water there would be 85 degrees, and the diving would be awesome…

“When do I pack?”

“It’s already done.” Jack said softly, knowing how much this decision had cost her. Realizing that she was afraid. That she felt like a failure for not doing it herself. That she felt relief, knowing it would all be over. But yet, feeling guilty, because she was never cut for killing innocents.

“Guys, we have to do something about Perry, Bill and Victor, might want to throw Chad in there too. Those guys will get a wild hair up their ass…”

“Already taken care of, Raye.” Perry said, as he gently closed the door behind him. “We know who these guys are, and are more than willing to take a vacation with you…you know as diving buddies.”

“Diving buddies my ass.” Raye snorted.

“Hey, Raye…Time to go…Your flight leaves in about 2 hours.”

“Guys…”Raye began, choking up before she even started, “Thanks. Friends like you are very valuable, and I owe you my life. Be safe.”

Chapter 10

“Excuse me, Miss Raye?” The concierge said to the woman resting in the chair next to the pool.

“Yes, John, What’s up?” She replied

“A special package just arrived for you.”

“Thanks, John.” She said, handing him a tip.

She opened up the UPS envelope as a newspaper dropped into her lap. It was Hendricks County Times.

The headline on the front page read “Local Man Found Dead”

A local man, Terry Kline, was recently found dead on his wooded property in South West Hendricks County.

A victim of a hunting accident, Mr. Kline had left his Hazelwood home on Tuesday Morning around 3 A.M. to go deer hunting.

When he failed to return that day, his wife, Rita, age 45, called the police to report him missing.

"It would seem that Mr. Kline fell out of his tree stand, and upon landing, his gun discharged, killing him instantly, with a blast to the head.

Mr. Kline, who was 53 at the time of his untimely death, will be laid to rest tomorrow at the Oak Hill Cemetery,located on County Road 39."

“Good news?” the man next to her asked. Raye didn’t realize that she had chuckled out loud.

“Yeah, you might say that…You might say that.”