Sam smiled up at him, her coffee almost to her lips. "I should be the one to check on things, Jericho. You work too hard, ya know. Although...this sure is nice, looking at it, instead of being out there sliding around in it. What does the weather call for today?" Robbie came in the room and told them, "More of the same. I hope you don't have any mares trying foal today."
Suddenly the door opened and Matt came in, "Oh my gosh! That wind goes straight through you." Robbie took his coat, "Grab some coffee and warm up, hon. Why are you here today, school is even closed." Matt sat beside Sam, "Thought you might need some help. Everything is closed up tight at home, all done there." Robbie and Jericho exchanged glaces, noticing Matt seemed nervous. Sam stood up, "Matt, what's really up?" He shook his head, "I just knew that you two would try to do too much without my help today. So, I "slid" on over."
Jericho laughed, "How bad are the roads?" Matt grimaced, "Snow is much better than this stuff, I'm hoping we can get a coating of snow over it. It's treacherous now, even to walk on."
Robbie hung up her phone, " That was Jake, he said they are getting a lot of tree branches coming down, over their way. He wanted you to be on the look out for it Sam." She went to the window to look out. "It's still coming down, but not as hard, let's keep an eye on it for a while. Can we use the four wheeler in this stuff, Matt?" " Sam asked them. "Hmm, maybe, maybe not. Which one do you think will work best Jericho, the heavy one?" Matt asked, trying to figure the best way to check fences. "Come on, let's go out and try it now. I don't want to take a chance on one of the horses getting hurt." Jericho told him. Sam went to put her coat on, Jericho told to wait, "We'll put chains on the diesel truck now too. Never know what might happen in this kind of mess. We might need you to come get us Sam." She nodded, thinking he was right to plan for the worst, yet hope for the best.
Sam watched them taking the four wheelers out of the barn, sliding, but able to guide them somewhat. When they got out to the fields, there would be more grip under the ice than on the packed barn lot, or driveway.
Robbie and Lily began a big pot of stew, with biscuits and rolls to go with it. If the power went out, they could heat the stew over the fire. Sam smiled, watching Lily work so hard to cut the vegetables, just the right size. Her tiny fingers holding the knife tightly, slicing through a carrot as though their very lives depended on her. Holding her lips tightly together, with her brows wrinkled in concentration, Lily worked like a little tiger on those veggies. Robbie caught Sam's eye, winking at her, telling her to join them. Sam washed up and pulled a butcher knife from the rack, grabbing the potatoes to peel. "Sam! You can't do that with a big knife, here, use my little one." Lily told her. Sam laughed at her ability to know which utensil to use, taking the knife she offered. They continued making enough food to feed several armies, while the guys were out. Robbie smiled, "I hope Tim didn't have to go out in this mess. He will have to make sure that Selena and the baby are taken care of, 'cause I'm not driving anywhere in this!"
Finally, Jericho came in, but Matt had gone home, while he could still get there. "So far so good. Have you heard the forecast for tonight, Sam?" She nodded, "More of the same, no snow." Jericho sat by the fire to warm up, while Lily made him her own hot chocolate. He smiled, telling her how good it was, when he really wanted coffee. She covered him with a blanket and got her favorite book out to read to him. The next time Sam looked in on them, Lily was in Jericho's lap, both of them sound asleep. The daylight was fast leaving, so Sam went out to the barn, to do a check before it was completely dark. None of the mares seemed to be close to delivery, so she went out back to check on the others. Holding her hood as far over her face as she could, to keep the ice that was still falling from stinging her skin, Sam carefully made her way out the gate. All the horses were underneath the barn shelter, some laying in the straw, others nibbling hay, seeming to be quite comfortable.
Sam headed back to the house, but heard a strange noise, stopping to listen. Turning around to look behind her, she saw the cat creeping toward the corral. No horses were there, but the mothers with foals were close by, under the shelter.
Sam stood perfectly still, allowing the misty conditions to hide her presence. When the cat had moved out of her sight, she moved as fast as she could to the house. Almost crashing through the door, she called for Jericho, while she went in the office to get a rifle. It was loaded and ready by the time Jericho realized what was wrong. "Load another one Sam." he told her, while he threw on a jacket and hat. The two of them headed back out to the barn, hearing a horse screaming, just as they reached it. The sound seemed to penetrate every nerve in Sam's body, as she tried to run in the slippery ice beneath her. Jericho reached the barn first, pulling the door open as far as it would go, with the gun raised, ready to shoot. He lowered the gun, waving Sam to stand behind him.
"Now listen Sam, be ready to shoot when I duck. If I miss him, you have to kill him with one shot. I'll shoot first, if he comes flying at me, but be ready." he told her. Sam nodded, not feeling sure at all. She was shaking and afraid of missing, if she had to shoot. They stood in the door, listening for any sound, to tell them where the cat was hiding. There was no loft in the long part of the barn, so that gave them some protection from the cat jumping on them from above.
Stealthily they crept further in, guns ready, but their nerves not so much. A low growl sounded from the last stall, Jericho looked at Sam to see if she knew what he was going to do. She nodded, leaning against the wall to steady her gun, while sighting in on the door of the stall. Jericho crept slowly to the door and shut it with his boot. The cat let out a frightening scream, realizing that he was locked in, the bars on the top of the stall too close together for him to squeeze through. Even though she knew he couldn't get out, Sam hesitated getting near it. Jericho took aim, firing one shot.
It was sad to have to kill the animal under such conditions, but he would have killed more than one animal had his hunt been successful, or one of them. Jericho told Sam to go on to the house, he would take of the carcass, knowing she didn't mind, but also knowing she really didn't have the heart for it. Sam went in, glad to be in the warmth again, trying to hang up the frozen clothes so they would dry in the laundry room. Robbie came in to help, laying towels on the floor under them. "Sam, there is ice still on everything." she said, trying to shake it off in the sink. "Sorry, I couldn't help it. Jericho will be in soon, he's taking care of the..thing." Sam told her, realizing that Lily was standing in the doorway. "I know what happened Sam. The old mean cat got shot! I'm not sad either, but why did it come here for the horses?" Lily asked. "I don't know hon, I really don't. Usually, the cats stay in their territory, hunting higher up in the mountains. I just don't know." Sam tried to explain. Sam wondered the same thing, making a note to call the sheriff and find out if any other ranchers had trouble with them this season.
"Sam, where is Jericho? He should be in here by now." Robbie called out, while she peered out the window looking for him. Sam went to the window too, looking for a sign of a flashlight or something. "If he doesn't show up soon, I'll go look for him." Sam said, dialing his cell phone. No answer. Sam went to the office one more time, loading her rifle and a pistol. Lily and Robbie were still at the window, straining to see any sign of him. Sam took out her dad's old coat and put it on. She couldn't afford to put gloves on both hands, only one, she stuffed the other one in the big pocket. Sam pulled a dry pair of boots on, heading to the door. "Mom, call Matt." was all she said, closing the door behind her.
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