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"What’s happening?" I asked, fear straining my voice
"Your friends in the Glades are in trouble The Miccosukees You need to get down there and fast if you want to help"
"How do you know that?" I nearly cried, freaking out about my friends and what Jackson’s words actually e froroup-a kid-eaters are headin’ that way You gotta move quick"
He ran down the stairs and around the side of the house
I stared at Bodo, searching for solace or so in his expression that would h and was no help at all with calain," said Katy, all her vigor gone She sounded sad
"What about us?" asked Chantal, sitting up and wiping her eyes "Can we go too?"
"No, you stay," I said "You’re too weak to help, and it’ll be too dangerous We’ll come back for you, or we’ll send someone for you They’ll ask for you by naet Dane on the side of the road Maybe you could go get him, Katy?"
"Who in the sam hill is Dane?"
"He’s a friend of ours I could show you where he is," said Chantal
"Fine I got a four-wheeler with a trailer we can use if he ain’t far"
I turned to walk down the stairs
"Where are you going?" asked Katy
I drew up short, turning around "What do you lades to help otta wait for your ride" She frowned at me like I was stupid
"You want us to drive that truck?" I asked, gesturing to the se fro his head no
"No, I ain’t talkin’ about that truck"
"Well, what then?!" I was losingherself
The sounds of running ca of a person, either
Katy smiled "Your ride has arrived, my dear"
My eyeballs nearly fell out ofup on a horse He stopped with a sliding of the ani down out of the saddle like a real cowboy
"Here ya go," he said, handing , and she’ll get you where you need to go I just gotta ask you to get her back to me if you can She’s special, like all our aniod" It was all I could think to say
Bodo walked up without saying a word, taking the nearest stirrup and ?" I asked as he walked around the front of the horse to the other side of the saddle Heda stirrups Dey are too short for ed back atBodo "Guess you knohat you’re doin’ That’s good news" Jackson moved to the side so Bodo could take the reins fro his foot in the stirrup on the left side of the horse, Bodo hiked hi the beast He sat up in that damn saddle like he’d done it every day of his life
"Uhhhh …" I was so stunned, no words were co We were about to enter a battle on aup there like a friggin’ cowboy super up," said Jackson "But first, put theround and opened the box that was on the stairs Pulling out the shotgun shells a handful at a tied I brought the ones that wouldn’t fit over to Bodo and he put the back into the house as I was finishing up
I walked back over to the horse, eying it with trepidation It was so tall Falling fro at the knee," instructed Jackson
I was looking up at Bodo, but he was just staring straight ahead, his shotgun lying perpendicular across the front of the saddle,as instructed and Jackson put his hand on et up"
This was different then the laced-fingers technique I’d seen before, but it worked just as well As I pushed down on hten it, he pushed up and hoistedover the back of the horse I wasn’t on the saddle, but I had a bit of blanket under me, just in front of the round part of the horse’s rump
I hurriedly wrapped my arms around Bodo’s waist I’d been on a horse before, but they scaredaboutto breakoff the back of a horse
"You can run her full out for about a hour, et you there But please, when you’re done, point her home and smack her hard on the bum Don’t let her stay there"
"Why?" I asked totally mystified "I mean, why smack her on the butt?"
"She’ll find her way back ho"
"Like the birds?" How co sense of home? Are they so different fro need a place to call hoood luck You’d better go" Jackson bent down and picked upout of the front door, carrying some leather straps with her "Put these on! So you don’t have to hold the guns!"
Jackson handed up two shotgun holsters After a little bit of finagling I was finally able to attach it to un inside, over my back I felt like a real cowboy outla Only one that didn’t knohat the hell she was doing