SECOND CHANCES AT MG RANCH by Karen England

between them. He was doing his best to agitate her and she knew it. Too bad for her, he was succeeding.
    At last a feeling of relief washed over her as Josh and Sam stood to announce that they were going to the barn. Sam wanted to show Josh his latest project in the wood shop.
    Amy and Loren cleared the table and busied themselves in the kitchen cleaning up after lunch. Loren seemed to be lost in another time warp while wiping the plates dry and putting them away.
    “Uh-Hum ,” Amy cleared her throat to get Loren’s attention.
    Loren peered at her mom with raised eyebrows. What?” She tried to sound as innocent as a child.
    “Oh, I just thought you might want to tell your Mother what is bothering you.”
    “Nothing is bothering me.” She paused, knowing that her mother could read her like a book. But even that didn’t stop her from asking the next question in an effort to hide her true feelings.
    “Why would you think something is bothering me?”
    “Loren, I have been your Mother for over twenty years and I know when something is bothering you.” Amy knew her daughter well and could plainly see that she was wearing her heart on her sleeve.
    “Really Mom, I’m fine. There is nothing to talk about,” she said, keeping her tone as even as possible.  Even so, her words still came out a little too harsh.
    Seeing that Loren wasn’t ready to open up about her feelings for Sam, Amy decided to just drop it.  “Fine, you can have it your way, but I am here for you if you decide that you do want to talk about it.”  Her mother’s voice was very soft.
    Amy rinsed the last plate and handed it to Loren, then wiped her hands dry and quietly left the kitchen, leaving Loren standing alone. There was no need to press the issue; she would talk when she was ready.
    All this business with Sam was causing her to act strange. It had never been like her to use a sharp tone with her mother and after seeing the look of hurt on Amy’s face, she felt so ashamed. She wanted to call out after her, but she didn’t. She would make it a point to apologize later.
    She finished tidying up in the kitchen and then made her way back out to the barn to catch up with everyone. She could hear nothing but the sound of hay crunching under her feet as she entered the shadows of the barn.
    There was not even a slight sound of nickering from the horses. That was strange. Dakota always welcomed her with a soft neigh. She walked up to his stall and found that he was gone.
    She looked around for other signs of her parents or Sam and saw her mother’s handwriting on the message board that hung to the right of the tack room door.
    “Gone riding, be back in a few.
    Love Mom, Dad, & Sam.”
    At first Loren was furious that they would all take off riding without her. It was bad enough that they had ridden out without her, but taking her horse without asking? It left her feeling betrayed.
    The reality of it all began to sink in as she read the scribbled note again. The hurt of being left out slowly washed over her.
    Loren walked the short distance back to the house and upon reaching her destination, went straight to her room. She lay on the bed and hugged little teddy close.
    Her heart was heavy as the tears began to spill onto her cheeks. This was not like her, but she couldn’t stop the sobs once they had started. She cried softly into her pillow until she finally fell asleep.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 12
    Loren awoke sometime later in the evening. “What time is it?” she mumbled to herself, glancing at the bedside clock. The clock display showed 6:10 P.M. in big bold numbers. That meant she had slept for almost five hours.
    Hearing laughter drift up from the living room below, Loren pushed her weight up off the bed and walked out into the hall to peer over the railing.
    Sam, along with her mom and dad were sitting in the living room, munching on some pizza and watching