Who: Ellie and Allejandro When: About three years ago Where: Reyes Ranch What: Ellie's mother and sister have just been found and taken away by her father. She returns to the ranch having been gone for two days. Rated: PG-13: Language
Ellie had returned to the ranch, dropping in the overnight bag she had carried and heading straight out to the paddock. She wasn't due back until tomorrow and she trusted the cover she'd arranged for her weekend off. She would never have left Maria with someone she didn't trust, but equally felt it unfair to leave the family to cope alone on her rare weekends off. Normally she would have poked her head in straight away, but she was upset and angry and had no desire for the family to see her this way. Her father's behaviour had scandalised her, and her own reaction had shamed her. She had been too afraid to call him up on it, too afraid to fight her corner as she always had bullies, and she had let him win. She sighed and picked up speed, reaching the paddock fence, before sinking into the grass beside it, lying on her back and staring up at the perfect Colorado sky. She had made a life here, but somehow couldn't quite leave the old one behind. The meeting with her father had left her as scared and ashamed as she had as a little girl, coming home from school with a B on her report card. She let out a long breath and let her eyes slide shut. These visits always left her tired, but this one had left her completely shaken and drained.