Dollar Runaways

Epilogue:

ONE MONTH LATER I rode Beauty forward along the trail. "Wait up Ashley!" Mom called up from a distance still.

I sighed and pulled her to a stop and turned Beauty to face back down the trail. Mom and Collin seemed to be taking their sweet time and I just wanted to ride! When they finally caught up, I asked, "Are you going slow enough?"

Mom gave me the look and said, "If you want, we can ground you from riding for a month...?"

I looked at her and said, "That's okay... I'm sorry."

She smiled, "I wouldn't do that... Probably."

"No, she'd make you muck stalls for a month!" Collin said with a laugh.

I grimaced, but thought it was probably true.

The last month had been just as surreal as the month before. We had spent the week immediately after everything in the hotel in Albuquerque. During the week we had gone on some day trips to the museums, the tramway, and even their small amusement park. We had met Heather and James' family one night and I had accepted a bear just like Kari that they gave me in thanks for our help. (I named her Kiry after doing a search online for another 'K' name... I was quickly running out of them!) Edward was hobbling around on crutches with his leg in a walking cast. The rest of their family seemed to be healing quickly from their ordeal though. All of us had cried a bit at that meeting.

All that week Grandma and Grandpa had spoiled me as their only granddaughter, and Mom began to have a clue on what she wanted to do.

"So, are we going to stand here looking at each other or keep moving?" Mom asked me.

"Oh, that's right, the old people caught up..." I said with a grin.

"Old people?" Mom asked.

Before any retaliatory sentences could be pronounced, I got Beauty moving at a nice trot down up the trail towards our destination for the day. I watched as the trail passed by and was secretly glad that we were taking the left fork, and not going right just yet. I really wasn't ready to come to terms with the spot my father had been shot.

WHEN OUR WEEK at the hotel was over Mom had talked to me,

"Ashley, we can do a few things... And I want you to help me decide what you want to do..."

"Okay..." I had said.

"Well, since the whole family has been arrested... We could go live back in our old house..."

"No!" I said, "Not an option, I couldn't do that..."

Mom smiled at me, "Neither could I..." she had shuddered and then said, "Grandma and Grandpa have offered to let us come live with them for a while..."

I didn't feel that strongly against that one, but it didn't feel right... "What else could we do?"

"Well, Agent Kline is certain our cover is still intact, so we could find a house in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Juneau, Alaska, wherever you want and move away."

I made a face at that, "Any other options?"

"The other option is to do what we originally planned, stay with Gloria for a while... Probably a year or two and then get our own place somewhere."

"Do you have to keep pretending to be my big sister?" I asked.

She shook her head, "Agent Kline adjusted my age on my documents up to 30, and so you can be my daughter."

"Do I have to be eleven?"

She laughed, "Do you want to be eight?"

I thought for a moment, "It might be easier for me to adjust with friends."