Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

Chapter 66

Amelia and Arthur had to correct Erika and Nick several times on the ride. They kept spurring Sapphire and Bourbon faster and the horses were getting irritated. Amelia even had to lean over Cowboy to grab Bourbons reins when Nick tried to go too quickly.

"Nick," she said sternly, "stop spurring him so much. You're gonna end up getting bucked."

"No I ain't Ma," he replied defensively, "I know how to ride my horse."

"You might know how to trot, but you don't know how to ride yet."

"How are we supposed to learn if you won't teach us?"

"If you two would stop being impatient little shits it would go by quicker."

"Amelia!" Arthur scorned.

Amelia glared back at him with a look that could kill. Arthur raised his eyebrows and she went back to trotting. Arthur looked over at the twins with an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry about her," he began, "she has a temper."

"That's okay," Joseph said with a smile, "our father had one too. At least, that's what our mother said."

"Who is your father anyway?"

Jane shrugged. "Momma didn't talk too much about him, so we don't really know. All we know is he rode in a gang for quite some time before he was killed out near Roanoke."

"Murfrees?" Amelia looked back.

Jane shook her head. "Some lady went on a rampage. Shot him and his partner. Bodies were found by Murfrees though."

"What gang?" Erika asked, slowing Sapphire down a bit.

Joseph shrugged. "We don't know. Nobody will tell us. We were only two when he died. After that, Ma just stopped talking about him. The little things we know, we heard from family. We don't even know his name. All we have is a picture of him and a few of the folk he used to ride with."

"You two were left in the dark, weren't ya?" Nick said.

"Pretty much," Jane laughed, "but we don't mind. Our father was a bad man. At least that's what Aunt Millicent says. Uncle Rich doesn't like talking about him either. So we don't question it."

"You said you have a photo?" Arthur asked.

Joseph nodded. "It's back on the wagon. We can show you when we get back."

"Speaking of which," Amelia looked up, "it's getting pretty late. Sun will be setting soon, so we should probably head back." Amelia looked over at the two kids. "We can give you space to sleep for the night, if you're okay with that."

"That would be lovely." Jane smiled. "Thank you, Mrs. Morgan."

"Of course. You need some time to get used to those horses. You're more than welcome to stay for a few more days and then we can escort you home when you're ready."

"We live at Ridgewood Farm in New Austin."

"That's perfectly fine. I'm sure Erika and Nick wouldn't mind a little bit of riding."

"Not at all." Erika smiled brightly.

"Good." Arthur turned Dove. "Come on, let's get heading back."

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When they arrived home, Arthur, Nick, and Joseph pulled the wagon by hand into the barn while Amelia, Erika, and Jane put the horses away. They then went to go figure out the sleeping arrangements for the night.