Nickel-Bred
panic. Were we going to die down here in a
housefire before help arrived?
     

Chapter Sixteen
    ~ Threats ~
     
    As the four
of us stared at each other, worried that we were going to die in
that basement, we heard the best sound in the world: sirens. Sirens
of police cars pulling up to the house, then running feet, slamming
doors and shouts. We looked at each other, unable to speak, but
silently telling each other that help had arrived and we were
safe.
    In a few minutes, there was a clomping of
feet on the basement stairs and soon Dad was hugging me and pulling
the gag out of my mouth. Harvey Martin undid the ties on Miss
Julie, then Sam and my mom. Dad went over to check on Miss Julie
and then came back to me.
    “Are you all right? Are you really all
right?” he kept asking.
    “Yes, Dad, I’m fine. I’m worried about Miss
Julie, though. And Addie. She rode out to call for help.”
    Miss Julie was sitting down on an old sofa
she had stored in the basement.
    “I’ll be all right, child, I just need to sit
down a minute. I’m a tough old bird and it will take more than that
passel of no ‘counts to finish me off.” She sounded like her old
self, at least.
    “Addie is okay,” said Dad. “Harvey and I
passed her on the way in and told her to wait there until things
were under control. She was on that grey gelding. Do you know
anything about that?”
    “Probably,” was all I could say.
    Weak with relief, I hugged Miss Julie, Mom,
Sam and then my dad again. I didn’t hug Harvey Martin, but I
thought about it for a minute
    We all needed drinks of water after the
greasy towels in our mouths, and we needed to get out of the
basement that had almost become a firetrap. We trooped upstairs and
sat around the table drinking water and lemonade while we
recovered. A fire truck was parked on the lawn and a large hose ran
through to the living room. The smell of smoke was still
strong.
    “ Don’t worry, the fire was small and
it’s completely out. You’ll have a little water and a little smoke
damage, Miss Julie, and I think your couch will need to get tossed.
That’s about it, though,” said the sheriff.
    “Tell us what happened,” I said.
    “As soon as the 911 call from Addie came in,
our operator called me and I happened to be having coffee with Dan
here. When he found out who had called and where it was, no way
could I keep him from following me.
    “When I drove up to the house, two perps were
already in their car, with the other one loading bags from the
house. With Dan’s help, I held a gun on them and we got them all on
the ground in cuffs.” He smiled. “They’re still out there waiting
for a patrol car to take them to jail. I called the fire department
as soon as I saw some smoke. They were here in three minutes. While
they put out the fire, Dan and I ran down to the basement and found
all of you. You were really lucky Addie got through as quickly as
she did.”
    “Piper,” said Dad, “Again, I’m so proud of
you. I can’t overstate it. Yours and Addie’s quick thinking saved
everyone’s life here.”
    I sighed and my heartfelt bigger in my chest.
“Addie is the hero. She rode Nickel out in the rain in the dark and
I know she was really scared. So, Dad, Mom, can we keep Nickel?
He’s a hero, too.”
    “Keep him? What do you mean? Of course we
have to keep him. I’m never riding another horse,” said Addie from
the doorway. She was dripping wet and smiling from ear to ear. “And
Piper is the hero. If not for her, Chickie would have dragged me
off the horse, or spooked him so he ran away.”
    I jumped up and hugged her. “You saved us
all,” I said, as she hugged me back. “Did you have any trouble with
Nickel?”
    “Not a bit. He was an angel. No, I can’t say
angel. He was a jewel!”
    “Why not an angel?” asked Mom.
    So I told everyone about Angel’s threats,
Chickie’s phone call and how I walked out to get Nickel and rode
him back in the storm. Everyone stared at me as if I had

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