The Untamed Blondie

By Kathy H. Wheeler

Callie is an eight-year-old little girl whose parents are killed by an intruder. She is forced into foster care, and she traps herself into living in her little world. Her new foster home has many animals. However, she doesnt care for any of them. Callie and her foster mom go over to a nearby farm, where Callie runs into this wild, untamed enormous palomino horse. Callie bonds with the horse right off. Through the relationship with the horse, Callie comes out of her little world. Just as she begins adapting to her new surroundings, tragedy is among her again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Mar 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781532033896

Kathy H. Wheeler

Kathy H. Wheeler was placed in foster care at the age of two and adopted at the age ten. She is currently working on other books and pursuing a career in animation. She loves to travel and meeting new people from all over the world, making them laugh and smile, to help bring world peace. She is currently living in Booneville, Mississippi, just been a country girl.

Book preview

1

THE INTRUDER

It was a cold, rainy, Thanksgiving evening, around eight o’clock. It had been a long, enjoyable, exciting day, with all the family over for a holiday feast. After a long, exhausting day, the last family member was out the door.

Dishes were piled up in the kitchen. The leftovers were still out on the dining room table. While extra chairs, was scattered throughout the house.

The mother told the father, "Let’s sit down for a bit before we start putting the things away."

Father replied, "I agree. Let’s sit down for a breather. You’ve been up, since five o’clock this morning, getting everything ready."

Callie, who was eight years old, snuggled up in her mother’s arms, on the sofa. While her father, sat down in his favorite recliner. As they began watching television, Callie reached for a blanket, over the back of the sofa. She laid her head down in her mother’s lap, trying to get more comfortable.

Callie’s mother put her hand on Callie’s face and began to gently, softly, stroke her hair, attempting to put her to sleep. Father, who had the remote, was flipping through the channels, trying to find something good to watch. When all of a sudden, they heard a strange noise coming from the basement.

"Clang. Clang. Clang."

"Did you hear that," asked Callie.

"Yes! Yes, I did," responded mother.

Then they heard the noise again.

"Clang. Clang. Clang."

Father raised up out of his chair, to get a better hearing, of the noise. They couldn’t figure out, what was making such a strange, peculiar noise.

"What is it mommy," cried Callie.

"I don’t know," responded mother.

"Clang. Clang. Clang."

Father told the girls, "Stay here, I will check it out. It’s probably nothing, trying to reassure them while he was scared himself. It’s probably one of your uncles playing a prank on us," as he started moving, slowly away from his chair.

"Well, I don’t think it is funny, one single bit," frighteningly busted out mother.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of the clanging noises, coming up the basement stairs. As the footsteps came up the stairs, father moved slowly towards the basement door. He carefully entered the kitchen, as the footsteps were still coming up the stairs. Mother wrapped her arms around Callie. The closer the footsteps got, the tighter Callie held onto her mother’s arms.

About the time, father reached out for the basement doorknob. It flew open, and there stood a muscular, grey headed man, holding a saw-off double barrel shotgun. Father stood there in shock. The unknown gunman raised the gun and fired at father. Gunfire was all you could hear, as the kitchen was lit up, for a split second. Then, the noise of father, stumbling around and fallen to the floor, father never said a word. Mother ran, into the kitchen, to father’s rescue.

"Ramon," she yelled out, as she was running over to her husband’s wounded, bloody body, which was lying lifeless on the kitchen floor.

Then another gunshot was fired, lighting up the kitchen again. In the meantime, Callie had manage to, hide behind the floor model television set, which sat in the corner of the living room. She was hoping not to be seen or found, by the unknown gunman.

Callie could hear the unknown killer, moving around, in the house, knocking things over and breaking everything he could. The strange noise was also still running about in the house.

"Clang. Clang. Clang."

"What was making such awful strange noise," Callie kept thinking, to herself.

She wanted to creep out of her hiding spot, to find out, what was making the strange noise. However, Callie didn’t mean to be seen by the unknown gunman. She could tell; he was looking for something, but she didn’t know what. By the set of footsteps, there was no doubt only one person was in the house. She tried to stay put and not make any noise. Hidden behind the television, she was scared to death, of not knowing, if either of her parents was dead or alive.

In the distance, very slightly, she could hear the sirens, coming towards the house. Putting her a little more at ease, but she was still frightened and scared. It was a relief, though, to know, someone heard their troubles and called the police. The unknown gunman started running through the house when he heard the sirens coming. The unknown gunman fled out the back door, to make his get-away.

Minutes later, Callie could see the flashing of the police lights, on the living room ceiling. She thought about, running out the front door towards them, but that would only put herself at risk. Hoping they would find her, she stayed in her hiding spot.

The police came in and searched the house over. They found the two murdered bodies, lying on the kitchen floor. However, when they searched the house, for other survivors, they couldn’t find anyone. The neighbors kept on insisting; there was a little girl who lived there, as well. So one of the police officers went back into the house, to look the house over once more. He called out for the little girl, trying to reassure her; she was safe now. Sure enough, he found her hiding behind the television.

He told her, "You had us worried. Why are you still hiding," as he wrapped a warm blanket around her.

He picked her up and carried her out to the ambulance, to get her checked out for any damages or wounds, which she might have received. Callie put her arms around his neck, and looked back towards the house, hoping her parents came rushing out to get her. She sat on the back of the ambulance, staring at the house, still waiting to see her parents coming out the front door.

The house was in shambles. The unknown gunman had made a terrible mess. It looked like, as if, a tornado had swept through the entire house. The dishes tossed about, furniture turned over, and picture frames smashed, the house was in ruins. Whatever the unknown gunman was looking for, most certainly was not out in the opening. The police could tell he had been looking for a particular item or items. They wondered what would be so important; he would kill them over and go all through the house looking for it. Destroying everything he touched. Also, they wondered if the unknown gunman knew about the little girl. What was so meaningful to these people, they killed over it? There was so many unanswered questions and the only person left alive, was a frightened, eight-year-old, little girl who wasn’t talking to anyone.

Callie sat on the back of the ambulance still not knowing if her parents were alright or not. She wanted to ask someone, but she wasn’t talking to anyone. She sat on the back, of the ambulance, stared back at the house, still looking for her parents.

The shakiness of her body left her teeth chattering, from her nerves been so frightened and her little legs steadily trembling.

The police officer tried to calm her down. They didn’t know how to make her believe, everything was going to be alright, and she was safe now. Especially, after she had lost both of her parents.

The officer asked her, "Are you hurt in anywhere?"

She looked at him and shook her head no. Her eyes filled with tears, but she kept them within. Her frown, dipped downwards, that nearly touched the bottom of her face. With her arms crossed, she clutched her elbows, with her tiny little hands. They took her vitals and told her to remain sitting in the ambulance, for the time being.

Looking back at the house, she saw the paramedic, rolling her parents out, on two separate stretchers. She stood up, jumped out of the ambulance to run over, to her deceased relatives. As she was running over to them, one of the officer’s grabbed her and held her back. Struggling, while been carried back over to the ambulance, Callie cried out to her parents. Neither one of them was moving or making any noises. Callie knew then; they were no longer alive. Tears rolled down her little round cheeks, as the officer sat her down, in the back of the ambulance.

Anger was building up inside her, towards the police officers, because they wouldn’t let her see her parents one final time. She didn’t know who to trust or where she would be going. She had never been away from her parents. Now, she was carried away, in the back of a police car with two strange women. She wanted to crawl into her bed and wake up, to find, it had all been a terrible, horrible nightmare.

2

THE NEW HOME

Callie was put in a foster home, way out in the country, a few hours away. Since the police had not yet, captured the unknown gunman, they thought this would be best, for little Callie. Nor did they know, if he would try to come, after Callie.

The foster mom, Miss Kim, was a single lady, who was in her mid-forties. She had short, curly, light brown hair. She was around five feet and four inches tall. She wasn’t a big lady but did have some meat on her bones. When she spoke, it was with a deep, manly voice. Her body had not aged well, and she didn’t have any children of her own. She lived with six Pomeranians, a cat, three rabbits, two horses and two miniature ponies.

The house was cold and old. The house wasn’t in perfect shape. The wood floors creaked, as you walked over them. The pipes made a terrible rumbling noise when you flushed the toilet. Even during the night, you could hear the sound of leaky, faucets dripping. Due to old bad rusty pipes, the tub had iron stains all around in it. In the living room, stood an old cracked fireplace, when it rained, the roof would leak around it.

Even though Callie had her room, it didn’t feel like home. Her bedroom walls had old white paint, which was peeling off. The bedroom furniture was an old bed, with a worn out, homemade quilt on it. There was also a nightstand and a dresser. Off in the corner, of the room, was an old worn out fifty-year-old chair. Callie stood there and looked at her new room. She tried to make do. Putting her bags, upon her bed, unpacking them was not on her agenda, at all.

All she could think about was why none of her family, would take her in. Instead, she was sent off to live with some stranger. She felt like, she was tossed out, like a bag of trash, by her family members. She had no idea, the courts, wouldn’t let her live with, any of her family members for her safety. Callie was stuck with Miss Kim until the unknown gunman was behind bars.

One of the dogs, named Cody, who was a three-year-old Pomeranian, took up with her immediately. Sometimes, the little dog kept her up all night, with his scratching and biting. However, he did keep her company, a majority of the time. Callie didn’t care for him, much at all. Often, Callie would tie him in the yard, to get rid of him. She hated every time a car drove up, in the driveway or a strange animal was in the yard, all the dogs would begin barking continuously.

After she had been there for a few weeks, she and Miss Kim drove over to a nearby farm, to pick up some hay for the horses. While there, Callie noticed this huge palomino horse, out in the pasture. She ran with four other mares, in the wide open field. Holding her long blonde tail, high in the air, and her mane flowing in the wind, Blondie ran out in the open pasture.

Callie tugged on the man’s shirt and asked him, "What about the yellow horse over there. Can I have her?"

He told her, "Oh, you don’t want her. She is wild, and you’ll never be able to ride her."

Callie knew there was no way; she would be able to talk Miss Kim, into getting the yellow horse now. Callie stood at the fence, watching the wild yellow horse run wildly in the vast pasture, as they were loading the hay. She image riding far away, on her back, where no one, would ever find them.

Miss Kim told her to come on; it was time to go. Callie waved goodbye, to the yellow horse and slowly walked back to the truck. All the way home, Callie didn’t talk as usual. She sat in her seat and stared out the window while she thought about the huge yellow horse.

"Man," she thought, "how I could run away, on her and never look back. I could ride it, all the way back home."

Miss Kim was shocked to hear, Callie had even spoken. She had not spoken, since the tragic accident with her parents. No doubt, Callie had some interest, in the horse. She also wondered, with it been so wild, would she be able to care for it. She had never had, an untamed horse before, nor even, ever been around one. It would be quite and adventure, for the both of them. The horse lingered, on her mind. She thought it was a gorgeous horse. However, she also knew, you can never judge a book by its cover. The man did say, it was wild, and a person would never be able to ride it. So what would they do, with a horse like this? It really wouldn’t have any purpose, except to watch it for entertainment. It would be nothing but dead weight. Her pasture wasn’t large enough for it, to run wildly like the pasture it used to. How would she manage such a wild animal and what if it got out? How would they catch it? There were so many things to consider.

After dropping Callie off at school, Miss Kim went by and spoke with the lady, at the local children’s service department about the horse. Callie was unaware, of the trust fund, she had in a particular account, set up for her, by the state. The money was left, by her parent’s estate. The children’s service department was against her buying Callie, the horse. They wouldn’t allow her to use the money, for such nonsense. Without them giving her the money towards the horse, she couldn’t afford to purchase the material, to build it a special pen to stay in. She needed the extra money, which she didn’t have in her pocket.

Miss Kim got mad about the whole situation and left