appropriate
vocabulary word was ambled. She might have been remembering it
wrong, but she liked the way it sounded. When her grandpa had taken
her out to the barn, he had ambled across the yard to the large red
structure with a pretty white roof. Her grandmother had been
shocked, that was plain to see, but when she gave Lexi a hug
everything seemed to be right.
Lexi couldn't believe that these people were
her real live grandparents. They were all she had ever dreamed of
and more. The two little kids in the barn were her dad's foster
kids, or something like that. Lexi had been too excited to pay any
attention. When she and her grandpa had gone back inside, her heart
had nearly stopped when she heard Charlotte and her dad talking
about them moving to the ranch.
Charlotte had said no, but Lexi knew that
she'd change her mind. She just had to. If she didn't, Lexi's whole
life would be ruined. All the years that she had spent searching
and hoping and praying.
"This is the horse barn." Her dad pushed open
the big door.
Inside the darkness of the barn made Lexi
feel calm. Horses made weird noises all around her, and the smell
of hay and manure invaded her nostrils. Yet, Lexi felt at home
there. This was where she was meant to be. She wondered if her dad
would teach her how to ride.
From the corner of her eye Lexi watched
Charlotte and her dad talk softly to each other. She hoped that her
dad was breaking down Charlotte's reasons for not moving to the
ranch. They'd get along well – Charlotte and her dad — if they just
gave it a chance. Lexi knew she couldn't move there without
Charlotte. She understood how the foster system worked. And as
crazy as it sounded, she hoped that Charlotte could have some sort
of permanent role in their lives. Not that she was planning any
sort of weird Parent Trap-ish thing. Still, as Charlotte laughed at
something her dad said, hope began to bloom in Lexi's stomach.
****
Will knew that Charlotte wouldn't break down
and agree any time soon, but he found that he didn't mind. He
enjoyed talking to her, bantering with her. As they walked through
the horse barn, he found that he was excited to show her his home.
Lexi stopped several stalls behind them to stare at one of the bay
mares. Standing on the bottom rung of the stall gate, his daughter
looked completely at home. His chest tightened. This girl needed to
be here with him.
"How big is your ranch?" Charlotte's voice
broke through his haze.
As Will repeated the acreage, he wondered if
he was boring her. He guided her out of the barn, calling back to
Lexi, "Take as long as you want, we'll be right out here."
The back of the barn had a great view of the
surrounding valley. To the south and west, low mountains covered
with scrubby pine rose toward the sky. North of the valley,
foothills rolled gently to the horizon. Prairie extended east
toward Mountain View.
"Why are those sections of pine so brown?"
Charlotte pointed to a thick swath of trees colored a rusty brown
between the darker greens.
Will sighed and leaned against a corral
fence. "Mountain Pine Beetles. They're destroying the Hills one
tree at a time. We've tried spraying, and obviously that works in
some places. But they still seem to get to the trees."
"I think I read about those in the paper,"
Charlotte said. She turned her gaze back to the distant forest, a
sad expression on her face. Something about the look tugged at
Will's heart. He shifted uncomfortably. These sudden emotions
sneaking up on him had to be a result of his grief. Hadn't his mom
said something to that effect the other night?
Focusing on the inane subject of the beetles,
Will pushed himself away from the fence, and came to stand beside
Charlotte. They stood shoulder to shoulder as they examined the
damage from afar. The strips of destroyed trees looked like zigzags
on these particular mountains. Everyone in the area had worried
since the drought took hold the summer before that these trees
vocabulary word was ambled. She might have been remembering it
wrong, but she liked the way it sounded. When her grandpa had taken
her out to the barn, he had ambled across the yard to the large red
structure with a pretty white roof. Her grandmother had been
shocked, that was plain to see, but when she gave Lexi a hug
everything seemed to be right.
Lexi couldn't believe that these people were
her real live grandparents. They were all she had ever dreamed of
and more. The two little kids in the barn were her dad's foster
kids, or something like that. Lexi had been too excited to pay any
attention. When she and her grandpa had gone back inside, her heart
had nearly stopped when she heard Charlotte and her dad talking
about them moving to the ranch.
Charlotte had said no, but Lexi knew that
she'd change her mind. She just had to. If she didn't, Lexi's whole
life would be ruined. All the years that she had spent searching
and hoping and praying.
"This is the horse barn." Her dad pushed open
the big door.
Inside the darkness of the barn made Lexi
feel calm. Horses made weird noises all around her, and the smell
of hay and manure invaded her nostrils. Yet, Lexi felt at home
there. This was where she was meant to be. She wondered if her dad
would teach her how to ride.
From the corner of her eye Lexi watched
Charlotte and her dad talk softly to each other. She hoped that her
dad was breaking down Charlotte's reasons for not moving to the
ranch. They'd get along well – Charlotte and her dad — if they just
gave it a chance. Lexi knew she couldn't move there without
Charlotte. She understood how the foster system worked. And as
crazy as it sounded, she hoped that Charlotte could have some sort
of permanent role in their lives. Not that she was planning any
sort of weird Parent Trap-ish thing. Still, as Charlotte laughed at
something her dad said, hope began to bloom in Lexi's stomach.
****
Will knew that Charlotte wouldn't break down
and agree any time soon, but he found that he didn't mind. He
enjoyed talking to her, bantering with her. As they walked through
the horse barn, he found that he was excited to show her his home.
Lexi stopped several stalls behind them to stare at one of the bay
mares. Standing on the bottom rung of the stall gate, his daughter
looked completely at home. His chest tightened. This girl needed to
be here with him.
"How big is your ranch?" Charlotte's voice
broke through his haze.
As Will repeated the acreage, he wondered if
he was boring her. He guided her out of the barn, calling back to
Lexi, "Take as long as you want, we'll be right out here."
The back of the barn had a great view of the
surrounding valley. To the south and west, low mountains covered
with scrubby pine rose toward the sky. North of the valley,
foothills rolled gently to the horizon. Prairie extended east
toward Mountain View.
"Why are those sections of pine so brown?"
Charlotte pointed to a thick swath of trees colored a rusty brown
between the darker greens.
Will sighed and leaned against a corral
fence. "Mountain Pine Beetles. They're destroying the Hills one
tree at a time. We've tried spraying, and obviously that works in
some places. But they still seem to get to the trees."
"I think I read about those in the paper,"
Charlotte said. She turned her gaze back to the distant forest, a
sad expression on her face. Something about the look tugged at
Will's heart. He shifted uncomfortably. These sudden emotions
sneaking up on him had to be a result of his grief. Hadn't his mom
said something to that effect the other night?
Focusing on the inane subject of the beetles,
Will pushed himself away from the fence, and came to stand beside
Charlotte. They stood shoulder to shoulder as they examined the
damage from afar. The strips of destroyed trees looked like zigzags
on these particular mountains. Everyone in the area had worried
since the drought took hold the summer before that these trees
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