“The boy you’re going with?”
“Luke? Super nice. He’s really active in school programs and all. He makes me laugh.”
“The best kind,” Vanessa said.
Misty’s phone rang. “Excuse me. If it’s Dad and I don’t answer he’ll get worried.” She pulled off the road and took her phone from her purse. “Hello?”
Vanessa sat quietly as Misty spoke until she realized the conversation was good news about Scooter. She clasped her hands. So glad to know he was okay.
“He’s fine.” Misty’s eyes sparkled as she put her phone down. “He’s all the way over in the next town. It’s like a thirty-minute drive.”
“How did he get that far?”
“The only thing I can figure is that he must’ve gotten on thetrailer or in Dad’s truck when they were loading up, and then gotten left behind when they stopped at the feed store to stock up. Dad’s good friends with the guy who owns the place.”
“Let’s go get him.”
“They are going to keep him tonight since they live up the mountain. It’s already snowing up there and the roads get iffy quick.” She smiled wide, then put the truck in gear and pulled back onto the road. “They’ll take really good care of Scooter. They’re the ones who told me what to try to get him healthy. I trust them.”
“I’m so glad he’s in good hands.”
“Me too. I have to admit, I really thought he was gone for good.”
“He’s not. You can breathe easier now.” It was hard to believe the young lady sitting next to her was only sixteen.I suppose losing your mother at a young age forces a certain amount of quick growing up.“Better to trust things will be okay than worry about the worst-case scenario. Worrying will give you gray hair.” She pointed to hers.
Misty laughed. “You must never worry, then. You don’t have any gray hair.”
“I have the secret weapon.”
“Not worrying?”
“No. A magnificent hairdresser.”
“We don’t have a fancy shop like that around here.”
“Here’s a piece of advice one of my managers told me early on. It’s what I always go back to. Not just in work, but anytime I get worried. He said, ‘Decide what’s more important to you: the dream that’s your desired outcome, or your fear.’”
“The dream,” Misty said. “Always.”
“Right, and as long as you stay focused on the dream, you’llsee opportunities. But if you let the fear take over, all you’ll ever see is obstacles.”
“Like we did with making the posters for Scooter. We saw an opportunity to get the word out.”
“Exactly.”
“Thanks for sharing that. Dad texted earlier. They’ll probably roll in around eleven tonight. I’m going to go home and get some rest. It’ll be busy at the farm getting the horses and gear unpacked.”
“I guess you can’t leave the horses on the trailer all night, can you.”
“Travel is tough on them, we’ll want to get them unloaded immediately and give them some time to move around, stretch and rehydrate. They can lose like five percent of their weight on a ride that long.” She snapped her fingers in the air. “Just like that.”
“They always look so relaxed when you see them on the trailers.”
“Think about standing in the back of my truck for the ride home. You’d be shifting your weight to stay upright with every turn and repositioning at every bounce. It’s a workout.”
“I’m glad this is my stop,” Vanessa said with a laugh. “Go home. Good luck unloading tonight. I’ll be in slumberland by the time you get started.” Vanessa grabbed the door handle and got out of the truck. “Good night.”
The next afternoon, Vanessa sat at her desk munching on one of Lilene’s Retrops as she went through her notes for the meeting tonight. Lilene had gone down to the retail store to manage getting set up for the meeting. Cookies were layeredon raised cake plates on the display tables, and small plates and napkins were put out too.
