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“So, before I came here, I went to Ma’s grave and had myself a long chat with her. Told her I was sorry I never got a chance to say a proper goodbye and all. Told her I loved her. And that I’d see her again whenever I went to meet my maker. I had me a right fine talk with her and all that weight I’d been carryin’ with me all them years plumb lifted.”
Michael wondered if it would work for him, too. He’d give it a try when no one was around. After all, he didn’t want anyone to think he’d lost his mind by talking to the deceased.
Suddenly Selina stopped her horse and jumped off.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh! Did you ever see anythin’ so beautiful before in your life?”
He strained to see what she’d found so beautiful, but he didn’t see a thing.
Selina squatted and when she stood, a caterpillar crawled up the length of her forefinger.
That’s what she’d found so beautiful?
“Can you believe the good Lord took the time to make each of these here caterpillars different? And iffen that weren’t enough, He turns them into beautiful butterflies, makin’ them even purtier.”
Michael looked at the black hair on the caterpillar. Why hadn’t he ever noticed the fuzzy hair before? Or, for that matter, a caterpillar before? Seeing them through Selina’s eyes, the thing really was almost beautiful.
“Wanna hold it?” She turned toward him and raised her finger upward.
“Sure. Why not?”
Selina pressed her fingertip to his.
The insect inched onto his finger and onto the back of his hand, tickling Michael’s skin. He had to admit, it really was something to see. He glanced to where she’d found it and then to Selina. “How did you ever see this minuscule thing from on top of your horse?”
“Mini school?”
“Sorry. Minuscule—small thing.”
She gave a quick nod. “When you’re lookin’ for it, it’s easy.”
“You were looking for a caterpillar?” Incredulousness filled his voice.
“No.” She gazed upward into the tree. Michael’s gaze followed hers.
“See that bird nest?”
He strained, peering through the branches until he finally saw the small nest.
“A long time ago, I learned there’s hidden treasures everywhere. You just gotta look for them. See that web?”
“What web?”
She pointed to it. Sunlight captured it in its spell, making the spider web glisten, revealing the intricate pattern. Why had he never noticed how uniform the web was? How silky it looked?
He glanced around, wondering what other “treasures” he had missed because he’d never taken the time to look. A rush of excitement skittered through him. Maybe someday Selina could show him even more of the things he’d missed. Right now, though, he needed to hurry up and get a puppy so he could get back to work. “We’d better go.” He glanced at the insect still exploring his hand. “What do I do with this?”
“You can let it loose on one of them leaves.”
Michael leaned over and waited as it left his hand and crawled onto a large leaf.
They mounted their horses and hurried to Jake’s house.
Everything was quiet when they pulled into Jake’s yard. No dogs came to greet them.
“Somethin’ wrong?” Selina stopped her horse next to his.
“Shh.” He placed his finger to his lips. “Do you hear that?”
Selina tilted her head. “The only thing I hear is a dog barkin’. Sounds mighty upset.”
“Wait here. I’ll go see what’s going on.”
“I’m comin’ with you.”
Michael stopped Selina’s horse by grabbing a rein near the bit. “No. I want you to stay here. Until I know how bad it is, I want you to stay.”
“I’m used to seein’ all kind of bad stuff. Nothin’ bothers me.”
“You really are a stubborn little thing, you know that?” He let go of her horse. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“I won’t.”
They wove their way through the fir trees.
The barking got louder. At the top of the hill they looked down. Banjo, Jake’s dog, was next to his master’s body, which was lying face down at the bottom of the hill. The thin, loose rock was too dangerous to take the horses down, so Michael looked around for a safe place. “Let’s go around that way.”
They followed the hill until they found a spot where they could safely go down. As they neared Jake, Banjo bared her teeth, growling low and menacing, placing herself between Jake and them.
“It’s okay, Banjo. We’re here to help.”
The dog stopped growling and tilted her head sideways.
