Page 78 of The Worst Possible Plan

My eyes found the little donkey. “What about him?” He’d ambled over at his own unhurried pace, his ears flicking lazily, looking blissfully unconcerned with the future.

“Him too.”

Silence. The sounds of the morning suddenly seemed strangely far away. Birds. Truck engines. The trailer door. Someone fastening a latch. Even the breeze seemed quieter somehow, like the whole world had politely stepped back to let my heart break in peace. Very considerate. Terrible timing.

“Where do they go?” I asked, a knot already forming in my stomach.

The man shrugged. “Depends who buys.” Another shrug. Not cold. Not careless. Just honest. He’d probably answered this question a hundred times before. Unfortunately, this happened to be my first.

I felt my body go still. “They could end up anywhere?”

“Could be hobby farms,” answered the man. “Could be breeders.” He glanced toward the trailer. “Could be meat.”

Meat.

The word hit me like someone had punched me square in the chest. “No…” My voice barely came out. “No,” I repeated, like somehow that would make a difference.

Dottie sniffed, looking like she was on the verge of a serious cry. She pressed her lips together so tightly they nearly disappeared, one hand rubbing absentmindedly across Theo’s neck as though she needed the comfort as much as he did.

Bandit nudged my hand. Completely unaware of what was happening. He flopped one soft ear against my wrist and looked up at me with complete trust. They had no idea. Not one of them. They weren’t worried about auctions or buyers or what tomorrow looked like. They were worried about breakfast and ear scratches.

I looked back at the handler. “They don’t stay together?” I heard the hope in my own voice before I could stop it—tiny, ridiculous, and clinging desperately to the idea that at least they’d have each other.

He shook his head. “No guarantee. They’re usually sold separately. Easier that way.” His expression softened a little. “Sometimes they end up together. Sometimes they don’t.” Somehow, the word sometimes managed to be even crueler than no.

I stared at Bandit. His little tail wagged happily while he leaned against my legs, completely trusting that everything was exactly as it should be. Theo wandered over and rested the side of his fluffy head against my shoulder with his usual shameless confidence while Daisy and the donkey stood just behind them, watching. They’d spent yesterday making children laugh, stealing hearts, causing minor property damage, and dramatically improving my mental health. It seemed profoundly unfair that none of them got a vote in what happened next.

Something inside of me broke and then changed. The same part of me had somehow looked at a complete stranger in a sheriff’s uniform and thought, Yes, let’s kiss him.

That part of my personality was awake again.

I couldn’t let this happen. Absolutely not. Not my Bandit. Not Theo or Daisy or the little donkey that still needed a name. I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do yet. Which, admittedly, had never stopped me before. Most of my biggest decisions seemed to arrive several minutes before the accompanying common sense.

I reached down and wrapped one arm around Bandit’s neck. He leaned happily into the hug, as though he’d been expecting it. As though, in his tiny goat brain, everything was exactly as it should be because I’d shown up.

And somewhere deep inside of me, a very dangerous idea began to form.

19

SOPHIE

Did you ever get a crazy idea that you knew was one, dangerous, two, stupid, and three, would probably land you in jail… but decided to do it anyway?

I was having one of those.

I watched as the handler took Bandit, the last animal, and loaded him in the trailer. He closed the door and locked it, just as his phone rang. With the phone to his ear, he walked away. I caught the words “be there in two hours.”

“This is the worst day of my life,” Dottie was saying, big tears flowing down her face. “This is wrong.”

I couldn’t keep staring at her. If I did, I’d join her in the waterworks. But I couldn’t. Not when I had a plan.

“I have an idea,” I told her, rushing over to the front of the truck. I glanced back and saw the handler still on the phone, his back turned, completely oblivious. I opened the door and saw the keys in the ignition. “Perfect.” I looked over at Dottie. “You coming?”

Dottie’s mouth fell open. “What? You can’t. That’s stealing.”

“It’s called temporary stealing. Are you coming or not. Because I’m going with or without you.” Was I crazy to do this? I was just the right amount of crazy.

Because every time I thought of Bandit, Theo, Daisy, and even Mr. Still-Doesn’t-Have-a-Name, turn into meat? I’d do everything in my power to stop it.