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“Read the card!” Remi shouted. She stood less than two feet from Everly, and her excitement was bubbling over.
Everly located the card and tore open the envelope.
I have a surprise for you, but you’ll have to find it first.
P.S. I failed art class in high school.
Happy birthday
Blake
At the bottom of the card was a basic drawing of what looked like the stables.
“It’s a scavenger hunt!” Remi yelled.
Remi’s excitement was contagious. Everly’s cheeks were aching from smiling so long.
“What are you waiting for?” Jess asked.
Everly stuffed the card into her pocket. “I’m going. I’m going.”
Ridge stepped up beside her and offered his arm. “I’ll be your guide for the evening.”
Everly hooked her arm in her brother’s. “Thanks. I wasn’t feeling too good about wandering around the ranch in the dark.”
They jumped into Ridge’s truck and headed for the stables. Everly sat on the edge of the passenger seat, ready to jump out and find Blake and whatever surprise he had planned for her. “Do you know what it is?” she asked.
“I do, but I’m not telling you. Just know that you’re going to love it.”
Ridge parked close to the door, and Everly bolted inside. The lights were on, but no one was around. Where should she look first?
She checked the tack room first, then the offices, then the feed rooms. Nothing stuck out as a clue. She was about to start checking the stalls when she halted. The treat lockers.
Remembering which one was Burgundy’s, she scanned the shelves and found a piece of paper. This one was a sketch of the kitchen with an accurately drawn representation of Vera handing what must have been Blake a bag. A voice bubble above Blake’s head read “Yum!”
“Back to the kitchen,” Everly said as she closed the locker.
For the next half hour, Ridge drove Everly around the ranch. Her excitement grew with each new clue, and they spent most of the time between stops laughing at Blake’s drawings.
The last clue was the chapel, and her heart thudded wildly as Ridge crested the hill. Was Blake going to ask her to marry him?
When the headlights fell on Blake standing in front of the chapel, Everly gasped. “A dog!”
A young German Shephard bounced around Blake’s legs. The puppy couldn’t have been more than a few months old.
Everly had the door open before Ridge shifted to park. She jumped out and sprinted to Blake, who caught her in his arms. The puppy yipped at their feet, begging for the same excited greeting.
“Happy birthday,” Blake whispered.
“What’s its name? Is it a girl or a boy?”
Blake released her and bent to the dog. “It’s a girl. Her name is Angel.”
“Angel,” Everly whispered as the puppy brushed up against her and nuzzled her hand. “She’s amazing. This is the best birthday present ever.”
Everly cuddled Angel against her neck. She loved playing with Thane, and now she’d have a new dog to love. Hopefully, the two would get along well.
She gasped as she lifted her head. “I don’t have a place to keep her.” She was already taking advantage of Mr. Chambers’s kindness enough by staying at the ranch, and she couldn’t ask to let her puppy stay too.
