“I can’t, Em.” Grace said. “What if it bites me?”

  “Oh, Grace, animals usually treat you the way you treat them. If you’re kind, they’ll be kind.” Emily unlatched the gate and marched into the pen. After closing it behind her, she stood still and made eye contact with the emu. The two of them stared at each other, and Emily gave it a gentle smile. She took a few steps toward the emu and watched it closely. The emu took several steps toward Emily.

  “Would you like me to take off that collar for you?” Emily’s tone was soft and soothing.

  The emu moved closer, then so did Emily. They took turns, one moving and then the other.

  Although she was frightened for her sister, Grace also was fascinated. It was almost like the two of them were dancing. She held her breath as Emily took the final two steps and reached for the collar. The bird lifted its neck, and Grace sucked in a breath. But the emu only swayed toward Emily so she could reach around and unhook the collar.

  Her sister had her arms around the emu’s neck, and she leaned her face against its feathery side as she removed the collar, all the while murmuring words Grace couldn’t hear. After the leash was off, Emily stroked the emu for a while. Then she backed up and waved goodbye.

  Did emus smile? Grace could have sworn this one did. But when Emily let herself out the gate, the emu’s eyes appeared sad. So did Emily.

  “I’m sorry you have to be in such a small pen, but after Mom examines you, maybe you’ll be allowed to go free,” Emily said to the bird.

  “You talk to the animals as if they can understand you,” Grace said to her sister.

  Emily glanced at her in surprise. “Of course they can, and they always answer.”

  “Oh.” Grace wasn’t sure she’d ever had a conversation with an animal who answered her back. “They answer in words?”

  “No, you don’t need words, although I use them sometimes,” Emily said. “But it’s more like a feeling, a sense. I don’t know how to explain it, but you just know deep inside what they’re saying.” Emily walked over, picked up her sketchbook, and climbed back on the fence rail.

  Grace trailed after her. “I’ve never heard them say anything.”

  “I think you have to be very, very quiet to hear it.” Emily opened to a fresh page in her sketchbook. “Now that I’ve been close to the emu and actually touched it, I can draw it a little better.”

  Grace knew once Emily was absorbed in her drawing, the world around her sister would disappear. Emily went into this secret world and shut Grace out. Sometimes she stayed there for hours, leaving Grace lonely, even when they were in the same room. Maybe that also was the world where she heard animals speak.

  Chapter Five

  Grace washed up for dinner and headed to the table with a huge knot of dread twisting in her stomach. Even though it was pizza night, her favorite night of the week, she took only one slice, ducked her head, and ate it without making eye contact.

  The tangled knots in her stomach pulled even tighter when Mr. Ramirez started the usual conversation. “So who wants to be first to tell us about their day?”

  Most nights Grace was bursting with news she couldn’t wait to share. She hated sitting quietly and listening until it was her turn. Often the family let her begin because until it was her turn, she wriggled in her chair so much she shook the table. Tonight, though, she cringed. Who would be the first to tell on her daring attempt in the barn this morning?

  One by one, they took their turns. Natalie had updated the website with pictures and descriptions of their newest animals. “I even managed to get the emu posted before dinner, and we got several donations today,” she said.

  Mrs. Ramirez set a piece of spinach and sun-dried tomato pizza on her plate. “That’s great, Natalie. We really appreciate you doing that,” she said, and then sighed. “I had a tough day today. Tina tipped her coffee mug over, and it fell into an open file drawer. Most of the records in the drawer were soaked. We spread them out all over to dry, but many are stained and some are illegible.”

  Natalie waved a hand in front of her mouth to indicate she wanted to talk but had to finish chewing first. Then she said, “Mom, I keep telling you, you need to update the computer files. Nobody uses paper files anymore.”

  Mrs. Ramirez sighed again. “I’m so busy taking care of animals, I don’t have time, and Tina’s just as busy handling patient registration, scheduling, billing, and helping me when needed.”

  “Then I’ll come in for a few hours a day and help set it up,” Natalie said. “Darcy is visiting her dad in Hawai‘i for the summer anyway, so I have time. You can’t live in the Dark Ages forever, mom!” She giggled.

  Wow! Natalie’s generosity impressed Grace. Natalie would give up watching Zombie High and training horses to help Mom? Plus, Natalie hadn’t said a word about Grace’s fiasco that morning.

  Abby gushed about the puppies that still had a few weeks at the ranch before they went to their new homes. “Oh, and I researched emus and learned a lot. Their legs are extremely powerful, so they kick hard if they’re upset.”

  If this had been an ordinary night, Grace would have interrupted Abby to tell about Emily’s connection with the emu when she removed the leash. Tonight, though, she stayed silent.

  Abby shared a few more emu facts and then selected a slice of cheese pizza. Grace released a pent-up breath. Two down, and no mention of her bareback-riding attempt. She was pretty sure Emily wouldn’t betray her.

  Emily reached for the sketchbook beside her plate and flipped it open. “I sketched the emu this afternoon. I’ve never seen a live one before.” She held up two pages filled with the emu in different positions—running, stretching, bending down. “Tomorrow after the trail ride, I’ll enlarge one and paint it.”

  The trail ride. Grace had forgotten all about their plans to pack a picnic lunch and go on a long trail ride. She couldn’t go along. She’d promised Miz Ida she’d come over for training. Once again, she almost broke into the conversation to say that, but she caught herself in time. This keeping silent was horrid. But saying something would be worse.

  “Grace, you’re awfully quiet tonight,” Mr. Ramirez said. “What did you do today?”

  If nobody else had mentioned her disaster, Grace wouldn’t either. She raised her chin and said, “I went to visit Miz Ida and helped her in the garden. She’s going to Arizona to visit her son for two weeks, and she wants me to take care of Chances and weed the garden and pick the vegetables and keep an eye on her house while she’s away.” She didn’t pause for breath. She was afraid that if she did, one of her sisters might tattle about the morning.

  Mr. Ramirez looked thoughtful. “That seems like an awful lot of responsibility. Are you sure you’re going to be able to handle all that and keep up with your chores around here? Also, I heard you’re in charge of learning about and handling the emu.”

  “I’ll take care of handling the emu,” Emily volunteered. “I’d like to spend more time around him so I can photograph and paint him.”

  “I can give you all the information I looked up about emus,” Abby said. She pulled the cheese off her pizza to eat separately. She didn’t like her food mixed together.

  Natalie took an extra helping of salad. “I could take care of Grace’s horse duties in the morning.”

  “That’s thoughtful of you, Natalie, but you already offered to help me at the office,” Mrs. Ramirez said. “You need to have some fun on your summer vacation.”

  “I don’t mind.” Natalie speared a cherry tomato with her fork. “Taking care of horses is fun for me, and it’ll only be two weeks.”

  “I’m proud of all of you for being so willing to help out.” Mr. Ramirez smiled at the three girls and then turned to Grace.

  Grace sat in stunned silence. The sisters who only this morning had been laughing at her now were going out of their way to help her. “Thank you,” was all she could manage to say.

  Later that night, as Grace and Mrs. Ramirez were doing the dishes together, the phone rang. After a tense conversation, Mrs. Ramirez tossed the dishtowel to her husband in the family room. “I have to head out to the Hernandez farm. One of their horses is hurt.”

  Mr. Ramirez sighed. “I wish you’d take on a partner. You work much too hard.” He kissed her good-bye. “Drive carefully and call if you need anything,” he called after her.

  He came into the kitchen with the dish towel slung over his shoulder. “It’s you and me, kiddo,” he said to Grace. “What’s left to dry?”

  Grace handed him one of abuela’s pottery plates and swished her hands around in the sudsy water for the next one.

  “So tell me more about Miz Ida’s job opportunity,” Mr. Ramirez said as he dried the plate.

  After bottling up her comments for most of the day, it was a relief to talk nonstop. Grace told him about all the things they’d done and talked about, except Miz Ida saying Grace was a blessing. She kept that to herself.

  “Anyway, even though she sometimes takes chances, she says she doesn’t want to jump into moving to Arizona without thinking.” Grace handed Mr. Ramirez some silverware.

  “That sounds like wise advice,” he said.

  Grace couldn’t tell if he meant in general or if he was directing that comment to her because she rushed headlong into things. She wasn’t sure, so she kept silent.

  Mr. Ramirez slid open the drawer near him and placed the silverware in the dividers. “I’m sure you’ll do a fine job.”

  “Oh, and I forgot to tell you how much she’s going to pay me!”

  Mr. Ramirez whistled when she told him the amount. “She must think very highly of your work to offer that much money.”

  “I told her I wasn’t worth that much, and she said I could donate the extra to the ranch. But I think I’d rather keep it all for myself,” Grace said.

  Mr. Ramirez laughed. “I hope you’ll consider some other options. Like maybe putting some of it in the bank.” He dried the last of the silverware and put it away while Grace drained and rinsed the sink. “Time for bed, kiddo. I’ll be up soon to tuck you in.”

  “It’s still light out, and it’s summer.” Grace always tried to wheedle a little extra time before bed.

  “Tell that to the animals in the morning when you oversleep,” Mr. Ramirez said over his shoulder as he went to join Natalie in the family room. “Call me when you and Emily are done with your showers and are in bed.”

  Grace wanted to drag out her bedtime, but she had Miz Ida’s to look forward to tomorrow morning. She let Emily take a shower first, then she took her turn and called for Mr. Ramirez as soon as they were both in bed. As usual, Emily was absorbed in a book.

  Mr. Ramirez came bounding up the stairs. As hard as it was to believe now, when she and Emily first arrived at the ranch, Grace had been scared of him. Her birth mom had been a single mother, so Grace wasn’t used to sharing a house with a tall man who had a deep voice.

  The first night he and Mrs. Ramirez came into the bedroom to hug them good night, Grace had been so frightened she’d shivered and backed away. His arms, strong and muscular from all the work around the ranch, looked like they might crush her. Yet she’d been surprised by his softness. He had gently picked her up, tucked her in bed, and read her and Emily a story. She loved how he changed his voice to high and squeaky for a mouse and then low and growly for a bear. Even after the girls claimed to be too old for bedtime stories, he still sometimes came in and read a chapter book with them. Now Grace was grateful to have a dad, especially one who cared about them so much. And she looked forward to nightly hugs from Mr. and Mrs. Ramirez.

  After he hugged Emily, Mr. Ramirez sat on the foot of Grace’s bed. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.” His usual smile turned into a serious expression. “I understand you did something dangerous in the barn this morning.”

  Grace’s fists clenched at her sides. “Who told you that?”

  “It doesn’t matter. What matters is—”

  “Yes, it does matter!” Grace bolted to an upright position. “If someone tattled on me, I should know who.”

  The frown lines on Mr. Ramirez’s brow grew deeper. “Grace, the point is about your safety and that of the horses.”

  “The horses? It was Natalie, wasn’t it?” She could tell by Mr. Ramirez’s expression she was right. Grace bounced up and down on the bed. She was so upset, she could hardly control herself.

  “Calm down, Grace.” Mr. Ramirez set his hands on her shoulders. “Do you want to tell me your side of the story?”

  Grace slumped back against her pillow and hung her head. “No,” she said in a small voice. She wished she could go back and erase the memory in her own head and the ones in her sisters’ minds.

  “All right, then. I’d like you to listen to me,” Mr. Ramirez said patiently. “I’m sure you’ve already discovered some of the dangers today, but you could have been badly hurt if Joker had bucked, and it’s possible you could have hurt him.”

  Grace couldn’t look Mr. Ramirez in the eye, so she pleated the edge of the sheet between her fingers. “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “I know you are, and I’m sure now that you’ve had a chance to reflect on it, you understand why it wasn’t a wise choice.” Mr. Ramirez reached out and set his strong, tanned hand over her fingers. “Mom isn’t here to talk it over, but I’ve decided to take away your riding privileges for two weeks. That means no trail ride tomorrow.”

  Grace couldn’t go on the trail ride tomorrow anyway, but she kept that to herself. Actually, she’d be working at Miz Ida’s for the next two weeks, so it wouldn’t be so bad. After this morning, she didn’t really want to ride a horse, even if she’d miss her special times with her pony. “Who’s going to exercise Joker?” she asked.

  “Natalie or I can do it,” Emily said from the bed next to her.

  “Thank you, Emily,” Mr. Ramirez said. He leaned over and kissed Grace’s forehead. “I hope you realize we’re not punishing you to be mean. We’re doing it because we love you. We care about you and want to keep you safe.”

  “I know,” Grace mumbled. She couldn’t believe him, at least not right now. Even though they’d had this same conversation before, this was the first time she’d ever lost riding privileges, and that hurt.

  When Mr. Ramirez left, Grace lay still for a long while, staring at the ceiling. Would there ever come a day when she didn’t get into trouble?

  In the bed nearby, Emily’s breathing fell into a natural, even rhythm.

  As the darkness closed around her, Grace whispered to herself, “Miz Ida thinks I’m a blessing.”

  Too bad no one else does.

  Chapter Six

  Excited to get started at Miz Ida’s, Grace rose early the next morning. She hurried through her chores, doing as little as possible, and rushed from the barn.

  “Come back here!” Natalie called after her. She stood, legs apart and hands on her hips, frowning. “I agreed to help with your share of the morning horse duties while you’re working for Miz Ida, but that doesn’t mean I’m starting today.”

  “I already did my jobs,” Grace mumbled.

  Natalie’s voice softened. “I know you’re eager to get to Miz Ida’s, but our horses deserve proper care. You need to get back in there and do it right this time.”

  Grace knew she was right, but she stomped back to the stalls just to prove a point.

  After she finished with the horses and Natalie had inspected her work, Grace scooted from the barn. In her rush, she almost mowed down Emily, who was carrying a new bag of feed for the rabbits.

  “Someone didn’t refill the feed bin,” Emily said. Emily hadn’t said anybody’s name, but they both knew whose job it was: Grace’s.

  “Sorry,” Grace said. “I was in a hurry and forgot.”

  “Did you feed the rabbits their salads?” Emily asked.

  Grace couldn’t look Emily in the eye. “No,” she said sheepishly. She’d only changed their water and given them fresh Timothy hay.

  Emily didn’t scold her or tell her to do it. Instead she sighed and said, “I’ll do it.”

  “Thanks, Em.” Grace flashed her sister a relieved smile. “I don’t like making salads, and besides, I’m already late because Natalie made me redo all my work this morning. I’m glad it’s summer so she isn’t telling me to do my homework too.”

  “Did you do your job right the first time?” Emily gave Grace a knowing look.

  “It was good enough,” Grace said defensively. “Natalie just likes bossing people.”

  Emily shifted the heavy bag of feed to her other shoulder. “That isn’t fair, Grace, and you know it. Mom put her in charge of the horses, so she needs to make sure everything’s done right. She never bosses me.”

  “That’s because you do all your chores and homework without being told. For me, it’s always ‘Grace, it’s time for homework now.’ ‘Grace, it was your turn to muck those stalls.’ All. The. Time.”

  “That doesn’t sound very bossy to me,” Emily said, exasperated. “She’s just reminding you about things you’re supposed to be doing.”

  Grace stamped her foot. “Em, do you always have to be so logical? Can’t you just say, ‘You’re right, Grace. Natalie is bossy,’ for once?”

  Emily shook her head. “I can’t say that because it isn’t true.”

  Grace huffed. “Even if it isn’t true, you could at least say it to make me feel better.”

  Emily nibbled on her lower lip. “I’m sorry, Grace. I was trying to make you feel better.”

  Well, it isn’t working, Grace wanted to say, but Emily’s eyes reflected her hurt. Besides, she wasn’t angry at Emily.

 

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