good weather, before the snow comes.”
“We’ll see,” Tricia said.
Carolyn was still standing there, smiling.
“Please!” Sasha implored, clasping her hands together as if in prayer and looking up at Tricia with luminous hope in her eyes.
“I have to ask your mom and dad first,” Tricia told her, laying a calming hand on the little girl’s shoulder. “I’ll send them a text, and when they land in Paris, they’ll read it and we’ll probably have our answer right away.”
“They’ll say yes,” Sasha said confidently, beaming now. “I ride with Mom all the time .” The smile faded. “We mostly just ride in arenas and stuff, because Seattle’s such a big city. In France, we probably won’t get to do it at all. But this is real riding, on a real ranch, just like in that movie, City Slickers .”
Tricia and Carolyn exchanged looks, both of them smiling now.
Somehow, they’d gone from being acquaintances to being friends.
“Not too much like it, I hope,” Tricia said. “And that’s what we are, isn’t it? A pair of city slickers?”
“Speak for yourself,” Sasha joked, folding her arms decisively in front of her little chest and jutting out her chin. “I might live in a city, but I know how to ride a horse.”
“Yes, you do,” Tricia conceded. “Now, what do you say we head for home? Valentino probably needs to go out for a walk, and Winston likes to have his supper early.”
“Can we give Winston sardines?” Sasha asked. “It’s Sunday, and he always gets sardines on Sunday. That’s what you said.”
“It is indeed what I said,” Tricia answered, nodding toCarolyn as the other woman waved goodbye and walked off. “And I am a woman of my word.”
“Good,” Sasha said, in a tone of generous approval.
Tricia took the little girl’s hand. “Let’s go thank Matt’s dad and mom for inviting us to the barbecue,” she said. “Then we’ll go home and walk Valentino and give Winston his sardines.”
Sasha yawned widely and against her will, politely putting a hand over her mouth. It was still fairly early in the day, but she’d been running around in the fresh air for a couple of hours now, laughing and playing with a horde of energetic country kids, and she probably wasn’t over the jet-lag of the trip from Seattle.
By the time Sasha had had a warm bath and watched part of a Disney movie on DVD, she’d be asleep on her feet.
“Can I send the text to Mom and Dad?” she asked, when goodbyes and thank-yous had been said, and the two of them were back in Tricia’s Pathfinder, headed toward home. “I know how to do it.”
Tricia smiled, remembering the message she’d received from Sasha before, from the aquarium in Seattle. “Sure,” she said. She pulled over to one side of the road, just long enough to extract the cell from her purse and hand it to Sasha. “Remember, your mom and dad’s plane didn’t leave Sea-Tac until this morning, so they’re still in transit.”
Sasha sighed in contented resignation. “And that means they won’t get the message until they land. I know that already.”
“I did mention it before, didn’t I?” Tricia admitted, in cheerful chagrin.
“That’s okay, Aunt Tricia,” Sasha said, alreadypushing buttons on the phone like a pro. “You’re probably tired, like me.”
Love for this child welled up in Tricia, threatening to overflow. “Probably,” she agreed, her voice a little husky.
By the time they pulled into the driveway alongside Natty’s venerable old Victorian, Sasha had finished transmitting a fairly long text message to her parents and put the phone aside.
They could hear Valentino barking a welcome-home from the bottom of the outside stairway, and he was all over Sasha with kisses the moment Tricia unlocked the door.
She was about to reprimand the dog when Sasha’s delighted giggles registered.
They were having fun.
“I’ll get the leash,” Tricia said, stepping around the reunion on the threshold. She
“We’ll see,” Tricia said.
Carolyn was still standing there, smiling.
“Please!” Sasha implored, clasping her hands together as if in prayer and looking up at Tricia with luminous hope in her eyes.
“I have to ask your mom and dad first,” Tricia told her, laying a calming hand on the little girl’s shoulder. “I’ll send them a text, and when they land in Paris, they’ll read it and we’ll probably have our answer right away.”
“They’ll say yes,” Sasha said confidently, beaming now. “I ride with Mom all the time .” The smile faded. “We mostly just ride in arenas and stuff, because Seattle’s such a big city. In France, we probably won’t get to do it at all. But this is real riding, on a real ranch, just like in that movie, City Slickers .”
Tricia and Carolyn exchanged looks, both of them smiling now.
Somehow, they’d gone from being acquaintances to being friends.
“Not too much like it, I hope,” Tricia said. “And that’s what we are, isn’t it? A pair of city slickers?”
“Speak for yourself,” Sasha joked, folding her arms decisively in front of her little chest and jutting out her chin. “I might live in a city, but I know how to ride a horse.”
“Yes, you do,” Tricia conceded. “Now, what do you say we head for home? Valentino probably needs to go out for a walk, and Winston likes to have his supper early.”
“Can we give Winston sardines?” Sasha asked. “It’s Sunday, and he always gets sardines on Sunday. That’s what you said.”
“It is indeed what I said,” Tricia answered, nodding toCarolyn as the other woman waved goodbye and walked off. “And I am a woman of my word.”
“Good,” Sasha said, in a tone of generous approval.
Tricia took the little girl’s hand. “Let’s go thank Matt’s dad and mom for inviting us to the barbecue,” she said. “Then we’ll go home and walk Valentino and give Winston his sardines.”
Sasha yawned widely and against her will, politely putting a hand over her mouth. It was still fairly early in the day, but she’d been running around in the fresh air for a couple of hours now, laughing and playing with a horde of energetic country kids, and she probably wasn’t over the jet-lag of the trip from Seattle.
By the time Sasha had had a warm bath and watched part of a Disney movie on DVD, she’d be asleep on her feet.
“Can I send the text to Mom and Dad?” she asked, when goodbyes and thank-yous had been said, and the two of them were back in Tricia’s Pathfinder, headed toward home. “I know how to do it.”
Tricia smiled, remembering the message she’d received from Sasha before, from the aquarium in Seattle. “Sure,” she said. She pulled over to one side of the road, just long enough to extract the cell from her purse and hand it to Sasha. “Remember, your mom and dad’s plane didn’t leave Sea-Tac until this morning, so they’re still in transit.”
Sasha sighed in contented resignation. “And that means they won’t get the message until they land. I know that already.”
“I did mention it before, didn’t I?” Tricia admitted, in cheerful chagrin.
“That’s okay, Aunt Tricia,” Sasha said, alreadypushing buttons on the phone like a pro. “You’re probably tired, like me.”
Love for this child welled up in Tricia, threatening to overflow. “Probably,” she agreed, her voice a little husky.
By the time they pulled into the driveway alongside Natty’s venerable old Victorian, Sasha had finished transmitting a fairly long text message to her parents and put the phone aside.
They could hear Valentino barking a welcome-home from the bottom of the outside stairway, and he was all over Sasha with kisses the moment Tricia unlocked the door.
She was about to reprimand the dog when Sasha’s delighted giggles registered.
They were having fun.
“I’ll get the leash,” Tricia said, stepping around the reunion on the threshold. She
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