doubts were put to rest.
“I hear you like horses.”
The girl peered up at her, intrigued. “How do you know that?”
“I’m a friend of your father’s.”
“Oh.” Zoey scratched the toe of her boot in the dirt.
“Do you like school?”
“It’s okay.”
Was Zoey normally shy or just around strangers?
“I work at the radio station. I interviewed your dad last week. Did you hear it? He mentioned you.”
“No, I wanted to listen but Daddy said I had to go to school.”
“That’s too bad. If you want, and your dad says it’s okay, I can get you a copy of the interview and you can listen to it at home.”
“Really?” A smile blossomed on Zoey’s face.
“Sure.”
Without warning, a banging noise sounded from inside the restroom.
Carolina knocked on the door. “Are you all right in there?”
“Yes,” came a muffled reply.
She waited, and when no other noise followed, shrugged off the incident. “I like your boots.”
“Thanks.” Zoey bent and brushed away some dirt from the top of one.
Their conversation was stilted and probably wouldn’t be occurring at all if Carolina wasn’t trying so hard. She considered herself good with little girls, thanks to having so many nieces. She wondered if Zoey’s shyness was a result of being an only child, having no mother, or just her personality.
Come to think of it, her father wasn’t much for casual chitchat, either.
When he chose to, however, he could make up for any lack of words with action.
The restroom door abruptly banged open, and the other little girl emerged. She started to race back to the corral.
“Hey, wait! Don’t go.”
“She never listens,” Zoey said with very adultlike exasperation.
Carolina was torn between chasing after the little girl or remaining with Zoey. In the next instant, the dilemma was solved when the child reached the corral gate and the supervisor signaled Carolina.
“Okay, your turn,” she told Zoey, who stepped into the restroom with all the enthusiasm of Dorothy entering the witch’s castle.
After giving the interior a thorough once-over, she turned around and shut the door—only to come charging out three seconds later, squealing and hopping from foot to foot.
“There’s a tarantula in there!”
“Are you sure?” Carolina was flabbergasted. The huge spiders were indigenous to the area but reclusive, normally choosing to avoid people. “Where?” She poked her head inside the restroom.
“In the corner. Behind the toilet.” Zoey’s voice quaked.
Carolina bent cautiously to have a look. Despite their size, scary appearance and bad reputation, tarantulas were relatively harmless. That didn’t mean she was in the mood for a close encounter with one.
“I don’t see it.”
Zoey tiptoed up beside Carolina and pointed. “There. On that silver thingie.”
The valve? Carolina squinted. A spider with a body no bigger than a pinhead clung to a small iridescent web.
“That’s not a tarantula.”
“You sure?” Zoey squeaked.
“Positive. Tarantulas are this big.” Carolina demonstrated with her hands. “That spider’s only this big.” She pinched her thumb and index finger together.
“My daddy says I should be careful of spiders.”
“And he’s right. You don’t always know which ones are dangerous. But this one isn’t.”
“I don’t have to go to the bathroom anymore.”
“You want me to get rid of the spider?”
“Don’t kill it!”
“I won’t, I promise. I’ll just ask it to leave.”
“You can do that?”
“Watch me.” Carolina waved her hand in front of the spider. It immediately scurried off, disappearing into a crack in the wall. “See. All safe.”
“What if it comes back?”
“It won’t. Not till you’re gone. I promise.”
Zoey looked skeptical but need apparently won out. She went back into the restroom, leaving the door open a tiny crack. A few minutes later, she came out, still wary. By then, several people from the trail ride had joined
“I hear you like horses.”
The girl peered up at her, intrigued. “How do you know that?”
“I’m a friend of your father’s.”
“Oh.” Zoey scratched the toe of her boot in the dirt.
“Do you like school?”
“It’s okay.”
Was Zoey normally shy or just around strangers?
“I work at the radio station. I interviewed your dad last week. Did you hear it? He mentioned you.”
“No, I wanted to listen but Daddy said I had to go to school.”
“That’s too bad. If you want, and your dad says it’s okay, I can get you a copy of the interview and you can listen to it at home.”
“Really?” A smile blossomed on Zoey’s face.
“Sure.”
Without warning, a banging noise sounded from inside the restroom.
Carolina knocked on the door. “Are you all right in there?”
“Yes,” came a muffled reply.
She waited, and when no other noise followed, shrugged off the incident. “I like your boots.”
“Thanks.” Zoey bent and brushed away some dirt from the top of one.
Their conversation was stilted and probably wouldn’t be occurring at all if Carolina wasn’t trying so hard. She considered herself good with little girls, thanks to having so many nieces. She wondered if Zoey’s shyness was a result of being an only child, having no mother, or just her personality.
Come to think of it, her father wasn’t much for casual chitchat, either.
When he chose to, however, he could make up for any lack of words with action.
The restroom door abruptly banged open, and the other little girl emerged. She started to race back to the corral.
“Hey, wait! Don’t go.”
“She never listens,” Zoey said with very adultlike exasperation.
Carolina was torn between chasing after the little girl or remaining with Zoey. In the next instant, the dilemma was solved when the child reached the corral gate and the supervisor signaled Carolina.
“Okay, your turn,” she told Zoey, who stepped into the restroom with all the enthusiasm of Dorothy entering the witch’s castle.
After giving the interior a thorough once-over, she turned around and shut the door—only to come charging out three seconds later, squealing and hopping from foot to foot.
“There’s a tarantula in there!”
“Are you sure?” Carolina was flabbergasted. The huge spiders were indigenous to the area but reclusive, normally choosing to avoid people. “Where?” She poked her head inside the restroom.
“In the corner. Behind the toilet.” Zoey’s voice quaked.
Carolina bent cautiously to have a look. Despite their size, scary appearance and bad reputation, tarantulas were relatively harmless. That didn’t mean she was in the mood for a close encounter with one.
“I don’t see it.”
Zoey tiptoed up beside Carolina and pointed. “There. On that silver thingie.”
The valve? Carolina squinted. A spider with a body no bigger than a pinhead clung to a small iridescent web.
“That’s not a tarantula.”
“You sure?” Zoey squeaked.
“Positive. Tarantulas are this big.” Carolina demonstrated with her hands. “That spider’s only this big.” She pinched her thumb and index finger together.
“My daddy says I should be careful of spiders.”
“And he’s right. You don’t always know which ones are dangerous. But this one isn’t.”
“I don’t have to go to the bathroom anymore.”
“You want me to get rid of the spider?”
“Don’t kill it!”
“I won’t, I promise. I’ll just ask it to leave.”
“You can do that?”
“Watch me.” Carolina waved her hand in front of the spider. It immediately scurried off, disappearing into a crack in the wall. “See. All safe.”
“What if it comes back?”
“It won’t. Not till you’re gone. I promise.”
Zoey looked skeptical but need apparently won out. She went back into the restroom, leaving the door open a tiny crack. A few minutes later, she came out, still wary. By then, several people from the trail ride had joined
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