Page 25 of Savage Heart

“Hi,” I say.

“Hi.” He grins. “Lincoln was throwing a ball with one of the wranglers, but he’s excited you’re coming over too.”

We drive to the other end of town and drive through the gate. I’m always in awe when we drive down the long, long road, where I see lots of horses and cows and buildings.

I have the best time whenever I go to the ranch. Maverick, Lincoln, and I go riding almost every visit. I always go see Lady. I love her. Hatcher says she’s my horse now, which makes me so happy. I’ve gotten good at riding.

“Just let me know when you’re ready for a snack,” Evelyn says. “It’s ready when you are.”

I pause and turn back, looking up at her.

Her head tilts. “Would you like a snack now?”

“Sure,” I say, smiling up at her.

Evelyn is so pretty and nice. She’s tall and beautiful, with long dark hair pulled back. Her eyes are lighter than Maverick’s, more like the jeans she’s wearing, and they crinkle when she smiles. She always seems happy, but I wonder if sometimes she cries all day like my mom. I hope not.

Maverick comes over and stands by me. “We have these little hamburgers. They’re this big.” He holds up his hand and holds his fingers up.

“I’ve never seen a hamburger that little!” I say.

My stomach growls loudly, and the boys laugh.

“I’ll bring the food out here,” Evelyn says. “You can eat on the deck.”

“I bet I can eat ten of them,” Lincoln says when Evelyn brings the tray out.

“How about we start with one?” Jennifer comes out and stands near him, and he sighs.

“Okay,” he mutters.

She pokes him in the side, and he laughs.

Jennifer is pretty, too, and a lot of fun. Lincoln says his mom wants another baby, but for some reason, they can’t have one. That makes me sad for her because she’s a good mom.

The boys and I each eat four of the little burgers. I never dreamed I could eat that many, and they’re so yummy, I kind of want more, but I don’t want to get a bellyache.

Mom fell asleep before dinner last night, so I put peanut butter on three crackers. Those were all the crackers we had left, so I ate them slowly. This morning I just ate a big spoonful of peanut butter. My stomach gurgles after I’m fed, but it feels good, not that gnawing feeling I go to bed with and wake up to.

“To the horses!” Maverick says when we’re done eating.

Lincoln runs ahead of us, turning around every few steps to walk backward and make faces.

“Bet I can get there first,” he says, sticking out his tongue.

“You already are there,” Maverick tells him seriously.

Lincoln blinks, looks around, then laughs. He laughs a lot, and it makes me happy when he does.

The air smells like hay and animals and sunshine. The barn is so, so big, and the doors creak when Maverick pushes them open. Inside is full of funny snorts coming from the horses.

I like the way the horses’ hooves sound against the dirt as we ride along the fence line. Maverick rides ahead of us, sitting tall. He looks back every few seconds to make sure I’m still there.

We eat sandwiches and cookies Jennifer packed for us, sitting on the fence with our legs swinging. Lincoln drops half his cookie in the dirt and pretends he meant to do it. Maverick laughs so hard he snorts, then tells him that’s how you get ants. Lincoln says ants deserve a treat too, but then he gets down and shakes the cookie off and eats it.

I laugh until my stomach hurts.

We splash in the water and play fetch with Biscuit, who goes off chasing a ball and comes back dragging a stick bigger than all of us. We laugh and laugh and laugh.