Natalie I could do something she couldn’t do Grace burst out Whatever I try she can do it better That’s only because she’s older When you’re twelve like Natalie you’ll be able to do everything she does now You might even be able to do it better By then she’ll be fifteen so she’ll still be doing everything better than me Way better I’ll never catch up Emily smiled Why do you have to catch up Why don’t you let Natalie be the best Natalie she can be and you be the best Grace you can be In her heart Grace knew Emily was right but that didn’t take away the sting of everyone’s laughter Life was so easy for Emily She accepted people the way they were She always thought before she acted and never made embarrassing mistakes But everyone laughed at me Come on Grace If Natalie tried to stand on her horse and fell off onto a pile of hay wouldn’t you laugh I guess Grace said sullenly But Natalie wouldn’t do something like that Exactly Maybe if you didn’t try to show off Emily suggested her tone gentle I thought it would be easy The girl at the circus did it Emily leaned over and picked a few bits of loose hay from Grace’s hair I’m sure she practiced for a long time before she tried How long did you practice Grace hung her head and shuffled her feet in the dirt I didn’t practice at all she admitted I just had the idea and tried it
Those horses are specially trained too Of all our horses Joker is one of the most skittish You might have been badly hurt if you hadn’t landed on hay What were you thinking I-I wasn’t Grace stammered At least not about the dangers All she’d been thinking about was hearing everyone ooh and aah Her sister didn’t say a word only looked at Grace I know I know Grace waved a hand in the air Mom always tells me not to rush headlong into things but it’s hard when I get all these great ideas and I want to do them right away I understand Emily assured her You’re lucky to have so many fun ideas and you’re brave enough to try them I wish I could be more like that You do But I’m always getting into trouble Not always Sometimes you come up with the coolest plans I wish I had today Grace said Then everyone wouldn’t be laughing at me That reminded her of her destination Miz Ida’s garden Grace stomped along beside the split-rail fence separating their ranch from the road heading in the direction of her friend’s house Are we crossing here Emily asked when they’d walked the length of their yard and were directly across from Miz Ida’s ranch Um Em Grace hesitated to hurt her sister’s feelings after she’d been so kind and understanding It’s not that I don’t want your company it’s just that Emily held up a hand I know you like visiting Miz Ida alone I want to be sure you get across the street safely Grace was stung by her sister’s words I’m not a baby
Of course not We’re the same age remember Emily teased But you almost Yeah I almost got hit by a truck so now she thinks she needs to help me cross the street And back at the house Natalie and Abby are probably still giggling about my belly flop And everyone will be talking about it at dinner tonight Grace’s face heated and her eyes burned Some days the ache for her birth mom was worse than others Emily stayed so quiet she blended into the background and fit in anywhere they went People automatically liked her But Grace always always did things that made her stand out in a crowd and in her family But not in a good way At least it seemed that way
Chapter Two Instead of heading for Miz Ida’s front door Grace walked up the long driveway and veered toward the side yard of the one-story house where a tall wooden fence enclosed Miz Ida’s garden Most mornings that’s where Grace found her elderly friend Miz Ida had told her she was welcome in the garden any time and Grace visited as often as she could after the never ending chores of caring for the animals at Second Chance Ranch As soon as Grace unlatched the gate her spirits lifted The heady aroma of roses greeted her She cupped one of her favorites the Secret and tipped her head to inhale the sweetness of the cream rose She loved the pink tint on the outer edges and the gold hidden near the base of each petal that only showed when the rose opened She guessed that secret gold had given the flower its name but she’d have to ask Miz Ida Breathing in the scent always calmed Grace and a sense of peace washed over her Miz Ida knelt on the cushion she used for her arthritis pulling up weeds in the vegetable garden Near the back fence the tomato plants stood tall and green against the six-foot stakes and plump red tomatoes hung heavy on the branches Grace had helped to place rocks by each tomato plant to save the plants from drought during the dry summer weather The bean plants had wound their way up the poles and green beans dangled among the leaves Everywhere she looked plants were healthy and blooming including Miz Ida’s roses
