a clean bill of health from our vet nice manners too she added smiling as she watched Autumn rub her head against the curious horse’s nose Then she glanced down at her watch Shoot I was supposed to pick up a pony in Sassafras Springs half an hour ago You need a hand with this guy first Thanks but I don’t think so said Natalie My sisters are getting his stall ready and my dad’s around somewhere in case there’s any trouble Tango seems pretty calm though Not like that mustang you brought us a few months ago Liz smiled I know he’ll be in great hands here And as always call if you need anything The young woman gave Natalie a quick wave then got into the cab of the Sugarberry Animal Shelter’s pickup truck with its paw-print logo on the door Soon the truck and trailer were rattling down the ranch’s long driveway Hey Natalie Her nine-year-old sister Grace appeared in the doorway of the big oak barn across the yard The stall’s all ready for the new horse I used three wheelbarrows-full of shavings so he’ll have a nice soft bed if he wants to lie down after his trip Looks like you got most of the shavings on yourself said Natalie laughing at the sight of her sister’s jodhpurs and T-shirt covered in a dusting of woodchips Grace combed through her long blond hair and a shower of them rained to the ground Yeah the wind was kind of blowing in my direction between the shed and the barn she admitted Natalie led Tango into the barn where Grace showed her to the
prepared stall The fluffy shavings were piled high and there was a fresh flake of hay in one corner Natalie’s other sister Emily hung a brimming bucket of water from a hook on the wall Emily let out a little gasp of surprise when she saw the new horse Oh he’s so pretty What’s his name Tango At least that’s what his halter says said Natalie Is he friendly she asked hesitating before reaching out to pat him Seems to be said Natalie Emily stroked the horse’s soft nose The big Paint snuffled her
affectionately like he had with Autumn then nibbled at the end of her blond ponytail That’s not hay silly said Emily with a giggle pulling her hair free It was a good thing Grace and Emily wore their hair differently A lot of people had trouble telling them apart otherwise Although Natalie had no difficulty knowing which of her twin sisters was which they had fooled everyone at school once by switching clothes and hairstyles for a day But you couldn’t spend much time around Grace and Emily without seeing the differences between them Emily was as careful as a cat while Grace was as bold as a leaping Labrador Still they had both changed a lot since they’d been adopted into the Ramirez family three years ago Emily was more willing to try new things and Grace had learned to stop and think before acting sometimes Speaking of sisters Where’s Abby asked Natalie At twelve and a half the oldest of the four girls Natalie did her best to keep the others out of trouble between the time when they got out of school and their mother got home from Sugarberry Animal Hospital where she was a veterinarian Their dad worked around the ranch but he was often out running errands or busy with a million other things She’s in the kennel of course said Emily You know she’s not crazy about horses like we are and she can hardly tear herself away from Cocoa’s puppies Natalie wasn’t surprised Abby spent pretty much every spare minute
with the ranch’s rescue dogs and even more now that Cocoa the cocker spaniel had given birth to six adorable puppies That reminded Natalie to update the Second Chance Ranch blog later that night The puppies wouldn’t be old enough to adopt for another month but hundreds of people had followed the story of Cocoa’s rescue from an abandoned building scheduled for demolition They were sure to be curious how she and her puppies were doing Right now though Natalie needed to get Tango settled into his new home He followed her willingly into the stall The other horses were outside where they spent all day and sometimes clear nights roaming the farm’s fifty acres of pasture Natalie slipped off Tango’s halter and stepped back He circled the stall a few times pawing at the deep bed of shavings Then he craned his head high and whinnied loudly Natalie heard a distant reply from one of the horses in the pasture He seems a little restless said Emily Can’t we let him out to run around with the herd asked Grace We don’t know how he’ll act around other horses yet said Natalie We can let him out later when Mom and Dad are around Natalie’s parents trusted her with a lot of responsibility for the animals and she tried to think carefully before making any decisions Grace looked disappointed but Emily nodded in agreement They watched as Tango circled once more then lowered his head with a sigh and grabbed a mouthful of hay Anyway thank you for getting his stall ready but now it’s homework time said Natalie
