The girls were allowed to ride and help in the barn for an hour after school Then it was study time until dinner Emily put away the wheelbarrow hung up her pitchfork and headed inside without argument Grace hung over the half-door of the stall and watched Tango eating his hay The pattern of his coat looks like a map doesn’t it she said I wonder if he was treated badly by his last owners like Picasso But he’s got such a nice halter with his name on it so I guess someone loved him once Do you think we can ride him Grace had a habit of asking more questions than anyone could answer at once especially when she was supposed to be doing something else Look he’s got shavings in his tail already she went on Our teachers barely gave us any homework today so I’ll just give him a quick grooming before hey she cried as Natalie pried her off the stall door Tomorrow said Natalie Right now you need to study for your math test How’d you know I have a math test she demanded Emily said so Grace sighed Of course she did She made a face and then trailed reluctantly off toward the big white farmhouse Natalie lingered for a moment outside of Tango’s stall It was her night to cook dinner and she needed to make sure Grace actually did her homework and Abby hadn’t gotten so wrapped up with the puppies that she’d forgotten her other chores But it was hard to tear
herself away from the new horse Grace was right his coat did look like a map of a mysterious unknown land Natalie wished her best friend Sophia were here to see Tango Sophia loved horses but she had moved to Boston six months ago They still talked and texted as much as they could But it was hard to keep up with half a continent between them Natalie whistled a few notes Tango looked up from his hay and stepped forward to sniff at Natalie’s outstretched hand She smoothed his long forelock out of his eyes revealing a perfect white star in the middle of his chestnut forehead Natalie had outgrown her old pony Rockette last year She’d sold her to the family of an eight-year-old girl who was already winning a lot of junior barrel-racing prizes with the quick little mare just like Natalie had done since she was eight Natalie had been hoping to find a bigger horse to show this summer but none of the rescues that had come to Second Chance Ranch since then seemed like the right fit And Natalie didn’t want to buy a fancy show horse and take up space that could be used to help an animal in need But Natalie was sure that Tango would be as wonderful to ride as he was to look at She could already picture herself on him galloping down the chute of a rodeo arena and circling the barrels at lightning speed Natalie gave Tango a final pat then switched off the lights and headed for the house It really did seem like she’d finally found the dream horse she had been waiting for
Chapter Two Is it spicy asked Emily sniffing cautiously at her bowl of steaming chili Natalie loved fiery food and so did Grace but the other sisters weren’t so crazy about it Shouldn’t be too bad said Natalie with a grin I only used two habanero peppers and one ghost pepper this time Abby dropped her spoon Natalie she wailed I can’t eat this I think your sister’s kidding said Mr Ramirez raising an eyebrow at Natalie Yeah Abby I was just joking Natalie said quickly Ten-year-old Abby was on the autism spectrum She was super smart and very literal She didn’t usually get sarcasm Sometimes it was hard to resist teasing her but Natalie didn’t want her to be too upset The only spices I used were garlic oregano paprika and a tiny bit of red chili powder she assured her sister Abby picked up her spoon again looking relieved That’s good she said I didn’t want to have to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch and dinner Even though Natalie would have loved to have used more than a pinch of chili powder she’d wanted to make a dish that everyone would enjoy Dinner was often the only time in the Ramirez family’s hectic day that all of them were in the same place at once And since they were all eating from the beautiful pottery plates that Natalie’s
abuela had made it sort of felt like she was there too even though she lived in New Mexico The family tradition was that everyone went around the table at dinner and told a little bit about their day Tonight Mr Ramirez went first I’m glad that we seeded those fifty acres next to the big pasture for hay he said It was a lot of work but the price of round bales has nearly doubled this year We’ll save a lot of money this winter by feeding the horses hay we’ve grown ourselves As she got older Natalie realized more and more how expensive it was to keep a place like Second Chance Ranch running The family organized fundraisers several times a year and sometimes they got money from government grants But her parents still tried to keep costs down however they could Lately a lot of their donations had come from people online who had seen the Second Chance Ranch website and blog Natalie was usually the one who updated the website and she felt proud that her pictures and writing were making a real difference for the ranch Natalie’s thoughts were interrupted by Mrs Ramirez’s funny story about an escaped cat at work Then she took a second helping of chili which Natalie noted with satisfaction When she’d first started making dinner once a week she hadn’t exactly been Top Chef material There may have been a few scorched pots and possibly one tiny visit from the fire department But since she’d started following her abuela’s handwritten recipes and calling her grandmother if she had any questions Natalie’s cooking had gotten a lot better
