But she was still concerned the teachers might not be happy about the rabbits being in the same hutch
Grace settled back into the seat with a happy sigh I’m sure the rabbits will have a fun weekend together I’d hate to be alone all weekend That was true Grace loved having company and inviting friends over Sometimes Emily wished she could be more like her sister It wasn’t that it was hard for her to make friends it was more that she didn’t really feel the need to She never minded being alone when she had books and art and animals to keep her busy And if she needed a friend to talk to she had Grace Although they were very different they were best friends She hoped the two rabbits liked each other and made friends If she and Grace got to school early on Monday they could put Buddy back in his cage before anyone noticed he was missing She just hoped their teacher didn’t mind Because there was nothing she could do about it
until Monday she decided to relax and forget about the rabbits for the rest of the weekend She didn’t have a chance to do that though because at dinner their family always went around the table and each person shared something special about the day As usual Grace was first She wriggled so much if she had to wait so they usually let her talk first I took care of the class rabbit this week she said I didn’t want Buddy to be lonely while we were gone Her mom’s eyebrows lifted You didn’t bring him home with you I hope Grace laughed No but maybe I should have Well it’s a good thing you didn’t her dad said laughing We have plenty of animals to care for right now And it was true The Ramirez family owned Second Chance Ranch a two-hundred-acre ranch where they took in and cared for injured and rescued animals
Grace had recently offered to take in a bunch of animals from a petting zoo so they were filled to capacity until they found homes for most of them Grace waved her hand dismissively I did something better I put our rabbit in the big hutch in Mr Perez’s room She beamed at everyone That way both rabbits can have company for the weekend Across the table their oldest sister Natalie chewed her mouthful of lasagna while she listened Next to her ten-year-old Abby had separated the lasagna layers into individual piles of meat noodles and cheese and slid them around so nothing touched Abby who was like a walking encyclopedia about animals spouted off rabbit facts she’d researched when they first got Cadbury their Holland lop-eared rabbit Rabbits don’t like to be alone They prefer having companions See Grace flashed Emily a triumphant look I
