Runaway

by Dandi Daley Mackall

  We’re close to the quarry. Wind presses against me from all sides, wraps me in its arms, like a giant hug. I wish I could hold on to it. The verse Kat told me was her favorite floats at the edges of my mind. Something about God loving us so much that He calls us His children. And again I wonder what that would be like—to be God’s child, part of a family, loved.

  At the edge of the quarry, Blackfire stops. I slide off and drop his reins to the ground. “Stay,” I tell him. And I trust him not to leave me. Not to run away.

  “Here, Kitten!” I step along the edge of the quarry, calling, but there’s no sign of her. So I pray. “God . . .” Only I stop. I’ve shot off a wish-prayer before in times like this. But it’s not enough. Not now. Things feel different.

  I’m different. “God, thank You for letting me live with this family, even for a short time. I’ll never forget them or the love I saw here. I know You love Kat. And You’ve gotta know how much she loves this kitten. Please, God. Please help me find it. And I’m sorry to be asking You like this again. But I know You care about this. Kat’s Your kid.”

  I drop to my stomach and peer over the edge of the quarry. Behind me, Blackfire snorts. Thunder rumbles in the distance. “Kitten? Where are you?”

  Then I see her. She’s curled up in the crook of a rock about a foot below. Tiny cries float up to me. “It’s okay, Kitten.”

  I stretch as far as I can without falling into the quarry. My fingers dangle above the cat. But I can’t reach her. “Stand up, Kitten. Please?” Please, God! For Kat? For me?

  And then I feel something soft. Furry. Kitten’s standing. Her back arches, and I slide my hand under her belly and lift her up.

  Hanging on to the cat, I scoot away from the ledge. When we’re safe, I pull Kitten to my chest and hug her the way Kat does. “Thank You.” Tears are streaming down my face. Kitten purrs. “I’m taking you home.”

  Blackfire is right where I left him. I find a big rock to stand on so I can mount. Kitten curls in front of me as I take the reins. “Slow and easy, boy,” I whisper.

  With one hand cradling Kitten and the other holding the reins, I can’t grab my security handful of mane. But I don’t need to. Blackfire understands. His walk is rocking-chair smooth as we make our way home.

  Home. But it’s not home. Not my home. And Neil could be there right now, ready to take me away.

  We reach the road, and the roof of the farmhouse rises through the clouds in the distance. The rumbles of thunder grow louder.

  A horn honks. Blackfire jerks to a stop. I struggle to keep from falling off. Kitten cries and tries to jump off.

  When I regain my balance, I glare at the honking car.

  It’s Neil. He’s in the passenger seat of a light blue convertible, the top down. DJ’s behind the wheel.

  “Neil?” I ride closer. “You actually came.” This is what I’ve wanted since the day I left Chicago. Neil has come to take me away.

  “What, you turned into a cowgirl?” Neil bursts into a laugh that scares Kitten. “How about trading that thing in for something with wheels?”

  DJ turns down the radio, which seems loud and out of place. “We don’t have all day, man. Let’s get out of here.”

  “Sure,” I answer. “I just need to take this cat back and leave a note for the Coolidges.”

  “We don’t have time, Dakota,” Neil says, glancing at DJ.

  “It won’t take long.” I can’t abandon Kitten. I don’t expect Neil to understand.

  “Put it down. Don’t they always find their way home, like pigeons?” Neil laughs and makes DJ laugh too.

  “I can’t, Neil. It’s a runaway.”

  “So let it run. Doesn’t seem like it wants to go home anyway.” Neil’s voice has an edge to it, like he’s running out of patience fast.

  “I’m taking it home,” I insist. “I have to get the horse back in the barn anyway.”

  DJ shakes his head. “We don’t have time for this, man.”

  Neil glances over his shoulder and down the road. He looks nervous, almost scared. “What’s with you, Dakota?”

  “Nothing.” I force a smile. I’ve known Neil for a long time. He drove all this way to get me. He cares about me. “Nothing’s wrong with me. I just have to get my stuff is all. So I might as well take the cat and the horse back there.” I urge Blackfire to take a step.

  “Forget that!” Neil shouts. “Get in.” He opens the front door and scoots over. “We can drive to the house, and you can run in and get your stuff, okay?”

  Is it? Is it okay? I’ve only known the Coolidges a couple of weeks. Still, I can’t just take off. I don’t want to have Kat come home and find her kitten . . . and me . . . gone. And what am I supposed to do with Blackfire?

  “Come on!” Neil snaps. “You don’t owe those people anything.”

  But I do. I see that more clearly than I’ve ever seen anything. I do owe them.

  Neil’s jaw tightens, and he swears. “Get in the car right now!”

  “I can’t, Neil.” My stomach is squeezing together. I feel Blackfire tense beneath me.

  Neil glances at DJ, and I think he’s trying to decide if he should tell me something. “Dakota, we have to get out of state fast.”

  “Why?”

  DJ slaps the steering wheel. “I’m out of here, man!”

  “Dakota?” Neil’s voice is softer now, almost pleading.

  Blackfire paws the ground. He wants to go home. Home.

  My head starts shaking no before my mind tells it to. “No,” I whisper. When I say it, my stomach untwists.

  Blackfire stops pawing. Kitten purrs. I hear a woodpecker somewhere, and it makes me smile. Then Blackfire whinnies soft and low. And it’s all like secret music, soul music, as if God’s striking up His orchestra to draw me to Him, into His family.

  Neil slams the car door shut. “Suit yourself.” His voice is sharp, cruel even. “What happened to you, Dakota?”

  It’s a fair question. Something has happened to me. “Love,” I answer simply.

  “Great. Why didn’t you tell me you had a guy out here?” Neil sounds angry but not hurt.

  I let out a little laugh. “I don’t, Neil.” And the thought hits me that it’s God’s love. I’m amazed at this thought.

  Neil looks at me as if I’ve grown another head.

  DJ revs the engine. “I’m not giving her money back.”

  I’ve never been sorrier for anything than I am about taking that money. I’ll work and give back every cent. Still, Popeye’s right. There’s so much I can’t pay back. “Bye, Neil.”

  They peel out, leaving us in a cloud of dirt and dust. Still Blackfire and Kitten are as calm as I’ve ever seen them.

  And the crazy thing is, so am I. I’ve just sent away my best chance at running away. I’ve cut myself off from the only friend I’ve had for years. Yet I’m purring inside, just like Kat’s kitten. If I could nicker, I would. Blackfire and Kitten aren’t the only ones going home. So am I.

  When I reach the driveway, I see the van parked on the lawn. Hank comes running up the drive. “Dakota!” He turns around and yells toward the house. “She’s back!”

  Popeye and Annie come running from the house, with Wes behind them.

  Hank’s grandmother and Kat are holding hands. Kat breaks away and races to me. “Dakota!” She’s crying, and I feel rotten for putting her through this.

  I hold out her kitten. “Look who I found.”

  “Kitten!” she cries. She reaches up and takes the cat from me, then buries her face in the fur. “How . . . ? Where did you find her?”

  “Once I figured out that she ran away, it was pretty easy. She was at the quarry.”

  Tears are covering her cheeks and dripping onto her kitten. “I thought you were both gone forever.”

  Hank takes Blackfire’s reins. “Were you going to run away on Blackfire?”

  “How’d you know I’d run away?”

  Popeye glances behind him at Wes. “Soon as we got to the Ma
de-Rite and you weren’t there, we figured out you’d told me you were riding with Annie, and Annie you were riding with me. Wes said we’d better come back here and stop you because you were planning to run away.”

  I stare at Wes, amazed he’d want to stop me.

  Wes smiles at me and shrugs. “So maybe I’m not as ready to get rid of you as I made out, okay?”

  “Okay,” I answer.

  “Dakota, why would you run away?” Popeye asks.

  I look at him and at Annie, and I know I have to get it all out. “Running away is the only thing I know how to do,” I admit. But I can’t stop here. “I took money from your pet bowl.” I wait. And I wonder if they’ll yell at me, if they’ll tell me to go ahead and run away.

  Annie grins at Popeye, then at me. “Oh, honey, we knew that.”

  “You did?” I’m amazed. “You didn’t say anything.”

  “We don’t care about the money,” Popeye says. “We figured you’d tell us why you took it when you were ready.”

  “I sent it to Neil, my friend in Chicago, so he could drive here and get me. We were going to Los Angeles.”

  “Were?” Hank asks.

  “He still is,” I answer. “I told him I’m not going. I sent him away.”

  “Yes!” Popeye says.

  “Way to go, Dakota!” Kat exclaims.

  “But he took your money with him. I’ll pay it back,” I add quickly. “Every penny. And I know you might not even want me around now, but I’ll still pay you back. I promise.”

  “Don’t be silly!” Annie says. “How could we not want you to stay in your own home?”

  “Does anybody realize that she’s riding my wild horse? However did she manage that?” Popeye’s mother keeps her distance in her lacy dress and sequined hat.

  “Isn’t it wonderful, George?” Annie exclaims.

  “George?” I repeat. Something clicks. “Did you just call her George?”

  “Georgette Amelia on my birth certificate,” she explains. “Annie is the only person I allow to call me George, so don’t get any ideas.”

  “I knew George before I knew her charming son,” Annie explains, winking at her husband.

  George. “Then you’re the one who sent the e-mail? You’re the one who said you had to meet her? that you loved her and missed her?” How could I have been so stupid?

  Annie bursts out laughing. “Dakota! Did you read my e-mail? Now it all makes sense. You thought George was a man!”

  Sheepishly I nod.

  “And that’s why you hung up on my boss?” Annie says, between chokes of laughter.

  I nod again. “Sorry.”

  “Hey!” Kat cries, shifting Kitten to one arm and digging into her pocket with her free hand. “Don’t forget it’s a happy birthday around here.” She hands me something wrapped in white tissue paper.

  I unwrap it, trying to remember the last birthday gift I got.

  It’s a tiny plaque of rough barn wood. Somebody’s burned into the wood:

  See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!

  1 John 3:1

  “Hank did the wood burning,” Kat says. “It’s from both of us.”

  “And me,” Wes claims.

  I look around me—at Kat and Hank, Wes, Annie and Popeye, and “George.” And I think I believe this verse. Because for the first time in my life, I’m getting it—love, family, the whole forgiveness thing. I don’t understand all of it. But there’ll be time. I’m not going anywhere.

  “Look!” Wes shouts, pointing to the sky. “They’re starting.”

  “Fireworks!” Kat squeals.

  “George” pulls blankets from her trunk and sets them out so we can watch the Nice fireworks. Instead of putting Blackfire back in the barn, Hank lets me keep him out with us. Rex watches too, and Taco and Kitten.

  This is how Ms. Bean and her fiancé find us when they drive up. We scoot together to make room for them and watch the fireworks burst in a sky that has cleared just for us. Together, we shout “ooh” and “aah” at the same time, like we’ve rehearsed it.

  I settle back, with Blackfire at my head and this new family all around me, as fireworks explode across the sky. I’m not leaving. No fight, no flight. And for the first time in a very long time, I feel like I really do have something to celebrate.

  Tips on Finding the Perfect Pet

  • Talk with your whole family about owning a pet. Pets require a commitment from every member of the family. Your pet should be around for years—ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, or thirty years, depending on the type of pet. Pets can be expensive, especially if they get sick or need medical care of any kind. Make sure you can afford to give your pet a good life for a long time.

  • Think like your future pet. Would you be happy with the lifestyle in your house? Would you spend most of your time alone? Is there room for you in the house? If you’re considering buying a horse, what kind of life will the horse have? Will someone be able to spend enough time caring for it?

  • Study breeds and characteristics of the animal you’re considering. Be prepared to spend time with your pet, bonding and training, caring and loving.

  • Remember that there is no such thing as a perfect pet, just as there’s no such thing as a perfect owner. Both you and your pet will need to work to develop the best possible relationship you can have and to become lifelong best friends.

  Consider Pet Adoption

  • Check out animal rescue organizations, such as the humane society (www.hsus.org), local shelters, SPCA (www.spca.com), 1-800-Save-A-Pet.com (PO Box 7, Redondo Beach, CA 90277), Pets911.com (great horse adoption tips), and Petfinder.com. Adopting a pet from a shelter will save that pet’s life and make room for another animal, who might also find a good home.

  • Take your time. Visit the shelters and talk with the animal caregivers. Legitimate shelters will be able to provide you with documentation on the animal’s health and medical records. Find out all you can. Ask questions. Who owned the pet before? How many owners were there? Why was the pet given away? Is the pet housebroken? Does it like children?

  • Consider adopting an adult pet. People tend to favor the “babies,” but adopting a fully grown animal may be less risky. What you see is what you get. The personality and size and manners are there for you to consider.

  Rescuing Animals

  • It’s great that you want to help every animal you meet. I wish everyone felt the same. But remember that safety has to come first. A frightened, abused animal can strike out at any time. If you find an animal that’s in trouble, call your local animal shelter. Then try to find the owner.

  • The best way to help a lost pet find its home again is to ask around. Ask friends, neighbors, classmates, the newspaper deliverer, and the mail carrier. You might put a “Found Pet” ad in the paper or make flyers with the animal’s picture on it. But be sure to report the find to your local shelter because that’s where most owners will go for help in finding a lost pet.

  • Report animal cruelty to your local animal shelter, to the humane society, or to organizations like Pets911 (www.pets911.com/services/animalcruelty).

  Dandi Daley Mackall grew up riding horses, taking her first solo bareback ride when she was three. Her best friends were Sugar, a Pinto; Misty, probably a Morgan; and Towaco, an Appaloosa. Dandi and her husband, Joe; daughters, Jen and Katy; and son, Dan, (when forced) enjoy riding Cheyenne, their Paint. Dandi has written books for all ages, including Little Blessings books, Degrees of Guilt: Kyra’s Story, Degrees of Betrayal: Sierra’s Story, Love Rules, Maggie’s Story, and the best-selling series Winnie the Horse Gentler. Her books (about 450 titles) have sold more than 4 million copies. She writes and rides from rural Ohio.

  Visit Dandi’s Web site at www.dandibooks.com

 

 

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