I’m getting a second chance. That’s what my uncle Eli says. I’m not going to blow it. I’ll be working with the ranchers and farmers I was so unfair to. I’ll get to learn about animals. And I’m going to find that missing donkey, I swear it!

Please forgive me. I want your forgiveness and Lindsey’s. I will see you around but won’t talk to you unless you want me to.

Eric Worth

Despite the lack of details, Carly finally had a sense of who this boy was, what he’d gone through, what he hoped to become. What he could be.

She decided not to reply at this point. Checking her cell, she saw a text from Ted Lewis. Rehearsal Thursday night. Time to finish her Reba song and do a little work on the tune—then start her next one.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

FRIDAY—AND ALMOST time for their date. Shallie hadn’t been on one for years and was both excited and a little anxious about this evening.

Cord had told her they’d leave at five; he’d made arrangements with Mitch and Tina as well as Carly regarding horse and dog care. The vet students had arrived that morning and offered to help, especially since their lodging was free. Joey and Karen, in their midtwenties, seemed competent and knowledgeable, as Shallie would’ve expected; they were also charming and friendly. When she asked whether the motel suited them, they both declared it was “perfect” (well, hardly), and mentioned how much they’d enjoyed meeting Russ, who planned to buy them dinner that night.

Shallie thought, with pleasure, of how busy Carly had been the last few days and how happy she seemed. The rehearsal—which took place on the porch and which she and Cord sat in on—had been completely enjoyable. Aaron, Ted and the rest of the band were obviously delighted with their new roles as her mentors, especially in preparing the song about Reba, which she’d titled “Mother and Nature.” Shallie had been affected by its emotion and liked the simplicity of the music.

Carly’d had her first Skype session with Loretta, the therapist; they planned to talk again. “It really helped me,” she’d told Shallie. “My feelings are…clearer, you know? She said that grief isn’t a simple thing and that it doesn’t matter how long ago the person died. Grief can come back anytime and hit you hard.”

“After my divorce, I experienced grief, too, a different kind of grief, but she helped me in much the same way.”

Carly had shown her the letter from Eric, another positive sign.

Cord said Eric had been working with Miles Carey for several days, checking in with Amos, behaving more respectfully in general…

All good news.

Shallie packed a small bag with a change of clothes.