She came up with a reason for everything they’d done together. But still, she remembered how good she’d felt at his apartment and when they went shopping. How they’d laughed together.

She sat up on the bed. “Kelly Exton,” she said aloud, “you need to find a boyfriend. A real one. Maybe I should advertise in the paper. Maybe I should—” She looked at her watch. Thank heaven it was time to go to work.

As soon as she got there, Betty handed Kelly a note.

“I can’t read this,” Kelly said.

Betty looked sympathetic. “You should’ve had Miss Wilson for first grade. She could have taught you how.”

“What?” Kelly was blank for a moment. “I can read. I just can’t read your handwriting.”

With a look of disgust, Betty took the paper. “It says ‘Montoya Farms.’”

“What do they need?”

“How would I know? I’m not a veterinarian.”

With an eye roll, Kelly went to Dr. Carl’s office. His door was open. “What’s going on at the Montoya place?”

“Lame horse. Go now before the pet owners start coming in.”

Kelly went to the door. “Can we do something about Betty?”

He looked serious. “Why would I want to? She can read. Maybe she would tutor you.”

“You’re so not funny.”

“You find someone else and I’ll hire her.”

“That’s a deal.” Kelly packed her medical bag and went to her car. As she drove, she thought about how she hadn’t seen Miguel since he’d returned to town. She remembered the summer Adam had broken his leg. Mrs. Hatten had asked the other kids at school to visit Adam so he wouldn’t be bored. But only Kelly and Vera did.

And Miguel, she thought. He and Vera had hit it off well, and Kelly had often seen them running through the woods together. At first, they’d shared what they saw and did with Adam, but by August they rarely visited.

Kelly had felt so sorry for Adam being there alone that she’d taken some animals to visit him. But when she got there, she saw that Mrs. Hatten was having a ladies’ party. Kelly knew that grown women made a silly fuss about poop. They were scared it would touch their pretty things.

So Kelly climbed up the trellis and entered Adam’s room through the window. It was to be a onetime event, but he’d been so pleased by her entry that she kept on arriving that way.

They always had a great time! He got his mother to order some books on animals, and he and Kelly used to take turns reading them aloud.