Chapter 1

"Aaron! Get ready to leave for the children's hospital!" Mom called. Aaron Manly grumbled. Why do I have to go to some silly hospital? Aaron thought. Truth being, Aaron was secretly afraid of the children's hospital. The sick ones really. Aaron's broken his leg when he was seven and stayed in the hospital overnight because he needed surgery, but the thought of sick people scares him.

"Aaron, hurry up!" Mom shouted again. Aaron sighed and hurried down the stairs. He hopped into the van in the passenger's seat and buckled up. "Ready?" Mom asked, buckling up. "Yup!" Katie, Aaron's sister, said happily. "Ya'!" Harry, Aaron's baby brother, cried. Then he weakly tossed his stuffed animal elephant. Katie swooped it up, gave it to him, and Harry chewed on the trunk.

Since Aaron dreaded arriving, the drive went by like three minutes in-

stead of thirty.

Katie unstrapped Adeline, Aaron's baby sister and Harry's twin, while Mom got Harry. Both babies were put in their double-seat baby stroller.

"Hello!" The woman at the reception desk greeted. "I'm Kaley! Can I help you?" "We're here to cheer up some kids!" Mom said, smiling. "Down that hall to the room with the big ol' WELCOME sign above it. The kids have been waiting," Kaley said, pointing down the hall. "Thanks!" Mom thanked as she pushed the stroller.

There they are. The kids. Aaron seized up. "Welcome!" A young man said. "We've been waiting for you! I'm Otis." Otis is in a wheelchair, a neon green cast on his leg. This wasn't nerve-racking for Aaron since he had the same thing. "Go, go!" Mom shooed Katie and Aaron. Katie eagerly ran off to talk to a girl sitting at a table. Aaron, though, stayed by Mom.

"Go talk to her," Mom ordered, pointing to a lonely girl in a wheelchair.

Then she and Otis struck up conversation. 

      Aaron did as told. He sat in a chair at the table the girl was at. She looked to be his age. She was wearing a dark purple bandanna on her head and had dark brown eyes. No hair was flowing out of her bandanna. Suddenly, Aaron noticed the collection horse in front of her. "Is that the  Arabian stallion Malik?" Aaron asked, forgetting all nervousness. The girl nodded slightly. "Cool! I have a collection of these guys. My sister got my the Akhal Teke," Aaron said. "Nice," The girl said, quietly. "I don't have that one. Just Malik." "I'm Aaron," He introduced. "Heidi," The girl said in a voice like a whisper. "Pretty name. Hey!" Aaron pulled his Breyer collection map out of his pocket. "Which one do you want?" Aaron asked. "This Morgan," Heidi said, pointing. "I'd name it Lilian and she's be Malik's mare." "I love horses," Aaron said, shyly. "Me too!" Heidi grinned wide. "Which do you want?" "This one. The dapple Shire," Aaron pointed. "Do you name your 

horses?" The girl asked, fingering the dark brown Morgan horse figure. "Not usually. I'm pretty bad with names. I have a stuffed horse named Horsey," Aaron said, blushing. Both kids laugh. "If you bring them next time, I'll help you name them," Heidi offered. "I will," Aaron promised, his bay-horse colored eyes solemn but his grin wide. 

    Aaron's mother tapped Aaron on the shoulder. "Hon, glad your having a great time, but we gotta' leave," She said. "Aaw...Okay. See ys' soon, Heidi. Hopefully," Aaron said, getting up. Heidi waved. 

    "We have a horse coming."

                                        Chapter 2

"What!?" Aaron's jaw dropped. "A new horse?" Heidi asked. "We foster horses. Sorry, I didn't mention it. It slipped my mind," Aaron apologized. "We can talk more next time. You'd better go! Don't forget to tell me all about it!" Heidi called as the Manly's left. 

    "A new horse, Mom!" Aaron burst when they got in the car. "Tell me everything!" He strapped himself down with his buckle.

    Katie buckled Adeline and Mom strapped Harry. "I don't know anything really," Mom said, honestly. "A new horse?" Katie asked, slipping into a seat next to Aaron. She fixed her brown eyes on Aaron, pulling the details out of him. "Yup!" Aaron said. "So, tell us all you know, Mom!" "Even if you don't know much," Katie added. 

    "Okay," Mom explained as she started the car. "Remember Donald Crisp? The police officer?" Katie and Aaron nodded. They had visited 

the police station before and Donald had been their "tour guide". 

    "He found the horse. It was stolen, but no one knows where from. The crook got arrested, of course, but he said he couldn't remember the name of where he stole it from. That's all I know. Honest!" 

    No breed. No age. No gender. No name. She only knew the story, but that was enough to hold Katie and Aaron over. 

    Mom parked the car and they all hopped out. Aaron and Katie each grabbed a baby and carried them inside. "Horse," Katie said to Harry. "Horse." "Ha'! Ha'!" Harry gurgled, his sweet brown eyes twinkling. 

    "Your father's at the stable with it now," Mom said when they babies were safely put in their play pen. Both kids eagerly ran out and dashed up the hill, arriving at the stable. 

    "Hey kiddos," Mr. Manly said. He was holding the lead of the most gorgeous dapple Shire the world would know. "Oh, wow!" Katie and 

Aaron whispered in unison, awed by the beautiful horse. "What's it's name, Dad?" Katie asked, cautiously approaching it. "We don't know. She's a beaut, right?" Dad said. Aaron nodded, still stunned.

    Katie carefully reached out her hand to pet her. The horse nuzzled her hand and licked it. Katie laughed. "And does she know it! She adores people!" Dad chuckled. 

    Soon, Aaron was brushing her dappled fur and Katie was combing her double-colored mane which was mostly gray, but was tan-white at the ends. Her tail was almost all tan-white with gray right at the beginning. 

    "Let's name her," Katie suggested. "Alright," Aaron agreed. Katie rattled off names and Aaron said Maybe or No.

    Rosie. No.

    Star. Maybe.

    Beauty. No.

    "I'm no good at names!" Katie wailed and Snowflake whinnied sharply. "Oops." "I know someone who's good with names!" Aaron exclaimed and told Katie all about Heidi. 

    "Yes!" Katie shouted and Snowflake gave an another annoyed neigh. "I mean," Katie said softer. "Yes! Heidi will have names!" "Go ask Mom when we're going again and I'll take pictures of her for Heidi with my cellphone," Aaron said then added, "Please" to sound nicer. Katie dashed back to the house while Aaron played with positions and lighting. "Too dark," He muttered. 

    The barn cast weird shadows and had bad light. Aaron resolved this by taking the Shire outside. The mare nibbled some grass while Aaron worked hard to get the right shot. A little left. Up, nope, down. On step right... and... "Perfect!" Aaron whispered. Then he clucked his tongue. "Hey, girl!" He said gently. She rose her head and looked at the camera. 

    What's this? Her eyes seemed to say. Snap! Snap! Two great shots.

    Just then, Katie came running over. "Next week, Mom says," Katie panted. The dappled gray mare licked Katie's cheek as if to say, Don't worry and catch your breath. Nobody's chasing you, friend. 

    Katie giggled and asked, "Got any pictures while I was gone?" "Yup!" Aaron smiled and showed her the picture. "Aaw! She's soo cute! I wish we could keep her," Katie sighed. "Yeah, but Mom and Dad say we can't keep any horses. Even though we have that big barn and we already foster!" Aaron cried. "Think, though. They'd say, 'If we keep a horse, we won't be able to foster'," Katie said. Aaron nodded, knowing she was right. He would miss fostering, but having a horse was both of theirs dream. 

    Mare snorted like saying, What about me?! Snapping both of the kids back into reality. 

    And you could bet that it was a long week.

                                        Chapter 3

"What day is it?!" Aaron asked for the millionth time that week as he bounding down the stair and plopped into a seat for breakfast. "Saturday," Mom answered. "Why do you ask this every morning?" "I just want to know when we're going to the hospital again," Aaron said, his cheeks turning pink. Mom smiled. I know your thoughts, her smile seemed to whisper. "You and that girl really hit it off. Hallie or something?" Mom said. "Heidi," Aaron corrected. 

    "What day is it?!" Katie mumbled, taking a seat across from Aaron. "Saturday," Mom and Aaron said quickly. "Does that mean-" Katie started. "Yes," Mom said, amused. 

    "Yay!" Katie shouted, jumping up and upsetting her glass of orange juice. "Oopsy!" She hurried to clean it up while Mom rushed off to take care of the squalling babies. 

    After Aaron and Katie had shoveled down cereal and drunk their juice, they got ready to leave. Mom instructed them to buckle the babies while she grabbed a breakfast bar. 

    This time, the drive felt like thirty hundred hours, not thirty. "Are we-" Katie almost said before slapping her hand over her mouth. "Wait! I-whew! I almost forgot my horse models!" Aaron exclaimed. "Good thing I packed them in my backpack last night. Heidi promised to help me name them." 

    Katie tickled Adeline with the fuzzy tail of a giraffe plush and the baby giggled happily. "Are you going to come with me when we get there?" Aaron asked Katie. Katie blushed and shook her head. "There are these really nice brother and sister with missing legs I want to talk to again. Their new friend with a broken arm will be there, too, today," Katie said. "I hope that's alright." "Of course!" Aaron said. "Don't forget to talk to  

other people too," Mom reminded them. "Also, I invited Jackie to come too so she's coming with her four cousins. Be nice and include them. I'm sure there are enough people to share!"

    Finally, they arrived. Katie and Aaron ran down the hall, ahead of Mom. "Hey, guys!" Otis greeted them. "Katie, Hi!" Jackie called from a table with three kids sitting at it. Katie hurried over and Aaron guessed those were the people she wanted to talk to. 

    Aaron walked over to the table Heidi was at. Another boy was there who looked perfectly fine. "Hi there," The boy said in a serious manner. "I'm Carter, Jackie's cousin." "Aaron," Aaron absently greeted, looking at Heidi. "I was just leaving," Carter added quickly before getting up and leaving. 

    "Like it?" Heidi asked when Carter left and Aaron sat down. She was wearing a wig of long, blond hair. It was convincingly realistic. Aaron nodded. "Yeah, you look pretty," He said honestly. "Glad you like it. I do 

too. It's just sometimes itchy. Mother got it for me," Heidi shrugged. She lifted off her head (Aaron managed to keep in a gasp: She was bald!) and tied on a white bandanna. "I prefer this, though," The girl grinned as if she had no clue she was completely bald. "Did you bring them?" 

    "I did," Aaron said, finding his voice again. He opened his camouflage-printed backpack and pulled out five horse: his five favorite. "There they are," He said. "Wow! Beautiful!" Heidi murmured over the horses. "This one first," She said decisively. She picked up the golden Akhal Teke. "Hmm... could you describe the personality of this lovely?" Heidi asked. "Well," Aaron though a moment. "Fast, sleek, willing, determined just like when Snowflake, a horse we're boarding for Jackie, Carter's cousin, wants a carrot." "He sound...legendary. Legend. Yes! Legend," Heidi decided. Aaron nodded his agreement. "Next, this one." Heidi picked up an Appaloosa foal. "Oh, definitely curious and friendly, like the Shire mare we

got yesterday-hey! I totally forgot!" Aaron exclaimed and carefully explained the Manly's horse fostering to Heidi, who hung on to every word. 

    "I have a picture," Aaron said after he finished. He held up his cellphone to Heidi. "Does she have a name?" Heidi asked, spellbound by the mare's beauty. "No, we were going to ask you," Aaron answered. "Why, do you have one?" "Yes, yes I do. Wish," Heidi stated leaning back in her wheelchair. "She's so pretty." Then she sighed. "I wish I had a horse. I wish I wasn't here. I wish I could go back home. Wishes, wishes, wishes," Heidi said, sadly. After a moment, she glanced up. "Sorry about that." She blushed. 

    "No problem. I wish things too," Aaron said, smiling sympathetically. Then, an idea struck him. "Hey! What if you adopted Wish!" 

                                        Chapter 4

"Yes! What a great idea!" Heidi said, pumping her fists. "Okay, okay. Where do you live?" Aaron said, excitedly. "In the town over, Owensville," Heidi said. "Oh my goodness!" 

    Aaron quickly looked it up. It was only a fifteen minute drive from here; forty five from home. "Want to call your parents and ask?" Aaron offered. "I will, but not now. Mother's at the nursing home and Daddy's probably still teaching. He's a college professor," Heidi said. "I'll call them later using the hospital phone. Good idea." 

    Aaron glanced at Heidi's wheelchair for what seemed like the first time. "Do you mind- nevermind, sorry," He sputtered. "My wheelchair? It's fine. Don't be embarrassed. Here, I'll show you," Heidi said, nicely. 

    She wheeled back. Aaron studied her legs. One foot was totally missing! "You have some pretty rotten luck. I'm so sorry," Aaron said, feeling really

sorry for the girl. "I was born without one. I also got cancer five month ago. I miss Mother and Father. They visit, but not often enough. I'll probably miss Hunter's birth," Heidi wiped a tear from her eye. "But, my luck is changing, right? I found you, my new best friend, and I might have Wish!" 

    Aaron never considered himself Heidi's BFF, but now he realized they were really BFFs. "Yeah," Aaron said, smiling and looking straight into Heidi's hopeful face. 

    "Aaron! Time to go!" Mom called. "See you next time," Aaron said, waving. 

    When they got in the car, Katie was talking a mile a minute. "Lucas and Millie, the brother and sister, are so lucky. Their mom is letting them get a dog soon! As soon as they leave. Which they said was Monday next week. We'll see them before then, right Mom? And their friend, Justin, yeah, I

know, right? Same name as our first foster horse! Well, anyway, he's going home with them. I might be lonely week after next week, well, that's what I thought until at the way end, I met this girl, Julie. She got cancer last year but is getting better. She's going to have amazing black hair when it grows fully back. We're good friends and I'm going to hang out with her for a while-" Katie blabbered on and on.

    "Katie! I found a home for Wish!" Aaron interrupted. "Wish?" Katie asked, suddenly stopping her blabbing. "Yeah, that's what Heidi named her. Also, Heidi wants to adopt her!" Aaron broke the good news. "That's great!" Katie said, clapping her hands.

    "Hei-e," Adeline tried to say 'Heidi'. "Yeah, little sis. Hei-di!" Aaron said, tickling her tummy. Adeline laughed and stuffed the giraffe head in her mouth. "No, no, no," Aaron gently pulled it out and Adeline hugged it. 

    "Has she talked to her parents yet?" Mom asked. "No, their working. 

Her dad is a college teacher and her mom is a nursing-home-person. She lives in Owensville, forty five minutes from us!" Aaron explained. "Really!? We could easily-" Katie was cut off by the ring of Mom's phone. She made a 'shush' motion to the kids and answered it. 

    "Hey, honey," The a muffled voice came from the phone. "Hello, Buck," Mom said pleasantly. "What is it?" "Someone's interested in the horse, the Shire mare," The voice of their father said. "Oh, really! That's great! We're about twenty minutes from home? Anyone we know?" Mom asked. "No, a man and his two daughters. They live is Anaho, the town over to the west. We're having coffee now so no rush, but I can't feed them coffee for too long!" Dad joked. "Okay, we'll see you soon. Bye, love," Mom said and hung up.

    "Dad thinks he found a home too. They sound nice so keep an open mind," Mom said, glancing back at the two worried backseat kids. 

                                        Chapter 5

"Dad told us to meet him at the barn. I'll take the twins in while you two run ahead," Mom said, parking the car. "Keep an open mind!"

    Katie and Aaron rushed up Brenson Hill and to the barn. "Over here!" Dad called from the other end of the barn. The kids rushed out into the cool air. "Katie, Aaron, meet Mr. Lunk and his daughters, Tia and Faith," Dad introduced. Katie and Aaron said a polite 'hello'. 

    Tia and Faith were tall teenagers wearing jean shorts and cowboy boots. Faith had red hair, Tia had brown. Mr. Lunk was short compared to his sky-rocketing daughters but was only a little shorter than Dad. He was plump and smiley, like Santa Claus. 

    "Hey," Tia said, nicely. Faith waved shyly. "So," Mr. Lunk said, not impatiently. "Which one's the horse? The dapple or white?" "Oh, the dapple," Dad said, quickly. "The white one is Snowflake and belongs a girl

in town." "Her name is Wish," Aaron spook up. 

    "Wish, pretty," Tia nodded approvingly. "Lovely," Faith murmured. "Oh, lovely indeed, my loves! Faith! Tia! She'll be great!" Mr. Lunk laughed joyfully.

    Dad brought out Wish and Mr. Lunk's smile dropped and Tia seemed to suddenly close up. Only Faith seemed to want her still. "A draft horse?" Mr. Lunk's voice quavered. "Oh, I..." "Daddy, we can't! We were interested in a fast dapple, not a draft horse!" Tia exclaimed. "I'm sorry, we can't have her after all. Just can't," Mr. Lunk said quietly. "We...Can you...May we, I mean, be put on a list for next time you get a horse? Do you understand?" "Yes, no problem," Dad said, smiling. "We understand. You'll be the first to know about our next horse."

    Mr. Lunk thanked him and rattled off his phone number as well as Tia's and Faith's. Then, they hurried off.  

    "Dad! Dad!" Aaron bursted and told him the good news. Dad smiled making his goatee wiggle. "Great, bud!" He cried and ruffled Aaron's hair. "Good work!"

    Just then, Dad's phone rang. "Hello?" He answered it. "Yes...mmm hmm...you bet...now? Okay...yes, its okay...we're free...she's still open...okay, bye." Dad hung up. "Someone else wants her." 

    Katie gave a cry of dismay and Aaron frowned. "Don't worry about Heidi, Aaron. The right owner will come along, no matter who it is," Dad said, then he put on a silly face and stretched out his arms. "Even a monster!"

    Katie shrieked and Dad chased Aaron and her around the barn. Finally, they stopped to catch their breath. "Whew, okay. Let's go greet those people," Dad said, starting down the hill.

    At the bottom, on the street, a blue car was waiting. "Is this the place 

with the horse?" A man with a old-timey reporter-like voice asked Dad. "Yes," Dad answered. "Pile out!" The man called. 

    Three kids and a teenager got out and waited on the curb. "Dan Hiro," The man said, shaking Dad's hand. "Buck Manly," Dad replied. "My kids, Lucy, Kimberly, Jackson, and Willy," Mr. Hiro pointed to each one.

    Lucy, the teen, said, "Hello." And Kimberly, the next oldest, waved, but the two youngest Jackson (the older of the two youngest) and Willy (the youngest) just stood their, uncomfortable. 

    "These are my kids, Aaron and Katie and my wife, Allison," Dad said, putting his arm around Katie, who twirled her brown ponytail. "Hi," Aaron said. 

    "Barn's this way," Dad said, walking up the hill. Jackson and Willy looked at each other and whooped loudly, racing up the hill. Kimberly tried to strike up a conversation with Katie and Lucy trudged up the hill, 

an obvious excitement in her eyes. 

    They arrived at the barn and Wish was there waiting for them and nibbling on grass. 

    Hey there! She seemed to say. I'm Wish!

    "That's Wish," Aaron gulped. "Wish? Much better than what we were calling her," Lucy said, walking over to Wish. "You're Wish's old owners?" Katie gasped. "No, no. We were coming up with names. The best we got was Doppler," Lucy said, stroking Wish's silky mane.

        Wish snuffled her face and went back to nibbling grass. "She's perfect, Dad," Lucy murmured. Kimberly pet Wish's dappled side. "Dad, she's The One!" Kimberly cried softly.

    "Let's wait a bit, girls. We want to see how she'll get along with Junky," Mr. Hiro said. "She's a beauty, alright, though." Then he turned to Dad, all business. "Junky's our other horse. A mix. Can we bring him Thursday?" "Sure thing, Dan," Dad said. 

    "Come on, kids! Let's go tell Mommy what we're doing Thursday!" Mr. Hiro called cheerfully and started down the hill with Jackson, Willy, and Kimberly. Lucy lagged and gave Wish one last pet.  

                                        Chapter 6

Thursday was a big day and Aaron was dreading it so it came all the faster like all things you dread. 

    "Thursday," He sighed when he got up. "Thursday," He sighed at lunch. "Thurs-" He was about to sigh when a rusting green pick up truck pulled up, towing a horse trailer. 

    Lucy, Kimberly, Jackson, Willy, and Mr. Hiro got out of the truck. Lucy opened the trailer and lead out a older horse. "Come along, Junky!" Lucy roused but the lanky horse only kept it's slow, trudging walk. "Giddap!" 

    Soon, Dad appeared with Katie and the Hiros, Dad, Aaron, Katie, and Junky walked up the sloping hill. Aaron hurried into the barn to fetch Wish. 

    Junky ate grass, ignoring the lively young Shire. Wish sniffed his muzzle and he raised his head. Junky laid back his ears and snapped at Wish then

resumed eating. Every time Wish tried to interact with Junky, the stallion laid back his ears and snapped. After a few times, Junky had enough and reared, almost clobbering  Wish. Wish dashed to Aaron and Katie, frightened. 

    Her eyes were large and her breath whispered: That is a mean horse. I don't like him. Scary!

    Aaron stroked her forelock and talked soothingly, "It okay, girl. It okay, Wish, girl." 

    Mr. Hiro's forehead wrinkled and his eyebrows furrowed. Lucy ran to the annoyed stallion and spoke hushed into its beige ear. "Naughty Junky! You should like sweet Wish!" She scolded.

    "I'm sorry, I guess this isn't going to work out," Dad said to Mr. Hiro. "Yeah, well, it was worth the shot. Maybe we'll come up with something. We might get rid of Junky, I guess," Mr. Hiro sighed.  

    Lucy stopped her scolding. "What?! No! Junky's...we can't!" She cried and Junky tamely pawed the ground. "I love Wish, but...Junky's family and he was here first! Hopefully we'll think of something so we can have both..."

    A few moments later, the Hiros left. Aaron celebrated on the inside and led Wish into the barn. He tacked her up and swung on. They rode away, down the other side of the hill, away from the house, Aaron whooping joyfully. 

    It was too good to be true! Heidi would have good luck and get to keep Wish!

    Aaron felt a pang of...what exactly?... sadness about the idea. He had grown attached to the cute mare. Suddenly, his ride was ruined and they returned to the stable. 

    Why wasn't he purely happy?