"Where could they be?" asked Damien.
Mom shook her head. "I don't know, but I'll keep calling. We can wait here, maybe they just went to the store."
Damien frowned. "I hope so, but I don't think they'd all go."
The two sat on the porch for over an hour before Mom's phone rang.
She quickly grabbed it from her purse. "Hello? Yes. Oh my! Is he alright?"
Damien leaned over to listen.
A few seconds later, Mom turned on the speaker.
"He's going to be in the hospital for a while, but will be fine. If Damien hasn't left for our place yet, please let him know we're not there."
Mom put her hand on Damien's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Schultz. I hope your husband is better soon. We're both at your house right now, is there anything you'd like done? We can put the tarps over the lumber, and put the tools away."
"That would be great, thank you. And could you please make sure the doors are locked? We left in a rush, and it'll be a while before I make a run to get some clean clothes."
Mom stood, and checked the doorknob. "The front door is locked. Damien, please go check the back door."
He ran back, and turned the knob. He opened the door, and locked it. Then he put the tools away before returning to Mom.
She hugged him. "I'm so sorry, I know how hard you and Heaven worked for this. Maybe you two will get a horse one day."
He shrugged. "There's nothing anyone can do about it. We did our best..."
She nodded. "Do you want help putting things away?"
Damien looked at the light grey sky. "I already put everything away, but I could use some help with the tarps."
After they finished up, Mom drove to a florist. "I'm getting a bouquet for Mr. Schultz. You can pick out something for him, and you may also get something to cheer up Heaven if you'd like."
He chose a pickup truck decoration for Heaven's dad, and got her a teddy bear holding a small box of candy.
Mom smiled. "They'll like those. Let's drop them off at the hospital."
After their visit, Mrs. Schultz chatted with Mom in private, while Damien and Heaven played a travel version of Scrabble with Mr. Schultz.
Mom came back in, closely followed by Mrs. Schultz. "How would you like to stay with us for the weekend, Heaven? We can bake those cookies you promised to have ready for the bake-off."
Heaven looked at her mom, who nodded encouragingly.
She looked at her feet. "Thank you. I would like that."
The next day, Damien found her sitting on the steps, her head down. He put his hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"
She didn't look up. "Everything is awful, I wish I'd never asked for Cherry. She would be in a great new home already, and Dad wouldn't be hurt."
Damien shook his head. "Your dad wanted her too. And so did I. It's not anyone's fault that he fell off the beam. And she'll still be able to find a great home, there must be a list of people a mile long wanting her."
Heaven looked up, and rubbed her eyes. "I know. Sorry, I'm just upset."
He nodded. "Me too, but I think we did a good job with the barn. There was no way to know that your dad would get hurt."
She stood. "You're right. Maybe we can walk over to my place later? I want to get Bubba Bear. I know it's silly, but I sleep better if he's with me."
Damien grinned. "How about I race you there now?"
The two children sprinted down the wide path, laughing as they temporarily forgot their problems. When they arrived, they gasped.
"Cherry's owner is almost finished with the barn roof," whispered Heaven.
Not wanting to disturb him, they crept away from the house. They walked home slowly, Bubba long forgotten.
"I wonder if this means we can still have her?" mused Damien, as he held the door open for Heaven.
Mom walked in just as they were about to sit down. "Are you two ready to bake some cookies?"
Damien nodded. "Mom, we were just over at Heaven's house. Cherry's owner is there right now, finishing up the barn roof. Could this mean we might still get her?"
Mom sighed. "It was supposed to be a surprise. When Mr. Morris found out what happened to Heaven's dad, and how hard you kids worked on the barn, he decided to help. He said that he knew you'd be the best home possible for Cherry."
Both children jumped up and down.
Heaven smiled. "Oh, wow! May I please use the phone to tell Dad? He's going to be so happy!"
Mom grinned. "Of course - but he already knows. He was actually going to hire a contractor to finish the job, but Mr Morris insisted on doing the work himself."
As she took the phone, Heaven looked out at the path leading to her house. "I can't wait for Cherry to see that she has her very own bridle path!"
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