Eine ausstehende Antwort

I was out riding with Foxy when he suddenly started behaving very strangely. I rushed back toward the ranch — I urgently needed Josh or Jamie.

Gillian: “Wesley, have you seen Josh or Jamie?”

Wesley: “Josh is in his room… he has a lady visitor. And Jamie should be in the stable.”

I found Jamie in the tack room.

Gillian: “Jamie, you have to come with me right now! I was out riding Foxy and suddenly he just sat down. He refuses to get up. Please come help me!”

Jamie: “Is this some kind of trick, or are you messing with me?”

Meanwhile, in Josh’s room… His visitor was Mac, still waiting for his answer regarding her offer.

Mac: “Josh, you never got back to me about my offer. So, what’s the situation? Were you able to sort out your personal matters?”

Josh: “Your offer is amazing, Mac. I’d really love to accept it. It’s just… I hate the idea of leaving Gillian alone with the ranch.”

Mac didn’t let up. She couldn’t understand how he could hesitate over such an opportunity. She used all her persuasive skills. Josh was torn. On one side, he missed professional Western riding deeply. On the other, he worried about leaving me behind. In the end, he promised Mac, he would give her a final answer by the end of the week. Jamie and I hurried back to where I had left Foxy.

Gillian: “See? It’s not a trick. He’s sitting right there. I hope nothing’s wrong.”

Jamie examined Foxy — who was calmly sitting there with a butterfly resting on his nose.

Jamie: “He’s perfectly fine. You probably rode too wildly again and he just needed a break. Come on, old boy — up you get!”

Gillian: “Thank goodness he’s okay. But look — he made a friend!”

We rode Foxy back together. Back at the ranch, I immediately told Wesley what had happened.

Gillian: “Wesley, you won’t believe it. Foxy sat down and wouldn’t get up.”

Wesley: “Haha, Gillian. Didn’t anyone tell you? George taught him that trick. When George wasn’t very mobile anymore, he trained Foxy to sit so he could mount more easily.”

Meanwhile, Jamie led Foxy back to the stable — and ran into Mac outside.

Mac: “Hi, I’m Mac. You’re Josh’s colleague, right? I wanted to take him on a Western tour for a few weeks, but he’s worried about leaving you alone with the ranch work.”

Jamie: “What? No, that’s not a problem at all. I’m here. He absolutely shouldn’t miss this opportunity. That’s exactly his thing. Ranch work won’t be the reason it fails.”

As Mac rode off, she met Josh.

Josh: “Hey Mac, you’re still here?”

Mac: “Josh! Guess what — I just spoke to your colleague. He said it wouldn’t be a problem if you were gone for a while. So now nothing stands in the way of the show.”

Josh walked slowly to the stable, to Pearl Hart. He wasn’t even sure whether he felt excited or uneasy. But now, there were no more excuses.

Josh: “Pearl, old girl… looks like we’ll be away from home for a while…”