'Come on Maddie, get a move on-'

'Coming Grampa! Coming!' Maddie shouted as she struggled to do the zipper up on her small suitcase. 'Just give me another five minutes!'

Bonham could be heard grumbling softly, something about women always taking their time and she chuckled softly as she finally won the war with her suitcase. Saturday had arrived and with it, mustang pickup the next day. Originally it was to be Abeline taking her to Fort Worth to pick up her mustang but with her being in hospital (and still too unwell to take her up even if she had been discharged) Bonham was making the trip with her instead.

The past few days had been emotionally draining, Maddie still dealing with the aftermath of the events that had taken place earlier that week. Abeline was in a better way and doing well but she wouldn't be discharged for a few more days yet. She was still very weakened from the whole ordeal though very grateful to be alive.

It had been too close.

'Maddie-'

'Yes, yes Grampa!' She shouted back, slapping her good hat onto her head before she carried her luggage out of the room. 'Okay, I'm ready.'

Bonham looked at what she was carrying and raised an eyebrow. 'I didn't realize we needed to take the kitchen sink. You do realize we're only going to be gone for one night, right?'

'I got clothes in one suitcase, my weighted blanket and a few other things in the other.'

'Do you really need your pillow too? They're gonna have some at the motel.'

She looked at him. 'Yes Grampa. I do. I intend on catching up on lost sleep while we're driving.'

'Here, give me that.' She gratefully accepted the help as she was close to dropping everything and he took her pillow and one of the suitcases. 'Come on then, you want to see Mawline before we go right?'

She nodded. 'Will we be able to find a parking spot with the trailer on though?'

'We'll make do.' He assured her as they headed through the living room. August was seated on the couch with his laptop on his lap, listening to music as Stella worked on her homework. 'Don't throw a party while I'm gone.' He warned the pair of them. 'I expect to find this ranch exactly the same way as I'm leaving it.'

'I think we learned our lesson from last time.' Stella replied. They still had a couple weeks to go with the punishments Cordell had given them for their party. 'We'll make sure things are the way you like it while you're gone.'

'Good just make sure you do.'

'You're okay with my instructions for Bel and Bubbles?' Maddie questioned and August pulled off his headphones.

'Feed and water Bubbles, clean out her litter tray.' He repeated back to her. 'I've got it. Don't worry about her-' The cat was curled up beside him, fast asleep. 'Bubbles and I will get along wonderfully while you're gone.'

She turned to Stella. 'And Bel-'

'Muck out shelter and pen, feed and water twice a day. Full hay net morning and night. Two dippers of pellets and cubes mixed in water with a scoop of each of her supplements and flax seeds. Straighten rugs and give lots of pats.'

'Brilliant. Now if there's any problems-'

'There won't be.' She assured her. 'Don't worry about it. Augie and I've got it.'

'Where have I heard that before?' Bonham wondered out loud.

Stella sighed heavily. 'You aren't going to let us forget that, are you?'

'Not in a hurry. It wasn't one of your more enlightened moments and I sure as hell don't want a repeat. If either of you get bored, there's a list of chores on the fridge. Come on Maddie.'

She quickly gave her cat a kiss goodbye then picked up her luggage again and they headed out to the waiting truck. The trailer was all hooked up ready to go and once they had put her stuff in the backseat, they climbed in and were headed on their way.

'You think they'll be okay with Bel and Bubbles while I'm gone?' Maddie questioned as they started down the drive.

'I'm sure they will manage with them just fine.' He reassured her. 'We'll be back tomorrow night anyway.'

She rested her head back against the headrest with a soft sigh. 'Yeah, I hope they'll be okay.'

When they arrived at the hospital Bonham couldn't find a parking spot close by with the trailer on and so dropped her off at the front door before heading to one of the side streets. Heading into the hospital Maddie offered a few shy smiles as she made her way through up to Abeline's room. With the amount of times she'd visited her the last few days she knew the way by memory.

Abeline was reading a book as she walked in, Abeline smiling as she placed the book aside. 'Morning Maddie girl.'

'Hey Mawline.' She gave her a hug over the side of the bed and smiled. 'You feeling better?'

'I am honey. They might let me go home in a couple days.'

'Oh that would be good. I've missed having you around the house.'

'You mean you miss having someone to prank.'

Maddie giggled cheekily. 'You gotta admit me sticking that plastic spider on your shoulder last week was pretty funny.'

She rolled her eyes. 'You won't let me live that one down will you?'

'Nope. Was pretty funny hearing you squeal.'

'You are a rascal, you know that right?'

'Mmhmm.' A wide grin was on her face. 'And I know you love it.'

'Mmmm…' Abeline placed her book over on the table beside her bed. 'So, all ready to go?'

'Yep.' She nodded. 'Grampa's just trying to find a parking spot and he'll come up for a moment before we head off. He thinks I packed too much for an overnight trip. I only packed two suitcases.' Her grandmother chuckled at that and she pulled over a chair to sit down on. 'Have you heard from Uncle Liam?'

'I have, I spoke to him last night.'

'Did he say when he's gonna come home?'

'No. He'll come home when he's ready.'

'I wish… I wish he'd come home.' Maddie admitted after a pause. 'I hate it when people argue. Life is too short to hold onto grudges and resentment. Why can't he and Dad just talk and apologize to each other?'

'It's not that simple Maddie girl.'

She sighed softly. 'Why can't it be?'

'Cause it just isn't. There's nothing we can do about it.' Abeline replied. 'It's something that the two of them will have to figure out and work through together.'

'Knock knock.'

Abeline smiled as Bonham walked into the room. 'Morning love.'

'Morning.' He gave her a kiss on the lips then glanced over at Maddie as she started giggling. 'What's so funny?'

'You two.' She grinned. 'You're so cute together.'

'That's enough out of you or I might just decide we aren't going up to Fort Worth today.' He teased back.

Her grin widened. 'You wouldn't.'

'You're gonna have your hands full with this one.' Abeline chuckled. 'Don't be too hard on him Maddie.'

'I'll be on my best behavior. Promise. ' Bonham wasn't convinced apparently and mumbled something beneath his breath, the teen giggling again. 'I promise Grampa.'

'Yeah yeah. I'll believe it when I see it.'

The two of them visited with Abeline for a little while longer then after saying goodbye, headed back out on their way. As Maddie climbed back into the truck she grabbed her pillow from behind her seat and made herself comfortable for the drive. 'Can we put the radio on?'

'I guess we can.' He replied as they pulled out of the parking spot. 'But it'd better be country and not the other rubbish they play.'

'Country is the only decent music there is.' She agreed, switching through the frequencies until she found the country music channel. A Tim McGraw song that she knew was playing and with a smile she turned it up. 'Sing with me Grampa.'

Bonham looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.

Maddie put on her cutest face with big puppy eyes to match. 'Please?'

'Alright, alright…'

She grinned as he gave in and together they sang along to I Like It, I Love It as they headed to the highway to Fort Worth.

When the truck came to a stop Maddie opened one eye tiredly. 'We here?'

Bonham chuckled. The teen had lasted only half an hour before drifting off to sleep for the rest of the trip. 'Yeah honey, we're here.'

With a tired yawn she stretched and unclipped her seat belt. 'I needed that nap.'

'I can see that.'

'So- what's the plan?' She questioned as they got out and she looked around. It was a small but tidy looking motel and being on the outskirts of the city, was quiet too.

'Check in, put our things in our room, unhook the trailer then how does some shopping sound?'

'Sounds like a good idea.'

That plan was exactly what they did. After checking in and receiving their keys they unpacked their luggage into the double room then left the trailer in the parking bay and headed back into the city.

'Any place in particular you want to visit?' Bonham questioned as they drove back onto the freeway going into the city.

'I don't know… Any good tack stores?' She asked. 'I do need a few extra things for Bel and I should have separate gear for the new mustang.'

'There's a couple, we can go check them out. Any place else?'

'Oh, I don't know to be honest. I guess we can just find a shopping center and walk around. I want to find something for Mawline while we're here.'

They headed to one of the horse tack stores first, Maddie purchasing a couple heavy duty rope halters and lead ropes and a grooming kit. At the second and third store she brought a couple feed supplements and some other grooming gear as well as a nice shirt that was on sale. At the final store they went to however they had something called 'rhythm beads' that Maddie fell in love with. They were made from a mix of beautiful dark blue and black beads with small bells and a galloping horse charm in the middle. Matching mane and tail beads went with them but when she saw the price tag, she cringed.

Bonham, after having a look around the store himself, came over to see what she was looking at. 'What's caught your fancy now?'

'These things called 'rhythm beads' but uh… at that price…' She returned them to their hanger on the rack. 'I can't afford them. They would look great on Bel though, or even the new mustang.' Looking at them longingly for a moment she forced herself to leave them. At that price, she just couldn't justify the purchase for what they were. 'I think we're done here for now.'

With looking through the horse stores finished they headed for one of the large shopping centers and began to browse through the shops. There wasn't anything else really that caught Maddie's attention and it was more just something to do to kill some time before dinner. At one store they passed though, she stopped upon seeing a teddy bear in the window. Embroidered into the heart it was holding was the words 'Worlds Best Grandma' and she knew it was just perfect for Abeline.

As Maddie brought the bear, Bonham watched with an amused smile but didn't say anything sarcastic about it. It was sweet actually and he had a feeling that Abeline would appreciate the gesture. The teen was quite happy with what she had found too and as the afternoon became late, they decided to head back to the motel and get ready for dinner.

'You remembered to pack that nice outfit of yours, didn't you?' Bonham questioned as they drove out of the car park.

'Yeah….' An eyebrow raised. She had wondered why he asked her to bring it along since he had mentioned it the day before. 'Why did you ask me to bring it along?'

'You'll find out in due time Maddie girl.' He replied with a knowing smile. 'But when we get back to the motel you might want to change into it.'

'Okay…' She was really curious but had the feeling that she wouldn't be getting any clues as to what the occasion was that called for her to dress up. 'And I'm guessing I should probably do something with my hair too?'

'If you want to, yes. Just make sure you don't take too long.'

'So, we're on a time limit. Understood.'

Arriving back at the motel Maddie headed into her room to get ready. As she dressed she wondered what Bonham had planned for the evening. The particular dress that he had said for her to bring along wasn't exactly a casual dress, it definitely lent more to the formal side. It was a rich purple that went down to her ankles and had a sweetheart neckline. As she put it on she couldn't remember if she had actually worn it anywhere before and after a moment of pondering it, she knew she hadn't.

Since the dress was sleeveless her light black jacket went over the top to hide her scars. Though she had been doing considerably better lately in regards to her cutting habits, those scars were very painful reminders of the times in her life she preferred to forget. There wasn't much she could do about them either except to keep them hidden; hidden away like the chapters of her past locked deep inside her mind.

After she had finished dressing she set about fixing her hair into something more fitting for the occasion then a messy ponytail. Thanks to Abeline's patient lessons with her she could now manage a few different hairstyles and before long she had tamed her long locks into a presentable half-up, half-down bun up-do and curled the remainder of the hair she'd left free. A couple soft ringlets covered her ears and she chuckled as she remembered Abeline commenting about them in the past.

The girl looking back at her in the mirror was hardly the girl she knew a year ago.

This girl had a glimmer in her eye and joy in her heart. The transformation she had gone through since the Walkers had taken her into their home was remarkable but that didn't mean she could forget the journey she had made to get her to where she was now. Her past was still very much a part of who she was but slowly she was moving on. Moving forward.

And the best part was that she had a family that she could rely on.

A family that she could call her own.

A smile touched her lips as she replaced the necklace Cordell had given her back around her neck. Since he had given it to her she had hardly taken it off. It was so much more than just silver and the sapphire embedded in the front of the locket, to her it was something she could hold and know that he loved her. Inside the locket now there was a picture of her and her mother on one side, a picture of her with her new family on the other. Though her mom would always be in her heart she was grateful for the family she had been gifted with.

She had been given a second chance at family.

Her makeup finished, she took a moment to look at her reflection then nodded. It would do. Shiny black shoes were slipped onto her feet and then she was ready. Taking a deep breath she stepped into the other room, Bonham already ready and waiting to go.

'Maddie…' She smiled shyly as she stepped out and he smiled back at her. 'You look beautiful honey.'

Maddie chuckled softly as she felt herself blush. 'Thank you Grampa. You're looking pretty handsome yourself.' For him to have gotten dressed up she guessed it had to be some kind of special occasion. 'You going to tell me what we're doing?'

'Nope.' He grabbed his keys and wallet from off the table and the two of them headed out to the truck. 'You'll find out.'

I wonder what he's got planned… She thought as they drove out of the motel car park and back onto the highway into the city. He's got something planned… That's for sure.

After a short drive they pulled into the car park of what looked like a very flash restaurant. Again he got the door for her and helped her down, Maddie even more intrigued as they walked into the building. It was a very very fancy looking establishment and she couldn't remember ever being to such a formal looking place. Bonham asking her to bring along her semi-formal dress made sense now too. This place sure wasn't your ordinary run of the mill steak-house.

A waiter came to seat them and after a short moment to look through the menu, Maddie decided on something that sounded fancier than what she would normally order. It was quite expensive and though Bonham had assured her that they weren't on a budget for dinner, she still was a bit off put at the price. Her mom sure wouldn't have been able to afford dining at a place like this…

Their main meal arrived not long after the entree and the steak was one of the best that she had ever eaten. As they ate the two of them spoke about different things, Maddie carefully avoiding any topic that involved what had happened the past week. Except for her conversation with Cordell and then with Abeline, she hadn't spoken to anyone else about what had happened. Not even August and he had been there with her for some of it…

Dessert came soon after and again it was some of the best cake she had tasted but with having such a big dinner, she could only eat half of it. With a chuckle Bonham had taken her plate to finish it off so it wasn't wasted and then they stood to leave.

'Aren't we going to go now?' Maddie wondered as Bonham led her in the opposite direction to where they had come into the building. 'The truck is that way-'

He shook his head with a smile. 'Nope. You'll find out.'

After going down a floor through the elevator they came to a set of double doors with a lineup of people waiting to enter. Maddie looked around for some sign of what it was they were waiting for and her jaw dropped as she read the sign. It was for a concert of Hans Zimmer's work, the composer that had written the music for her favorite movie. 'How-...' She looked up at him and on his face was a knowing smile.

'You can thank Abeline my girl, she was the one that organized this for us. When she heard that this concert was on while we'd be up here she mentioned it to me. After she had bought the tickets, that is.'

'Yeah, orchestral music isn't really your cup of tea hey?' Maddie teased with a smile and gave him a hug. 'Thank you Grampa. Thank you so much.'

Maddie tossed and turned in bed, mumbling and murmuring in her sleep. The past few days her sleep had been anything but restful, her mind conjuring up all kinds of dreams and nightmares. While she knew things were okay her mind still liked to play tricks on her much to her annoyance.

She'd woken Cordell twice, having been bunking in his room on a spare mattress for the week. Even though he'd been with her and she knew she was safe and everything was okay the nightmares still plagued her.

Her murmuring turned into soft whimpers and sobbing as she began crying in her sleep, becoming louder as her nightmare intensified. Bonham, being a light sleeper, heard her cries from behind the closed door and after a moment decided he'd better check on her. As he opened the door, Maddie let out a scream, the teen waking herself up from her nightmare. 'Maddie-' He called softly so he didn't frighten her, the girl looking in his direction after a moment. 'You okay sweetie?

'Yeah…' She took a deep breath, her heart still racing in her chest and she quickly wiped her cheeks dry. 'I woke you, didn't I?'

'Doesn't matter honey.' He walked in and flicked on the lamp on the bedside table then sat down on the bed beside her. 'Nightmare?'

Maddie nodded. 'I'm sorry-'

'It's okay little one.' He brushed a couple tears she had missed off her cheeks. 'You want to talk about it?'

She shook her head. 'No… No, I'm fine. I'm fine.'

'I don't think you are honey.'

At that Maddie felt her eyes start watering again. 'Yeah… I guess there ain't no kidding it.'

'What was it about?'

'Mawline. About what… happened…' She paused, looking away from him. 'I know she's gonna be okay but it still keeps playing over in my mind.' Taking a deep breath she took her time explaining to him what was going on inside her head, this time leaving no detail out. Bonham listened carefully and without interruption as she recounted the events of that day and once she had finished she looked up at him. 'I'm sorry, I should have told you before…'

'I can understand why you didn't.' He started after a moment. 'Maybe now that you've spoken about it though you might be able to get some sleep.'

'I hope I can…' She sighed softly, looking over at the clock. 'I think I'm okay now. I'll try to get back to sleep.'

'Alright honey.' He stood as she snuggled back down under the covers and he tucked her in again then gave her a kiss on the forehead. 'You want me to leave the light on?'

'Please.'

Bonham left the room and as the door closed after him, Maddie kept staring up at the ceiling. Hopefully he was right. Hopefully she'd be able get some sleep…

Hiya everyone. It's Maddie Walker here and I am one of the trainers competing in this year's Extreme Mustang Makeover…

The day of mustang pickup had finally arrived and Maddie was beyond excited as they headed on their way to the holding facility to pick up her mustang. The sun was just rising as she started recording her 'vlog' that would document her journey over the one hundred and fifty days she had to train her mustang. While she was excited, she was a bit nervous at the same time. Understandably too, considering that she was the youngest trainer to ever compete and that apart from Bel, this would be only her second mustang she had trained.

Once she had finished her clip for her vlog she turned her phone off and stifled a yawn. 'I'm really sorry I woke you-' She apologized again, looking over at Bonham. 'I hope you managed to get some sleep.'

'I already told you you don't have to apologize, Maddie girl.' He replied. 'It's not your fault you have nightmares. Don't worry about it.' Taking a look at the GPS in the center console it said they still had at least an hour and a half to go before they arrived at the holding facility. 'Why don't you try to grab some extra sleep? We've still got a ways to go yet.'

'Sounds like a good idea…' She yawned again softly as she pulled her pillow out from behind her seat. 'Wake me up before we get there. I want to see what the rest of the place looks like.'

'Alright honey.'

Maddie drifted off to sleep again, hoping that with catching up on some lost sleep her headache she'd woken with would go away… At breakfast too she'd hardly eaten, her stomach doing too many flip flops for her to feel like eating. Her headaches seemed to have been better over the past week but the one she had currently was definitely one of her worse ones. Stress was really a great thing…. Not.

'We're almost there Maddie.' Bonham exclaimed as he slowed the truck to turn off into the driveway of the facility. 'Rise and shine little one.'

'We here already?' She mumbled as she woke, her headache not as bad as it had been before.

'That we are Maddie girl.'

Opening her eyes she looked around. Sprawling green pastures extended as far as the eye could see, a few scattered herds eating in the paddocks as they drove past. Quickly she chucked her pillow back into the backseat and got her phone out to record another clip for her vlog.

As they came into the center of the facility trucks and trailers were parked everywhere. Bonham found a place for them to park and they got out, heading over to where a group of people had already gathered. A few other trucks and trailers turned up after them, those folks coming to join the crowd after parking.

Once all the trainers had arrived the head organizer welcomed everyone to the facility and laid out instructions for how the pick up would go. As each person was called up they would go to the office and finish off their registration and paperwork then receive the details of their assigned mustang and go join the line to pick their mustang up.

With over thirty trainers Maddie knew it was going to take awhile and so they found a couple seats to sit down while they waited.

'You must be Maddie Walker.' A lady started as she came over to them. 'Jane Johnson.'

Maddie smiled as she shook her hand. 'Nice to finally meet you Mrs. Johnson. This is my Grampa Bonham.'

'Pleasure to meet you ma'am.' He said as they shook hands.

'Likewise.' She replied then turned back to Maddie. 'I'm thrilled that you decided to enter, we need more talented young people training horses these days. Your application was one of the best ones we received.'

'Thank you for saying that ma'am. I aim to do my best. This will only be my second mustang I'll have trained. I've started plenty of Grampa's horses and trained a few others but I'm excited to be able to train another mustang.'

'I've been following your progress with Bel, you've been doing quite well with her. Where did you learn that method you've been teaching her with though?'

'From a guy in Australia, he uses it on Brumbies. He's got his technique online, I started using it on Grampa's Quarter horses to learn it and I think it's a really good training method.'

'From what I've seen, it looks pretty good. It'll be interesting to see how you progress with your makeover mustang-'

Her name came over the loudspeaker and she quickly stood. 'Excuse me for a moment.'

Heading over to the office she finished signing the required paperwork and Bonham came over to film for her. Once she was finished with the paperwork she was given a folder with her horse's details and they moved away to let other people get through before she looked at it.

'What have you got Maddie?' He questioned, still recording for her.

Quickly she opened the folder, locating the horse's details. 'I've got a 14.1 five year old solid black mare, no markings. Tag number 4534.' She chuckled as she looked at the photos they'd taken of her in the wild. 'She could pass for Bel's twin though she's a couple inches shorter than my girl…' She kept reading through the information until she came to her trapping history. 'She was rounded up last fall in a park in North Dakota and brought here from another facility a couple months ago.' Closing the folder up she said a few more things for the camera then after speaking with Jane again for a moment, they headed off to join the lineup.

With a good seventeen trailers ahead of them it was going to be a long wait. While they waited Bonham read a couple magazines he'd brought along and Maddie caught up on her schoolwork then started compiling together her vlog to post up later. After they had moved up a few spaces her phone began to ring and she answered the video call with a smile. 'Hey Mawline.'

'Hey Maddie girl. How's things going?'

Bonham looked up from his reading for a moment. 'Slow. Very slow.'

Maddie chuckled. 'We're stuck in the line waiting to load my mustang and Grampa is bored. How are you feeling?'

'Better. They're going to let me leave Tuesday.'

'That's great news!' She replied happily. 'Hey, I might have gotten you something while we were shopping yesterday…'

'Oh you didn't have to sweetheart-'

'Yes I did. I like spoiling you, you know that.' She replied with a laugh. 'If we get back at a reasonable hour I might quickly come in to see you on our way home. We'll just see how we go-'

The door opened and Abeline flicked the camera around for a moment. 'Well, lookie who just showed up.'

'Heya Dad!'

Abilene handed the phone to him and he turned the camera back around and waved at her. 'Hey Maddie girl. You been behaving for Dad?'

'I've been a perfect angel.' Maddie said with a grin. 'Haven't I Grampa?'

'I suppose she's been relatively well behaved.'

'There you go. He says I've been good.' She chuckled. 'Have Stella and August been taking good care of my pets?'

'Yes, yes they have.'

'Good. Just wanted to double check.'

'I-I'll give you back to mom okay? I need to go grab a chair-'

'Okay. Love you Dad.'

'Love you too, my girl.'

'So-' Abilene started once she had the phone back. 'Did you enjoy the concert last night?'

'It was amazing! Thank you so much for organizing for us to go see it, I really enjoyed it. Grampa took me out for dinner too, did you get the photos I sent you?'

'Yeah I did. You looked gorgeous sweetheart.'

'Thanks. You want to talk to Grampa?'

'I guess so…'

Maddie giggled at Bonham's remark back to Abeline and handed him her phone, looking out the window as they spoke. Another truck and trailer pulled out of the loading bay, another one reversing in to take its place. Once the assigned mustang had been separated from the rest of the herd it was sent down a race and up into the back of the waiting trailer.

After speaking with Abeline for a little while longer and Maddie having another word with her father, they ended the call and continued waiting in line for their turn. Finally, just after eleven o'clock, it was their turn.

Maddie watched as the black mustang was separated from the rest of the herd and pushed into the yard, the other helpers closing and opening gates to move the horse up into the race. The mustang was a couple inches smaller than Bel but a lot more daintily built compared to her mare. Her mare was built for speed and stamina but this mustang appeared more light on her feet then Bel. She was definitely a lot lighter than her mare too.

When the mustang had gone into the trailer, the door was closed behind it and Maddie climbed up onto the side of the trailer to take a video of her and have a closer look. The mare was anxious and flighty, spinning around and around in the trailer as she tried to find a way out but when she stood still for a moment Maddie was able to make out her whorl. A single center whorl set right between her eyes. Though the mare was too worked up for her to make an actual assessment of what she thought her temperament might be at least she knew that the mare didn't have any extremes of personality. If she went off her whorl she expected that the mare would be quieter and easier going to work with then her Bel.

After Bonham had made sure that the trailer was secured they both got back inside the truck and started the long trip back to Austin. Once Maddie had recorded another clip for her vlog she drifted off to sleep again until they stopped at a cafe on their way through a small town. With lunch eaten they hit the road again and feeling a bit better after eating, Maddie started singing along with the radio to pass the time and after a little persuasion Bonham sang along with her

It was just after five o'clock when they reached Austin and since Maddie wanted to see Abeline before they headed home, Bonham took her by the hospital. With the mustang still in the trailer Bonham had to stay to look after her and after assuring him that she wouldn't be long, she hurried in, Abeline's teddy bear tucked under her arm.

The dinner cart had just started going around as she hurried up the corridor, knocking softly on the door before peering into the room.

'You're back Maddie girl.' Abeline said as the teen walked in, placing her phone down on the bed beside her. 'How did your trip go?'

'Good. I can't stay long. We still have the mustang in the trailer. Grampa has to stay with her but he said he'll come see you after dinner once we've dropped her off at home.' She replied, the bear hidden behind her back. 'Close your eyes.' With an amused chuckle she obliged and Maddie placed the bear on her lap. 'Okay. Open them.'

A big smile came across her lips as she looked at the brown bear holding a light pink heart, World's Best Grandma embroidered across the front. 'Thank you honey.'

'Do you like it?'

'I love it. Thank you sweetheart.' She motioned for her to come over and give her a hug and she placed a kiss atop Maddie's head as she embraced her. 'It's very cute.'

'I'm glad you like it.' Maddie smiled as she pulled away, sitting down in the chair beside her bed. 'So, you'll be coming home Tuesday?'

'That's what the doctor says, as long as no complications arise. I'm supposed to take it easy though still for at least another week-'

'And taking it easy is all you'll be doing.' She interrupted seriously. 'I'll make sure the house is kept running and in order while you get better. I've already been doing it this week anyway.'

'Have I mentioned before that I'm lucky to have a girl like you around?'

She smiled again. 'Yeah. Once or twice.'

They spoke for a little while longer, Maddie filling her in about their trip away and mentioning what she and Bonham had gotten up to with their shopping. Indirectly she mentioned about the 'rhythm beads' she had seen at the tack store but didn't notice Abeline pay particular attention to that mention. She did have her sixteenth birthday coming up in a few months…

After giving her another hug and saying goodbye for the night, Maddie left and she and Bonham headed on home. Cordell, Stella and August came out to greet them when they arrived, Cordell having gotten the yard ready for them to turn the mustang into. The mustang moved about restlessly in the trailer once it had come to a stop, Maddie getting into her spot to record the mare being released. On the count of three Bonham and Cordell opened the door of the trailer and the mare burst out in a flurry of mane, tail and hooves.

Closing the gate behind her, Bonham drove the trailer away from the yard and Cordell went over to join Maddie at the fence as she filmed the mare for a moment. After she put the phone away she turned to her Dad, giving him a hug and proper greeting.

'Have you decided yet what you're going to name her?' Cordell questioned, motioning to the mare.

'Dakota.' Maddie replied decisively. 'I'll call her Dakota.'