New Strides || Canterwood Crest || Book 19

5 ↬ welcome home

When Lyssa was out of earshot, Mom and Dad turned to look at me. My heart started thumping in my chest. What if they didn't like Pearl? What if they had changed their minds about letting me get a horse?

"Sasha, if you are still certain that you are ready for this, and you are sure that Pearl is a good fit... We would be more than happy to welcome her to the Silver family." Mom explained. Dad nodded along.

"Yes, I am!" I cried. "She is perfect! Thank you so so so much, Mom and Dad!" I pulled my parents into a hug.

Dad pulled away for a moment to see me. "But, Sasha, you must remember not to forget about Charm!"

"Don't you worry about that. Charm will always be my boy." I pulled Dad back into a hug. "Thank you." I said for what felt like the hundredth time.

♣ ♞ ♣

"Thank you so much again for adopting! Pearl is a lovely horse - she is so lucky to have you as her new mom." Lyssa smiled and waved as Mom, Dad, and I climbed into our SUV, Pearl's adoption paperwork still in hand. Everything still felt surreal right now!

"Thank you, Lyssa - I'm so thankful for all your help!" I replied. My heart swelled with joy.

"Come back and visit sometime!" she called with a smile.

"For sure! Bye, Lyssa!" I grinned and waved one last time, closing the backseat door and buckling up my seatbelt.

I watched through the window as we pulled out of the SHT parking lot, and drove away, the beautiful facility shrinking in the distance with each second that passed. Mom and Dad chattered about something having to do with what route we would take back to Canterwood to avoid traffic, but I wasn't really listening - I could only focus on one thing, and that was the beautiful grey mare standing quietly in the trailer behind me. I smiled just thinking about it. But then, OMIGOD! I had so much to do!!! Like tell all my friends! Wait, should I post a Chatter update about this?! What was Charm going to think of his new sister!!!!! Getting a new horse was so much more complicated then I remembered it being!

Then I started thinking about how Pearl would react to being in a new home. Lyssa said they brought her to Safe Haven as a three year-old, so that's where she would have acquired most of the training she has today - and without show experience, I didn't really have any idea as to how she would be in a new place! Oh my gosh, what did I get into? My Canterwood debut with Pearl could be an absolute disaster - I thought back to when I first brought Charm to Canterwood, how he got loose, spooked Aristocrat, and gave birth to the far-too-intense Heather Hates Sasha club. I shuddered.

After what felt like only minutes, the all-too-familiar Canterwood Crest Academy driveway came into view. That called for lip gloss. I carefully dabbed Cranberry Breeze onto my lower lip as we pulled in towards the dark lacquered stable.

Mr. Conner had emailed me earlier with information regarding the arrival of my new horse - he said that the stall right next to Charm was open and ready for whoever I brought home.

When Dad brought our car to a gentle stop outside of the stable, I didn't waste any time jumping out and heading towards the trailer door. Pearl had been excellent for the drive back to school, but I didn't want to push my luck.

"Hey, beautiful," I said softly as I entered the trailer through the side door. Pearl looked up at me, with pieces of hay sticking out of her mouth. Clearly the haynet had been a hit - the previously massive mound of hay had now been diminished to a few pieces. The sight made me smile. "Well," I chuckled. "Someone was hungry!"

I clipped a black cotton lead rope to Pearl's leather halter and unclipped her from the trailer ties as Dad unlatched and opened the back door of the trailer. Then, I carefully backed Pearl out of the trailer, and onto the pavement surrounding the stable. She lifted her head and let out a whinny as she surveyed the new surroundings.

Leaving Mom and Dad to move the trailer into the stable's parking lot, I led Pearl into the stable.

Welcome home, Pearl.