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Dakota?”
    “No. How would you be if your dog had an abscess?”
    I don’t take the bait. Dakota and I got off to a bad start, and we haven’t exactly bonded since. People expect fosters to act like brothers and sisters, but we’re not.
    I knew from day one that Dakota Brown was planning on running away from here. I could see it in her eyes. I could hear it in what she wasn’t saying. Didn’t matter to me. In fact, I would have been glad to see her go.
    She planned her getaway perfectly, and she almost pulled it off. She would have too, if I hadn’t given her away and told everybody what she was up to. I’m still not sure why I stopped her. But since then, she’s fit in better than me around this place.
    Dakota leans her head against her horse’s shoulder. “Maybe I did something wrong. I’m no horse whisperer. Not like Hank. Or Winnie.”
    Winnie again. Winnie the Horse Gentler is famous around here, even though I’ve never seen her. She lives in Ohio and hangs with Hank’s cousin, a guy they call Catman. They don’t have an animal rescue, but they’re into animals like we are. Hank and Dakota e-mail Winnie for horse advice, like she’s this big horse genius.
    “I heard Doc say it wasn’t your fault. Besides, nobody else could ride that horse.” Two months ago Dakota hadn’t even ridden a horse. Now she rides Blackfire bareback at an all-out gallop.
    She hugs Blackfire’s neck. “Guess I won’t be riding for a long time, will I, Blackfire?”
    “You won’t be riding?”
    “Not hardly.”
    I hadn’t thought of that. I wasn’t even going to bother asking Dakota to help me with the dogs. She spends every minute with the horses. But if she isn’t riding Blackfire, then she’ll have more free time.
    “Listen,” I begin, “since you’re going to have extra time on your hands, I just picked up four dogs from the pound, and—”
    “Extra time? Are you kidding? I’m going to spend every minute of every day with my horse until he’s well.”
    “You can’t be here every minute.”
    “What would you know about it?” She spits the words at me. “You have no idea what it’s like to have an animal need you and—”
    “Are you crazy? I’ve got five dogs depending on me. Five! Not one.”
    “I can’t believe you’re trying to dump this on me!” Dakota shouts. “Never mind that my horse can’t even put weight on one leg.”
    “Your horse is going to be fine.” I heard the vet say so, and so did she. “At least he has four legs. My Pom—”
    “Me, me, me! It’s always all about Wes, isn’t it?” Dakota screams.
    My heart is slamming in my chest. Why did I even try to talk to her? “Just forget it. I’m sorry I said anything.”
    Rex is barking. He springs at my leg, then bounces down.
    “Sorry?” Dakota says. “Even Rex knows that’s a lie. You’re not sorry. You’re angry.”
    I can’t argue with that. Now I am angry. “Dakota Brown, I should have let you run away.”

Six
    Dinner is a noisy event at the Coolidge table. Dr. Annie quizzes us during the whole meal. I think she’s afraid that while she was in town doing surgery, she may have missed something really important on the farm.
    “Hank,” Annie prods, “how are the two young horses coming along?” She’s sitting so close to Popeye that I don’t know how either of them can eat. But they do. Dr. Annie isn’t skinny. She’s shaped kinda like a bowling pin.
    Once Annie and Popeye dragged Kat and me to a carnival. The whole scene was pretty lame, except for this loud dude who guessed people’s weight or what they did for a living. Annie wouldn’t let the guy weigh her, so he tried to guess her line of work. He examined her hands, studied her up and down. Then he took a stab at what Annie Coolidge did for a living. He guessed grocery store clerk, elementary school teacher, and homemaker before Popeye proudly told the little crowd that had gathered that his wife was a surgeon.
    The guy busted out laughing. He