The Paralyzed Dream (COMPLETED)

Chapter Nine

     "Please don't hate me." Slade said when he saw the look on Lacey's face as he turned off the main road, down a driveway. He said it in more of a pleading question, rather than a sentence.
     "I don't hate you, but are we really at Paige's ranch?" Lacey asked, partially excited, partially nervous, and partially confused.
     "Yeah. That's who texted me when we were at Connie's. I may or may not have set up a little 'meet n greet' if you will." Taking his eyes off of his driving for a minute, Slade looked at Lacey and said, "Trust me." He grabbed Lacey's hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. 
     "I do trust you." Lacey smiled to show she was serious. She hadn't been to Paige's family's ranch since a while before her accident. Paige and Lacey used to be really close, but Lacey shut everyone out after her accident and Brooke was the only one who really made the effort to still be her best friend. "What are we doing here?" Lacey asked once Slade parked his truck in front of Paige's horse barn. 
     Letting go of Lacey's hand, Slade slid down from his truck and, after getting Lacey's wheelchair from the bed, wrapped his arms around Lacey, lowering her into her chair. "We are-" Before Slade could finish, Paige came running out of the barn, and straight to Lacey. 
     Acting as if she didn't even see Slade, Paige bent down, engulfing Lacey in bear hug, practically lifting her out of the chair. "I'm so glad that y'all came!" Looking at Slade, Paige said, "Oh hi Slade!" 
     Slade, chuckling at Lacey's crazy friend, replied, "Hi Paige." 
     "Well, come on, y'all. They're in here." Paige said, motioning for Slade and Lacey to follow her into the barn.
     "Slade..." Lacey looked up to Slade for an explanation. "Now would be a grand time to tell me what's goin' on..." Lacey said to Slade, staring at the barn ahead of her.
      Slade stepped behind Lacey's wheelchair, pushing her forward towards the barn. "Paige's mare had a foal earlier this week, so I brought you here to see it." 
     Deep down, Lacey was excited; she loved foals, but with the idea of horses, flashbacks from her accident made Lacey nervous. Before she could ask Slade if they could come back another day, they were already at the barn door.  
     "It's goin' to be alright. I promise it'll be fun." Slade said, leaning down to be eye level with Lacey. When Lacey looked at him with a concerned expression, Slade smiled, placing a soft kiss on her cheek. "Just trust me, Lace. This will be good for you." 
     Lacey took a deep breath and nodded for two reasons. One, to try calming herself, and two, to attempt at hiding the blush that was rising on her cheeks from Slade's kiss. "Okay." Lacey said, allowing Slade to push her into the barn. 
     "This is my mare, Marey...original name, I know. And there's her foal. She's a filly." Paige said, leaning against the stall door. Lacey rolled closer to the stall and sat up tall, trying to see in the stall, but to no avail. "This is Marey's third foal, and she's really calm when others are around her baby. Go ahead and go in there. She doesn't bite." Paige said, adding a wink to the end of the sentence. 
     "O-okay." Lacey said, lifting the slide latch and pulling the stall door open. She flipped her wheelchair up slightly so her feet rest didn't hit the ledge on the stall, before rolling into Marey's stall. Marey lifted her head from where she was eating hay to check out Lacey. The sorrel mare sniffed Lacey, primarily her legs, seeming to scrutinize why she was shorter than most humans. Reaching out, Lacey petted the mare's face. "Hey girl. I'm Lacey. It's nice to meet you. Yeah, you're a sweetheart." Lacey chuckled as she stroked Marey's face. 
     Lacey didn't even know that Slade was in the stall with her until she felt a hand on her shoulder, followed by Slade saying, "Marey really likes you, it seems." 
     Smiling up at Slade, Lacey replied, "I like her." Looking back to Marey, Lacey saw behind her, another sorrel mare. Marey, lifting her head, moved away from her filly to drink some water, allowing Lacey and Slade to say hi to the filly. The foal was as hyper as could be, only standing still for a few seconds at a time as Lacey scratched her withers- the filly's itchy spot. Giggling, Lacey looked outside of the stall to Paige. "What's her name?" 
      Paige smiled. "Well, she doesn't have a name yet. Slade and I thought that maybe you'd like to name her?" 
     Lacey smiled up at Slade. "I get to name her?" This was one of Lacey's favorite parts of raising and rescuing horses. Naming a horse can be the beginning of a bond between the horse and it's rider.
     "Absolutely!" Paige exclaimed.
     Lacey petted the adorable filly. Doing the math in her head, she figured the foal was born at the beginning of the week. "Was she born on Monday?" Lacey asked Paige.
     "Yes ma'am at 4:37am. That was an early start to our day."
     Looking back to the foal, Lacey said, "Since she was born on Monday, how about we call her 'Mondy?' It's unique, I know, but I love unique names."
     "Mondy sounds good to me!" Paige said, smiling into Marey's stall. "It's simple, but not as simple as me naming Mondy's mom Marey."
      "That is true." Lacey said, turning to Slade. "What do think of the name Mondy for her?"
     "Honestly? It kind of reminds me of 'maundy Thursday' before Easter." Slade said, truthfully.
     Lacey couldn't help but chuckle. "Thats why there's no letter U in her name. That way it sounds more like 'Monday' instead of 'Maundy.'"  
     "Sounds great." Slade smiled. 
     Looking back to the jumpy filly, Lacey smiled. "Mondy it is." Reaching out, again, Lacey stroked the little filly's face. She realized that this was the first time since her accident that she had touched a horse, let alone been this close to one. 
     Glancing to her right, Lacey smiled up at Slade, realizing without him "pressuring her," she probably would not be in the barn right now with the horses. Winston Churchill was certainly right when he said, "There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." Lacey had never felt this happy...this encouraged...this brave since her accident three months ago. What she was feeling right now was a feeling that she never wanted to go away.