Finding My Soulmate

Chapter 17

Kathy was teary-eyed as she waved goodbye, along with a few others from the town that had time to spare and care out to wave them off. She had insisted Grace kept the few pairs of clothes Kathy had given her, and Grace thanked her endlessly. Grace and Logan had been up early to get the trailer connected to the car. Grace had collected her two mares along with their tack from Alyssa's, whilst Logan had packed what he needed, along with his tack for his gelding, Titus. They had then loaded them into the 3-horse trailer. Titus first, so he was in the front, then Midnight, and Sandy at last. The three horses stood munching on some hay. Sandy had been skittish at first, seemingly uncertain about the trailer. But it didn't take longer than a few minutes to persuade her to join her equine friends. They had extra hay, water and the tack in the boot of the car. Logan's mother had offered to be the first to drive, so Grace and Logan were sitting on the back seat, waving out the window as they left the town. Sam and his parents would be looking after the farm whilst gone as planned. And then, they were on their way.

"Let's play I spy!" Grace said, once they were on the road.
Logan laughed, "Really?"
"Yeah! I mean, there's not much else to do," Grace replied.
"Sure, you can start," Logan said.
"Alright... I spy with my little eye, something beginning with G," she challenged.
Logan was silent for a while as he looked around; both inside the car and out. Something beginning with G. "Grass?"
"Yep! Your turn," Grace said.
"Alright," Logan hesitated, "I spy with my little eye, something beginning with F."
The game of I spy continued for a while, until they couldn't find anything more to point out. The scenery they past was the same field with the same fence, the same road and the same trees that popped up once in a while. They also ran out of things to find inside the car, and soon resulted to silence.

But the silence didn't last long, for Lynn announced their arrival at the village. They'd stop to tank the car up with petrol, and to get some food for the next part of the journey. Grace had explained briefly what they could expect and how long she remembered it took her from one place to another. After that Logan offered to drive, so her mother sat in the back, and Grace on the front seat. Grace turned on the radio so they had something to listen to, whilst chatting about everything and nothing at the same time.

The hours seemed to drag on. At some point in the late afternoon they stopped to have a break and stretch their legs. They took the horses out, who seemed to enjoy getting to move about. Grace quickly lunged Sandy and then Midnight with a rope she'd borrowed from Logan, while he lunged his chestnut horse. After a while, they put their horses back and continued on their journey. Since Grace didn't have her license with her, and she hadn't driven in a long time, it was Logan and his mother who swapped to drive the car.

The trip back towards Grace's home didn't seem as endlessly long as the trip out. Perhaps because it was quicker in car than on horseback, or perhaps because she had company that could reply and communicate with her with other than body language. But it wasn't as if the trip wasn't long. For it was. Days dragged out. They stopped frequently to let the horses have a break from standing in the trailer, and to get a break from the rumble from the engine of the car. When the sight of the next alive village appeared in front of their eyes, they were overjoyed.

They asked to stay for the night at an inn. The folks were very kind, and the three horses were let out together in a temporary pen together. There wasn't any question about it, they had to get along if they didn't want to stand in the trailer. And they did, just about. Grace was relieved to sleep in a bed, instead of just on the backseat of the car. Although Logan's shoulder was comfortable to sleep against, she knew she'd missed the comfortness of a bed. In fact, she fell asleep almost before her head touched the pillow. When Logan arrived, they were sharing a room since there wasn't enough space for them to have a room each, he found Grace asleep on the bed still wearing her clothes. He carefully pulled the covers over her body, before getting ready for bed and going to sleep on the other side.

The next day, they ate breakfast. Lynn insisted on paying for the overnight stay, and after tanking the car up with more petrol, along with a small container they had in the boot in case of emergencies, they were buying snacks and food for the next part of the trip, before loading the three horses back into the trailer. They seemed unsatisfied, but after getting some more hay and a few carrots each, they stood in the trailer munching yet again. Then the three adults got back into the car to continue.

On the other side of the small town, Grace and Logan again played more car games on the back seat. Everything from I spy to games where they had to guess what the other was thinking of. Although they laughed and it was fun, Grace was getting tired mentally. The days of driving were the same, and the only things that happened that were even a little exciting were when they took the horses out to let them stretch their legs, or when they passed a village. They never stayed for long. Mostly to get some more petrol and some food, as well as to have a break from the noise of the engine.

The days were warm. With no air conditioner, the windows were opened most of the time to let in some fresh air. Which resulted in more noise. On the back seat, Grace and Logan sat without seatbelts. Although it was strongly opposed, as long as the ones on the front seat had a seatbelt on, the ones on the back didn't need to. That meant they could take turns in laying down and resting. Most of the time Grace spent on the back seat was spent laying down, her head in Logan's lap with her eyes closed, as he played around with her hair. 

When upfront, Grace would flick through the songs on the radio. Not all channels would connect, but she'd find something to listen to between the ones that would. And when it stopped working, another channel would work instead. Grace was starting to get tired of the trip she'd been on. She longed to get home and sleep in her own bed, and to follow her normal routine of helping her parents, and taking different tourists on hacks. It was always fun, because most of the time they were willing to speak to her, and she would get stories about one thing or the other that didn't exactly pass her by, but was entertaining to listen to nonetheless.

And then, the day came. When Grace sat up and looked out of the window at some point, and could see her village ahead, an excitement rose inside of her. She would finally be home! Along with Midnight and Sandy; she knew the two mares would love being home and having company of their other herd mates. How she'd missed her parents, too, and she'd even missed her younger sister. She heard a whinny from the trailer behind her. There was no mistake, it came from Sandy. And there was no mistaking that she knew where they were, either. They were finally home. And this time, they'd brought a few companions with them.