Mystery at Brightfields

Chapter 6.

The rest of Tuesday went by quickly. The girls took turns checking on Layla and making sure she was happy and comfortable. She even let them run a brush over her. During their grooming session, all 3 of them were able to feel the foal moving in her belly. Zoe knew she had to be close to giving birth. It was just a matter of wait and see.

Before dinner, Zoe was walking back to the stable yard when a girl on a black and white ornery pony caught her eye in the arena. Zoe laughed to herself and went over to check on her.

"Zoe! I can get him to go to the other end of the arena without stopping and grabbing grass from under the fence! Help me. Ben has been absolutely NO help" Rosie said, glaring over towards Ben's direction.

"Here, let me walk along with you and we can use both of our strength against Bob to lift his head up." offered Zoe.

She walked the pony around the arena and sure enough, he started dragging Rosie over to the reachable grass. He was such a pain in the ass.

After 3 successful laps they called it a day. Can't ask much more from Bob. 

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"Bye boy, see you in the morning. Only 2 more days until Pin is home. I know you miss him too." murmured Zoe to Raven.  That's when she realized she hadn't visited Elvis the day they found Layla!  Poor guy. He must be so lonely without Pin around. Zoe looked at her phone. She still had about an hour before Maggie expected her home and she could probably get by being fifteen minutes late.

She started the walk to Ted and Pin's house on the shore. It was only a 10 minute walk from Brightfields if she took some shortcuts through the woods. 

About 5 minutes into her walk she looked around. This was the area she first saw Layla. The sun shining through the trees, reflected off something that was laying in the dirt. Zoe walked over it and pick it up. It was a brass name plate.  It read "Leading Lady"....Layla? Was this her real name? Layla wasn't too far off then. Zoe nodded to herself. It had to be hers. Where did she come from? Was someone out there loving her and missing her?

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Elvis perked up when he saw Zoe, and even more when he saw the treats from her pocket. She pet him and ran a brush over his soft chestnut coat. She took a picture with him and texted it over to Pin. Knowing he would be happy to see Elvis.  Zoe knocked on the house door but it seemed that Ted wasn't around. A post card caught her eye in his mailbox...two post cards actually. Zoe knew she should look but the curiosity had already killed the cat years ago.

She flipped one of them over expecting to see a note from Pin's mother, and she realized it was actually Pin's handwriting on the back of the card. It was from a few days earlier and the second post card was from a day after. Pin listed the things he had seen and done that day even some of the food he tried. 

Zoe shoved the post cards back into the mailbox, hurt and confused. Why was it so easy for him to write his dad some stupid postcards and not even send her a text? Zoe had no idea what adventures or even what stupid new food he had tried from his trip. She barely even got a text once or twice a week. 

They were going to have a long hard conversation in two days. 

Zoe check her phone, no response from Pin. Figures its not like she was doing him a favor or anything. She started her walk home, fuming. 

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Climbing up the stairs to her room after dinner, Zoe stuck her hand in her pocket to take another look at the nameplate she had found in the woods. 

"I wonder if good ol google can help with this" she wondered to herself. She pulled out her computer and typed in Leading Lady to the AllBreedPedigree website. 

There it was. 14 year old Palomino mare thoroughbred cross. Her eyes scrolled down.

No.

No way. 

How is this possible?