A Home For MacKenzie

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

            Mackenzie watched the countryside go by as she curled up against the door of the Santa Fe.  Her life was changing once again.  Maybe for the better this time.  She wasn’t getting her hopes up though.  A small smile touched her lips as they left the orphanage behind and rolling hills started to cover the landscape.  The sun was shining brightly in a crystal clear blue sky.

            The teen’s gray eyes suddenly widened as Jeremy drove under a homemade wooden sign saying Rolling Hills Retreat.  There were four horses grazing contentedly in the pasture along with two ponies, which looked like Welsh ponies to her.  She glanced around at the rest of the place.  The barn looked new and she was guessing it held ten stalls.  It also looked like it might have an indoor arena, but she couldn’t be sure.  Although she could see an outdoor arena peeking out from behind the barn.  She glanced over at the house next.  The house was gorgeous.  It was an old farmhouse, but it had been renovated as well and looked like it had been freshly painted.  She couldn’t help but wonder how much money the Timmons’s had into this place.

            Jeremy pulled the Santa Fe up in front of the house.  Mackenzie’s eyes were still wide.  Just where had she gotten to this time?  This wasn’t like any of the other foster homes she had been in before.

            “Welcome home, Mackenzie,” Cassidy smiled.

            “After you get settled in we could introduce you to the horses,” Jeremy offered.

            Mackenzie’s eyes lit up.  “Really?  I can see the horses?” she asked, showing a bit of what she used to be like before experiencing the hard knocks of life.

            Jeremy and Cassidy exchanged amused looks.  “Of course you can,” Jeremy smiled.  “They love attention.  We’ll take some carrots out with us.”

            The teen was nearly bouncing in her seat.  She hadn’t had an opportunity to be around horses since she had gone into foster care.  Just being able to see them from a distance was making her happier then she had felt in ages.  Mackenzie swung her messenger bag over her shoulder and then grabbed her duffel.  The girl didn’t have much to her name.  All her clothes flit into one duffel.

            She slipped out of the SUV and waited for her new foster parents.  Jeremy jogged up to the house to unlock the door while Cassidy stayed with Mackenzie.  The teen gave the older woman a grateful smile.  At least it seemed like they weren’t just going to leave her to figure things out on her own.  That had happened once and she had gotten her hide tanned a few times before Abigail had found out and pulled her out of that foster home.

            Cassidy led Mackenzie up on the porch.  The girl stopped with one foot hovering above the step.  Cassidy turned when she didn’t hear Mackenzie’s footsteps any longer.  The teen had one battered sneaker on the first step and the other on the ground still.  A spark of fear showed in her eyes.

            “Mackenzie?”

            She shook her head, snapping back to reality.  “Sorry,” she whispered, jogging up the stairs to join Cassidy.

            “No reason to be sorry.  Jeremy and I want you to feel at home.  If there is anything you need, please, don’t be afraid to ask.  We want to help.”

            She nodded with a shy smile.  Cassidy guided the teen into the house.  Mackenzie glanced around the house.  A shoe and coat rack stood by the door and what she assumed were family portraits lined the beige wall.  Her eyes widened a bit when she saw a picture of a much younger Cassidy running barrels.  In another picture Jeremy stood in a corral where beautiful buckskin stood on his hind legs.