Free Morning Star by Randy Mixter Page B

wake. Nate did the same as he and Al inspected the remains of the barn and tended to the horses.
    Later, after lunch, after Martha Edmonton had picked her five flowers and left for the hospital, the four of them gathered in front of the garden of dark blue roses.
    "They weren't here a few days ago. I'm sure of it," Nate said.
    Margaret bent down and touched one.
    "There weren't this many of them earlier this morning either," he added.
    "I'm going to plant a few in the garden in front of the house and I'll take some to the animal hospital when I return to work next week," Cindy said.
    Margaret stood up. Her finger tingled where it touched the plant.
    "I'd like to take a few back to my garden also if you don't mind."
    "Be my guest," Nate said. "As you can see we have plenty of them. We'd better head back. Dannie might be waking up."
    "Sleep well?" Cindy asked her when Dannie opened her eyes.
    The girl glanced around the room. She spotted Al and Margaret and smiled brightly. "Hi grandma and grandpa," she said before quickly adding "I want to see Morning Star. Let's go."
    "Hold on young lady," her nurse said. Martha Edmonton had joined them a little earlier, back from her hospital visit.
    "I think you should rest up today. You took a serious spill last night in case you forgot. Take it easy  today and tomorrow, we'll see."
    Perhaps Dannie saw the determination in her eyes. In any case she saw fit not to argue the point.
    "Okay Miss Martha." 
    Dannie turned to her father. "You'll tell him I said hello?"
    "I certainly will, as soon as I go out there."
    "Let's have a look at your head." Martha propped her up into a sitting position with pillows then gently lifted her head forward. She brushed the girl's hair off to the side and moved in to examine the injury. 
    The ten stitches applied at the hospital the night before still held tight but behind them was nothing, no blood, no cut, no sign of injury. The stitches were the only sign that anything had occurred a few short hours before.
    She motioned for Cindy to look. Nate came over too. Soon all of them stared at the back of Dannie's head.
    "Would someone please tell me what you all are looking at back there?" Dannie asked.
    "Would you care to assist me in removing these stitches Mrs. Walker?" Martha said as she appraised Dannie's head. "It appears they are no longer needed."

30 The Journey Of The Three
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    Dannie rode Morning Star, her father next to her on Betsy. Her stepmother kept pace on her other side on Silver, one of the newer horses in the herd.
    They rode in the night, past the farthest reaches of The Rising Sun into the dark plains where no one called home. The last day of September, 1977 had barely begun when they left and now they were near their destination. They could sense it.

    September was a month of many events, the first of which began on the Friday of the first week, when Dannie returned to the hospital, her second visit since she had come home.
    They left the ranch in the early morning, Dannie, her parents, and her nurse. Al and Margaret made plans to meet them at Walker General.
    They were greeted in the lobby with a large floral arrangement. These are for Dannie from Bill and Sylvia Travers, the receptionist said.
    Doctors Matthews and Fleming stood by the elevator, coffees in hand, talking. They turned when they heard a commotion behind them. Several doctors and nurses had emerged from a snack area next door. They all applauded when they saw Dannie who graciously acknowledged all with a wave and a smile.
    "Looks like our hero's here," Matthews said to Fleming. 
    Dannie walked to the two doctors in front of her family and the well wishers surrounding them. She walked briskly and with confidence. Both doctors had heard the girl had improved remarkably but seeing Dannie walk normally shocked them to the core. Matthews, in fact, nearly dropped his coffee, snagging it at the last instant.
    "Well, well," Matthews said as the elevator door opened. "Let's head