Free Secondhand Horses by Lauraine Snelling

together put their shoulders to the front door and fell into the kitchen.
    Over a breakfast of scrambled eggs only slightly brown, bacon that was just perfect, and toast with chunks of butter because Sunny had forgotten to leave it out the night before, the two girls explained how the Squad had purchased the zoo. They also learned that no, Uncle Dave had not taken any pain medicine yet and yes, he had quite a different idea for his horse ranch. One that did not include a zoo or additional secondhand horses.
    “You bought a zoo? Someone abandoned a horse here? I’m calling the sheriff.” He reached for the phone and groaned. “Dagnabbit, any time I move, this stupid ankle hurts. Sunny, hand me the phone, will you?”
    “Why would someone do that, Mr. Martin?” Esther asked.
    He shrugged, letting the phone fall into his lap. “Lots of reasons. Maybe they’re moving and can’t take the horse. Mostly it’s because people have run out of money. Sometimes it’s a choice between paying the mortgage or taking care of the horse.” He glanced at Esther’s indignant face. “They’re not bad people, Esther. Sometimes they get overwhelmed. Taking care of a horse is a big responsibility in terms of time and money.”
    Sunny shifted in her chair. This conversation was not going exactly the way she would’ve liked. “Uncle Dave, I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you about the zoo sooner. Mom said to wait until you were off the pain meds. And I’m sorry about your ankle. And so sorry I didn’t clean the outbuilding.”
Which I still haven’t. Sunneeee!
“I thought since you had secondhand horses and were talking to someone on the phone about a mare, you were getting more secondhand horses.”
    “On the phone?” Uncle Dave’s brow cleared. “That was a breeder. I’m going to start a sport pony ranch. Very high-end. No more secondhand horses for me.”
    Sunny gulped. She’d been wrong all the way around. Her Great Idea of buying the zoo had been a Great Mistake. So had her Great Idea that her uncle would be okay with owning a zoo. “Okay.” Her voice trembled, but she tried to steady it. “The Squad will find homes for all of them. Or”—she brightened—“we’ll find a way to have the zoo make money to help take care—”
    Her uncle rubbed his face. “No, Sunny.” His voice sounded as tired as his face looked. “Finding homes for the zoo, yes. Trying to find a way to make money with the zoo? No way. That’s one of your great ideas I have no interest in.” Opening the pill bottle on the table next to him, he took one out, grimaced, and put it back. “A miniature horse? Now that’s a minor horse. What good is a miniature horse? You can’t ride it. It can’t pull a plow.” He sighed. “Now it’s time for me to take a rest.”
    A few minutes later, as Esther and Sunny stood in the kitchen, breakfast dishes in the sink, boxes still crowding the room, Sunny heard Uncle Dave’s slow, deep breathing on the couch. Esther was chewing her lip and avoiding looking at Sunny.
    Sunny heaved a sigh that filled her lungs and left her dizzy on the exhale. “For pizza sake, me and my Great Ideas. Uncle Dave wants to breed horses, not rescue ones that are already alive.” Deep inside, somehow, she was disappointed in Uncle Dave.
    Esther slid an arm around her friend’s shoulders and squeezed. “Okay, so we can’t make up stuff to have the zoo earn money. We’ve adopted out dogs and cats. We’ll let people know what the zoo is good at. In fact,” she said, her serious face beginning to relax, “we already know Piggles is good at gardens. Bob is good at mowing.” She started toward the sink. “Now we need to find out what the goose and the mini are good at.”
    Staring off into space, Sunny nodded. “Yeah.” She kind of felt like the zoo. What good was she? She knew from years of Sunday school that God loved everyone. That He didn’t make mistakes creating people; however, she wasn’t
quite
sure He hadn’t