Lou bounced on her best friend's bed, looking at a small, shiny blue card with raised gold lettering. "Wild horses couldn't keep me away from your party, of course I'll be there."
Jenny giggled, brushing her loose blonde curls out of her face. "With all those mustangs on your ranch, I beg to differ."
Lou carefully put the invitation in her pocket, then picked up a small plush horse. She absently adjusted the saddle, which her dad had custom made for the toy. "I can't believe you'll be sixteen tomorrow. I still remember when I gave you this for your fifth birthday."
Jenny took the still shiny black velvet toy, and stroked its silky mane. "I remember too. I wanted a horse more than anything in the world, and I didn't understand why I couldn't keep it here in the apartment. So you asked your parents, and your mom bought Moon-Dream here for me. Your dad made her a saddle."
Lou nodded, staring at the walls. "Not much has changed since then, you're still obsessed with horses. But then, so am I."
Jenny smiled, and touched the tiny white crescent moon on the horse's forehead. "A lot has changed, now I can work with horses every day for the whole summer. And go on the fall roundup!"
"Yeah, I just wish we could go along when Dad brings in the pregnant mares tomorrow. Or that Dad had been able to finish the new barn in time to do it sooner."
Jenny smiled, and put her arm around her friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry that we're going to miss it too. But I can't very well be out on the range when my guests show up for my party. At least that's what Mom told me..."
Lou nodded. "And I can't very well miss my best friend's big day. Maybe we should have a camping trip out to Lost Soul Rock if Sweetheart isn't found soon. It's the only place we haven't looked where she might try to have her foal."
Jenny frowned, staring at the huge map of Northern Scrubrush and the surrounding area. "She might have, but I saw a coyote den there last spring. Maybe she'd have gone to Greenpasture Meadow?"
Lou walked over to the map, tracing the route. "Maybe, but it's thirty miles away from the herd. And she'd have to cross the Howler. It's too fast and wide for any horse to swim safely, and she's heavy with her foal."
"You're right, I'm sure she'd never try that. She's too smart," Jenny agreed quickly.
Lou began pacing. "I just wish I knew why she left the herd in the first place. The others are all where they should be. Anyway, I'm sorry for being this way so close to your birthday. I'm sure she'll be fine."
"No problem, Sweetheart is one of my favorites. I just want her and the foal to come home safe."
The next day, Lou smoothed her green satin dress, then ran a comb through her short, black hair. "Well, it's Saturday. I can't wait to see Jenny's face when she sees the Jeep her parents got her!"
"Goodbye, I'm going to Jenny's! I'm going to take the trail," she called out before closing the front door.
"I wonder if they found Sweetheart yet?" she thought, as she walked along her own private foot path.
"I can't keep thinking about her today. It's Jenny's day," she reminded herself.
Then she smiled. "Jenny and I met right by that big black and white boulder over there. I remember taking her home with me, and when Dad drove her back to her place, her parents were freaked out that she'd wandered off."
She continued down the path, which would open up only a hundred yards from Jenny's apartment building. Then she heard a sharp neigh in back of her.
Standing behind the boulder was a tall palomino mare. "Sweetheart! Let me see how you are. That's right, I'm not going to spook you. We'll take it nice and slow."
"Why are you backing up, girl? You know me, we've been friends for years."
The mare snorted, then turned around and trotted.
"Really, Sweetheart? I'm going to be late for Jenny's birthday party," puffed Lou.
The horse ignored her, trotting along steadily except when she outdistanced the girl by too much. After about fifteen minutes, the mare stopped in front of a dry creekbed.
When Lou caught up, Sweetheart jumped down the little bank, and nuzzled a small, black bundle.
The little filly stood, her delicate legs trembling with excitement. "You look just like Jenny's Moon-Dream!" she exclaimed.
The mare took one massive leap, and was beside Lou. The filly tried unsuccessfully to follow, then laid down again.
She rubbed Sweetheart's soft, velvety nose. "That's why you disappeared. You must have gone into labor down there, then your baby couldn't get out to follow you."
Lou slid down, and lifted the little horse out of the creekbed. Sweetheart neighed happily, and nudged the foal towards the trail.
When they finally got back to the trail, the mare began to make her way towards the ranch. "Oh no you don't! I won't let you two go back by yourselves, and I'm not missing Jenny's party."
Lou improvised a halter with her dirty, torn dress's soft, silky smooth green belt, and led the mare to Jenny's.
When she emerged, she saw Jenny get out of her new Jeep, and hug her parents. After the family finished hugging, Lou began singing Happy Birthday as loud as she could.
Jenny looked towards the small parade coming her way, then sprinted in their direction, slowing before she got too close. "Sweetheart! You found her! Where was she? And her foal looks just like my Moon-Dream, right down to the crescent moon," gasped Jenny.
"Happy birthday, Jenny. I told you, even wild horses wouldn't keep me away today!"
The two girls laughed, then hugged each other and the somewhat bewildered mare.
Cover image made in Canva Pro using their gallery