"I don't know any details yet, but yes, she's happy," he said. "And soon. She had that trip planned with her friend, and we were talking about that being canceled. Mom and Dad are both busy with… I just felt like I should drop everything and take her somewhere for a few days. So, now. It feels right, and she's excited, so I know it's a good decision. Alex doesn't need horses for the next two days, and I already made sure Josh could take care of whatever he needed for a couple of days after that. I figured we could get into something fun in four days. I told her to look at a map and pick somewhere we can go in ten hours or less, and we'll take off in the truck."
"Ten hours driving from here is just basically Idaho or Wyoming," she said.
"Yeah," he agreed, nodding.
"Both of those are just like Montana."
"Yeah, but it's more about getting out of town, don't you think? I don't want to have to spend the night on the road, and it's not really worth it for a short trip. Four days is a stretch, and I don't want to spend it all on the road. I need to get back, and I want to make the most of it."
"Just fly," she said. "Take her to San Francisco. There's a ton to do in the city. It's an easy flight from Missoula, and you can just stay in our house. It'll be an easy trip. No one's at my place. PJ's with Caleb. It'll be nice to have someone check in on the house."
"Bailey would flip her lid if I mentioned California," Henry said, since it was the truth.
"Oh, please go," she returned, beaming. "I would love for you guys to stay at the house."
"What about your sister? We would have to tell her."
Amelia shrugged. "She wouldn't mind. You can stay in my bedroom, and she won't know the difference. And, like I said, it'll be nice to have someone check on the place."
***
Henry and Bailey took a flight to San Francisco the following afternoon. This type of trip and this type of destination were out of Henry's comfort zone, but Bailey was so excited that he pushed past his feelings and was able to relax with her. He was tempted to let his mind go to Amelia, the horses, the series, the ranch, and Josh, but thankfully, he had the wisdom to see that this was an important trip at a pivotal time in his sister's life. He was able to put aside the worries of home and focus on being in the moment with her.
It felt right to stop his life and pay attention to his sister when she was going through things, and he had Amelia to thank for it. He remembered how much compassion Amelia had for his sister when she was standing there, telling him the whole story with a covered-up black eye. She had set him up for success withthis trip. She had given them recommendations for every meal and all sorts of ideas for fun activities to do in their free time. She had so many options listed, from museums to batting cages—from a blues jam in a coffee shop to a world class ballet.
Bailey had been doing research of her own since the minute Henry suggested the trip to California. Bailey had all sorts of impromptu goals and aspirations about being a tourist in San Francisco, and Henry found himself along for the ride.
He took Amelia up on her offer to stay at her house. He told her that he would just get a hotel, but she insisted, saying it was the reason they decided to go to San Francisco in the first place. She seemed happy about it and wanted him to check on the place.
The instant they opened the door to her house, he heard barking. The living room was nice and open, and he knew he was in the right place because there were framed pictures of the sisters with their friends and family. The barking was coming from another room. He stared at his little sister with a look of confusion.
"She's got upstairs neighbors, but I don't think they have dogs," he said.
"Maybe it's her dog," Bailey said with a shrug, setting her things down.
"Her dog's not here," Henry said, shaking his head.
He set down his luggage and went toward the back room, toward the sound of barking. The sound was coming from one of the bedrooms, and Henry opened the door to find Amelia's dog, PJ, in his kennel in the corner of the room. He knew the dog from pictures. There was no doubt this was PJ.
Henry went right over to the kennel and opened it, letting the little fireball out. He was so excited that he got low to the ground and started doing mini zoomies around Henry's legs, jumpingand sniffing. PJ turned and sprinted into the hallway, and he heard Bailey shriek.
"Oh, hellooo!" she called.
Henry walked out there just in time to see his sister smiling and stooping to pet the dog. PJ left her and ran back to Henry, who bent down as well. He quickly paced between them, greeting them with wiggly excitement. Bailey and Henry made eye contact.
"Is this Amelia's dog?" she asked.
"Yes."
"What's he doing here?" she asked.
"I have no idea," Henry said, shaking his head.
"Should you call Amelia?"
"I thought of that, but I'm not going to yet. It'll worry her. I'll just wait until her friend comes back, and I'll ask him what's going on."
Percy went to the side door, sitting patiently by his leash, which was hanging on a small hook next to the light switches.
