Dora stepped outside of the Colonel’s house and heard the trotting of a horse coming towards here along the snow covered track. As it came closer into view Dora thought to herself, that’s strange it looks like Chip’s horse, but why no rider?
The panicked horse seemed to mysteriously settle down as it approached Dora, who could see that it had an injury to its hind quarters. She shouted, “Steve, come quickly”. Steve dashed out of the house and could see that Dora was calming the horse down.
“We need to get him to the vet’s Steve, he’s really badly cut, please Steve” Dora said forcefully. Steve replied “I’ll go and get the horse box, you stay here with the Colonel and look after the horse.” The Colonel, who had also by now come out, said, “I’ll get a blanket, we don’t want him to get cold after that gallop, he’s been sweating and it’s so cold out here”.
Steve set off back to Follyfoot for the box. It was not long before he could see a blue flashing light along the road ahead. Soon is heart missed a beat as he could see a crashed yellow sports car and not only a blond girl beside it, but it was Wendy. The ambulance men were stretchering off an injured person into the back of their vehicle.
Steve stopped and asked a shocked looking Wendy, “What’s happened, are you all right?” Wendy replied in a dazed manner, “yes, yes, I’m okay, but look at him”, directing her gaze towards the ambulance.
Steve said, “Oh no, it must be Chip, his horse as just galloped up to the Colonel’s house and Dora is looking after him.”
Wendy, still in shock, bent down to pick up an object that Chip had dropped when his horse was hit by her car. “You had better take this Steve and look after it for him then.”
One of the ambulance men said “Well come on young lady we are setting off to the hospital and you will need to come too for a check up. “Is he going to be okay”, Wendy asked about the casualty. “He was lucky, very lucky. Hardly any young ones wear helmets because they think they are boring to their friends, but this guy was wearing one. It saved him and he should make a good recovery from his dislocated shoulder and cuts.
Steve thought, I must follow the ambulance and make sure Wendy has a friend with her at the hospital. Then his thoughts turned to Dora who was expecting the horse box. What shall I do? “Damn”, he exclaimed and gave a bigger than usual sigh.
As Steve took a closer look at the parcel, he noticed it said ‘To Dora’ on it, and ‘Open on the 14th’. Since it was 9th of February, Steve realized the parcel was intended for Dora to open on Valentine’s Day, just five days away. His mind was now in turmoil and he could not think properly. What do I do now, he thought.
©author 2009