“I don’t think I love the petting zoo.”
Smiling Beau stroked her cheek. “That’s okay, baby.” Turning Palmer scanned the surrounding area, hoping to find a poop free path back to Daddy’s room. She wanted a bath. Maybe three. Looking behind her, she saw facts about the animals pinned to the area behind the sink. She looked at them all, taking the time to read each one thoroughly. She had read almost all of them when she spotted something. Looking closer she saw a flyer with a big fluffy cow. This one was different from Stella—for one thing she wasn’t a dairy cow. She had lots of hair! The second thing that made her stand out were her eyes. They were cloudy. Palmer stared at the picture. The cow stood in tall grass, her nose lifted high in the air. Palmer thought maybe she was trying to breathe in the fresh air—poop-free air. She was beautiful and Palmer felt drawn to the cow.
Beau looked closer. “What do you see, pretty baby?”
Palmer pointed to the flyer.
“Highland Cow Needs A Safe Home,” he read.
“She’s beautiful,” Palmer said.
“She is,” Beau agreed.
“She needs a home,” Palmer said, stroking the flyer softly.
“Oh yeah, that came in yesterday. She needs a new home because her owners are getting older and struggling to care for her.”
“She’s blind,” Palmer said sadly.
“She is.”
“Does she bump into stuff?” Palmer asked while Daddy slid the shiny black boots on her feet.
“Maybe sometimes,” Reese answered.
“Does she get lost?” Palmer asked.
“Probably not.” Reese soothed. “Animals are pretty smart and adapt quickly. She probably learns her way around fast.”
Palmer imagined being a cow that couldn’t see. She reached up and rubbed the ache in her chest.
“Would you like to explore some more? We have a new litter of kitties.”
Palmer nodded and allowed Beau to lead her to another pen, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the Highland cow who needed a home.
Chapter Seventeen
The lecture hall was quiet as Beau wrote on the whiteboard.
He set the marker down and turned to face the class. About forty of the Ranch’s high school students looked back at him from their desks, some attentive, some tired, some pretending not to fidget in their seats. Beau leaned against the desk at the front of the room. “Let’s talk about the negative ideas people have about fear.”
A few students straightened as they listened to his words, possibly sensing his words were important.
“I think society as a whole has fallen into this idea that feeling fear means we’re weak.”
Several students nodded their heads.
“Or that maybe we’ve already failed.”
More students nodded that time.
“Most people think courage means not being afraid,” he continued. “But that’s not true. Courage is doing the hard thing even when youare afraid.”
He turned and wrote a few names on the board.
Hugh Thompson Jr.
Rosa Parks