A Conard County Homecoming

“I didn’t have to say yes, and I don’t feel imposed upon.” She looked down at Nell. “Okay to pet her?”

“You might as well. She seems determined to become part of your life, too.”

Ashley laughed, then squatted, giving Nell a good rub and scratch around her neck. Then she rose and stepped past, allowing the dog to close the door. “So what do we need to do?”

“Assemble the parts to attach the wheel to this chair. Once it’s all together, I can put it on or take it off with some locks. Naturally, because it wouldn’t work indoors, but...” He shrugged. “Thing is, I like to get a good speed going when I’m out with Nell. She wants to run, and the workout feels good to me, too. So...this is all about stability.”

As he spoke, he was wheeling his way back to the spare room. Nell’s steps followed him.

“Will Mikey need something like this?”

“I doubt a motorized chair will allow him to go fast enough to worry about it. How’s the fund-raising, by the way?”

“Fantastic,” she answered enthusiastically. “Between your check—which was awfully generous—the bake sale last night and a small grant we finally received, Mikey’s new wheelchair will be ordered soon.”

He summoned a smile. “I’m glad to hear that.”

She touched the box on the floor with her toe. “Parts in here?”

“All of them.”

She nodded, as if grasping why he couldn’t get to it himself. “Do you want to assemble it here?”

“In the kitchen. I’m going to need a place to sit while we do it, because I need to get out of this chair.”

“Got it.” She squatted and began to pull packing tape away. “Anyhow, if you have any suggestions for things Mikey might need, let me know. We’ve got a small list of things, but who knows what we overlooked.”

“He lives on a ranch?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, if he wants to get outside, he’s going to need good, wide wheels. Like these,” he said, patting his own. “Like you’d find on a mountain bike.”

She peered up at him. “I’m quite certain none of us thought of that. Any other ideas, let me know. As the pastor said this morning, we now have enough to give him racing stripes if he wants them.”

Once again Zane felt an unusual smile on his face. “Flames. I suggest flames.”

Ashley laughed. “Yeah, he’d probably love that.”

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