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the other guys, so your posters and brochures are hanging up right beside theirs.”
    “I bet they love that,” he laughed.
    “Hey, that’s not my problem. Fresh linens, keeping them fed, and stocking up on supplies is all I need to worry about. Rounding up wild animals is your department.”
    “True enough. Speaking of animals, I need to get back to them so I’ll see you later and pry that pup away from my daughter when your friend gives me a call. Bye, bye,” he said, adding jokingly, “and don’t let the mob talk you into joining up with them.”
    “No worries,” Sam replied. “In running this B&B I’ve seen every type of character and now I need to get back to my own herd.” Sam hung up and looked at the phone. Nice guy, she thought. How the heck did he end up with that horrible job? Well, she thought, somebody’s got to manage those horses. I just hope he doesn’t have a logo on the side of his truck when he drops off Carrie’s dog! And he says he has a ten-year-old daughter. Who knows—maybe they could become friends.
    “Nope, too easy,” she said aloud, waking Max from his nap. Kids like to pick out their own friends and she decided then and there that she would just stay out of the whole mess. Max sent her a lazy wink as if he agreed, and stretched.
    “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, Max,” she said, grinning at the cat. “I picked you out a new friend…a girl named Flannel and she’s about your age. I think you’re going to love her.”

    Chapter 10

    Utter darkness and silence surrounded her. It seemed as if it were waiting for her to peer within like a door unopened. The black began to move and form a dark liquid. Was this black water? Carrie thought, as it began to flow like a river under a night sky. Slowly she realized she was flying overhead, moving quickly over the dark sea. Suddenly, the blackness disappeared and she found herself looking down over a colorful landscape. Mountains covered in calico fabric were everywhere and she felt like a bird as she flew with ease over them. They looked like patches of fabric and each piece had flecks of tiny colors scattered throughout. Greens, blues, lavenders, gold, and bits of red dotted the land. As she dipped down into a valley she saw that the fabric changed into dried-up, withered crops. They looked parched and brown and everything looked dead. Next she saw a thick black liquid burst through the ground and it began to spread out from the center going in all directions. It started to tear through the middle of the brown crops as if ripping through a paper bag. She wasn’t sure what this oozing stuff was, but it now covered every inch of the brittle crops. She felt sad looking at all of this blackness.
    And then she woke.
    Tears began to fall and Carrie reached for her dog. Flannel was like a warm furry security blanket and always seemed to be there whenever she needed a hug. Slowly Carrie’s eyes became focused and she realized she was no longer home.
    Home. The tears fell faster as she looked over at her mother sound asleep in the cramped hotel room. They had been traveling almost a week now and the homesickness seemed worst at bedtime and returned at dawn. Oh, yeah—that’s right, Flannel was now in some stranger’s home in Stupid-ville, Nevada. How could her mother have trusted that guy; he was just a guy at work; he wasn’t even family. Carrie would never have trusted anyone if she was in charge. But that was just it, she thought, as fresh tears now burst forward. She had no say in any of this—not the divorce, not the move, and certainly not in the way her mom had placed Flannel in a stranger’s care. She wiped at her eyes, stumbling in the darkness. She choked back a sob and searched for tissues for her runny nose. Inside the bathroom she fell to her knees and cried into the biggest towel she could find.
    “Carrie. Oh, Carrie!” Her mother was now stumbling herself and knocked over a hotel lamp. Carrie quickly turned and