Stealing the Prize by Suzanne Weyn

Author:Suzanne Weyn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2014-11-08T05:00:00+00:00

An hour later, Taylor sat beside Mrs. LeFleur on the orange plastic chairs in the waiting room attached to the emergency room of the Pheasant Valley Hospital.

“Good thing Eric’s father was home,” she commented to Mrs. LeFleur. Mr. Mason had rushed to the hospital when Mrs. LeFleur called him and was now inside with his son while a doctor checked Eric over.

The sound of Taylor’s voice made Mrs. LeFleur startle, as though her thoughts had taken her someplace very far away and she had been abruptly called back.

“What? Oh … yes … it was. I think a parent or relative has to check a minor into a hospital if prior permission hasn’t been given. So we couldn’t have done it without him.”

“Eric seemed all right, though.”

Behind her thick glasses, Mrs. LeFleur’s eyes closed, and she sighed deeply. “You can never be too careful.”

Even though Eric’s dad told Mrs. LeFleur and Taylor that they didn’t have to wait, Mrs. LeFleur had insisted that she wouldn’t leave until she heard about Eric’s condition.

Taylor wondered why Mrs. LeFleur was so upset. Even Eric said he felt fine. Taylor felt so confident that he wasn’t seriously injured — especially after Mr. Mason told them the doctor was almost positive Eric was okay — that she’d called her father to come pick her up to take her home. Taylor didn’t quite understand why Mrs. LeFleur was insisting on staying.

“How are things going these days … for Wildwood, I mean?” Taylor asked after a few more minutes of silent waiting. She was searching for some conversational subject to pass the time, and the ranch’s finances were a natural topic. They’d been tight from the start because the costs of refurbishing the long-abandoned ranch had been high. Mrs. LeFleur constantly worried about money, but Taylor hadn’t heard her mention anything about it for a couple of weeks.

Taylor was hoping things were better now that they had the County HORSE contract. It also seemed like a good time to remind Mrs. LeFleur that they had the contract due to Prince Albert’s excellent performance at the Rotary Show.

“We need more business,” Mrs. LeFleur replied absently. She turned toward Taylor. “Do you think I’m overreacting to this?”

Taylor suddenly felt put on the spot. “Maybe a little … I don’t know.”

Just then a tall man with dark blond hair came through the automatic glass doors. He had obviously come straight from work since he still wore the coveralls of an auto mechanic. “Mrs. LeFleur!” Steve Henry cried fondly when he spotted her. “Good to see you!”

Mrs. LeFleur rose to give him a hug. “Little Stevie Henry!”

Taylor had heard Mrs. LeFleur call her father that before, and she always thought it was funny, especially since her father was well over six feet tall. Although Mrs. LeFleur remembered Taylor’s father, this was the first time they were actually seeing each other in many years.

“It’s been so long, but you look the same,” Mrs. LeFleur said.

“So do you,” Steve Henry replied.

“Nice of you to say so, even if it is a complete lie,” Mrs.

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