"It's wonderful, that out-of-control-going-down-the-hill feeling that Iknow you have right now. You never get over that, at least I don't thinkI ever ...will. But that isn't real love. It helps, but it isn't the realthing."The phone rang. I looked at the clock and realized that it was 1:00 inthe morning and Mom wasn't home, yet. In the handful of seconds it tookto pick up the phone and answer it, I felt complete panic - what ifsomething happened to Mom? What would happen to Annie and me? How. He rubbed his cheek against the downy wool – deep enough that he could almost bury his face in it completely, shuffling to get closer to her. She responded in kind, her hold on him tightening, and he shivered as he felt her run her fingers through his hair. She stroked him like a cat, something that Becky had never done, and he melted into her embrace as her claws tickled his scalp.“That’s ... nice,” he mumbled, his voice muffled by the forest of fur. Her other arm was hooked around his. Louisa was going to be a bridesmaid and her daughter, Anita, was super excited about being a flower girl. Anita was now five, going on fifteen, and Jake was right behind Papa Ramon as her favorite man. Anita liked Melissa a lot but thought that it would be a better idea for Jake to marry her mommy instead. Anita was starting kindergarten in the fall along with Quincy and Tanya Nobles’ daughter Alice. Anita and Alice were inseparable now and sure brought the ranch to life. They were sweet girls. It has taken some time to get Becky's hair to grow out, but her Mistress is so pleased now that it almost reaches her waist. Once Becky was allowed to have strait hair, but her Mistress thought that it was going too easy on her. Since then it has been weekly trips to the salon chair for something new and interesting. It has gotten to the point now that her Mistress told me to go wild, experiment and have fun with Becky. Becky's Mistress really loves it when I give her a style really difficult.