An Ounce of Prevention

"We looked at some motor homes this morning," Carmen said. "That's all."

"To rent?" he asked Carmen.

Katie groaned. "Oh for goodness sake, Alex. Don't be such a tight wad for once. If she wants to buy a motor home, let her. It isn't as if you can't afford it. That way she wouldn't have to haul luggage and kids back and forth to hotels every night while you're traveling. You could have it stocked and ready to go. Think of the money you could save on food and hotel. You could stay anywhere you wanted in comfort."

Alex choked back a caustic reply. Much as he loved his sister, he wished she would learn to mind her own business. If it hadn't been for Bill, Katie's inheritance would all be gone now. Alex forked a steak from the serving dish and passed the dish to Carmen as he spoke. "You could do all that if you rented one, and you wouldn't have the expense of maintenance every year."

Katie rolled her eyes, but Carmen backed him up. "Actually, I think Alex has a good point. Why buy when you can rent and not have the financial commitment?" She shrugged. "Maybe we wouldn't even like traveling that way. It might be better to get a pop-up trailer."

Apparently Carmen had been doing a lot of research on accommodations for their vacation. His preference would be to make hotel reservations, fly out there and rent a van, but the kids wanted to camp. Carmen was stuck on the idea of finding some wild horses to observe - as if the wild ones were any different than the ten they had on their 180 acre wildlife safari. Of course, the mustangs were mixed breeds, while hers were purebreds - except for the gelding she bought a few years ago for the tour business.

Carmen had been running their American Wildlife Safari for the last few years with an assistant who would be taking care of the place in their absence. This sudden request for a vacation in southern Arizona had taken him by surprise. Arkansas had barely emerged from winter and it was in the full beauty of new foliage and bloom. He was reluctant to leave. Of course, when she had first expressed a desire to go on a vacation to that hot dry desert, it had been cold, wet and cloudy for weeks on end. She was full swing into planning now, so there would be no changing her mind. The kids were all excited and Katie was pumping them all up.

"I'm sorry," Carmen said, breaking into his thoughts. "I should have talked to you before I went to look at the motor homes."