Some people do best alone, and there are lots of stories about folks like that. People who went off into the frontier and explored every nook and cranny, seeing things no folk had ever seen before (or at least, not written home about), and having all sorts of crazy adventures no one would ever believe. These people left as nobodies and they came back as heroes. Jessie had grown up hearing stories about them before moving out west, and she'd always wanted to be like that. For the most part, Jessie had succeeded. She knew the lay of the land, and she knew every animal that lived here. She could survive on her own, too.The trouble was, Jessie didn't want to have to. It was nice to know that you could take care of yourself no matter what happened, but she'd discovered ever since coming out here that she couldn't stand to be so darned alone. It bothered her, always eating away at her. Sometimes she thought she heard voices out here. Sure, there were plenty of critters out here, but that wasn't much help when what you were hankering for was someone to talk to. Meeting Buckaroo had helped, though, a lot. Buck could talk just like a Star could, and he was good company.
Buck was still a dog, though, and sometimes a dog had instincts that could get him into trouble. This morning he'd gone haring off after a jackrabbit, and now Jessie couldn't find him anywhere. It was past noon, and panic was slowly but surely starting to set in. There were coyotes out here, and mountain lions, too, and either one of them would see her little friend as a tasty snack. She had to find him, fast, before anything could happen to her best friend.
