“Not usually. We don’t have any special facilities for wheelchairs or kids on crutches. Mostly we get kids who have been through something really tough.” He sounded uncharacteristically subdued.
“Like?”
“Like we’re not supposed to know. We get a general outline of the issues so we don’t schedule fireworks for a child who’s lived through a gunfight, but nothing specific. Two of the kids have been here before, though, so I know their story. Their mom shot their dad and then killed herself. They were in the room when it happened. The old man had been beating them for years, but still.”
Izzy pushed away her plate as her stomach got queasy. Where was Nick? Hearing this would be slightly easier if he was around.
“What are we supposed to do for them?” she asked.
“Let them get away from their regular lives. They ride horses, walk the rope bridge. They get to play and run without anyone pointing.”
“I could point, I just wouldn’t know the right direction,” Izzy murmured. “What if I mess up?”
“You won’t. You’re a nice person.” He sounded way too cheerful as he spoke.
“What does that mean? What aren’t you telling me?”
Aaron sighed. “We’re getting a difficult case. Her name is Heidi. She’s twelve. Two years ago, her uncle raped her and then set her on fire, trying to kill her so she wouldn’t tell on him.”
Izzy’s dinner did a slow, uncomfortable turn in her belly. “I read about that in the paper. The uncle was arrested then killed in prison.”
“Sometimes the criminal justice system works,” Aaron told her. “Anyway, Heidi has been through a dozen or so reconstructive surgeries. She’s sarcastic, unfriendly and hates the world. Nick and I thought you’d be great with her.”
“What?”
“We’re not saying you’re like that, but you have some attitude on you. I think you’re young enough for her to relate to without being too young.”
Izzy held up both hands. “I don’t think this is going to work. Shouldn’t we have a professional dealing with her?”
“She has plenty of those. We’re talking a long weekend, girlfriend. You can suck it up for that long. At the end of the day, she’s still burned and you get to be pretty. So manage.”
“Ouch,” Izzy murmured. “That hurt.”
“I’m sorry. Heidi needs help. You need to try. I’m just saying.”
“Okay.” She felt stupid and small, but understood his point.
“You’ll like it,” he said, his voice softening. “Trust me. These kids can break your heart, but in a good way.”
“So why not have them here for more than a long weekend at a time?”
Aaron was quiet for so long, she wondered if he’d left the room.
“I don’t know,” he said at last. “I’ve tried to talk to Nick about it, but he won’t listen. He says it would be too complicated. We’d need a full-time staff of health care professionals.”
“Is it a money thing?”
“Have you seen Nick’s bank account balance?”
“No.”
“Oh, right. It’s not a money thing.”
“Then what?” she asked before she could stop herself. She knew the reason. It was fear. Fear that he would do more damage than good. Fear that he could destroy even more. Because he hadn’t forgiven himself. He probably never would.
“You’ll have to ask him yourself,” Aaron told her.
“Sure,” she said, knowing she didn’t have to.
IZZY PACED NERVOUSLY outside the barn. She and Rita had discussed the best choices for horses for the kids. The two who had been on the ranch before had some experience, but as far as Izzy could tell, Heidi had never been on a horse. Izzy felt that Flower was the right mount. An even-tempered mare with a maternal streak, Flower was patient and gentle with the most skittish of riders, but she had plenty of speed for a good, long ride.
“They’re here,” Rita said, seconds before Izzy heard the SUV approaching.
“You’re good,” Izzy murmured and wiped her hands on her jeans. Everything would be fine, she told herself. This wasn’t a big deal. Kids loved horses. Her fears that she would say or do something so wrong as to damage Heidi was an inflation of her importance in the girl’s life. Which sounded good but didn’t take away the knot in her stomach.
She turned toward the sound of running feet and saw two blurry shapes hurrying toward them. Rita hugged both kids and introduced Izzy.
“Are we going riding soon?” the girl, Emily, asked.
“Very soon,” Rita promised.
“Where’s Heidi?” Izzy asked.
“She’s scared,” Ned, Emily’s brother, said. “She looked like she was going to cry the whole way here.”
“New places can be confusing,” Izzy said as she walked toward the SUV. She could see Nick unloading luggage. As she approached, a tall girl climbed out of the car.
“You must be Heidi,” Izzy said cheerfully. “Hi. Nice to meet you. Do you want to get settled or would you like to come meet your horse for the weekend? Flower is very excited about all the riding we’re going to do.”
There was something odd about the girl’s posture. She was bent over, as if…
The burns, Izzy thought, mentally slapping herself. She was hiding her face.
“I’d rather go to my room,” Heidi whispered.
“Okay. I’ll show you the way.” She pointed at the suitcases. “Which one is yours?”
“The green one.”
Which was less helpful, Izzy thought as she stared at the dark-colored luggage. Nick handed her one. She smiled at him. “Thanks.”
Izzy took the suitcase and led the way inside. As there were only three guests, all the kids were sleeping in the main house. She went up the stairs and walked into the bright, cheery bedroom Norma and Aaron had prepared.
“Here you go,” Izzy told Heidi. “You have your own bathroom, which is pretty cool. I hate sharing a bathroom. Even with my sisters. I should probably get over that, I know, but here it’s not an issue. Now do you want to unpack first or come meet Flower?”
“I don’t want to meet a stupid horse. I’m only here because my doctor said I had to come. I’m going to stay in my room and read until it’s time to go home. You can go now.”
Izzy dropped the suitcase and put her hands on her hips. “Oh, really. Because you think you’re in charge?”
“No. Not really.” Heidi took a step back. “I, um, don’t like horses.”
So the bravado had serious limits. Good to know. Izzy wasn’t sure what to say or the best way to deal with the situation. They only had three days, which meant she couldn’t outwait Heidi.
“How many horses have you met?”
Heidi cleared her throat and hunched over. “Not many.”
“As in none?”
“Yes.” The word was barely audible.
“Okay, then you’re going to meet Flower because she’s really nice. I think you’ll get along. But if I’m wrong, we’ll renegotiate. Sound fair?”
She took the heavy sigh as a yes and motioned for Heidi to follow her out of the house.
Minutes later they were in Flower’s stall.
“Flower, this is Heidi,” Izzy said as she patted the mare’s neck. “It’s okay, Heidi. Flower’s a sweetie. She won’t hurt you.”
But Heidi stood in the doorway, unmoving, not speaking. Izzy couldn’t read her expression so she wasn’t sure what was wrong.
“Don’t you want to pat her?”
“No.”
