“You mean Dustin?” Olivia was surprised by the way Sandra had voiced the question. Dustin was a guest at the Horse Farm. He shouldn’t have been referred to as her “idiot agent friend.”
“Obviously,” Sandra spat. “I don’t know what he’s done, but they won’t let me in with Aaron. There’s a deputy watching him and they won’t let anyone else in.”
“Sandra, that would have been Frank Vine’s call, not Dustin’s.”
“Your FBI man put him up to it,” Sandra said. “I want to talk to that man on the phone. I need to be with Aaron!”
“We’re not with them. We’re almost back at the Horse Farm.”
“Well, then, you get down here as soon as you’re back! You have to do something. This is ridiculous. And appalling!”
“Sandra, I’m not going to be able to do anything,” Olivia told her. “I’m not law enforcement. Speak to the deputy. He can reach Frank.”
Sandra swore. Olivia tried to tell her that, right now, Aaron really needed medical care more than he needed his hand held—even if he was having an affair with the person who wanted to hold his hand.
But as she tried to form the words, the phone went dead. Sandra had hung up on her.
“Who was that?” Mariah asked, riding up to her.
“Sandra. She’s upset. They won’t let her in with Aaron.”
“What did she want you to do?”
“Make Dustin tell Frank that the hospital should let her in.”
“She blames Dustin?”
Olivia just shrugged.
“It’s getting kind of scary, huh? Two accidents, one deadly, the other one almost so. Well, I guess Marcus brought on his own accident, but Aaron’s as straight as an arrow. Makes you wonder.”
“Mariah,” she said, irritated, “I still don’t believe Marcus brought about his own death.” She couldn’t help sighing. “I guess we all need to be careful.”
Mariah nodded. “Maybe we should close down for a while. Maybe—”
“What?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe the Horse Farm shouldn’t be open for a while. Maybe that’s what...someone wants.”
Olivia turned to look at her. “Mariah, what’s happened lately is bad. But the Horse Farm’s done so much for so many people. Brent’s a different person now. Lots of kids—and adults!—have developed their own sense of self-worth through the work we do.”
“I know. The Horse Farm is my life—I wouldn’t want it to close permanently, but...if there’s another accident...” She shivered violently. “This morning...I was so excited. I thought I’d finally seen the general! And then, when I found the bloody remains of that cow... And who would’ve figured that Aaron would be drowning at the same time!”
“He’s not dead,” Olivia reminded her.
“Oh, Olivia! He has to make it!” she whimpered. “It’s so horrible. We were all so close. We loved working together. We were a family.”
“We’re still a family,” Olivia said firmly. “And, please, stop talking in the past tense. The kids can hear us.”
“You don’t think the kids aren’t saying the same thing?”
Olivia turned in her saddle, looking back at the other riders. Matt and Joey were close together, deep in whispered conversation. At the end of the line, Drew was riding listlessly, as if he were in shock. Deputy Callahan was trying to be cheerful, riding beside Brent. Mason was with Sean.
“The work isn’t what’s wrong, that’s for sure,” Olivia said. “We’ll get through this the best we can.”
But Mariah’s words were to prove prophetic. When they reached the Horse Farm, the van from the boys’ rehab house was already there to get them; the driver and Sydney were out front, talking. Brent’s mother was standing by the fence, her face pinched with worry.
When Olivia dismounted, Sydney hurried over to her. “This isn’t good,” he said. “The Parsonage is reconsidering. They’re talking about withdrawing the boys because of everything going on.”
“Oh, no,” she murmured.
She saw Brent dismount from his horse. He ran to her, burying his face in her shoulder. “Liv...”
His mother hurried over. “Brent!”
She hugged her son, and Brent hugged her back. Brent gave others unconditional love, something Olivia truly appreciated. He loved his mother and he instinctively understood her concern. But he also understood that she’d come to take him away—and that he might not be coming back.
Olivia squared her shoulders. She spoke to Brent’s mother, assuring her that the boys were never alone and nothing like this could happen to one of them; she didn’t know why Aaron had been alone but he was an adult. Besides, she added, accidents did happen.
She didn’t believe it for a minute.
“Olivia, we adore you—my husband, my other children—we all adore you. And this place. But... Well, Marcus is dead. And now this? It’s a little frightening. No, it’s
“I understand,” Olivia told her dully.
Accidents happened.
Well, they did, but in this case it was a lie.
But she gave the same lie to the boys’ van driver from Parsonage House, saying that the Horse Farm premises and activities were safe. She said they were all devastated by Aaron’s accident and that they prayed he’d make a speedy recovery.
When the boys were gone, she walked into the office and fell into one of the comfortable chairs, exhausted. Sydney followed her in.
“Where’s Sammy?” she asked him. The dog should have been there when she arrived; he should’ve been around, wagging his tail and barking with excitement.
“He’s in my room. I love that dog—and I know how much you love him—but he’s been a pain in the ass! Howled last night, scratched at the door. I put him on a leash and took him out for a while. I guess he didn’t want to be left behind. Or else...”
“Or else?”
“Maybe he sensed something was wrong. I don’t know. I’ll go get him for you, but...can you tell me more about Aaron?” His features were tense. “I’ve only spoken with Frank Vine and the info line at the hospital. Oh, and Sandra. They don’t seem to know anything at all, except that apparently he wasn’t breathing, the fed got him breathing again and...that’s it.”
“You know as much as we know. We haven’t had phone service most of the way. I spoke with Sandra briefly and she was breathing fire. I was hoping
Before he could answer her, Drew, Mason and Mariah trailed in, all looking weary and dejected. They perched on various seats about the room. Mariah started to say something but Deputy Callahan walked in behind her.
“Hey, Sydney, do you have coffee going by any chance?” he asked.
“I always have coffee going,” Sydney retorted. “Or someone does, anyway.” The stress he was feeling was apparent.
He poured the deputy a mug of coffee and handed it to him.
“So, at this moment,” Sydney said, “no one knows anything. We could all go and sit at the hospital, but hell, Sandra’s already doing that. I’ve been calling the hospital’s patient-information line every thirty minutes,” he went on. “They don’t say anything except ‘the patient is in stable condition.’”
“Stable is good,” Mariah said.
“Yeah,” Mason agreed. “Much better than...”
He didn’t finish his sentence. They all knew what he
