In his office, he dialed Marty’s number. “Got your message,” he told the harried mother, who was most likely trying to get kids off to school. “What’s up with Cass?”
At seventeen, Cass was the oldest member of Project Pride. Two years ago, she’d lost her arm when it had been crushed in a riding mower accident. Though she managed well with her prosthesis, she was rebelling against everything these days. It was tough enough being a teen, he knew, without seeing herself as a damaged misfit. Cass and the others like her were precisely the kids he’d been hoping to help with his program. He wanted them to believe that their self-worth was not tied to any disabilities they might have. On occasion, he actually saw the irony of setting himself up as that particular messenger.
“Nothing new, really,” Marty said with frustration. “Could be the usual teen mood swing.”
“Or something happened at school,” Ethan guessed.
“Always a possibility,” Marty said. “But I have zero luck when it comes to getting her to open up. Teens can be notoriously tight-lipped, but Cass has raised the sullen silence to an art form.”
“Which is why she needs to be here this afternoon. It’s not just about going on a hike. It’s a chance for these kids to open up with other kids who’ll understand.”
“Ethan, I know that,” Marty said impatiently. “So does Cass. She says she won’t go. What am I supposed to do? Get my husband to drag her over there and leave her on your doorstep? Believe me, that holds a lot of appeal for me when she’s acting out, but it’s not up to you to deal with her moods or to fix this.”
“It may not be up to me, but I think I can help,” Ethan said. “Mind if I pick her up after school? I don’t think she’ll be able to say no if I’m right there.”
Marty hesitated. “Are you sure about this? She could be embarrassed in front of her friends. It could make things worse.”
“I can be diplomatic when I need to be,” he assured her. “I’m not going to toss her over my shoulder and haul her off, even if she behaves like a real brat.”
“I’d actually like to see you try that,” Marty said, her sense of humor kicking in. “Two stubborn wills colliding could be highly entertaining.”
Ethan thought of this dance he and Samantha were performing. Stubborn wills were playing a role in that, too, he conceded before snapping his attention back to the moment.
“So, it’s okay if I pick her up? If she refuses, I won’t cause a scene. I’ll let you know she’s heading home.”
“Thanks, Ethan. You really are a saint for putting up with Cass.”
“I’m not just ‘putting up with her.’ She’s a good kid. She just needs to remember that she still has a lot to offer the world.”
It was a lesson that had been a long time coming for him. In fact, it was one with which he still struggled from time to time, especially when it came to opening his heart. Just look at how determined he was to keep Samantha at arm’s length. It must be a hundred times harder for an insecure teen who’d just been figuring out her own identity when the accident happened.
* * *
With Debra, Pam and Greg keeping an eye on the other kids in Ethan’s program until he could get back, Ethan stood outside the high school and watched for Cass to emerge. It wasn’t hard to spot her.
While the other kids spilled out in chattering clusters, she exited alone, an angry expression on her face. Ethan suspected only he saw the desperate longing in her eyes as she surreptitiously glanced at her classmates.
When she spotted him, though, her frown deepened, but she didn’t turn away or try to avoid him.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded, confronting him belligerently.
“Waiting for you,” he said, falling into step beside her.
“I’m not going hiking, so you might as well take off.”
“You know that hiking, at least the way we do it, is nothing more than going for a walk, right?”
“Which makes it a dumb way to spend the afternoon,” she retorted.
“Not if you’re one of the kids who has trouble walking at all,” he reminded her.
“But I’m not,” she countered. “My legs are perfectly fine. It’s my arm that’s gone, remember? Or do you not see what’s right in front of you?” She waved the arm with her prosthesis to emphasize her point.
“Then today maybe you could help one of the kids who’s not as lucky. It might make you feel good to do something for someone else. You could push Trevor in his wheelchair, for instance.”
“Hello!” she said sarcastically. “One arm, remember?”
“And a perfectly good prosthesis on the other,” he said without any hint of sympathy. “Or haven’t you mastered it yet?”
She scowled at the suggestion that a lack of skill was behind her refusal to join the hike. “You know I have.”
He gave her a sly glance. “Then prove it.”
Cass heaved a sigh, clearly aware that she was going to lose in the end. Or maybe even wanting to participate, as long as she could do it grudgingly, as a favor to him. “Fine. I’ll come on the stupid hike. And I’ll push Trevor’s wheelchair so fast he’ll squeal like a little girl.”
Ethan bit back a grin. “Thank you. I’m sure he’ll appreciate your daredevil tendencies.” He gestured across the street. “My car’s right over there.”
“I should probably call my mom and tell her I changed my mind,” she told him.
“Good idea, though I told her I was going to try to convince you to come along this afternoon.”
After Cass made the call, Ethan waited until they were halfway to the clinic before asking casually, “So, anything new in your life these days?”
“I go to school. I go home. It’s not exactly material for a TV show.”
“No after-school activities that interest you?” he prodded,
