by Leann Harris
Tyler shoved his gloves into his back pocket. The pulse in his neck throbbed, but his voice didn’t reflect any panic. “I’ll check the corral behind the stables. Have you looked through each stall in the stable?”
“No. I’ll check them.” She raced back to the stables, praying they’d find the boy.
* * *
Tyler fought back the alarm gripping his heart. Fear never led to good results, as the Army had taught him. He needed a clear head. His military training came flooding back. He surveyed the corral behind the stables sprawling out before him. He found himself whispering a prayer under his breath. He figured that God wouldn’t be offended if he prayed for the boy.
There were two horses out in the corral, but no sign of Riley or Dogger. Thinking of his dog, some of his alarm eased. Dogger would take care of the kid. The dog’s instincts had saved Tyler in the field more than once.
He walked down the path to the river beyond the riding corrals, making his way along the path. There was no sign of the boy.
He spotted Zach and Sophie through the trees. “You see anything?”
“Nothing,” Zach called back. “You know how long he’s been missing?”
“I saw him sitting on that bench less than twenty minutes ago.”
“He can’t have gone far.” Zach stepped on a rock and his artificial leg folded under him. He caught himself on a tree branch.
Sophie’s face lost all color. “Are you okay?” she asked, putting her arm around his back.
Zach nodded.
Tyler appeared by Zach’s side. He didn’t offer his help, but was there if Zach needed anything. Zach pushed away from the tree and met Tyler’s gaze. Zach nodded his thanks.
“I think my dog’s with Riley,” Tyler said getting back to the subject. “He’ll take care of the kid.”
“How did this happen?” Sophie asked. “How could he have disappeared so quickly? I looked out the office window not ten minutes ago, and he was there, his frown firmly in place.”
Sophie glanced at Tyler, her embarrassment clear in her blush. “Ugh—sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Tyler reassured her. “It’s the truth. I’d hoped…” There was no point in explaining.
They turned and walked back to the stables. Tyler heard Beth’s voice floating outside through the open doors.
“There you are, Dogger. Have you taken up with your new friend?”
Tyler hurried into the dark interior of the building, dread riding him hard. He understood Riley’s heart, understood the fear and resentment the boy held on to as if it were a talisman. Riley hadn’t verbally said how he felt, but Tyler recognized the emotions coloring the boy’s eyes. And Tyler knew if Beth rained all over the kid, he’d retreat further into himself, where no one would be able to reach him.
Tyler strode down the center aisle like an avenging angel, ready to do battle to protect the boy. He scanned the area for Beth and Riley. He heard Beth, but didn’t see her.
“I missed you guarding that doorway,” she continued. “Then you went off, wandering around with Tyler’s friend.”
Her voice came from the second to last stall before the open double doors, leading to the back corral. He made it close enough to see the floor of the stall. Beth sat beside Dogger. Riley sat on the other side of the dog.
He opened his mouth, but Beth beat him. “You’ve got to be a great guy,” she told Riley as she scratched the dog’s head.
Riley glanced at her, his mouth hanging open.
“I told you Dogger’s might-y selective about his friends, and if he’s hanging with you, I’d say you have his seal of approval. Can you tell me your secret?”
The youth’s eyes widened.
“You see, I’ve got other kids coming here to ride, and I’m hoping that Dogger can help them as much as the horses do. You seem to have charmed him, so what’s your secret?”
Her question surprised Tyler as much as it did Riley. What happened next surprised Tyler even more. The boy smiled shyly and glanced at her. He shrugged his thin shoulders. “Don’t know.”
Beth scratched Dogger’s side and he rolled onto his back to give her better access to his belly. The dog did that with Tyler or Paul, but with the other guys in Tyler’s unit the dog never showed them that level of trust.
He heard another person enter the stables. Glancing over his shoulder, he spotted Zach. When Zach opened his mouth, Tyler shook his head.
“C’mon,” Beth urged. “Think about it. You’ve got a talent, so maybe you can share it with others.”
Riley reached out and rubbed Dogger’s stomach. One rub, then he snatched his hand back. “I let Dogger come to me.”
Beth nodded her head. “That makes sense. Come to think of it, I did that, too. I didn’t try to pet him at first, but let him think about it, and when he was ready, he approached me.” Beth’s smile brought light to this corner of the stables. “So, I’ll warn the kids to let Dogger approach them.” She rested her back against the wall. “Thank you for that insight.”
Another miracle occurred. Riley’s chest puffed out and he reached out again and rubbed Dogger’s stomach.
“How she does that I don’t know,” Zach whispered.
Tyler glanced at his friend. Zach motioned for Tyler to join him outside. The two men walked out into the sunlight.
“Does your sister do that often?” Tyler asked, impressed by how Beth had handled the exchange between Riley and herself.
Shaking his head, Zach laughed. “When we were growing up, she had a talent to read Ethan and me, then rat us out to my folks. Of course, when it came to the guys she dated, she was useless, but that may be the brother in me talking.”
Before Tyler could comment, Susan Carter rounded the corner of the office. “How’s it going?”
Tyler didn’t have the heart to explain about losing her son for a brief time. “I think we’ve made a little progress. My dog’s attached himself to Riley. And Riley smiled.”
“Really,” she whispered, relief lighting her face. Her gaze went from Tyler to Zach. He nodded the truth of Tyler’s statement. “Oh, I’ve prayed and prayed.”
Tyler swallowed. “Come with me and I’ll show you.”
* * *
“Are you upset?” Beth asked as she stopped by Tyler’s side. He was brushing down Charming. Susan and Riley had left close to a half hour ago.
His hand stilled on the horse’s flank. “What are you talking about?”
“Are you upset about me talking to Riley?” She craned her neck so she could see his eyes. Her head almost rested on Charming’s side. Tyler met her gaze.
“No.”
Oh, that male mind-set, say as little as you can to get yourself out of trouble. “Would you care to expand on that?”
He went back to brushing the horse.
She didn’t move, blocking his access to the horse’s front shoulder. She had two brothers and knew how to outwait a stubborn male, and she wanted an answer.
“What do you want me to say?”
Progress. “I saw that panicked look on your face when I was sitting with Riley. You looked like I was fixin’ to put my foot in it and scare the poor kid.”
He flushed. “You saw that?”
“I did.”
Shrugging, he gave Charming a final stroke, then put the brush on the shelf. “I knew from experience that the more you push with a boy that age, the further you push them away.”
Beth heard the pain in his voice, startling her. What had happened to this man that he could identify with Riley’s situation? “You’ve been there and done that.”
He remained silent for so long that she feared she’d pushed him too hard. “I’m s—”
“Yeah.”
<
br /> She knew this time to give the man room, but he surprised her.
“When I went into foster care, the social worker wanted me to spill my guts.” He untied Charming from the ring on the wall and led him back to his stall.
Beth stared after his retreating form. He starts to spill his guts and then walks away?
She hurried after him. “You can’t leave me hanging there. What happened?”
“Why do you care?”
If he’d slapped her, she couldn’t have been more startled. Instinctively, she stepped back. Scrambling to come up with an answer, she said, “I want to understand how to help Riley. You have an insight that will help me to help him.”
Tyler put Charming in his stall, then slipped the halter off of the horse’s head. He paused, studying her. “Makes sense. I ran through five foster care homes in two years. I think I held the record for that part of Oklahoma. I was known as a troublemaker until I got to the Olaskys.” His gaze turned inward. “They didn’t ask me to open up. They gave me the room I needed and respected me.” He gave a soft laugh. “But I got toted to church and that’s where the Lord got ahold of me. After that, I was willing to talk.”
Working hard not to show her surprise, Beth said, “You had some wise foster parents.”
He paused. “I did.”
“When was the last time you saw them? Are they still alive?”
His expression closed down. “They are still alive.”
It didn’t take a genius to realize she’d touched a raw nerve. The glacial change in him happened so fast it took her breath away. Redirect him.
“Well, I hope we made a breakthrough with Riley. Of course, it’s my experience that boys his age can change in an instant. Oh, I remember one time when I asked Ethan if I could borrow his western bolo tie to wear to the rodeo. He said yes. We watched him at the steer-wrestling competition that afternoon.” She remembered how the little calf had dragged her brother around the arena. “He was the only one who didn’t wrestle down his cow and he ate a lot of dirt. Well, after the rodeo, the first person he saw was me, wearing his tie. He pitched a fit and demanded his tie back there at the arena. So let’s pray that Riley will be feeling cheerful the next time we see him.”
Tyler tried not to smile, but her story broke the ice. “We’ll see.”
She took a deep breath, knowing she’d averted disaster. “I’ll check the horses on the other side of the row and make sure they have fresh hay.” Not waiting for his reply, she walked down the aisle.
Tyler had revealed another layer of himself and her heart whispered he was a good man. He’d slipped past the shield she’d erected around her heart. And oddly enough, that realization didn’t panic her.
* * *
Tyler snapped his fingers, calling for Dogger. The dog raced out of the stall and joined him at the door.
“What’s come over you, friend? Suddenly you’re Mr. Social, rolling over and letting anyone scratch your belly.”
“Are you expecting him to answer you?” Zach asked, walking up to the stables.
“I’ve gotta stop talking out loud.”
“Yeah, my sister can drive any male to talk to himself.”
Tyler threw a grin at his friend. “What I don’t understand is why Dogger’s decided to make friends with your sister and Riley. It’s put me off my stride, so why shouldn’t I expect him to answer me?” Tyler had discussed with Zach what he wanted to do with Riley. They both agreed that horses would benefit the boy.
Zach stepped to the fence enclosing the ring in front of the stables. He rested his forearms on the top rail. “This place changed me, so maybe Dogger’s following suit.”
Tyler joined him. “So I heard.”
With a laugh, Zach said, “That’s the trouble with sisters. They volunteer your secrets along with advice on how to fix things.”
Tyler tried to keep a straight face, but didn’t manage it. “That’s true.”
“When I came here, the first time I rode I tired myself out. Too much pride to tell anyone about my weakness, so when I got off Charming, I fell and my brother caught me. Afterward, Beth asked, ‘How do you feel?’” He shook his head. “I wanted to snarl ‘how do you think?’ but then I looked at that sincere face and knew I couldn’t dump on her.” He grinned and glanced at Tyler. “Of course, it was the stupidest question she’d ever asked.”
Tyler understood exactly how Zach felt. “I’ve got my share of stupid, too.”
Zach didn’t say anything for several minutes, but they looked out over the corrals and down the hill toward the setting sun. There was a stillness and a peacefulness here that called to Tyler’s soul.
“Beth might be pushy, but you know if it hadn’t been for her, I’d still be stewing in my pity. Of course, she doesn’t know when to mind her own business and back off. She means well and her heart is in the right place.” Zach pushed away from the fence. “You’ll just have to take her actions as trying to help. She’s dealt with me. Brace yourself, because it’s going to happen again. Ignore it.”
“Will ignoring her help?”
Zach’s mouth twitched. “No. And my brother Ethan can second me.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
As Zach walked away, Tyler didn’t know how he felt. So Beth wasn’t going to quit. It didn’t make sense, but Tyler was grateful Beth McClure wasn’t going to give up her fight.
Yeah, he was glad that little dynamo wouldn’t quit. Not only for Riley’s sake, but his. The thought unsettled him.
Walking up to the foreman’s house, Riley knew deep in his spirit that God had put her in his life.
He didn’t know how he felt about that, but he found himself smiling.
Tyler looked down at Dogger. “So what do you think? You like her, too?”
Dogger ran up the stairs and faced his master, his tongue out.
“You’re not going to answer until I feed you. Okay, chow, then I expect an answer.”
* * *
“I’m glad you stayed for dinner,” Sophie told Beth.
Both Zach and Beth cleared the dishes. Sophie put the leftover lasagna in a plastic container.
“Well, you twisted my arm until I yelled uncle.” Beth popped one of the cherry tomatoes in her mouth as she carried the remains of the salad to the kitchen.
Stepping to her side, Zach pulled a strand of her hair just as he had so often in the past when they were growing up. She could only thank God for restoring her brother after he lost his leg.
“What were you going to have, sis? A burger purchased in a drive-thru or a frozen dinner?” He wagged his brows.
She could act outraged or admit Zach had nailed it on the head. “If you must know, it was going to be a burger.”
Zach hugged her and glanced at Sophie. “Do I know my sister or what?”
Sophie shooed him away with her hands. “Go, before I let your sister smack you with one of the skillets.”
Grinning unrepentantly, he escaped into the living room and turned on the news.
Beth and Sophie worked together to clean up the kitchen.
“This reminds me of college,” Sophie said as she filled the sink with soapy water. She rubbed the small of her back.
“Go and sit. Or exchange places with my brother. You need to get off your feet.”
When Sophie didn’t argue, Beth knew she’d read her friend correctly. Sophie settled at the table and put her feet on a chair. “You remember that party we went to our sophomore year at Janelle’s apartment? And remember she got so sick on the chicken?”
The memory of that disastrous party flashed before Beth’s eyes. Janelle had brought some chicken from a local hole-in-the wall café and the stuff had given everyone food poisoning. Beth and Sophie were
the only two who stayed with the pizza and the only ones not moaning and throwing up. “That was bad.”
“And you remember your date got it, too.”
“Yeah, he turned green, heaved and left the apartment without any explanation.”
“Well, consider yourself lucky, ’cause my date, who was his roommate, if you remember, heaved on my shoes while telling me they were going home.” Once their dates split, Beth and Sophie were stuck at the apartment without a car. “We lucked out that Janelle lived close to the bus line that ran by our dorm.”
Sophie studied her and frowned. “You know.” Sophie cocked her head as if a revelation occurred to her. “There were always guys around you, but we all went together as a group. I can’t think of—”
Beth looked up from the sink. “Of what?”
Sophie’s eyes narrowed. “Of any man you dated more than once while we were in college.”
Putting the last dish in the drainer, Beth dried her hands. She settled across the table from Sophie. “I never found anyone who could live up to my standards. I have a wonderful, generous father who is perfect.”
“True. But you have a couple of brothers with flaws.”
“I won’t argue there.”
“But you never—”
The direction of this conversation made Beth uncomfortable. Back then, the lack of a boyfriend had been intentional. “You know, your pregnancy is making you want to mother everyone.”
Sophie leaned across the table and took Beth’s hand. “Be careful, friend. Remember, lots of our soldiers return to civilian life with baggage, and Tyler has his share.”
Beth jerked her hand away. “I know that. Remember who hauled Zach here.”
“True, but I see something in your eyes, Beth. Please be careful.”
Sophie’s comment cut too close to the truth. “Sophie, I understand the man has issues. I’m not sure he can carry on a conversation. I’ve only heard one-word answers or grunts.” Beth’s mind flashed to the conversations she’d had with Tyler. Those were exceptions, she told herself.