by Leann Harris
“But never himself.” The whispered words floated in her brain.
On the third time around the ring, he lifted the plastic saber and thrust it at the hula hoop.
He missed and his body tipped toward his right side.
She held her breath. Oh, Lord, help.
Zach fought for his balance. He pulled his right arm in and managed to settle himself in the center of the saddle.
He turned around and grinned at Sophie.
Suddenly she realized Zach had used his core muscles, abdominal muscles and thighs to right himself in the saddle.
Her eyes filled with moisture but she wouldn’t cry. She looked over at Beth and Ethan. From the looks on their faces, they also realized how much Zach had recovered.
Zach guided Prince Charming around for a second pass at the target. Zach raised the saber and rode toward the hula hoop. As he passed it, he thrust with his right hand. He didn’t get the sword through the hoop, but he kept his balance.
Zach rode around the ring again and tried for the third time. He made it.
Cheers went up from his siblings.
“That’s the prettiest thing I’ve seen in a long time,” the whispered words came from behind her.
Sophie glanced over her shoulder to meet Ollie’s gaze.
“I couldn’t agree more,” she replied.
“You’ve done good, girl. That boy’s on the mend.”
She wanted to ask him how he felt, but Ollie moved away.
Zach made several more passes at the target and got the saber in two of the three times. As he guided Prince Charming to the gate, Sophie could see the pride and joy in his face.
“I like your friend’s suggestion,” Zach said.
“When he told me about that last night, I had my doubts, but he knew what he was talking about.”
Zach patted Prince Charming on the neck. “And you did a great job, boy.”
Prince Charming nodded his head.
Sophie heard a car in the parking lot. After the car stopped, and the doors opened, a little boy called out, “Hey, Miss Sophie. I’m here.”
Sophie waved back. “I’m coming.” Turning, she looked up at Zach. “You did great.” She headed toward the stable office. She didn’t need to worry about putting Prince Charming back in his stall. Zach would take care of things. That was one less thing she had to do.
Zach did more than just fill a need at the ranch. He gave her a glimpse of what might be to have him here at the ranch—working by her side as a permanent member of the staff.
Beth and Ethan followed Zach as he walked Prince Charming back to his stall.
Ethan clamped Zach on the back. He didn’t say anything, but Zach knew his brother was proud. Things were beginning to come back into focus.
“I’d like to help with the chores, but Dad called before I got here. I’ve got to run some errands for him at the bank, and he wants it done this afternoon and doesn’t want to wait until Monday.”
“I understand.”
“Dad also asked when he and Mom could come down and watch you ride.”
Zach felt none of the panic that request would’ve brought a month ago, and he realized how far he’d come. Thank You, Lord, for bringing Sophie into my life.
Beth stood beside Ethan, her posture tight as if ready to leap in and smooth the situation.
“That’s not a problem. Any day they want to drive down will be fine.”
Beth relaxed. “They’ll be excited.”
With a final slap on Zach’s back, Ethan walked away. When Beth started to follow, Zach put his hand on her arm, stopping her. “You have a few minutes?” He waited.
“I have a meeting at three, but I’ve got time to talk,” she said.
Zach tied Prince Charming to the ring by his stable and unsaddled him. He put it on the saddle rest in Prince Charming’s stall.
Beth joined him with grooming the horse.
“This reminds me of when you and I had to work together for my 4-H project.”
He remembered the time when he was helping her with that particular venture. Beth had been in the eighth grade and he was in high school.
“What do you know about Sophie’s family?” Zach asked as he ran the curry brush over Prince Charming’s neck.
She paused and looked over the horse’s back. “What brought that on?”
“I’m curious about her family. I know that Mom and Dad have called daily, wanting to come and watch me, wanting progress reports. And I’ll admit, it’s driven me crazy, but I know they care. But since I’ve been working here, I’ve wondered about Sophie’s family.” Sophie had mentioned nothing of her family and he knew of no contact between them. He wondered at the silence.
“I can’t tell you much. Sophie didn’t talk about them much. They called a couple of times a year, but it was mostly her grandmother that she talked to. I got the feeling her mother and grandmother weren’t on good terms.
“She sometimes talked about her brother, Matt.” Beth continued to brush Prince Charming, but her strokes were automatic and her eyes took on a faraway look. “Oh, there was one time, her grandmother came to visit. Sophie was glad to see her and they spent the day together. But other than that, I can’t recall her family ever visiting.”
“And since Sophie didn’t go to the graduation ceremony, you didn’t see them at that time,” he added.
“It surprised me when Sophie told me she’d signed up for the army and was leaving after her last final exam for boot camp.” She shrugged. “When I asked her about graduation, she said it didn’t matter.”
That troubled Zach. His family had been a bulwark for him. He knew he could count on them no matter what happened. They were there cheering for him when he walked across the auditorium stage at Eastern New Mexico State. And they cheered when he got his commission in the army.
Even though his parents had a tough time dealing with his injuries, Zach never doubted for an instant that his parents loved him and supported him.
“Do you have any idea what the trouble between them was?”
“Yeah.” She set the curry brush on the table beside the stall. Running her hands along the side of Prince Charming, Beth seemed to debate with herself. Finally, she said, “It all revolved around her brother’s death. She never told me what it was, but I know that there was the problem.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“You’re sure of what?” Sophie asked, walking toward them.
Beth’s face lost all color. Her hand stilled on Prince Charming’s side.
“She’s sure she can’t stay the afternoon and help with the chores,” Zach smoothly supplied.
Beth’s head came up. “That’s right. I have a meeting—” she glanced at her watch “—in less than forty minutes at headquarters. I think I’ll have just enough time to drive downtown.” She kissed Zach’s cheek. “Good ride. And I think with a little practice, you’ll get the hang of the saber thing.”
She moved to Sophie and hugged her. “Thank you,” she whispered. When Beth pulled back, her smile quivered. “Bye.” Beth sprinted down the center of the stable and slipped out the open door beside the tack room.
“I was hoping you’d help with this new rider. One of my sidewalkers had a flat tire and won’t be here for another hour. Could you help?”
“Sure. I’ll put Prince Charming up and meet you at the mounting steps.”
Over the next forty minutes, Zach walked beside the new rider. The little girl spent the first ten minutes crying, then suddenly like flipping a switch she decided she loved to ride and she wanted to be the horse’s best friend.
When the sidewalker showed up, Zach let her take his place. His energy was spent.
Walking into the tack room, he sat on the stool by the front cabinet. A thousand different thoughts shot through his brain. Pride and excitement for his accomplishment flooded him. He had to laugh. Riding with a child’s light saber was one of the best moments he’d had in a long time. He
remembered doing that very exercise during his time in the mounted cavalry.
His smile slowly faded as he thought about Sophie. Ollie hadn’t told her about his cancer. The man needed to level with her ASAP. Zach wanted to warn Sophie, but he’d made Ollie a promise. If Sophie looked close enough, she’d see something wasn’t right with her old friend.
But the thing nagging at him the most was Sophie’s mysterious relationship with her family. Something wasn’t right. In all the time he’d been here, Sophie hadn’t mentioned her parents. Not once. And he didn’t think she’d gotten any calls or letters from them.
Why?
He felt a protectiveness rise up in him.
His stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten before he rode. Zach walked to the office and got himself a bottle of water and one of the cookies Sophie kept in the cabinet above the mini-fridge.
By the time he finished off the third cookie, Ollie walked in.
“How are you feeling?” Zach asked the older man.
“Like I’ve been stomped by a bull.” He raised his straw hat and ran his fingers through his steel-gray hair.
“Anything I can do for you?”
Ollie nodded toward the water. “Got another one of those?”
Zach grabbed another cold bottle of water and handed it to him. “Anything else I can do?”
“Nope, you’re doing it by keeping things going here. Sophie’s got enough to handle without me pouring more worry on it. I know that Margaret is out of the hospital, but she ain’t come home. I’m expecting trouble from her kids.”
“What kind of trouble?”
Ollie shrugged. “I think they might want us to stop giving lessons.”
Zach looked out the window and saw Sophie as she walked Brownie around the ring with a young girl on the horse’s back. The girl had a leg brace on her leg. Hinged at the knee, the brace had red-and-white stripes on it with blue stars.
“I think it might be time for Sophie and me to go out and have dinner.”
“I like your thinkin’, young man. And you can discuss more than ranching.” The old man’s eyebrows wiggled.
Was Zach that transparent?
“Take the worry off your face, boy. I was just teasin’ ya.”
Ollie may have said he was teasing, but Zach got the distinct feeling Ollie was all for some “sparking” between Sophie and him. “I’ll be sure not to call dinner a date. I’ll tell her that we can talk shop.”
Ollie grinned. “Good idea.”
“I still think you should tell Sophie what’s going on with you.”
All humor left Ollie’s face. “Not now.”
“She’s stronger than you think. If she was an army medic, she can handle a lot. I shudder to think of the things she saw. I know in quiet moments, I see too much.”
Ollie remained quiet for several moments. “I know she can, but why put that burden on her? I’ll fight this myself and won’t borrow her strength.”
“Ollie, haven’t you read in Ecclesiastes that a threefold cord isn’t quickly broken? With Sophie and my strength, we can help you.”
Ollie put his water down and joined Zach at the window. “That may be, but I just can’t tell her right now. Let’s see how I’m doing after my next chemo.”
Zach’s first impulse was to argue with Ollie, but he would honor the older man’s wishes. “It’s your call.”
Ollie nodded and walked out of the office. Zach followed. He had work to be done.
Chapter Seven
Sophie pulled the office door closed and put her key in the lock.
Friday night and what did she have planned? Going to the house and nuking another frozen dinner. Pretty pathetic. Wanting to avoid the empty house and kitchen, she decided to check the stock before she called it a night.
Walking into the stables, she heard Zach’s voice.
“You did a nice job out there, boy. You would’ve made a great cavalry horse. I think the Union soldiers would’ve loved to have ridden you into any battle against the Indians out here.”
“He’s probably not going to answer you.”
Zach turned and shrugged a sheepish smile on his lips.
“When I was in Iraq, our shrink kept a puppy that had wandered into camp one day. That little ball of fur got so many GIs to come in and just talk, vent their feelings or just relax. Amazing what an animal can do.” She leaned her forearms against the half wall of the stall and studied Prince Charming. “I talk to my horses all the time. They know all my secrets.” She turned her head. “You think Prince Charming knows what you’re saying?”
“I don’t know, but I’ve gotten a lot of head-bobbing and agreeing.”
Sophie laughed. “And I’m sure he didn’t talk back.”
“You’d be surprised how much Prince Charming lets me know when he’s not happy.”
“That I don’t doubt.”
Zach patted Prince Charming on the neck. “Instead of me talking to this handsome devil, why don’t I talk to you about how things are running?”
What was he asking? “Sure.”
“I thought we might do it over dinner.”
“If you’re up to a frozen dinner, sure.”
His laughter rolled through the stables. “If I want to talk, then I should spring for the food. How about we eat Mexican? You know any good places out here?”
“Yup.”
“Okay, why don’t I drive us there and we have dinner?”
Sophie’s heart beat faster. “Okay. But let me follow you in my car, that way you won’t have to come back here.”
“No can do. I want to show you how much my leg has improved by showing off my driving skill. If you’re in another car, you can’t see that.”
His request surprised her. “Okay. Let me finish looking at all the horses, then we can go.”
Zach’s satisfied smile made her wonder if this dinner was more than a business meeting. She could only hope.
Mama Juanita’s Kitchen was a small house turned into a restaurant on the southeastern outskirts of Albuquerque. The large corner lot covered in gravel and dirt was filled with cars. An overflow of vehicles parked on the street and in the alley. Zach found a spot behind the house next to the big industrial trash bin.
The wonderful smell of chilies, beans and mouth-watering spices wafted out the front door. Sophie’s stomach rumbled and her mouth watered. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”
“You’ve put in a long day.” His stomach rumbled, too. “So have I. Those cookies I snatched out of the office weren’t enough.”
“Especially for a growing boy like you.”
Zach grinned and wagged his brows.
They stopped by the greeter and before the woman could open her mouth, a voice from the back of the room called out. “Ah, chica, it is good to see you.”
Sophie turned to the voice. Juanita Espinosa hurried to the front of the room and wrapped her arms around Sophie. Sophie towered over the short, round woman. With her salt-and-pepper hair pulled back into a bun and her ready smile, too many people thought Juanita was an easygoing happy woman who could be walked over. It didn’t take them long to realize their mistake.
When Juanita let her go, she looked up at Zach.
“Who is this? Have you finally got a man in your life?” Juanita grinned.
Blood rushed to Sophie’s cheeks. “Zach is helping out at the ranch while Margaret is gone.”
“How is Margaret? I called the hospital, but they tell me she isn’t there.”
Juanita and Margaret had known each other for twenty years. Often, Margaret and Sophie would treat themselves and have dinner here. The three women would laugh and trade stories. Juanita and Margaret would often swap stories of their errant children and would ask to hear about Sophie’s experiences in the army. In an odd sort of way, Sophie had become their adoptive child.
Sophie slipped her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. “Austin put her in an extended-stay home for therapy.”
“
That boy,” Juanita exclaimed. “He needs someone to grab him by the ear and sit him down and give him a good talking-to. That daughter who is still here—” She shook her head. “The only good child she had moved to Oregon.
“Come. I’ve got a special seat for you at the back. I’ll come and join you when I can.”
They wound their way through the tables to the back corner. A lit candle provided most of the light for the table.
“Sit and I’ll tell your waiter to bring you the special.” She disappeared into the kitchen.
“I don’t get a menu?” Zach asked.
“You can have one if you want one, but I’ll guarantee you that you’re going to want her special.”
He leaned back and studied her. After a moment, he nodded. “I’ll trust you.”
Oddly enough, she knew he’d been trusting her for the past couple of weeks. His recovery had been near miraculous. “You won’t be disappointed.”
“I haven’t been so far.”
Her brows wrinkled. “Meaning?”
“You’ve been right about therapy and riding. If you say ‘the special’ is something I’ll like, I’ll believe you.”
Suddenly dinner seemed like a date. And her stomach decided to keep tempo with the upbeat music playing in the background. Her brain went blank and her tongue seemed to swell.
A waiter showed up with two glasses of iced tea and a bowl of fried corn tortilla chips and salsa. She snatched up a chip, dipped it into the salsa and popped it into her mouth.
The chip went down the wrong way and she started to choke. Instantly, Zach’s hand slapped her on the back. The chip dislodged and went down. She grabbed her tea and took a drink.
“Thanks,” she croaked.
“No problem. Is the salsa that good?”
Smiling through her embarrassment, she nodded. “It is. It’s just the chip went down the wrong way.”