“I think you’ve gotten more out of this than anyone. Since you’ve met Madi, you have changed. You’re happier.” Abbey had opened her mouth to protest when her friend hurriedly continued. “Not that you were moping around. This past year you’ve come a long way. Helping people has done wonders for you.”
“Yeah, instead of focusing on my problems, I’m enjoying helping people solve theirs.” Abbey put the cake down on a table she had set up in an empty stall that Chad had cleaned out for the food. “I think I’ll have Chad come clean my house. This looks spotless.”
“Where is the foreman?” Emma began emptying the bags of food. “I’m gonna need help with the cooler of soft drinks.”
“He’ll be here soon. He’s dressing up in his costume.”
“As what?”
“A clown.”
Emma laughed. “Does he do balloon animals?”
“No, trick riding. He offered to be the entertainment.”
“You seem at home here.”
Abbey straightened from stuffing the empty sacks under the table and looked at Emma. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“You care about Madi—”
“Of course.”
“And Dominic. I haven’t seen you like this in... I’ve never seen you like this.”
Abbey leaned against the wall of the stall. “Meaning?”
“You’re falling in love.”
“With Madi, yes.”
“And Dominic?”
“I don’t know. I’m confused. When he kisses me—”
“Hey, you never told me he kissed you.” Emma lifted her hand for Abbey to high-five it. “You’re getting back in the saddle, as they say.”
“A kiss doesn’t mean I love him, and it certainly doesn’t mean he loves me.”
“You didn’t see him looking at you at the barbecue last week.”
“He was looking at me?”
“Yes, when you were in the petting area, he stood at the fence and watched you interact with Madi and the other kids.”
A flush suffused Abbey’s face. How had she missed that? “He was looking at his sister.”
“No. He was looking at you.”
Flustered, Abbey busied herself by taking the chips out of the bag and putting them in a bowl. “I’m mixed up and don’t want to make a mistake. It would probably be best if we remained friends only.”
“If you can manage that, congratulations. It’s hard being around someone you’re attracted to and act as if you’re not.”
“Sounds like you speak from experience.”
“It was a long time ago.”
Abbey checked her watch. “We need to hurry. The guests will be here in forty minutes, and we need to lay out the food, get the drinks, and then put up the decorations where she can’t see them when she first comes into the barn.”
As Abbey went about making this the perfect birthday party for Madi, she couldn’t shake thoughts of Dominic from her mind. His second kiss had plagued her even more than the first one had. Emma might be right. How could she be around Dominic and pretend not to care about him?
* * *
“Since it’s my birthday, I think we should go out to dinner and ask Abbey to come along,” Madi said from the backseat in the SUV.
“Oh, you do, do you?” Dominic turned into the driveway that led to the ranch house.
“Yep. She’s done a lot for us. She brought me Cottonball and let me borrow Gabe. You like her, don’t ’cha?”
Like was too mild a word for what was happening between him and Abbey. “Well, sure. You’re right, she has been a good friend to us.”
“Then you agree? Call her when we get home and ask her out.”
Like a date? No, he was sure Madi didn’t mean it that way. What would she know about dating? She was only nine years old.
“I know she doesn’t have plans this evening.”
“How?”
“I asked her yesterday when we went to see the people at Shady Oaks.”
“First, I thought we would go to the barn and see Spice. You haven’t gone for a couple of days with all the physical therapy you’ve had plus your schoolwork.”
“We’ll do that after you call Abbey.”
He looked in the rearview mirror. “Why is this so important to you? I had Chad bring Spice in from the pasture. She’ll be waiting for you.”
“She can wait. You shouldn’t ask someone at the last moment to go out to dinner.”
He parked in front of the house and twisted around. “Where in the world did you hear that?”
“Brandy. She has an older brother who dates a girl and knows all about this.”
“But this isn’t a date.”
“Yes, it is. We’re going out to dinner,” she said with intensity. “We’ll go to a restaurant, and you’ll pay for it.”
“Okay, it’s a date. Now what’s this about?”
“Nothing. Dinner.” Madi stared at her lap for a long moment, then opened the car door. “Let’s call her now, and then we’ll go to the barn.”
“I thought you wanted to see Spice. You told me so at the mall.”
“I do. You’re not supposed to be difficult on my birthday.”
Dominic climbed from the SUV, went to the back and let the electric wheelchair down from the platform attached to the car’s rear. Then he went to get Madi. After she was settled, he pulled out his cell phone and punched in Abbey’s number.
“Dominic, what’s wrong? I saw you all driving up to the house. Everything is set down here at the barn.”
He strolled a few feet away from his sister. “Would you like to go to dinner tonight?” he asked as Madi watched him.
“Tonight? It’s Madi’s birthday. What’s this about?”
Turning his back on his sister, he lowered his voice. “Madi thought you would like to go out with us tonight.”
“Well, why didn’t you say that?”
“Because I think she is trying to set us up and she is staring right at me.”
The whine of the electric motor came nearer to him. He glanced at Madi, who was now only two feet from him. “I’ll see you at seven then,” he said in a louder voice.
Abbey chuckled and disconnected.
“Well, what did she say? Why were you whispering?”
“She’ll go with us. Where do you want to go?”
“To Andre’s.”
The most expensive restaurant in town. “How do you know about that place?”
“Dad used to take Mom there.”
“You need reservations for it.”
“Mrs. Ponder made some two days ago.”
“What is this? A conspiracy?”
Madi swung her chair around and started for the barn. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
For a few seconds he watched his sister drive away in her wheelchair, stunned that this had been planned out. What was she up to? He intended to find out. With a shake of his head, he jogged to catch up with her.
* * *
“Was that Dominic?” Emma asked as she and Abbey ducked behind a stall door.
“Yeah, he asked me to go to dinner with Madi and him tonight.”
“Good. It’s about time he made his move.”
“It wasn’t his idea. I have a feeling Madi is behind the invitation.”
“Sure. It’s her birthday. He wouldn’t ask you out on a date on her birthday.”
Abbey shot her friend a look. “Quit trying to make this into something it isn’t.”
Emma put her finger over her mouth. “Shh. I hear the wheelchair.”
As the sound came closer, Abbey peeked through the slats of the stall door. Madi appeared in the entrance into the barn.
Abbey popped up with Emma following. “Surprise! Happy birthday, Madi!” She pulled the rope that held a large banner over the back double doors.
The rest of the guests jumped up and spilled out of the stalls, clapping and shouting, “Happy birthday!”
Madi’s eyes widened, and her cheeks reddened. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
“We caught Madi speechless. That’s got to be a first.” Brandy smiled from ear to ear.
“You threw me a surprise party,” Madi finally said, tears shining in her eyes fastened on Dominic.
“With a lot of help from Abbey. My job was getting the list of guests to invite and to make sure you were away from the ranch.”
“And you did a great job.” Abbey came up and gave Madi a hug.
“So when he called you, you were in the barn?” Madi laughed.
“Yup.”
The child scanned the area with all the streamers and banners released. She stared up at the ceiling where a net hung with brightly colored balloons in it. “I can’t believe you did all of this.”
“It was fun.” Abbey stepped back from Madi to let her friends crowd around her. For a few seconds she thought about Lisa and how she would have enjoyed a party like this. Emotions lumped in her throat, and she turned away.
“You okay?” Dominic whispered in her ear.
“Just thinking about my daughter. She loved animals. This would have been the perfect birthday party for her.”
He settled his hand on her shoulder. “I can’t imagine losing a child.”
She was not going to let anything stand in the way of Madi having the best birthday ever. She pushed the melancholy feelings away, then waded through the group of girls to Madi. “You think this is neat. Just wait. Everyone, let’s go out into the corral behind the barn. I have a surprise.”
“Another one?” Madi’s grin dominated her face as she pushed her wheelchair knob to go forward.
“What is the entertainment?” Dominic asked as he strolled next to Abbey.
“First, Chad is going to do some trick riding, then the girls are all going to ride, including Madi with Greta’s help, unless you say no.”
“The doctor said it was okay?”
“Yes, Greta checked with him.” She slid a glance toward him. “I would have said something earlier except Greta didn’t talk to Madi’s doctor until this morning. I wouldn’t have even thought about it except yesterday Greta thought Madi was ready.”
“I can’t imagine a better present to give her today.”
“Neither can I. Although she has a ton of gifts from her friends.” Abbey pointed toward the table outside with all the presents stacked on it.
Emma opened the gate to the corral, and the girls filed inside and found seats on some benches that Chad and the hired hands brought into the enclosure.
Abbey moved to the center of the corral and whistled to get the children’s attention. They all quieted down, girls sitting on each side of Madi.
“Every rodeo has a clown, so today we are going to put on our rodeo with our own rules and competition. I want to introduce Red Calhoun. He’s going to show us some tricks. Then you all get your turn to ride.”
Cheers went up when Chad “Red” Calhoun came into the corral riding a black horse. Thick, curly red hair stuck out from under a black cowboy hat. A large red nose rivaling Rudolph the Reindeer’s almost obscured his white face and big red-lipped smile.
“Happy birthday, Madi.” Chad tipped his black cowboy hat. “In my younger days I used to be a rodeo clown. For Madi I dusted off this outfit. All these tricks are not to be tried by you kids. I’ve had many years of training to do them.”
Chad began riding his horse around the perimeter, the gelding going faster and faster. When he did a shoulder stand on the side of the horse, Abbey gasped along with all the girls.
“I never knew he could do this.” Dominic joined the clapping as Chad removed his right foot from the stirrup and stood up on the left one as he kicked his right leg up into the air.
“When he said he’d do tricks, I thought it was going to be the horse pawing the ground, bowing. Things like that. Not this. I’m impressed.” Abbey peered at the huge smiles on all the girls’ faces.
Chad ended the show by riding around the corral standing up on the saddle, holding the reins. He brought his horse to a halt several feet from the girls, jumped from the gelding’s back and took a bow. The kids rushed to him, Madi right in the middle of the group. All of them were asking questions at the same time.
Abbey walked to them, stuck her two fingers into her mouth and blew a loud whistle. The kids stopped talking and turned toward her. “Red Calhoun would love to answer your questions, but raise your hand and let him call on you.”
He started with Madi. “Can I do that one day?”
Dominic’s eyes grew round. “I can answer that. No.”
Madi pouted. “But I’m a good rider.”
“It takes years and years of practice to do what I did. Like I said, this is not something you can do without a lot of lessons and practice.” Chad looked from one girl to the next as they nodded their heads.
“When do we get to ride?” Brandy asked, hopping from one foot to the other.
“Right now,” Chad gestured toward the gate, where a hired hand held Spice’s reins. Behind them were other men leading horses—eleven in all—into the corral.
Madi’s forehead wrinkled.
Dominic made his way to her and leaned down. “You get to ride, too, with Greta’s help.”
His sister's face lit up. “Really?”
“Yes, the doctor said it was okay.”
Madi threw her arms around his neck. “I’ve got the best brother ever. Thank you.”
Dominic looked over his shoulder at Abbey, his eyes soft. “It was all Abbey’s idea.”
Abbey smiled as she joined them, while each of Madi’s guests was given a horse.
Greta approached with Spice. “Are you ready to get on your horse?”
“Yes, yes!”
While Dominic and Greta set Madi on top of Spice, Abbey held the reins, stroking the mare’s nose.
When Madi settled on the horse, she beamed. “I can’t believe I’m on Spice.” Tears ran down her face.
Abbey gave her the reins. “Before long you’ll be walking again, too.”
“Thank you, Abbey.”
Greta strode next to Madi as she rode around the corral. The other girls cheered and encouraged her, then began following Madi and Spice.
“All these months have been worth it to see Madi’s face when she sat on Spice again.” Dominic’s thick voice cracked.
“I know.” Love swelled inside Abbey as she watched.
Dominic clasped her hand and stepped back by the benches while the children rode around, getting used to their mounts. He swallowed hard. “Thank you. I wouldn’t have thought of any of this. My idea of a birthday party would be getting a cake and singing happy birthday while she blows out the candles.”
“We’ll be having that, too. Later. After the games.”
“You’ve thought of everything.”
“I hope so. I want today to be perfect.”
After all Madi had been through, she deserved a perfect day, Abbey thought. Feeling Dominic’s hand still cradling hers was just about perfect, too.
* * *
“I can’t believe that Brandy and Leah are coming over next weekend. Greta is going to be here, too. We’ll get to ride again.” Madi waved to Brandy as she drove away with her mom after the party. “I felt almost normal today on Spice.”
“Kiddo, you are normal.” Dominic ruffled his sister’s hair.
“You
know what I mean. Where’s Abbey? I’m gonna see if she can come over and ride with us.”
“How about me?”
Madi grinned. “You, too.” She cuddled Cottonball against her. “I can’t wait until I can do it by myself.”
“Hold on there. One step at a time. And you are to do only what Greta or the doctor says.”
Madi’s mouth flattened out. “You worry too much.”
Dominic spied Abbey and Emma coming toward them. “That’s my job as your big brother.”
He noticed Abbey talking to Emma. Abbey’s whole face lit with her emotions, from happiness to sadness. Earlier today, he’d hated seeing that grief in her eyes when she talked about her daughter.
After saying goodbye to Emma, Abbey joined them. “Chad and the other guys are taking care of cleanup. If I baked, I would bake them a cake. Instead, I’ll buy them one.”
“You don’t bake?” Dominic couldn’t imagine there was anything she couldn’t do. She’d come in and taken over his life and the ranch. She’d even won over Mrs. Ponder, who was much more civil lately.
“Not as good as a bakery, and I want the best for your ranch hands. They made everyone feel so special.” Abbey’s gaze fell on Madi. “What time is dinner tonight? Will I have time to go home and get this dust off me?”
Madi shifted her look from Abbey to Dominic. “Seven.” Then she yawned. “I think it’s going to be an early night for me. Why don’t you two go to dinner without me? I’ll probably go to sleep by eight.”
“No, if you can’t come, we can go another night,” Abbey said.
Another huge yawn escaped from Madi. “Nope. The reservations were hard to get. Mrs. Ponder knows someone who works there. That’s why we got one for tonight. I don’t want to waste the reservation. Go without me. Really.”
Dominic narrowed his eyes. “What’s going on here?”
“Nothing.” Madi turned her wheelchair around, then over her shoulder she continued, “I’ll be upset if you don’t go tonight. Remember it’s my birthday and I get anything I want. And I want you to have dinner with Abbey.”
Madi left them standing on the driveway watching her disappear inside the house.
Dominic shook his head. “You can’t accuse my sister of being too subtle.”
Healing Hearts Page 16