She frowned.“As much as I love this island, there is definitely a polarized mentality regarding parenting here.The McEvoy kids experienced some bullying last year too.Bennett’s daughter, Aya, kept getting hauled to Otto’s office for defending her cousins and standing up to a bully.Some parents just don’t want to parent.They don’t want to tell their children no.Or set boundaries.”
“It’s not even that,” I argued.“It’s about raising them to bekind.To be considerate and empathetic.To remember that we’re all on this earth together.It’s not one person on the pitch; it’s a team.”
Her smirk was so sexy.“Did you just turn that into a soccer metaphor?”
“No.I turned it into afootballmetaphor.”
Her eyes sparkled, even though it was overcast and a little chilly.
“Gabrielle wants you to come over on Sunday for Easter dinner.”
I shook my head.“I’m sorry, I can’t.Easter is very sacred to Italians.I must return to the Vatican to kiss the Pope’s ring.It’s my annual pilgrimage.”
The way she looked at me, like she couldn’t quite tell if I was being serious or joking, was exactly the break in her tension I was hoping for.She was stressed out over her daughter, and while I wasn’t trying to make light of the situation or change the subject, I also knew she needed a bit of a reset to her nerves.
“You’re … you’re kidding, right?”
“No.”Then I grinned.
She stepped away and swatted my chest, rolling her eyes.“Cheeky ass.You’re coming?”
“Yes, I will come.”
How could I refuse this woman at all?Especially when she smiled at me the way she was right now?I reached for her hand and tugged her toward the barn door.“You go tend to Mouse.I’m going to go speak with Sam for a sec.”
Curiosity burned in her hazel-green eyes, but she didn’t say anything, rather, she let go of my hand when she reached Mouse’s stall, and greeted “her” horse.Because we’d both agreed that Mouse was Danica’s horse now.She rode Mouse every day, and Mouse followed Danica around the field if she wasn’t riding her.They were bonded, and neither Danica nor I was upset about it.
A small sniffle came from Midnight and Raven’s stall, so I approached with caution.“Samantha?”I said softly, opening the stall door to find the little girl sitting on the stall floor in the corner with Raven’s head bent toward her lap.Sam had her forehead against Raven’s and was stroking her cheek.Midnight was curious about what was going on, but he kept going back to try to bite Raven’s tail.
Raven lifted her big head my way and glanced at me, then faced Sam again.
I slid down onto my butt beside Sam.
Bending my knees, I rested my forearms on them and studied the ground in front of me while tuning into what kind of emotions she might be feeling and how I could best support her.Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see that she still had her eyes closed.Her chin trembled a little though and I could tell by the way her fists were bunched in her lap that she was doing her very best to hold it all together.
Leaning my head against the stall, I sighed.“I was bullied.”
She opened her eyes and cast one my way for a moment.“Yeah?”
I nodded.“For a long time in school.The kids—one boy, Guido—was particularly cruel.”
“Was it because of your anxiety?”she whispered.
“No.I almost think my anxiety developedbecauseof him.Or at least, he triggered it in me.I was not an anxious child until I switched schools.I was very good at soccer and was recruited young to an academy—near my town.I traveled every day by bus for an hour because my parents could not afford to house me on campus.Guido was there.And he came from a very wealthy family.My family was not wealthy.My parents owned a textile shop.My sister and her husband now run it.Anyway, we did not have a lot of money.And Guido knew that.He made fun of my clothes.He looked for every little thing I did wrong, or that was different about me, and exploited it.He made my life … hell.”
She glanced at me again, and a single tear slid down the crease of her nose, landing on her denim pant leg.“I’m sorry that happened to you.”
“Grazie.I tell you this not to say that it will get better.Or just to lead your life with your chin to the sky because bullies do not prosper.Some of them do.Guido was recruited by Manchester United in the UK and went on to have a very successful soccer career.Possibly more successful than mine.”
Her brows bunched.“Okay …”
“I will tell you this though … nobody likes him.He might be good at football, but the world sees him for the terrible person that he is.He never married and never had children.His relationships were all over the tabloids.Women accused him all the time of cheating and being cruel.His parents have both died, and his siblings don’t speak to him.He is booed when he goes out in public.Even though he brought the team a lot of success, the world knows him for what he truly is, and that’s a bully.And abadperson.”
Raven swung her head toward me and tried to gently play with my hair with her lips for a moment, almost grooming me, before returning to Sam.I gave the sweet mare a quick scratch on the ears.
“I’m telling you this because while it issohard right now, and Clyde is being a horrible person, unless he changes who he is, the worldwillsee the real him.And being hated by the world is not good for big egos.Guido is an unhappy man.He has been arrested for drinking and driving, for sexual harassment, and for harassing waitstaff.He has forced airplanes to be grounded before their destination because he was aggressive to the cabin crew.He is unhappy.Hated and alone.”
“Do you take comfort in that?”
