I fought off a yawn, but failed miserably, and located my jacket, slinging it over my arm.My eyes slid to Angel, and my heart grew heavy.Entering the stall again, I crouched down beside her head and swept my hand over her forehead.“You were strong for him.I hope you’re at peace, sweet mama.We’ve got him now.”
Who is this “we” again?
Then I leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to her head, and then swept my hand over Midnight’s ears, but he was too busy guzzling to give me any acknowledgment.“I’ll see you … soon,” I said to Tom.“I’m sure Sam will want to see him.”
He nodded.“Bring her by after school if you’d like.Cameron will be here with Francesca.”
Knowing I was going to see him again and soon, brought me way too much joy than it should have, and I had to temper my smile.“Okay.I will.”
“Ciao, Danica.Thank you again.”
“Ciao, Tommaso.Thank you.”Then I headed out of the stall and down the barn, simply waving at the horses and donkeys that hung their heads over the stalls, eager for some love.
I would see them later.
I would seehimlater.
Since I didn’t get a call from the school to go pick up Sam early, I figured that was a good sign, and that she’d had a better day.
Such was not the case.
She rode the bus home with her cousins, but every stomp up the stairs to our carriage house seemed heavier than the last.I knew something wasn’t right before the door even opened.
I saved my work on the computer and met her in the living room.“What happened?”
The way she glanced up at me, with her chin down, eyes tipped up, reminded me so much of her father that goosebumps chased their way along my arms, and I had to stop myself from taking a step back.“What do youthinkhappened?Clyde.Of course.”
Sucking in a deep breath through my nose, I stepped forward and removed her backpack from her shoulders, then helped her slouch out of her jacket.“What did he do now?”
She growled and bunched her fists at her side, her complexion going from pristine peaches and cream to a scary, mottled red.
Resting my hands on her shoulders, I applied a bit of pressure to help ground her in the moment.“Breathe, Samantha.Breathe.It won’t do either of us any good if you pass out.”
She’d squeezed her eyes shut, but opened them, exhaled, and let her shoulders relax.“First, he pulled my chair out just as I was about to sit down, and then I fell on my butt—hard.”
“What the hell?”
“Then he unzipped all the zippers on my backpack as we stood waiting for the bus.So then everything fell out and into a puddle as I walked to get on the bus.Mr.Figgs was nice enough to wait for me, and Honor and Laurel helped me pick it all up.But my lunch kit, binder, and the book I had just checked out from the library are soaking wet and muddy.”
I clenched my molars together, waiting for her to add the last bit.I could tell the pièce de résistance was just around the corner.
“Then he sat behind me on the bus and put gum in my hair.”She turned around.“See!”
I inhaled a lungful of air, counted to ten in my head, and channeled all sixty minutes of the one and only yoga class I had ever taken.Surely, I had to feel a few minutes of Zen in between stretching my body in ways it didn’t want to be stretched.“Is that it?”
She nodded, and her bottom lip wobbled as tears welled up in her eyes.“I hate him so much, Mom.”
“Me too, sweetheart.Me too.But right now, we have to get that gum out.Here.Let’s get the peanut butter.Then, we’re going to go to Tom’s to see the new nurse mare and check how Midnight is coming along.”
I was gently guiding her to the kitchen, but she stopped in her tracks.“Nurse mare?Did Angel die?”
“Oh shit.”Taking her hands, I gave them a squeeze.“I’m so sorry, honey.Yes, last night.Justine gave her something for the pain, and we were there with her.So was Midnight.She didn’t die alone.She died with her little boy curled up beside her, feeling every bit of her love.And I got some goats’ milk from Fred Love to tide us over, but it’s not a permanent solution.We need a mare.”
We?
Once is an accident, twice a mistake.Three times?Is it becoming a habit?
“A-and Tom found one?”
