Читать книгу Second Chance Ranch - Leann Harris - Страница 11

After they finished putting the horses in their stalls, they walked to the stable’s office.

“When would you like to start?” Sophie asked, collapsing into her chair.

He settled in the chair beside the desk. “Work me around the other therapy sessions.”

“How about tomorrow morning?”

Zach leaned back in his chair and laughed. “You’re not going to let me chicken out, are you?”

Sophie felt the heat in her cheeks as she blushed. “That’s what the army taught me. You get permission, you act.”

“How long were you in theater?”

His question caught her by surprise. “I did a full tour there, plus my tour was extended twice. I was all over Iraq, but mostly around Baghdad and Fallujah.”

He nodded. “Summer’s a killer.”

“You want to start tomorrow?” she pressed, refusing to be diverted.

“Fine. Tomorrow it is. What time?”

She glanced at the schedule. “8:00 a.m. We’ll do it before any other appointments.”

He studied her. “I’ll be here.”

Her tension melted away.

“You need a ride home?” Sophie asked going to the door.

“I’ll just call for a taxi.”

She shook her head. “No. I’ll drive you home.”

He opened his mouth, then closed it, stood and joined her at the door. “So you had a crush on me in college,” he said, his voice full of mirth.

Sophie’s hand froze on the key in the office door. Zach leaned his shoulder against the building, his body filling her vision. He arched his brow as he waited.

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

He lifted one shoulder. “The last thing Beth whispered in my ear before we emerged from the breezeway earlier today was that you had a crush on me while you were in college.”

She was going to kill Beth. “I think maybe your sister tried to appeal to your masculine ego. If you knew that I found you attractive, you might be more willing to—”

“You think I’m handsome?”

He wanted to provoke her. She pulled the key from the door. “I’m going to plead the Fifth.”

His satisfied grin told her that he understood she hadn’t answered the question. He fell into step beside her.

One car stood in the parking lot. Hers. As they approached it, a truck pulled up in front of them.

Zach laughed. “My sister called in the cavalry.”

“She called the army?” Sophie asked, totally confused.

“No. She called my brother, Ethan.”

Ethan was Zach’s older brother. When they were in college, Beth told her about the adventures of her two older brothers. They had tolerated a younger sister until she turned thirteen and started attracting male attention. Much to Beth’s chagrin, her brothers decided to be her guardians and ran off more boys than Beth could count. It wasn’t until she was at the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque that she had her first serious boyfriend.

The truck door opened and Ethan got out and came around the front of the truck. “Hey, bro, Beth sent me to pick you up. She said you were kinda prickly.” Ethan grinned, wagging his brows. Sophie choked on a cough.

“So she chickened out, did she?” Zach remarked.

Ethan laughed. “No one said Bethie was stupid. A royal pain, yes, but she knows how to save her own skin.”

A smile spread across Zach’s face and he shook his head. “I assume you agree with her that I needed to get off my backside and start living again.”

Ethan crossed his arms and leaned back against the front fender. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

The strong family resemblance between the brothers made one look twice. Ethan and Zach could’ve been twins. Zach was an inch or so shorter than his brother, and his eyes were blue while Ethan’s were gray. But both men were handsome, with dark hair, strong cheeks and full mouths. Ethan grinned easily. Zach didn’t.

Apparently, Beth wasn’t the only McClure sibling who wanted to help Zach. Interesting.

“Well, I’m glad that you feel that way. I’m going to have my first session tomorrow morning at eight.”

Ethan jerked up straight. “Really?”

“That’s right, and I’ll need someone to help in the session, won’t I?” Zach directed the last question at Sophie.

“Huh, yes.” Zach’s question surprised her, but if he wanted his brother to be the sidewalker, she’d welcome the help. “Since both of you are horse people, I think that Ethan should do fine. I’ll have another sidewalker here, but I’d love to have Ethan work with us.”

Without any hesitation, Ethan answered, “I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”

“Then it’s set.”

“I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

It took a few moments for Zach to maneuver himself into the passenger side of the truck. He jerked the door closed, rolled the window down and rested his arm on it. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Sophie.”

“Be prepared to work, Zach.”

“I’ll be ready.”

Alleluia, there was hope. “See you tomorrow.”

She stood watching the truck disappear down the road.

Lord, I see the open door and I’ll walk through it, but could it have been with someone else? Someone else who hadn’t captured my heart and left it in jail.

“Have I been that much of a pain?” Zach asked his brother.

“Well, let me put it this way. I’ve been tempted to punch you. My prayer life has certainly increased, little brother.”

Zach knew his brother was at the end of his rope. He got called “little brother” only when he was in major trouble.

“I’ve been that much of a jerk?”

Ethan glanced at him. “Yeah.”

This afternoon had torn away the apathy Zach had wrapped himself in. When he woke in Walter Reed Army Hospital and looked at what was left of his leg, he wanted to shout and throw things. He’d reached for the bedpan, but the guy in the next bed stopped him.

“Go ahead and throw it. It won’t change anything.”

When Zach looked over at the guy, he was minus both of his legs and his left hand and forearm.

After that warning from Bill Jensen, the two men became fast friends. Bill’s wife and family had adopted him, and when Zach’s mom came to D.C., she considered Bill another son.

There had been so many times after a therapy session when he’d question God about why this happened. Why him? What had he done? The night he read in the Book of Luke about Jesus’s death on the cross, he realized that there was nothing He did to deserve such an awful death. What was his loss compared to Jesus’s?

Zach had slowly worked through most of his anger. Bill had gone back to his job, teaching in a community college in Wichita Falls, Texas. But what was Zach going to do? Before, he’d planned on following the rodeo circuit, trying to earn a championship belt buckle.

“Today, being with the horses gave me hope. I want to ride again.”

“About time.”

“So you’re ready to come with me each time I ride?” Zach asked.

“I am, and I’ll spring for breakfast.”

“I really must’ve been a pain if you’re willing to pay for breakfast.”

“And then some.”

Sophie walked back to the guest cabin. She moved there after Margaret had her stroke. Margaret’s son, Austin, had asked her to stay on the property while his mother recuperated. He wanted Sophie to take over the day-to-day running of the ranch since none of Margaret’s kids wanted to divide their time between their jobs and their mother’s ranch.

Austin complained about having to continue with the equine-therapy sessions, but several of the parents had bought package sessions for their children, and Austin didn’t want to refund the money. The ranch foreman, Ollie Morton, had planned to retire at the end of the month but he agreed to stay until Margaret could hire a replacement.

Sophie let herself into the cabin. No welcoming aromas from a cooked dinner filled the air. The hum of the refrigerator cut off, leaving the house silent. Sophie loved being with the horses, but she needed a maid. Or someone to take care of the mundane things like fixing dinner and washing her clothes. In the army, she had three square meals a day and clean clothes.

She pulled a frozen dinner out of the freezer compartment and popped it into the microwave. What had the women a hundred years ago done after a long day of working on the farm? The phone rang the same instant the microwave dinged. She picked up the wall phone. “Hello.”

“You’re a miracle worker, Sophie,” Beth gushed.

“I wish.”

“You don’t know how hard I had to argue with Zach this morning. I had almost given up when I told him that his heart wanted to be back on a horse. And then I prayed under my breath.” She laughed. “I’m surprised I didn’t have a wreck on the way to the stable. Every time I stopped at a light, I closed my eyes and prayed.”

“Well, your prayers were answered.”

“Oh, Sophie, I thought it was all over when Zach tripped. I wanted to die.”

“I’m glad you were strong, Beth. He had to face the truth that he needs to rebuild his strength.”

“You’re right. I tell you the first time I saw him without his foot and on crutches, I wanted to break down and cry.”

“He needs you to treat him as you always have—like a pain-in-the-neck big brother. He’s the same man.”

Beth remained quiet.

“He needs that consistency. He needs to know that the essence of the man Zach was is still there, and his family still sees the old Zach.”

Sophie thought she’d gone too far, but she heard Beth sigh. “You’re right. And he’s coming tomorrow to ride.”

Sophie heard the tears clogging Beth’s throat.

“This afternoon when I walked into the tack room and saw him, I didn’t know what to think. I know some demons were defeated in that room today.”

“Mom and Dad are excited and want to come and help.”

News in the McClure family traveled fast. She wished it were the same in her family. Her mother hadn’t talked to her grandmother in over fifteen years, and they both lived in the same little town of twenty-four hundred people. “Let’s give him a few times before he has an audience, okay? I don’t know how things are going to go tomorrow, and I think if Zach doesn’t have an audience, it will be easier.”

“I hadn’t thought about it. I’ll call them.”

“I do have a bone to pick with you, friend.”

“Oh?”

“Why did you tell Zach I had a crush on him in college?” When he’d thrown that out at her, Sophie didn’t know how to answer. Sure she’d been attracted to the handsome cowboy. His loose-hipped walk and cocky grin appealed to anyone with two X chromosomes. And she fell into that category.

“Hmm, I thought it would ease him into the situation. It certainly gave him something to think about besides his discomfort.”

It had done that. “I think we have Andy to thank for our success. And your prayers.”

“Will you let me know how the session goes tomorrow?” Beth asked.

“You’re not coming with Zach?”

“No. I’ll let Ethan do it instead of me. He’ll be more help than I could be.”

“Okay. I’ll give you a call.”

After hanging up, Sophie took her dinner out of the microwave. Settling at the kitchen table, she pulled her Bible toward her and opened it up to the book of Psalms. The twenty-third Psalm was her favorite. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

In high school, her best friend’s family were shepherds. She’d had some wonderful insight as to how the author of the Psalm felt. Her friend explained how they were responsible to move the sheep from one pasture to the next where there was abundant grass. The sheep didn’t move until the shepherd led them to another place.

“Okay, Lord, You’ve led me here. Help tomorrow to meet Zach’s needs.”

At seven the next morning Sophie walked out to the stable, heading for the office.

“Want some coffee?” she called out to Ollie who was inspecting all the horses’ tack.

“Sure. Bring it black, none of that fancy stuff,” Ollie answered.

“Fancy stuff?”

“Cream and sugar.”

“And do you eat your steak still mooing?” she retorted.

“Is there any other way?”

Sophie grinned. She walked into the office and poured two mugs of coffee. Ollie always started a pot of coffee when he arrived at the ranch. She opened the mini-fridge, pulled out her favorite French vanilla creamer and poured it in her mug. When she carried the mugs outside and gave Ollie his coffee, he glanced at the brown coffee in her mug and shook his head.

“Sissy.”

She shrugged her shoulder. Looking out over the rings, and hearing the morning sounds, Sophie knew this was where she belonged.

“You’re going to miss this when you retire, Ollie.” She took a sip of her coffee.

“Nope. I’m going to sleep in until seven and get up and spend hours reading the newspaper.”

“Fibber.”

He simply grinned.

“Will you help me this morning with the rider who’s coming?”

“Sure. Who’s comin’?”

“Zach McClure.”

“Ah, the guy with the fake foot.”

She winced. Ollie didn’t pull any punches, but there was not a mean bone in his body. “He was a wonderful rider. Watching him ride…” She could still remember how awed she’d been watching him practice calf roping. “It’s like he was born on a horse.” She heard the wistfulness in her voice.

Ollie’s mug stopped inches from his mouth.

Sophie realized her feelings colored her comments. “Zach’s sister was my roommate in college,” she hurried to explain. “I went home with her several times. She was with him yesterday.”

Ollie took a swallow of his coffee. “I saw him when he was a teenager. He had a talent.”

“Really?”

“Best I’d seen up ’til that time.”

Then Ollie would understand. “He lost his foot when a roadside bomb caught his patrol in Baghdad.” She looked down into her coffee. “I think that talent awoke yesterday. He’s willing to work to get stronger.”

Ollie nodded. “My son was in the First Gulf War. He needed help when he came home. I’ll do it.”

Those were the most words that Ollie had spoken since she knew him. And she never knew he had a son. Maybe Zach’s rehab would touch more than Zach himself.

She heard a car pull into the parking lot. It was seven-thirty.

“Looks like your client is here,” he murmured, looking down at his watch. “And I think he’s eager.”

She prayed Ollie was right.