“Please don’t tell anyone.” Jamie’s voice grew plaintive. “Dad isn’t home much. He drives a truck and goes away weeks at a time. Mom gets lonely, and when she starts drinking…I do stuff that makes her mad.”
Skyler was shocked. “Your mom does this to you? Does your dad know what goes on when he’s not around?”
“No, Mom and Dad love each other. She’s good when he’s at home. I swear she is.”
Skyler wanted, instantly, to rescue and protect this child from further harm. But she knew firsthand the pain of a family breaking up. No matter how dysfunctional they were, the loss was a permanent sorrow. She took Jamie’s hand gently.
“I know what it feels like to blame yourself, like it really could be your fault that an adult is using you for a punching bag. But it’s not.” She moved to the desk, scribbled a number on a small piece of paper, and tucked it in the girl’s pocket. “This is my cell phone number, and I don’t give this number to many people. Promise me that you’ll call me if you ever need help, or even just to talk. You call me any time, day or night. You understand?”
Jamie nodded and wiped her nose on her sleeve. Skyler offered a box of tissues and a tentative smile crossed Jamie’s face as she took a few. But the smile was fleeting, and she shifted her feet nervously. “My mom’s not really a bad person. It’s just hard for her when Dad’s not around.”
Skyler’s heart ached at Jamie’s plea on her mother’s behalf. It never failed to amaze her the capacity some children had for forgiveness. Somewhere along the way, she’d lost that herself. “Sure, James. That goes for what I told you about my dad hitting me. This is just between you and me.”
Jamie looked relieved, as though the sharing of secrets reassured her that Skyler understood. “I better get the rest of my work done.”
“Stay away from that bay stallion,” Skyler warned sternly.
“I will.” Jamie paused at the door. “I guess that lady did save me from getting run over by that horse. You really yelled at her.”
Skyler cocked an eyebrow at the gentle admonishment. “Yeah, I guess I did. I’ll make it right with her. Don’t you worry about it.”
After the door closed behind Jamie, Skyler sat in her office for a while, contemplating her discovery. She absently rubbed her left wrist as visions of her drunk and angry father surfaced in her mind. She’d worked hard to lock those images away and she didn’t feel like revisiting them now. She considered telling Kate about Jamie’s home situation, but she didn’t want to lose the girl’s trust. Undecided, she left her office and strode down the wide hallway. Ahead of her several kids scrambled up from where they were squatting beside the oak door of Rampage’s stall, and darted out of the barn. The little scamps were supposed to be doing barn chores, but Skyler didn’t yell after them. She could hear a muted voice coming from the stall, and realized they’d been eavesdropping.
Jessica was reading to Rampage.
Skyler smiled to herself and turned back to avoid disturbing her, but the stallion’s head jerked up and he snorted a challenge.
Jessica peered through the iron bars. “Oh, it’s you.” She sounded irritated. “I guess you’ve come to move us to another barn.”
“You guess wrong.” Skyler looked into the palest blue eyes she’d ever seen. They were more like white clouds swirling in a blue sky. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you,” she said at last. This was harder than she thought. But she’d promised Jamie. And Kate. “I hope I didn’t hurt you, shoving you like that.”
Jessica stared at her but did not reply. It was unsettling, the way those eyes seemed to probe her innermost thoughts.
“I guess I’m just a little overprotective of the kids around here.” Skyler shifted from one foot to the other. She could see the suspicion in Jessica’s eyes. She didn’t want to betray a confidence. “You just scared Jamie, that’s all.”
Jessica frowned. So, the gruff trainer had a soft spot after all. The fact that Skyler averted her eyes and shifted her feet told her there was more she wasn’t saying.
Skyler cleared her throat. “So, it was really my fault for not already posting a warning against entering that stall.”