“Oh.” I look up at Mrs. Sandy as she points her head toward the barn.
“You wanna come with me?” I ask Bailey as I put my hand on her shoulder.
She lifts her head and looks at me. “Where?”
“To the barn. I have something I’d like to show you.”
Her blue eyes slide from me to the barn and back to me as she sighs with reluctance. “Okay.”
I turn to Mrs. Sandy and flash her a smile as I lead Bailey off to the barn.
Volunteers and their assigned kids bustle all around the wooden structure. Voices and laughter fill the air. Jackie’s long blonde hair is high on her head ponytail that sways back and forth from the breeze sweeping through the barn. A boy, who looks like he’s probably between the ages of nine and ten, stands next to her with a pole in one hand and a brush in the other. He strokes the brush along one of the horses’ coats and talks animatedly with Jackie.
Across from Jackie, Liam is kneeling next to a blond haired, young boy in a wheelchair in front of another stall. Liam points to one of the horses, and the young boy laughs. Sarah stands a ways down, her hand wrapped around a little girl with short, almost black hair. With her empty hand, Sarah eases her into petting the painted horse’s mane. Brantley’s gray eyes sparkle as he carries a bale of hay into Autumn’s stall and he smiles at some of the kids as they chase each other around. “You comin’ in here?” he asks me.
“Yeah. Bailey, this is Brantley.”
Brantley sets down the bale of hay in the corner of the stall. He pulls a glove off his hand, and sticks it out to shake hers.
Bailey places her dainty hand in his. “Hello.”
He smiles warmly at her. “It’s nice to meet you Bailey.” He turns his attention to me and adds, “I better go. I have like five more of these to get out of the truck.” He points at the bale of hay. “I’ll see you later, right?”
“Of course,” I say as he walks out of the stall.
“Why is this horse so fat?” Bailey asks with her eyebrows raised.
I laugh. “First of all, her name is Autumn, and she’s pregnant.”
“Oh. Explains a lot, I guess.” Bailey’s eyes rake over the stall with her lip curled up in disgust.
“Did you not wanna come here? To the ranch, I mean.” I walk up to Autumn and pet her muzzle.
“Why do you care?” Bailey snaps.
I ignore her tone. I get it. She’s still hurting, and if her taking it out on me is what she needs, then I’ll deal with it for her. Autumn’s eyes find mine when I reply softly, “You and I have more in common than you think, Bailey.”
“Why? Did your brother die too?” Her tone is sharp, and I can’t help but feel sorry for her.
I turn my gaze to hers. “No. My parents did.”
The past two days have been going great. Monday was a little rough with Bailey. If she wasn’t being quiet and standoffish, she had an attitude in just about everything she did. I’m not one to judge her though; I’ve been in her shoes. I remember how I used to snap at people, too, especially when I heard the words ‘I’m sorry’. Those two words don’t bring back someone you love. After the kids left Monday evening, we all met and discussed how the day had gone. Mrs. Sandy and Mr. Will said, with much enthusiasm, that the day had gone off with a bang. We went over Tuesday’s itinerary, and they complimented everyone on a job well done. Later that night, as I was getting ready for bed, Wes snuck into my room to check up on me. After my little episode that morning, we hadn’t seen each other for most of the day, and he wanted to know if I was all right. He wondered how my day had gone with Bailey. I just shrugged my shoulders and then went on to explain her reaction of having to come to the ranch, and how I understood why she felt the way she did. In a way, I think he did too.
On Tuesday, Bailey showed up in better spirits. I’m not sure why, but I wasn’t going to complain. She seemed more interested in the horses and the different breeds they were. We had pulled a couple of them out of their stalls to walk around in the pasture. She wanted to ride one, but I explained that she needed to get more comfortable around them first. Earlier in the day, I offered her a carrot and asked if she wanted to feed Autumn. At first, she was hesitant and said that Autumn’s ‘huge teeth’, her words not mine, scared her. But after I told her, and with a lot of encouragement, that everything would be fine, she finally fed the beautiful brown and white Appaloosa. That was the first smile I had seen on her, and I was hoping to bring more to her young, delicate face.
With the week almost halfway over, I wash my plate from breakfast and make my way outside. The Texas heat hits me full force as I step onto the porch. Just as I was finishing my breakfast, Mrs. Sandy told me that Bailey would arrive any minute. I look all around before I finally spot her. A smile splays across my face when I see her talking to John, Liam’s assigned child. But what makes my smile widen is whose hands are on the back of his wheelchair. Wes.