She turned toward the sound of running feet and saw two blurry shapes hurrying toward them. Rita hugged both kids and introduced Izzy.
“Are we going riding soon?” the girl, Emily, asked.
“Very soon,” Rita promised.
“Where’s Heidi?” Izzy asked.
“She’s scared,” Ned, Emily’s brother, said. “She looked like she was going to cry the whole way here.”
“New places can be confusing,” Izzy said as she walked toward the SUV. She could see Nick unloading luggage. As she approached, a tall girl climbed out of the car.
“You must be Heidi,” Izzy said cheerfully. “Hi. Nice to meet you. Do you want to get settled or would you like to come meet your horse for the weekend? Flower is very excited about all the riding we’re going to do.”
There was something odd about the girl’s posture. She was bent over, as if…
The burns, Izzy thought, mentally slapping herself. She was hiding her face.
“I’d rather go to my room,” Heidi whispered.
“Okay. I’ll show you the way.” She pointed at the suitcases. “Which one is yours?”
“The green one.”
Which was less helpful, Izzy thought as she stared at the dark-colored luggage. Nick handed her one. She smiled at him. “Thanks.”
Izzy took the suitcase and led the way inside. As there were only three guests, all the kids were sleeping in the main house. She went up the stairs and walked into the bright, cheery bedroom Norma and Aaron had prepared.
“Here you go,” Izzy told Heidi. “You have your own bathroom, which is pretty cool. I hate sharing a bathroom. Even with my sisters. I should probably get over that, I know, but here it’s not an issue. Now do you want to unpack first or come meet Flower?”
“I don’t want to meet a stupid horse. I’m only here because my doctor said I had to come. I’m going to stay in my room and read until it’s time to go home. You can go now.”
Izzy dropped the suitcase and put her hands on her hips. “Oh, really. Because you think you’re in charge?”
“No. Not really.” Heidi took a step back. “I, um, don’t like horses.”
So the bravado had serious limits. Good to know. Izzy wasn’t sure what to say or the best way to deal with the situation. They only had three days, which meant she couldn’t outwait Heidi.
“How many horses have you met?”
Heidi cleared her throat and hunched over. “Not many.”
“As in none?”
“Yes.” The word was barely audible.
“Okay, then you’re going to meet Flower because she’s really nice. I think you’ll get along. But if I’m wrong, we’ll renegotiate. Sound fair?”
She took the heavy sigh as a yes and motioned for Heidi to follow her out of the house.
Minutes later they were in Flower’s stall.
“Flower, this is Heidi,” Izzy said as she patted the mare’s neck. “It’s okay, Heidi. Flower’s a sweetie. She won’t hurt you.”
But Heidi stood in the doorway, unmoving, not speaking. Izzy couldn’t read her expression so she wasn’t sure what was wrong.
“Don’t you want to pat her?”
“No.”
“But you’re a girl. Girls love horses.”
“Not me. She’s too big. She’ll bite me. Or worse.”
“I see,” Izzy said. “Wait here.”
Seconds later she was back with one of the barn cats in her arms. “This is Alfredo. Are you good with cats?”
“I like cats.” Heidi moved toward her and gently stroked Alfredo. “He’s small.”
“He’s still a kitten. He was born here in the barn. Now I think you’re bigger than Alfredo.”
Heidi actually giggled. “Well, yeah. He’s a cat.”
“Good. Now remember that.” Izzy put Alfredo down.
“What are you doing?” Heidi shrieked. “He’ll be killed.”
“He’ll be fine. Horses and cats usually get along. Watch.”
Izzy couldn’t see very much, but she’d grown up around barn cats and horses. She knew that Alfredo would be fearless in the stall. Sure enough, a few seconds later, Heidi gasped.
“Flower likes him. She’s kind of petting him with her nose. He’s drinking her water.”
“Really? So maybe now you’re not so afraid of Flower?”
“Maybe. But I don’t want to ride her. It’s too high. What if I fall?”
“Then you lie on the ground feeling stupid. Trust me, I’ve done it a thousand times.”
“I’m not riding. Why do you care if I ride?” Heidi’s voice rose with her words until she was practically shouting.