Healing Grace (9781621362982)

by Shriver, Beth

  Mose lowered his hand and stepped back. “How are the horses?”

  “Fine.” He moved across the porch. His tall but skinny frame towered above Mose. “What brings ya here?”

  “Thought I’d check in and see how the filly’s mending.”

  “Is that the real reason…” He stared down at Mose, taking his time to finish his thought. “Or did you come to see my daughter?”

  Mose’s patience waned. He could not recall ever being questioned like this before. He’d put up with rudeness from some of the merchants in town, but this was something different altogether. “Actually I was hoping one of you had found my hat.”

  Abby’s daed frowned and studied Mose from head to toe.

  “I lost it that day and…” He realized the man didn’t care a single iota about the hat. He wanted to see Abby. “Sorry to have bothered you.”

  And with that he turned away and got into his buggy. As much as he wanted to see Abby again, wild horses would have to drag him back there.

  Chapter Five

  GINGER’S LEG WAS hot with inflammation. Abby fought back tears of frustration. She’d rubbed her down with liniment, hoping to increase circulation, but it hadn’t helped. The only thing Abby had left was Epsom salts, so she filled a bucket with cold water, added the salts, gave it a stir, and hoped it would work.

  While she waited, Abby changed out the shavings in the filly’s stall with a different, softer kind to make her more comfortable. She stayed in the barn until she heard Jim drive off, then she took away the bucket and cleaned Ginger up and locked the gate. The horse looked out at the pasture, where Abby knew she wanted to be, but she couldn’t take the chance of her getting too energetic and hurting herself even worse.

  She walked toward her decade-old car near the house, keeping her fingers crossed. There was a fifty-fifty chance it would start. The door opened with a creak, and she jumped inside. Pumping the pedal once, she turned the key. When the engine sputtered and then sprung to life, she sat back and let out a long breath, grateful for the small favor.

  Her friend Amy’s parents owned a pharmacy, and they had a small selection of products that catered to horses. It might cost too much and not even work, but she was desperate. As she pulled away, she had the familiar fear Jim would drive up as she was leaving to go into town. He would wonder why she was leaving so early for work.

  Every pickup that went by with a reddish tone caught her attention, as she watched for Jim, hoping he didn’t notice her on the road. He never told her where he was going, so he could be anywhere. She was old enough to have her freedom, but too often she was too scared to take it. It depended on how bad his temper was on a particular day, how much work he left for her to do at the farm, and even whether her old car would start.

  She relaxed a little after she parked, and then walked straight to the pharmacy and to the back of the store. There she found some wrapping and a few compounds, but she wasn’t sure which one was best, so she went to the counter where her old friend Amy stood, smiling at her.

  She returned the grin. “Hey, you still work here for your dad?”

  “Yeah, in the summers I do. Going to college the rest of the year. I hear you’re doing really well in the circuit with your riding.”

  “Yes, I just bought a horse that needs some good salve.” Abby tried to act content, but she was too far away from any semblance of contentment to fake it. Her life wasn’t anything like Amy’s. “Which one of these do you recommend?” She held out the round containers.

  “This one sells the most. That’s all I know. I can ask my dad.” She turned to the counter where the pharmacists were counting pills and filling bottles.

  Abby didn’t like to draw attention. She never knew whether Jim had cheated or caused any other trouble by his behavior.

  “No, that’s all right. I’ll take this one.” She set it on the counter and paid.

  “I saw a guy who was asking about you the other day. He was Amish, kinda cute.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

  Abby startled. “What did he say?”

  “He was looking for his hat.” She shrugged.

  “Is that all you know about him?”

  “I think he may work in town, but I don’t know where.”

  “Okay, thanks.” She started to walk away and then stopped. “You didn’t happen to see where he was coming from when you first saw him, did you?” Now she sounded like a lovesick schoolgirl, but she didn’t care. He might be able to help her with the filly, and she’d lower her pride to make that happen.

  “I saw him walk across the street from our store.” She held up her hands as if that’s all she knew.

  “Okay, thanks again.” Abby walked out onto the sidewalk and scanned the businesses across from her. There was a restaurant, a souvenir shop, and a furniture store. When she went in to work, Abby would see whether she could find out any information about where the Amish worked in town.

  She tried not to get her hopes up. This wasn’t a small enough town that it would be easy to find him. Did she want to? It wasn’t an option. His handsome face couldn’t make up for his pretension with horses, but Abby needed his help, and she admitted that he seemed to know horses. She looked at her watch. It would have to wait until after work. Abby liked to go early, as some of the children’s parents who worked dropped them off before school started, and she didn’t like them to be unattended.

  As she drove down the street across from the pharmacy, she wondered where Mose might work. He was Amish, and figuring Amish make things, she decided to start with the furniture shop. As she entered, she looked around the place to see a nice showroom full of different pieces of furniture. She could hear the tools buzzing in the back room.

  A clerk walked over and stopped in front of her. “Can I help you with something?” The young man was overly cheerful, so she thought she’d let him know right off she wasn’t interested in buying anything.

  “I’m looking for someone. Do you know a guy called Mose?”

  His forehead wrinkled, and he nodded once. “He’s one of our employees. Did you buy something he made?”

  “No. Why?” This might be a good way to get a take on this guy. Like Jim said, being Amish doesn’t make them perfect. She eagerly waited for his answer.

  He frowned. “People come in and ask for him to make their furniture.”

  She was too surprised to comment but felt better already, hearing he did good work. “I found his hat.” That was true, but she’d say anything to get him to step out of this shop right then.

  He chuckled. “I wondered why he wasn’t wearing one.”

  She smiled to be polite. “Can I see him?”

  The man looked at his watch. “I’ll see if he wants to take a break.” He walked to the back door.

  Abby waited, impatient. Watching people through the pane glass window as they walked down the street made her realize how isolated she was from people her age. She stayed at the farm unless she needed supplies or groceries or was at work, where she was almost exclusively with children. She didn’t mind, but it would be nice to have company her own age now and then.

  “Abby?” Mose’s deep voice gave her some comfort.

  She let out a breath. Skipping the small talk, she got down to business. “Can I talk to you?” She gestured to the front door with her thumb.

  “Go ahead, Mose,” the salesman encouraged with a smile.

  Mose looked at Abby curiously and followed her out the door. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine,” she replied, “but the filly’s not. Can you come take a look at her?”

  He stuck his hands in his pockets and studied her. “You didn’t want my help the other day. Why do you want it now?”

  “You know horses, right?” Abby felt the tears well up and did her best to hold them back. She knew better than to look at him, or she’d cry for sure.

  “You knew that then. What changed your mind?”

  “She’s not getting better.”

  He s
tood still, waiting for more of a reason. Abby couldn’t blame him. She had been uptight and on guard when she met him. “Jim was there.”

  He nodded as if that was what he was waiting for. “I’ll see if I can take an early lunch.” He walked back in and was out again with the biggest lunch pail she’d ever seen.

  She tried to walk as slow as Mose, but a sense of urgency kept her moving one step ahead of him. “The leg’s twice as big as it was yesterday, and nothing I’ve done has worked.” She told him everything she tried, and by the time they got to her car, she realized she hadn’t given him a chance to say a word. “Sorry, I’m just worried about her.”

  “I understand. But rushing around isn’t gonna help her any. She can feel your nerves. Then she’ll get nervous.”

  These were things she knew but wasn’t acting on. It was good to have a reminder. “I know.” Then she mumbled under her breath, “I’m just glad I found you.”

  When he smiled at her, she felt a little more relaxed, like everything would be fine if she’d just calm down a bit. “I’ve seen horses heal from injuries like this, so I’m hopeful she will.”

  “Depends on what kind of fracture it is. If she can put any weight on it, it’s probably an incomplete fracture.”

  “And that’s good, right?”

  He nodded. Like her father, he was a man of few words. She was used to filling the silences, and he didn’t seem to mind.

  When they pulled in to her farm, she felt the same embarrassment she always did when new people came around. It was in bad shape, and she knew it, but she submersed herself with her horses to escape from the way Jim let things go. She’d learned awhile ago that she could only do so much and that what she could do wasn’t near enough.

  She parked by the barn, not caring whether Jim noticed she’d driven someplace, and led Mose to the filly’s stall. “In here.”

  Mose made his way to Ginger and let her get a whiff of his scent. Starting at her neck, he stroked with one hand all the way down to her injured leg. He knelt down and examined her, taking his time to touch each area.

  Abby chewed her nails as she waited. “Well, what do you think?”

  Mose leaned back and turned to her. “I think it’s good to get a second opinion. It’s hard when you’ve tried everything you can think of with no results.”

  “Is it bad?” She turned over the pail and sat next to him.

  “I’m pretty sure it’s an incomplete fracture, but I don’t know for sure without an X-ray.”

  She felt a huge load lift from her chest. “Well, that’s good news.” She may have wasted money buying the compound, but she was relieved to hear his diagnosis of Ginger. “Should I use this compound rub?” She pulled it out of her pocket.

  “Let me see.” He held out a hand, and Abby gave the tin box to him.

  When his hand touched hers, she felt the same warmth she had the day of the accident. His eyes lifted to hers, and he smiled before looking back at the compound. She did too, but her attention was on Mose.

  “Ah-hum.” Jim’s shadow appeared next to her. Abby turned around abruptly, bumping the tub of compound onto the wood floor.

  She stood. “When did you get here?”

  Mose followed her lead, obviously not understanding the concern.

  “The question is what is he doing here?”

  “Afternoon, Mr. Barker.” Mose offered his hand, only to have Jim ignore it.

  Jim put his hands on his hips and waited for Mose to answer his question. She hoped Mose wouldn’t tell him anything was wrong with the filly, when she’d told him the horse was fine. But even more she feared what he’d do about Mose being with her. If it would have been a guy from town, it might go better, but with an Amish man, there was no chance he’d let it go.

  “Abby needed some help with the filly. Seems she has a fracture.”

  Abby let out a straggling breath.

  Her dad looked straight at her. “Thought she was all right.” He squinted, a sure sign he was mad.

  “I didn’t want to worry you, and it didn’t seem that bad at first.” She was talking too fast, but she wanted to get the words out before he blew up in front of Mose.

  Jim’s eyes shot over to Mose. “You know how to doctor a horse?”

  “I’m willing to try.” Mose bent down to examine the leg again. “The horse is young, so her bones are still growing. She’s got that going for her. There’s no protruding through the skin, and it’s not in one of the larger bones. I think she’ll pull out of it.”

  Abby held her breath and prayed—something she hadn’t done in a long time. It seemed forever before Jim responded. He and Mose had locked gazes. At first Abby worried about Mose holding Jim’s gaze, but to her surprise, she saw one side of Jim’s lips lift as if he admired Mose’s confidence.

  He turned to face Abby. “When the money’s gone, it’s gone. You understand?”

  He knew her too well. As hard as she’d tried to hide how much she cared about this horse, he could see through it. “I know.”

  “And I can’t pay you either.” He looked at Mose.

  Mose shook his head. “No need to.” And with that, Mose sat back down on the pail and got to work tending the filly.

  Chapter Six

  MAYBE THIS WAS a bad idea, but Mose was determined to see it through. He second-guessed his plan as he drove up to Abby’s farm the next day in a wagon pulled by Clydesdales and a horse trailer behind. It bothered him each time he set foot on the run-down piece of property. As he looked around, he tried to imagine what it was like in its heyday, which only served to make him feel worse.

  The conditions at Abby’s place were questionable at best, and if he was going to get that horse healed up, he had to work with her every day. He did worry that he wouldn’t see Abby as much this way, but he felt it was best for Ginger.

  When he jumped down off the buggy and turned around, Abby was standing on the porch, giving his rig a curious stare. To his surprise she didn’t seem to mind that he was there. Her blue eyes twinkled in the morning sun, and her hair was in a braid down her back. He realized it had been a few seconds of silence. “Morning.”

  She nodded. “What brings you here this early?” She crossed her arms around her waist.

  “Your horse.”

  As soon as he said it, Abby’s face went rigid. Her eyes flicked to the trailer.

  “How is she?”

  “Not as good as I’d like.” She narrowed her eyes with suspicion, but of what, he wasn’t sure. He was still a stranger to her, but he’d thought she was beginning to trust him. Apparently not.

  “I actually came by to see if you’d let me board Ginger for a while, but I can see you’re busy, so I’ll be on my way.” He couldn’t understand this young woman, and now he wondered why he should even try.

  “You want to take a look at her?” Her strained expression caused him great pain, and he glanced over at the barn. Only when the horse was involved did she seem comfortable.

  “Lead the way.”

  She took the stairs two at a time and walked with him toward the barn. He glanced down at her. “What’s got you worried?”

  “It didn’t seem like much at first, but her leg is swelling again.” She kept her head forward, her eyes on the barn just a few more feet ahead of them, still holding her guard. Her squinting eyes and stiff body language told him to stand back.

  She opened the barn door and walked to the last stall. It was the largest, with an open half-wall to look out at the field where the horses grazed. Mose moved slowly, letting the filly take in his scent. The horse seemed to approve and dropped her head. He gave her a pat and slowly moved his hands down around the injured leg and lifted it for inspection.

  “Well?” Abby’s voice broke.

  He stood to his full height to garner his courage. “I’d like to take her with me.” He thought about talking her into it but figured his arguments wouldn’t matter with her. She’d have her mind made up before he could get halfway through his
spiel.

  “It would be hard to let her go.” Arms folded, Abby rocked back and forth slightly. “But if you think that’s best…”

  “Gut. I borrowed the horse trailer in hopes you’d agree. I’ll give her a lot of attention.” Mose hid his surprise that she’d agreed. Now he had to keep things moving along before she changed her mind.

  “I know.” She studied his eyes, as if searching for something— maybe thinking about letting the horse go or feeling remorse that she couldn’t heal the filly.

  That immediate response of trust gave him the confidence he needed to carry through with his promise. He cared for the horse and reminded himself that his motivation had to remain pure—it needed to be all about the filly, nothing else.

  Abby helped him load Ginger into the trailer and stepped back. “Hurry and shut it.”

  “What’s the hurry?” As soon as he spoke, Old Blackie nickered and walked toward them.

  “These two are inseparable, but you don’t need to take both of them, Wart has had to skip a few trips.” As if to emphasize the point, Ginger whinnied her complaint being alone in a trailer without her companion.

  Mose crossed his arms over his chest to let her know he felt strongly about what he was about to say. “I can’t call that little guy Wart. Will Old Blackie work for you?”

  Abby half smiled and nodded.

  “Old Blackie is welcome to come along.” He lifted his brow waiting for her permission. “They’ll both do better if they’re used to being together. Besides, these work horses of mine can pull anything.”

  “Are you sure? You’re already doing enough.”

  Mose grinned. The whinnying and baying from the two horses would convince the most reluctant person to let them have their way.

  Mose unlatched the trailer door. “I’m sure. Let’s load him up.” He couldn’t help but smile as Old Blackie took his place in front of Ginger. Apparently size didn’t matter considering Ginger was twice his size. In front of the rig the Clydesdales snorted and then settled.

  “I don’t even know where you live.” She rubbed her arms and glanced at the trailer. “I don’t know if I can do this.”