A Heart Made New (26 page)

“And that’s one of the reasons you have to treat him with respect.”

A thoughtful look on her gaunt face, she cocked her head. “What are the other reasons?”

“He’s a living creature. He feels pain and sadness and hunger and thirst just like we do.”

“I know how to be nice to animals. I had a rabbit. I was nice to him.”

“
Gut.
Be nice and respect Blackie. If you do something to scare him, he’s going to react. Not because he wants to hurt you, but because it’s instinct.”

She wrinkled her upturned nose. “What’s instinct?”

“Like when you get thirsty, you know to drink.” David picked up a saddle blanket from the railing. Blackie snorted and tossed his head, adding his two cents’ worth to the conversation. “If you didn’t, eventually you would die.”

“Like birds know how to fly.”

“Yes, they just know.”

Kinsey studied the horse. “Can I get on now?”

“No. First, you have to learn some things.”

“Learn?” Kinsey frowned. “Is this going to be like school?”

From talking to Willow, David knew Kinsey hadn’t been in a schoolroom in a long while. Another thing for her mother to worry about. “Not exactly. You have to know how to bridle and saddle Blackie and what to feed him and how to take care of him. That’s part of being a responsible animal owner.”

“But I don’t own him.”

“Don’t you want to own a horse when you grow up?”

Kinsey gave him a long, level look. Her eyes were much too old for a seven-year-old. Her gaze went back to the horse, and she leaned closer to him. “My mom doesn’t think I’m going to grow up.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “Neither does Grammy.”

David slid the blanket over Blackie’s back, debating how much to say. And what he believed. He wouldn’t lie and make life all pretty. Life was messy. And short. Shorter for some than others.

“Mister David?”

“Just David.” He leaned down so their heads were close. “It’s about what
you
think, not what
they
think. First, we put on the blanket to protect his back.”

Kinsey ran a frail hand over the wool blanket. “The doctor always tells me I’ll get better, but then he goes outside and talks to my mom. They whisper.”

“Your doctor is good at what he does. You have to have faith.” The irony of his words pricked at David’s skin like a needle, over and over again. Why was he trying so hard to get this little girl to believe when he had so little faith himself? “You have to work at it.”

Kinsey touched Blackie’s shaggy mane, then ran her hand down his forehead. “I’m going to grow up so I can have my own horse.” Her voice was soft, its cocky defiance gone. “And I’m going to ride him whenever I feel like it.”

“Good for you.” David lifted the saddle from where he’d laid it on the fence. “Time to saddle up.”

For both of them.

Annie strolled toward the corral with her head high. The floors were mopped, the goulash was simmering on the stove, and Leah was occupied sewing new pants for the boys, who were growing like weeds these days. If only she had the patience to show Charisma how to sew like that. No one sewed as well as Leah. But Annie didn’t dare ask. Charisma had less patience than Leah. Between the two of them the project would be like a bonfire in a northern wind.

She stepped on something hard and a pain shot through her heel. That’s what she got for not paying attention. She lifted her skirt a little and sidestepped another rock in the road. She picked up her pace, anxious to get that first moment over when her path crossed David’s. The first time they would speak since she’d thrown a hissy fit in front of him. She missed him too much not to try to salvage their friendship from the wreckage of dashed hopes and dreams.

“Hey, Annie.” Charisma rubbed her belly with one hand and motioned to Kinsey’s mother. “This is Willow, Kinsey’s mother.”

“We met—sort of—in David’s hospital room. How is Kinsey doing?”

Her expression troubled, Willow shook her head. “She has good days and bad days. This one seems to be a good one.” They all turned to watch David lead Blackie around the corral with Kinsey, grinning from ear to ear, sitting high on his back. “I don’t know about this. She shouldn’t exert too much energy. She needs to save her strength. And what about the germs?”

“Oh, I’m sure David washes his hands.”

“I meant the horse.” Willow frowned and flipped her long, thick braid over her shoulder. “What about the horse?”

Not bothering to answer such a strange question, Annie leaned against the fence and watched. Kinsey had her hands wrapped around the reins. Her short legs flopped with every step Blackie took. “When can I gallop?” she called. “I want to gallop. When are we going to leave the corral and jump over rivers and stuff?”

David laughed. Annie closed her eyes for a second. She hadn’t heard that sound in months. The carefree, clean sound of a friend enjoying life.

“So the wicked sister-in-law let you out of the dungeon?” Charisma flashed a smirk. “I’m surprised. No more hard labor this morning?”

Her words stung. Charisma had been living with them for more than a month. Her determination to be a better guest after the visit to Wakefield had lingered for a few days and then seemed to taper off. She occasionally carried dishes to the tub for washing, helped wash her own clothes, and sometimes made her bed, but mostly she sat on the porch and stared at the horizon like someone might be coming for her. Who, Annie had no idea.

“Leah’s not wicked. She’s just a hard worker and she expects everyone else to be too.” Annie schooled her voice, trying to be gentle. “She cooks and cleans for you too, you know.”

“I know I’m just more work. If I weren’t so pregnant, maybe somebody would hire me and I could take myself off your hands. I could get
a little place in town with electricity and a TV.” Bitterness marred the words. “I’m just glad the trial is almost here. I hate imposing like this.”

If Logan went to prison, where would Charisma and her children go? Annie suspected Charisma was avoiding thinking about that outcome. Instead, she kept insisting that Logan would go free. How that was possible, Annie couldn’t begin to know. She turned her gaze toward David as he led Blackie in a huge circle. Another problem she couldn’t solve.

Charisma nudged Annie. “He’d really be cute if his hair would grow back.”

Annie couldn’t help but smile. David wasn’t cute. Cute applied to little boys like her nephews William and Joseph. Hair or no hair, David was a handsome man. She pushed away the thought. Handsome is as handsome does, her mother would say. David was a hard worker and a man of faith. Those things counted far more than looks. Still, her gaze lingered on his full mouth and high cheekbones. His skin had darkened in the last month, taking with it that pale, pasty look of illness. His clothes still hung on him and he needed to gain a few pounds, but that didn’t keep her heart from turning over every time he got close.

David’s gaze turned toward her and his smile died. He led Blackie away from her toward the other end of the corral. Angry frustration flowed over Annie. “I don’t know. He’s stubborn as a mule and not nearly as smart.” As soon as she said the words, Annie felt mean. “Forget I said that—”

Charisma gasped and grabbed Annie’s arm with a grip that would leave a bruise. She doubled over, her mouth wide open. “I think…I think…” She panted. “I think I’m having the baby!”

“Are you sure?” Joy, fear, and envy intertwined into a thick vine that threatened to choke Annie. “Is it really time?”

“I’ve done this before, remember?” Charisma groaned. “I didn’t want to do it again. It really hurts.”

Annie tugged free of her grip and whirled, preparing to run to the barn to hitch up the buggy. Then she caught sight of the bright green
car. Of course. God’s provision. She turned to Willow. “We need to get her to the clinic. I’m so sorry to impose, but do you think you can drive us—”

“Of course. David, Kinsey, we need to go!” Willow clapped her hands. “Now! Let’s go. It’s time for the baby. Everyone into the lime-mobile.”

The lime-mobile? Annie eyed it. Very green. Very beat-up. But faster than a buggy any day. God did indeed provide, but He also had a sense of humor.

Without hesitation, David brought the horse to a halt. He swung Kinsey to the ground. Her face puzzled, then belligerent, she trotted across the corral as fast as her skinny legs could carry her. “Hey, you said I could do this and now you’re changing your mind?” She panted, out of breath even though she hadn’t come far. Her white skin seemed to stretch tight across her thin face. “I didn’t even get to gallop—”

“Kinsey, honey, this isn’t about you,” Willow interrupted. “It’s not always about you. Charisma is having her baby.”

Tears bright in her eyes, Kinsey opened her mouth. A groan from Charisma stopped her response. The little girl’s eyes widened. “Will it hurt?”

“I imagine it will.” David swung the girl over the fence and his gaze met Annie’s. “But it’ll be worth it.”

The next hour was a blur. Rushing to tell Leah they were leaving— at least under these circumstances she didn’t object to keeping Gracie—riding in a lime green station wagon that smelled like sweaty shoes and seemed to hit every bump in the road, listening to Charisma’s ragged breathing and increasingly loud groans. “Hurry,” Annie whispered. “Hurry.”

David swiveled to look back at them. Funny how his hearing seemed to be so finely tuned to her soft voice. “It’ll be fine. We’re almost there.”

At the clinic, Willow dropped them off and went to park the car, insisting she would wait to see if they needed a ride home. A nurse settled Charisma into a wheelchair at the emergency room entrance. “We
just need to get some information to the admissions clerk here and then we’ll get you up to the labor suite. Who is your doctor?”

“I’m not from around here.” Her face shining with sweat, Charisma clutched at her midsection with hands that twitched. “I don’t have a doctor.”

“You’ve had no prenatal care?”

“What’s prenatal?”

“It’s…” The nurse’s mouth flapped open and shut in disbelief. “It’s very irresponsible to go through a pregnancy without prenatal care—”

“I had my first baby this way and she’s fine.” Charisma began to cry. “Tell her, Annie. Gracie’s fine, isn’t she?”

“She’s healthy and happy.” Annie rushed to defend Charisma. “No problems.”

The nurse frowned. Her gaze swung to David. “Are you the responsible party?”

David’s eyebrows pumped. “Responsible party?”

“The husband?” The nurse’s gaze rested on Charisma’s bare fingers. “The father?”

“No.” David’s face turned brick red under his summer tan. “A friend.”

“We’re her friends. She doesn’t have family here, and the baby’s father is…unable to be here.” Much as he would like to be. Annie was certain of that. How sad it was that he would miss the birth of his child. “Can you please help her? She’s in pain.”

Charisma began to sob.

“We’ll help her, miss, you can be sure of that, but as I said, we need some information first. What about insurance?” The nurse’s frown deepened. “Miss Chiasson, do you have insurance?”

“No.” Charisma gripped the arms of the wheelchair and panted. “It hurts, please, it hurts.”

“We’ll be responsible for her.” Annie couldn’t stand it anymore. The Plain people always took care of their own. For the moment, that included Charisma. “You know that.”

The nurse’s gaze went from Annie in her long dress and kapp to
David in his suspenders, black pants, and hat. She pursed her lips. “Well—”

“I’m having a
baby
here!” Charisma’s groan turned to a scream. “Could we gab about this later?”

“Someone needs to fill out paperwork.” The nurse thrust a clipboard at David and slapped both hands on the wheelchair handles. “Y’all talk amongst yourselves and decide who that will be. In the meantime, we’ll find someone to deliver this baby.”

Annie grabbed the clipboard from David and strode to the admission desk counter. If she couldn’t answer the questions, she would make something up.

“You can’t solve all her problems for her.”

David’s voice was soft in her ears. The admissions clerk didn’t look up. Annie smoothed the paper. So much information she didn’t have about Charisma. Her medical history. Her permanent address. Telephone number. Social Security number.