A Special Kind of Love (6 page)

“Thank
you.”

He
stood and picked up their plates.

“Grab
the rest of our trash, Aaron. There are trash barrels over by the chuck wagon.
It looks like everyone is finishing up and we’ll be heading back soon.”

As
they were disposing of their garbage, Tammy stepped to the front of the chuck
wagon and announced, “Everybody mount up. We’re ready to ride.”

That
was perfect timing. Tanner put his arm around Aaron’s shoulders to lead him
back to the horses. Aaron shrugged his arm off and took a step away from him, but,
continued to walk beside him.
Hmm, that is
strange. I thought the kid liked me. Oh well, time will tell.

Sharon
had already walked over to the horses and they joined her.

“Aaron,
would you like to try tightening up Missy’s cinch?” Tanner asked.

“Yes,
sir.”

Tanner
held onto Missy’s reins and directed Aaron.

“Hook
the stirrup onto the saddle horn to get it out of the way. That’s right. Now
tighten the leather strap until it is good and snug. Put the strap over your
shoulder and lift with your
legs, that
will give you
the leverage you need to get it tight.”

Aaron
did as instructed. Tanner checked the tension and gave a nod.

“Good
job. Now lower the stirrup, but don’t drop it. You don’t want it to bounce into
her side and spook her. Here, take the reins and I’ll give you a leg up.”

Aaron
mounted like a pro. Tanner gave his leg a pat and once again the kid seemed to
shrink from his touch.

On
the trail headed home, Aaron had once again pulled ahead of them. Tanner
broached the subject with Sharon. He didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.
But he wanted to understand. Did Aaron not like him, or was it something else?

“Do
you think Aaron is enjoying himself?” he asked.

“Oh,
yes! I think he’s having the time of his life. He’s dreamed of this for a long
time. I haven’t seen him so content in ages. He isn’t even doing his repetitive
behaviors. His stress level is really low right now. It’s quite amazing,
actually.”

“Repetitive
behaviors?
Like what?”

“When
his stress level is high he has to
do
things
to feel in control. He sometimes rocks or paces. He does things in multiples
of three, like locking the door and then unlocking it and re-locking it, or
turning the lights on and off. Always three times. That’s his
number
.”

“Oh.
Is that a symptom of his autism?”

“Yes
and no. Autistic children do have repetitive behaviors, but
Asperger’s
Syndrome is a little different. A common side effect is Obsessive Compulsive
Disorder, and Aaron is a little OCD.”

“I
know a little about all of this stuff from my EMT training, but I don’t have
any real experience. Does it bother you if I ask questions?”

“Not
at all.
I want people to understand Aaron and his disorder, so they don’t act like that
man did in the corral. My ex-husband never wanted to talk about it. He wanted
to pretend Aaron was ‘normal.’ I think if people understand Aaron’s quirks it’s
easier for them to accept him. You can ask anything you want.”

Okay, time to jump in with both
feet.

“Do
you think Aaron likes me? Did I do something to upset him? I thought we were
getting along pretty well, but I put my arm around his shoulders back at the
campsite and he shrugged me off and stepped away.”

“I’m
sorry, that’s something I should have told you, Aaron doesn’t like to be
touched. Most of the time he’ll shrug off a touch, even from me.”

“
Wow, that
must be tough.”

“I’m
used to it now. I won’t say it isn’t hard sometimes. When he is hurt or upset
and I want to hug him, it’s hard to hold back. But he doesn’t get comfort from
touch like most of us do. One of the theories is that autistic children suffer
from sensory overload. They pull away because they feel too much. Sounds are
louder to them, light is brighter, they are sensitive to everything.”

“That
makes sense. Is that why he said he doesn’t like loud noises?”

“Yes.
Aaron does best in a calm atmosphere. He doesn’t like loud noises or flashing
lights or even just a lot of people around. That’s why I’m surprised at how
calm he’s been on the ride. I’ve read a lot about ‘horse therapy’ for autism.
Something about riding seems to calm them. Maybe it’s the rocking of the horse
as they walk. I don’t know, but I can certainly see that it seems to work, at
least for Aaron.”

Their
conversation returned to general topics for the rest of the ride back to the
ranch. Tanner couldn’t keep the smile off his face. This had been one of the
best days he’d had in… well, forever. He had a date with a hot woman. It had been
a relaxing afternoon and he’d met a pretty neat kid. Now if he could just
finagle a phone number out of the lovely Sharon his day would be a complete
success.

They
arrived back at the RNR shortly after the other riders in the group. The riders
were in the process of dismounting and handing their horses over to the ranch
hands.

“I
always put up Phantom myself and usually I would insist that my ‘students’ do
the same. But with all the activity going on around here, I think for today we
should let the hands put up Missy and Red. Would you like to set up another
riding lesson for Aaron? I could meet you here one afternoon and give him a
lesson in the arena. Then I could work with him and Missy one on one. He could
gallop.”

“I
want to gallop. I want to gallop.”

Sharon
laughed. “I would say that’s a big
yes
from Aaron.”

Score!
“Give me your phone number, and after I
check my schedule we can set something up.”

With
Sharon’s phone number secured in his cell phone, Tanner walked with Sharon and
Aaron to her car.

“Thank
you for a lovely day,” Sharon said. She looked up at him, her beautiful eyes,
framed by the longest lashes he’d ever seen, shined with happiness. He loved
being the one to put that look on her face. He couldn’t help
himself,
he cupped her cheek and leaned in for a kiss.

He
kept the kiss brief, just a brushing of the lips. Damn, she was sweet. Now was
definitely not the time or place for more than just this brief contact, but he
couldn’t wait until he could get her alone to explore that glorious mouth
further.

Sharon
blushed
a pretty pink, glancing toward Aaron to
see if he noticed the kiss. Aaron was standing next to the passenger door of
her SUV and seemed oblivious to their interaction.

“Thank
you, for everything. I can’t remember when I’ve had such an enjoyable day.”

“I’ll
call you soon.”

Sharon
looked down at her feet, clearing her throat and gave a small nod.

“Okay.”

She
stepped away from him and hit the fob on her key chain to unlock the SUV. Tanner
watched as she put the car in reverse and backed out of her parking space. He
tipped his hat in parting and turned back to the barn with a spring in his step.

Chapter Three

That
night, after Aaron had finally wound down and gone to bed, Sharon lay in bed
reading the latest
Kerrelyn
Sparks novel with a glass
of wine. The long day in the fresh air had tired her out, but energized her as
well.

Just
as Howard
Baar
was about to get his first kiss, her
cell phone rang. Damn, someone always interrupts at the good parts. It was
probably her mother again. Sharon picked up her phone and frowned at the
display. It was an unknown number, with a local area code. Her heart skipped a
beat, maybe it was Tanner.

“Hello?”

“Hi,
beautiful.”

The
deep baritone of his voice rolled over her skin like a caress. She felt hot and
cold at the same time and goose bumps crawled down her spine. She was in such
big trouble.

“I
didn’t expect to hear from you so soon,” she cooed.

“I
don’t want to scare you off, but I really had a great time today. I want to get
to know you better. I thought Aaron would be asleep by now and we could talk.”

“He
is…asleep I mean. What do you want to talk about?”

“Where
are you?”

“Um,
I’m in bed.”

“Oh,
man, now I have that visual in my head. I’ve been dreaming about you in bed.
In my bed.”

Dang this man was coming on strong.
But I kind of like it
.

“Really?
You are a naughty boy.”

“You
have no idea. What are you wearing?”

Sharon
laughed. “Sorry to ruin your fantasies, big boy, but I’m wearing flannel pajama
pants and a T-shirt. I’m sure that’s not what you pictured.”

“I
was picturing nothing…” Sharon barked a laugh “That’s not what I meant! I mean
I didn’t have anything specific in mind.”

The
poor guy was stammering. She loved being able to fluster him.

“What
are you
wearing
, Mr. West?”

Silence
met her question.

“Tanner?”

“I’m
not sure I should answer that question.”

“Fair
is fair, I answered your question. Now answer mine.”

“Boxer
shorts,” he mumbled.

She
closed her eyes and pictured him in her mind. She knew he was
muscular,
she could just imagine his chest, smooth and tan.
Would he have a hairy chest or smooth? Smooth she bet, considering his Native
American ancestry.
A six pack, at least and maybe a happy
trail heading down behind the waistband of his shorts.
She licked her
suddenly dry lips.

“Do
they have smiley faces on them?”

“No,
never.
SpongeBob.”

She
laughed again. When was the last time she had laughed this much? Not in too long
to remember.

“I
don’t believe you.”

“No,
really they’re just plain. But I made you laugh.”

“Yes,
you did. You do that a lot. Thank you.”

“I
love the sound of your laughter. I want to hear it all the time.”

That
had to be about the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her.

“So
where are you?”

“I’m
in bed, too. Our first date and we’re already in bed together.”

“You
might want to slow down a little bit there, Tonto, I’m not that kind of girl.”

Oh shit, had she really said that? Dumb,
dumb, dumb
.
She probably offended him.

Tanner
laughed and her anxiety eased.

“I
think we should move on to a safer subject. Tell me why you became a
firefighter.”

“Growing
up around here, fire was always a threat. Wyoming can be very dry and windy.
With all the woods, brush fires pop up all the time. I wanted to do something
to help the community, and protect the wildlife. So it just seemed natural to
go into firefighting.”

“Do
you like it?”

“Most
days I love it. Now that I’m chief I can’t say I love doing all the paperwork.
But I love the rush I get from fighting a fire. The satisfaction I get from
saving someone’s home or family. Gaines is a great community and I love being a
part of it. I feel like I really make a difference. I can’t imagine doing
anything else. What about you? What made you decide to become a teacher?”

“I
always loved kids. I wanted to have a houseful. Learning always came easy to
me, and I wanted to share that love.”