A Family for Tory and A Mother for Cindy: A Family for Tory / A Mother for Cindy

“But didn’t the surgery make the epilepsy better?”

“She hasn’t had a seizure, but at what cost?” Slade waved his hand toward the stall where his daughter was talking to the pony, frustration in every taut line of his body.

“Do you regret agreeing to the surgery?”

Slade plowed his fingers through his hair. “Yes—no. The doctors told me this was best for Mindy, that given time she would recover most of her speech and physical abilities. A few years from now we’ll hardly know she had part of her brain removed.”

“But it doesn’t make it any easier right now?”

“No,” he clipped out.

“I didn’t mean to intrude, but Mindy has become very important to me. I was hoping she could come more often to the stables to help out. She asked me to talk to you about it.”

“She did? When?”

“She called me this morning and asked.”

“So that’s who she was talking to on the phone. I thought it was one of her girlfriends. When I made that assumption, she didn’t correct me.”

“She wants to be my assistant and go with me to the hospital when I take Mirabelle next time.”

Slade relaxed the tensed set to his shoulders. “It’s hard for me to say no when Mirabelle is the reason my daughter would cheerfully go to the hospital for her physical therapy. Before Mirabelle, Mrs. Watson and I had a horrible time getting Mindy to go. Now with the promise of seeing the pony, she’ll do just about anything.”

“Animals can be great therapy for people. That’s why I started my riding stable for people in need, especially children. So what do you say about Mindy helping me out?”

“Let me think about it. That’s asking you to do a lot for Mindy.”

“I don’t mind. If I didn’t want her to be my helper, I wouldn’t have asked.”

“Still…” Slade checked his watch. “I’d better get going. I’m already late as it is. I’ll be back in an hour.”

“We’ll be in the riding ring.”

Slade strode toward his car, feeling the touch of Tory’s gaze on his back. It took a supreme effort not to turn around and look at her. She was an attractive lady who obviously loved animals and children. Very appealing qualities in a woman, he thought, then shook his head. What in the world was he thinking? After this past twenty-two months piecing his life back together, he didn’t think he could deal with anything that required his emotions be involved. He had all he could handle with Mindy and her recovery. But first, he had to secure the loan for the second phase of the expansion of his company.

“You’re doing great, Mindy. Sit up straight. Take command.” Tory watched the young girl walk her horse around the riding ring. The child’s face glowed, her proud expression attesting to one of the reasons Tory spent so much time and money on her Bright Star Stables—the looks on her riders’ faces when they were successful. “Okay, Mindy, that’s it for today. You need to cool Paint down now.”

“Dad-dy say yes?”

Tory assisted Mindy in dismounting, then handed the child the reins. “He’s going to think about you helping me at the hospital with Mirabelle.”

The girl’s lower lip stuck out in a pout. “Why?”

“Because your day is full as it is. With your schooling and therapies, Mindy, you don’t have a lot of extra time.”

The sudden sound of Slade’s voice made Tory stiffen. The erratic beat of her heart crashed against her chest. With her attention totally focused on Mindy, Tory hadn’t heard him approaching. She didn’t like being caught unaware. It emphasized her vulnerability. Swinging around toward him, she took in his tall height, over six feet, and muscular frame that even his suit couldn’t conceal. She stamped down her alarm. This was Mindy’s father.

The little girl gripped Tory’s arm and twisted about to face her father who stopped a few feet from her. “Summer—is al-most—here. No sch-ool then.”

One of Slade’s dark brows arched. “Who said that?”

“No va-va-ca-tion?”

“You’ll have one, a short one. But you have some catching up to do, young lady.”

Mindy sighed heavily. “I can’t—” The young girl paused and swallowed several times “—help Tor-ee?”

“No, I didn’t say that.”

A bright gleam shone in Mindy’s eyes. “I can!”

“I didn’t say that, either. I’m still thinking about it.”

Instantly the child’s expression crumbled and her shoulders sagged.

“Take care of your horse and let me talk with Tory for a minute. I won’t be long.”

Mindy led Paint toward the barn, her left foot leaving a drag mark in the dirt. The little girl’s head was lifted. Tory had been working the past month on instilling confidence into the child, something that had suffered after her operation.

The second Mindy disappeared into the barn, Tory swung around, prepared to defend her reasons for wanting the girl to work with her. Slade cut her off with “Mindy won’t make her next lesson.”

His words took the steam out of her. Surprised, she grappled for something to say. “Why?” was all she could manage to think of.

“With Mrs. Watson gone I don’t have the time to bring her out here next Tuesday. As it is, I’m having a hard time getting help to take care of Mindy while my housekeeper’s away. I thought today I had everything arranged, but my arrangements fell through.”

“I can help,” Tory said without really thinking through the consequences. But she adored the child and didn’t want her to miss her twice-weekly riding lessons.

“I couldn’t ask you—”

“You didn’t. I volunteered to help. Mindy wants to spend more time here. I could use her help and watch her at the same time. It’s perfect for everyone.”

Slade shook his head, deep lines in his forehead. “But—”

Tory held up her hand to stop his flow of words. “Who are you going to get to sit with Mindy? Someone from a baby-sitting organization? Mindy and I are buddies. I would love to help her out. I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t mean it.”

“I don’t know how long Mrs. Watson is going to be gone. Everything happened so suddenly. She said a week or maybe longer.”

“One thing I’ve learned taking care of animals is to go with the flow. One day at a time. Don’t worry. The future will take care of itself.” At least that was what she was counting on. Because right now she wasn’t sure how long she could keep Bright Star Stables operational.

“Not without a lot of help from me.” He took a deep breath and blew it out between pursed lips. “Okay. If you’re sure.”

“I am.”

“Then I’ll bring her first thing Monday morning.”

“What time?”

Slade peered toward the barn, his eyes narrowing as though he were trying to see into the dark shadows. “I’m afraid seven. I have an eight o’clock meeting I need to attend.”