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“Yes.”
“Have you asked her to stay on and put off getting another job yet?”
“Yes. I’ve even offered her a salary to match the one several companies are offering, but she turned it down because her mind is made up.”
“How does that make you feel? Think hard to give me the right word.”
Vic didn’t have to think. “Helpless.”
“Like this is another situation out of control?”
“Yes.”
“So when you were interrogating the man who took Jeremy, you were feeling helpless for three distinct reasons, and that helpless feeling turned to anger you weren’t aware had been roiling inside of you. At that moment you lost control.”
Vic was floored. Dr. Marshall had nailed what was going on inside him. How did he do that?
“Our time is up for this session. Monday we’ll get into why losing Claire represents such a personal loss to you. It’s key to the underlying reason why you lost control in the interrogation room.”
Vic left the hospital feeling uncomfortable and all wound up. He needed to channel his energy into something physical. As soon as he got home, he went out to the barn. By the time he’d mucked out the stalls and put the horses in the paddock, Claire had returned. He saw her coming toward him wearing her cowboy boots.
She hung her arms over the fencing. Marshmallow wandered over so she could rub her forelock. Claire had propped one of her shapely legs on the lower rung of the fence, and she made a beautiful picture, all coppery gold and lavender.
“How did it go with Jeremy this morning?”
“He saw Nate and Cory out on the playground and ran to them before the bell rang. I’m glad Nate’s back today.”
“Jeremy’s going to need his friends now more than ever.”
“I have no doubt he’ll have lots of play dates this summer.”
Vic leaned against the fencing. “I have to do something to help him right away. Do you think it would be crazy if I bought him the brown-and-white miniature horse he saw the other day?”
Her eyes lit up. “Oh Vic, he’d love that more than anything!”
“We could drive there tomorrow and make a day of it. If I tell him he has to take total responsibility for it, I’m hoping it might help him deal with the pain of you leaving.”
She pressed her lips together as if she was having difficulty with that concept, too. “You couldn’t have come up with a more perfect plan. He associates those little horses with his mom. Not that he has the memory. But he’s heard you talk about it and it will have more meaning for him than if you bought him a puppy or a kitty.”
“He has Comet, but I’m thinking he needs a pet.”
“That miniature horse will be perfect! He can join a 4-H club when he turns eight. Austin’s 4-H petting zoo was always one of my favorite places to visit when I was little. I bet Jeremy would just love to show off his adorable horse.”
When you gave Claire an idea, she ran with it. Jeremy always said Claire was awesome. That word described her best. “I guess I have my answer.”
Her smile captivated him. “Are you going to tell him tonight?”
“I’ll wait until he’s had his appointment with Dr. King. I’d like to run the idea by her first.” She’d told him the session with his son would be private, but he could email her with any questions or concerns he had.
“I’m sure she’ll think it’s fabulous.”
Not wanting Claire to find an excuse to go in the house, he said, “Why don’t we saddle up the horses and exercise them?”
“I have time to ride for a little while before I leave.” It wasn’t a no, but her usual burst of enthusiasm was missing.
They set out with Vic holding Comet’s lead. He was in a better mood having shared his idea with Claire. She’d turned into a real cowgirl and could saddle Marshmallow herself. He marveled that when she’d first started to take care of Jeremy, she’d only ridden a horse a couple of times.
As she broke into a gallop, her shoulder-length hair floated behind her like a shimmering red-gold pennant in the sun. He longed to bunch it in his hands. He longed to hold her again like he’d done the other night. Astride the horse, she had a stunning natural beauty. It was more and more unthinkable to him that she’d be leaving them soon.
