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Sign language was a constant part of her life now but being able to communicate with those who didn’t have the skill would make things simpler.
Back at the stables, they worked together to brush down the horses and store the gear. Nate scooped up Mandy and threw her over his shoulder as they walked toward the house.
Zoe could see the young woman’s hysterical laughter and felt a twinge of regret that she couldn’t hear it. “I need to feed Maximus again. He’s on a strict feeding schedule. Like two people I know.”
“Believe me when I say I’m at your service,” Nate responded with a wink. He set Mandy on her feet on the porch and roughly ruffled her hair, destroying the ponytail. “You’re so cute.”
Shoving her hair out of her face, Mandy mock-punched her dad in the gut. “I’m too old to be hauled around like a sack of potatoes!”
“Never! Always my itty-bitty girl.”
Nodding seriously, Mandy said, “You’re right.” Grinning at Zoe, she said, “Dad and his best friends like to throw me all over the place. Gives Grandma fits. I’m still trying to talk him into a trampoline.”
He pointed at her. “I hate those things. People break bones. How about a bounce house instead? You love bounce houses! Safer, too!”
“I can’t have a permanent bounce house! I’m almost in high school!”
“Worried about your rep?” Nate sighed. “Fine. We’ll put it in the big barn and no one will see it.”
“You’re ridiculous.” Taking Zoe’s hand, she pulled her up the steps and into the house. “I’m thirsty. Let’s get a drink and then we can go eat before I fall right out.”
Being with the father and daughter filled her with happiness.
As they entered from the back porch, her eyes tracked to a small alcove on the other side of the kitchen. In a daze, she wiped her feet and crossed to an old piano.
Without a word, she sat, pulled back the cover, and began to play.
She started slowly, gradually gaining confidence as the memory of how to do it flowed back into her hands. She couldn’t hear herself but touching the keys reminded her of her father.
For several minutes, she relived songs through her hands that she loved before the accident. Even not hearing the notes, she remembered how they’d always made her feel.
Glancing at the father and daughter who stood beside the piano, she smiled at the expressions of wonder on their faces.
“That’s so pretty. You used to play?” Zoe nodded and Mandy settled on the wide bench beside her. “You know all kinds of songs.”
Zoe switched to a church hymn and mouthed the words.
Closing her eyes, she thought back to playing in the little church in her hometown. Her little sister always sat beside her and turned the pages. One of the few times Kimmie could be still for more than a minute. Sounds and experiences she took for granted until one day she could no longer hear them, no longer have them.
After a long time, she opened her eyes, sat back, and stared at the piano. She ran her fingertips over the keys.
When Mandy bumped her with her shoulder, Zoe turned to look at her. “Did you take lessons?”
She shook her head. “No. My father loved to play. H-he taught me and both of my sisters.” The words caused a lump in her throat and she swallowed past it. “He played all the time. He was the preacher and choir director at our church. I fell asleep almost every night to music drifting through the house.”
Tears filled her eyes but she blinked them back. “He had this old record player, tons of vinyl albums. If he heard a song once, he learned the notes and put his own spin on it. When I was fourteen, he asked me to play piano for the choir on Sundays. My older sister refused because she didn’t want her friends to see her. I miss it.”
Mandy’s eyes shimmered with tears. “Before you had your accident, what did you want to do?”
How far away those dreams seemed now.
“I wanted to breed horses and run boarding stables. I loved being around them. After I went deaf, I couldn’t connect with them in the same way.” Sighing, she added, “Paying attention to their sounds, even the way they huffed, told me a lot. I couldn’t do it anymore.”
“That’s why you became a librarian?” Zoe nodded. “You loved books already, so it was a good fit.”
“Horses and books were my life back then. I had a couple of friends and a boyfriend but I spent most of my time with my family.”
She peered through the window above the piano but didn’t really focus on what was beyond. In all this time, she’d never talked about the night that changed her life forever and took two people she loved more than she’d shown them sometimes.
